Need help with SWG Pool!

[Stampalma]

This is an awesome site! Only wish I had found it sooner. So here is my problem. Our pool has been basically neglected for the last year, except to add salt when the indicator said it needed it. It has an electric cover and has been kept closed because of lots of little children around. I opened it a few days ago and the water smelled very strongly of chlorine. I backwashed the filter and drained off a few inches of water, also left the cover open hoping the sun would burn off some of the chlorine. Using a Walmart test kit, I tested the chlorine. It just beaded into little brownish-orange drops. Then I tested the PH and it was way high. I added Muriatic Acid. THEN I found your site. So, today I bought one of your recommended test kits. Today, the water smells better and my arm does not REEK after testing. But, when I tried to test chlorine, the water never turned from pink, even after 70 drops of R-0871. I tested for Cyanuric acid and the solution never got cloudy. I could see the little black dot even with the tube full. Next I tested the PH, still very high. When adding drops of Acid Demand Reagent, the water just turned purple.

My questions:

Now what???

And, is the pool safe to swim in? (it has not been swam in for the last year at all.)

Thanks for any help.
Stampalma

Pool is 15 x 30, 15,000 gal.
Filter (Sand) is Purex Triton II
Heater is Purex Triton Minimax (not currently working, but not needed)
SWG is Pentel Water Intellichlor Chlorine Generator (Salt is measuring ok, about 3200)

 

[Bama Rambler]

If the OTO kit still turns yellow (or orange), Dilute a sample of pool water half and half with chlorine free water and run the FAS-DPD test again. Then multiply the result by 2. That will tell us how high your FC is.

Don't adjust the pH again until we know that the FC is 10 ppm or less.
Don't close the cover unless you have to.

 

[zea3]

O.K, your FC is very high. Turn off the SWG and allow the FC to drop down below 5 ppm. This may take a few days. You also need to add CYA to around 70 ppm once the FC has dropped. What percentage is the SWG set to deliver? Since you keep the pool covered you may need to drop it way down. The pH will come down some as the FC drops, but you may want to use some sodium thiosulfate to neutralize the chlorine, and then retest the pH to see if it still needs to come down.

At this time your pool is not safe to swim in if the test results are correct. The FC and pH are way too high, and will very likely cause eye and skin irritation. Let the cover stay open a few days so the excess chlorine will burn off and then retest.

 

[Optica]

Please post your test results so we can see and make judgments based on those.

Could the test kit be old? Also, If your chlorine is high (>10ppm), the PH measurement will not be accurate. Sounds like your chlorine level may be very very high. What is the status of your SWG. Maybe turn it off until you can get accurate level measurements.

Try the dilution method to measure chlorine (1/2 pool water, 1/2 tap water) and multiply results by 2 to see if you can get a measurement in range. Consider taking a sample to the pool store for 2nd opinion.

With no CYA, the sun should burn off lots of the chlorine fast.

 

[Stampalma]

Okay, I did the dilution method and the chlorine is a whomping 47. When I checked the SWG a few days ago, it was set at 60%. I usually keep it at 20% so I think my little grandson was playing with it. There is no 'off' switch, but I think I can unplug it. Is it okay to run the filter pump that way?

 

[Stampalma]

Also, I just bought the test kit today, so I am hoping it is not old. And, I am going to clean the cell tonight because it is telling me to add salt, but the water measures salt okay.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You can just set the cell for zero % and that'll turn it off. Is this an outdoor pool?
It's going to take a day or two in the sun for the FC to come down. With a CYA of zero it won't take long. Once it gets down to about 10 ppm it's safe to swim.

One thing you need to do if this is an outdoor pool is to add some CYA.

 

[Stampalma]

Actually, the lowest setting on my SWG is 20%. So I just unplugged it, and I am running the pump anyway. I tested again this morning, and the FC is definitely coming down. I have been leaving the pool open and we have had very sunny, hot days. My grandchildren are coming tonight so I will have to close it, but I will open every time I can, like when we leave the house. We will start swimming when the FC gets down to 10 or less, but do I need to wait a certain amount of time after I put the CYA in? And how much CYA do I need? Should I put it in all at once? I am going to the pool store this morning to get it, but I'm not sure what kind they have. Any suggestions?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Bama Rambler]

You can swim while the CYA is dissolving. Don't be talked into the liquid. You don't need it immediately and it won't hurt for it to take a few days for it to dissolve.

You can enter all your numbers in the Pool Calculator and it'll tell you how much you need to add. Just put 20 in the 'Now' column and 70 in the 'Target' column.

 

[Stampalma]

Thanks, I am off to buy it now.

 

[Stampalma]

Okay, FC is now down to 3! We swam last night and it was awesome! Over 100% outside and 85% in the water. So now I am ready to add CYA, I bought granules. The chart calls for 100 oz. Do I put this in all at once, and do I just sprinkle it over the deep end? How soon with the CYA reading raise? I have turned the SWG back on and covered the pool, so chlorine level should start to go back up a little.

Thanks again

 

[Bama Rambler]

This may be too late but you can put the CYA in a sock or, if your really sure you won't need to backwash for a week, you can slowly pour it into the skimmer and let it go to the filter.

 

[Stampalma]

I put half the require amount in a sock and put it in the skimmer. I am ready to put in the other half, but I am nervous about raising the CYA too high as I read that the only way to lower it is to drain water out of the pool. The pool calculator said to put in 100 oz. And that seemed like an awful lot. Should I worry? The CYA is granular, so how long should it take to measure correctly when i test? I read that it can take a week when the CYA is solid. (I guess I was thinking that meant tablets).

Thanks

 

[Bama Rambler]

The granular CYA can take up to a week to register correctly on the test. It usually shows up sooner than that but we're being safe by telling you not ot test it for a week, just assume the amount you dosed for is there. 100oz of granular stabilizer will raise your CYA by 50 ppm.

 

[Stampalma]

New Question: Here are my numbers from today:

FC 13 (SWG is turned off and pool is open to the sun to bring this down)
PH 7.0 (Lowered on purpose from 7.6, according to the pool calculator. Trying to bring the TA down from 160)
TA 130
CYA 85
CH 400
Salt 3200

My Question, how can I lower the TA some more? And how soon should I add Borax to start bringing the PH back up?

Thanks for your help.

 

[frogabog]

The borax will raise TA somewhat so don't use borax for this purpose. You'll need to aerate to raise pH. Do you have a water feature? If not, you may have to get creative. Bubbles are what you want, somehow.

Read about lowering TA in pool school. You lower pH with acid, then aerate till it's high enough to lower again. It's a process, can take a while depending on how fast your pH rises as you aerate. Multiple applications of acid and then aeration may be necessary.

 

[Stampalma]

No Water Feature, but, it rained today, yay!!! and I found the homemade examples of aerators, those are cool!!! I'll bet my husband and I could do that. Gonna Give it a try. I want to BBB when everything is balanced.
Thanks.

 

[cood60]

Hi, am a new IG pool owner. Had a trial AG pool for a yr to learn chemistry. Sure are a lot of differing opinions! My PH is hard to control with this pool.
Now my pool contractor tells me that SWG systems tend to run high PH readings. They told me TA should be 150! (I think they want to sell me lots of PH reducer) So here are my latest readings using Taylors kit:
CC is 0 (FC-.5, TC-.5)
TA 100
PH 8+
CH 170
CYA 55
I was running pump on High and all four jets on as well as slide when adding chems, probably a mistake from what I am reading on this site?
WHen I add the PH dwn, it goes dwn but so does TA, then the PH rises within a day or two. And it is cold here, water is 45 degrees, SWG is not making chlorine, pump runs on low for 22 hrs and high for two. (am leaving pool open all winter as it is too pretty to hide
Any suggestions will be appreciated

 

[RobbieH]

You don't have to buy pH down from the pool store. Plain old muriatic acid from Home Depot or the likes is just fine, and cheaper.

As your TA goes down from the acid addition, when the pH rises on its own the TA should stay lower. Your TA should be around 70, not 150. When your TA is in the proper range, I believe your pH creeping up will steady out (high TA allows pH to rise). You might be a candidate for adding borates also, if your swings are really bad, but don't do it until TA is in range. Do you have anything making bubbles or jets into the air? That is a common cause of pH drifting up. Your SWCG will do it, too.

I don't see the problem adding chems while pump is on high, in fact that to me would be the appropriate setting. What temp is your water? I only run my pump a couple of hours a day during the winter and my water stays clear and clean.