Hi Everyone,
This is my first post here, so I want to thank you all in advance, and also apologize if I forget to mention anything. My signature should have the pool basics and need to know info. I had a pretty bad season last year and then found this site and things have still been work this year, but not nearly as much.
My biggest issue is around my SWG. I cleaned the cell with muriatic acid at close down last year, and the cell looks good (no scaling) this year - but I am still getting very little reading on my needle on the SWG (it's not at zero, but it's still in the low/yellow area instead of that lovely green area where it sat for our first two seasons with almost no work!) I think I still need more salt, but last season, when I added salt up to about 3900ppm (based on what a pool store told me to do) my solar cover got literally eaten through by the salt. I know I made many other mistakes last year, so I can't just blame that, but I am gun shy on adding more salt, and yet that seems to be what's indicated. I think I need reassurance to pull the trigger.
We have had very hot weather and with the SWG still not doing it's thing because of low salt level (I assume), I've had to work hard at trying to get everything else where it should be. I had to shock last night because the pool went from sparkly and sitting at about 4FC to cloudy and 0FC with one day of non-attention.
Here are my most current (this morning) readings:
FC - 19.5 (post shock last night - right before bed it read 21FC)
CC - .5
CYA (weird, it read 30ppm today, but it read 60ppm two days ago, and that seems kind of wrong. I need to buy more reagent today.)
Ph - 7.6
TA - 110 (I know this is high - need to add muriatic acid and aerate)
CH - 170 (I know this is low, hitting pool store today)
Salt - 3320ppm
My SWG manufacturer's guide indicates the level for my size pool should be 3500-3700. I know you guys recommend 200 over that level. I added 160lbs yesterday to get it to 3320. My questions are:
Does the amount of salt register on the salt strip quickly (I added it at 2pm yesterday and took the reading this morning at 9am). Could it actually be significantly higher than the reading I got this morning?
Does adding salt affect TA, CYA or CH? These numbers for me are a little wonky and I don't want to add anything else that will end up making them worse if I shouldn't.
At what point should the SWG, assuming I get the salt ppm into the ideal range, kick in to the point that I shouldn't have to continue this mess with my FC? I guess I need to know at what point it's a SWG problem as opposed to a chemistry/balancing problem.
OK, if anyone sees anything here that is completely crazy or going to blow my pool, up, please let me know. I am a relative novice, but am starting to get a handle on things, I think. Or at least trying to.
Thanks in advance.
April
This is my first post here, so I want to thank you all in advance, and also apologize if I forget to mention anything. My signature should have the pool basics and need to know info. I had a pretty bad season last year and then found this site and things have still been work this year, but not nearly as much.
My biggest issue is around my SWG. I cleaned the cell with muriatic acid at close down last year, and the cell looks good (no scaling) this year - but I am still getting very little reading on my needle on the SWG (it's not at zero, but it's still in the low/yellow area instead of that lovely green area where it sat for our first two seasons with almost no work!) I think I still need more salt, but last season, when I added salt up to about 3900ppm (based on what a pool store told me to do) my solar cover got literally eaten through by the salt. I know I made many other mistakes last year, so I can't just blame that, but I am gun shy on adding more salt, and yet that seems to be what's indicated. I think I need reassurance to pull the trigger.
We have had very hot weather and with the SWG still not doing it's thing because of low salt level (I assume), I've had to work hard at trying to get everything else where it should be. I had to shock last night because the pool went from sparkly and sitting at about 4FC to cloudy and 0FC with one day of non-attention.
Here are my most current (this morning) readings:
FC - 19.5 (post shock last night - right before bed it read 21FC)
CC - .5
CYA (weird, it read 30ppm today, but it read 60ppm two days ago, and that seems kind of wrong. I need to buy more reagent today.)
Ph - 7.6
TA - 110 (I know this is high - need to add muriatic acid and aerate)
CH - 170 (I know this is low, hitting pool store today)
Salt - 3320ppm
My SWG manufacturer's guide indicates the level for my size pool should be 3500-3700. I know you guys recommend 200 over that level. I added 160lbs yesterday to get it to 3320. My questions are:
Does the amount of salt register on the salt strip quickly (I added it at 2pm yesterday and took the reading this morning at 9am). Could it actually be significantly higher than the reading I got this morning?
Does adding salt affect TA, CYA or CH? These numbers for me are a little wonky and I don't want to add anything else that will end up making them worse if I shouldn't.
At what point should the SWG, assuming I get the salt ppm into the ideal range, kick in to the point that I shouldn't have to continue this mess with my FC? I guess I need to know at what point it's a SWG problem as opposed to a chemistry/balancing problem.
OK, if anyone sees anything here that is completely crazy or going to blow my pool, up, please let me know. I am a relative novice, but am starting to get a handle on things, I think. Or at least trying to.
Thanks in advance.
April