1st time pool owner needs help for indoor inground SWG pool

[Megamanda]

Hello,
I am new to the site and to being a pool owner! Since everybody here seems to love details, this may be a little long...but please bear with me! I just bought a house in NJ that has an indoor SWG pool. Pool is about 10x20 free form oval, I think about 8,000 gallons, and I think fiberglass (by process of elimination). I got the house through foreclosure and thus had no means of asking the seller, who was the one who installed everything, any questions about the pool or systems. And Amazingly, I cannot find a single pool company in NJ who is willing to come help me out - it's either too far, or they only work with vinyl pools. So, I came to this website and read everything in pool school three times...and commenced opening the pool myself. After several obstacles, which I won't bore anybody with, the pool is finally filled, SWG running, salt added. I do not put CYA in because the pool is indoor. I bought the Taylor Testing kit as recommended here, and I tested the water for the first time Two days ago. TA 50, Ph at least 8.0, FC 3.5, CC .5 . Did not test for CyA nor calcium yet. Added about 3 lbs of baking soda to increase TA, and shocked the pool with calcium hypochlorite to get rid of the CC. The PH I didn't have anything to bring it down with, and I thought I should wait to retest it anyway since the baking soda would affect the Ph levels. The FC I see was the one good number. Ok. Yesterday I used the Taylor test again and got some wacky numbers....I really hate the dipper for the powder reagent, it doesn't tell you how much to put on that little flat surface, so I think I messed up the test. But it appeared that the FC had shot up, the. CC had shot up, the Ph shot up, and the TA shot up more than I was aiming for. Ok, pushed the boost button on the SWG to purify it at 100% capacity for 24 hours straight. I am questioning that move as I write this, can't say why I did that but I did. Ok, came home from work today to see what all my work has done. Since clearly I am incapable of using the Taylor tests, I decided to use the aqua check strips I had bought, which tests for Ph, TA, and FC only. According to the strip, which I don't even know is trustworthy, my Ph is higher than 8.4, the FC is at 10 (!!), and the TA is at 120. I don't even know if I managed to get rid of the CC because I can't do the Taylor test correctly. But why is the FC so high? Is the pool even safe to swim in? What am I doing wrong? How much powder exactly do you put on the taylor FC test dipper??Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[jblizzle]

Re: 1st time pool owner needs help for indoor inground SWG p

Welcome

Sound like you need to read this for more details about the tests:
extended-test-kit-directions-t25081.html

For the FAS-DPD test, you should just need 1 heaping scoop of powder. The only time you need more is if you have very high FC levels while shocking the pool. BTW, you can not use too much of the powder, but you can use too little.

From what I recall about indoor pools (just what I remember reading here), you should still use CYA in the pool as more of a buffering agent than protection from the sun. A FC of 3ppm with 0ppm CYA is going to be pretty harsh on equipment and clothing and skin.

Your FC is liekly so high because you added cal-hypo AND boosted the SWG. And with no bather load or sun to break it down it stays high.

You need to wait for the FC to drop back down below 10ppm and then get your pH adjust as a top priority.

Throw the strips away and learn to do the Taylor tests using the link I provided ... the strips are not worth the guess work.

If you have high FC with 0 CYA and very high pH ... your pool might be "safe", but it is not going to be comfortable to swim in.

 

[Megamanda]

Re: 1st time pool owner needs help for indoor inground SWG p

Jblizzle, thank you for your advice. I tried retesting with the Taylor, and apparently my FC is still at astronomical levels. The Taylor sample went deep purple with the 0870, and many different trials, ranging between 30 to 92 drops of 8071 all failed to turn this sample back to colorless. I was never able to get the sample colorless nor an exact FC level (and wasn't able to test for CC). Is it even possible to have an FC above 50? How can I bring this number down? I haven't been swimming in it since my last post, and the pool doesn't get much sunlight, so I am at a loss for how to get my FC down. I have a SWG - should I turn the purifier level to 0 for a while? Btw, does my SWG only send purifier when my pump and filter are on, or is it purifying all the time? Would stopping the production of salt into chlorine help the FC level?

 

[Megamanda]

Re: 1st time pool owner needs help for indoor inground SWG p

And the PH remains super high- above 8.4. I think I messed up because I treated the Ph with these high FC levels, which I guess I wasn't supposed to do. But after following the directions on the Aquachem bottle, I ended up putting in 6.5 cups of Ph reducer, ran the pump/filter, and retested this morning - to absolutely no effect, still reading over 8.4. Should I just drain my pool and start over?? (see FC post above, this is my main concern). Also, if anybody knows ANyOnE or ANY COMPANY that will come to Bayonne and work with an indoor, SWG fiberglass pool, and help me, I would be so grateful. Thanks!

 

[jblizzle]

Re: 1st time pool owner needs help for indoor inground SWG p

SWG only generate for a % of time while the pump is on. You should turn off the SWG and let the FC levels drop.

Do you have the OTO test (yellow chlorine test by the pH test)? If so, what color does it show?

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short

 

[Isaac-1]

Re: 1st time pool owner needs help for indoor inground SWG p

Ok, without going into a lot of detail, but here are a few things I have learned about dealing with an indoor pool over the years:

1, any time you have to shock it takes a LONG time for FC to drop on its own back down to normal swim levels as there is no sun exposure, therefore it is nice to have some chlorine reducer handy so you don't waste days waiting for it to drop to safe swim levels on its own. Chlorine reducer is available at many pool stores, and a little goes a long way.

2, you want some CYA in your pool, since I started keeping 20-30 ppm CYA (and measuring it) in my pool a few years ago, my pool water has been much better, less problems with CC smell, etc. The reason for 20-30 ppm is it is the lowest level that can easily be tested, according to sources here as little as 5 ppm of CYA would be helpful for an indoor pool, you just have no way to test that low.

3, You will likely need some form of supplemental oxidation to keep CC low, particularly when you have a lot of active swimmers, traditionally I have used MPS chlorine free shock (I don't need it often, maybe once every couple of months in the swim season), I am in the process of installing an Ozonator to do the same thing, but honestly the MPS is probably the cheaper option, costing maybe $30-$40 per year, my only reason for switching is I found an ozonator new in the box on ebay for dirt cheap (they retail around $800).

4, Many people think indoor pools are harder to manage than outdoor, I don't think that is the case, they are just different

Ike