I recently put up an Intex 24ft x 52in round above ground pool. I am using the Intex Krystal Clear Filter Pump that came with the pool as well as the Intex Krystal Clear Saltwater System. I was a newbie and didn't know much about any of it. I put 5 bags of salt and ran the generator 4 hours a day. I found out the hard way, that not only was it not enough salt, but I didn't run the generator near long enough! I ended up with green water. After talking with friends, I added another bag and 1 1/2 of salt and started running the SWG 11 hours each day and the filter pump 24/7 and I also began adding 1.5 gallons of bleach until it cleared up. The water has been krystal clear since, BUT the chlorine levels are 0 and the ph is 8.2. When I add bleach, my chlorine levels are normal. But my pool is in the sun most of the day and we are in triple digits in Texas! I have had my SWG turned off the last few days to try and catch up on the chlorine. I purchased the hth 6-way test kit from Walmart today. After adding 1 1/2 gallons of bleach, I tested the water and got these results: Alk: 240; Chl: 5; PH: 8.2. I also tested the CYA but it said to watch until the black dot disappears, but it never disappeared, so I guess my CYA was 0. I went with the SWG system so I could have a worry free, sparkling clean pool. I have the sparkling clean, but only because of the bleach I have to keep adding! Can you help me?
Can You Help Me?
- Thread starter mimidjets
- Start date
Unless you have added CYA or a product containing it, you won't have any. You can get it at Lowes, where it may be labelled as CYA or stabilizer. Add enough to get to the level recommended by Intex, preferably by putting it in an old sock and hanging it in front of the return for a few days until it dissolves. CYA protects your chlorine from UV breakdown and will allow your SWCG to keep up.
You need to measure your salt level to be sure it is in the range your unit requires. You can get test strips for salt here
Keep up with the bleach until the SWCG takes over.
You need to measure your salt level to be sure it is in the range your unit requires. You can get test strips for salt here
Keep up with the bleach until the SWCG takes over.
It's gotta be the CYA. You should not have to run your SWG for 11 hours a day on a pool that size. Your pool is about 14,000 gallons?? Mine is 8,000 and 2 hours a day is more than enough. I believe my SWG produces chlorine at twice the rate of yours, so 6 to 8 hours a day should be enough for you - without adding extra bleach as you are doing. So if you don't have an algae bloom brewing, then CYA is most likely your problem.
GC
How can mimidjets be showing "0 posts" ? :?
GC
How can mimidjets be showing "0 posts" ? :?
Thanks for the information! I did my readings again this morning. Everything was the same as last night. Still no CYA. My pool holds 10472 gallons of water. I did a salt reading on it yesterday too. It was 2600. Could my salt level be low? My SWG shows no alarms.
GreatCanadian said:
Don't know. Probably a forum bug. They posted to another topic and I split it to its own.
If that salt reading is accurate it could use a little boost. My take on SWG's is that if the SWG doesn't complain, then I don't adjust. Other more knowledgeable people may have a different take on it, so wait to see what they say. You have to add the CYA. JohnT asked if you added any CYA. You need to let us know the answer to that.
MikeInNH
0
SWG's are best for maintaining your chlorine level. Not so good at getting them up from 0. I run mine for 4 hours a day, haven't had to add any chlorine since I shocked it in the spring. I got it up to over the minimum chlorine for my CYA value manually and the SWG took over from there. With low levels of chlorine, you may have some algae eating whatever the SWG is putting out. Can you test for CC? If not then you need a better test kit like mentioned in pool school on the top right. BTW, your PH is too high and the recommendation for CYA for SWG's is over 70ppm. I think at this point you could add dichlor which will drop your PH, add CYA and chlorine to your pool all at once but you have to be careful not to overdo it or you'll have too much CYA.
Oh yeah, welcome to TFP!
Oh yeah, welcome to TFP!
I just got back from Lowes from buying some stabalizer. I was about to put some in. Just not sure how much.
mimidjets said:
Go to poolcalculator.com enter your pool volume and what CYA level you want to get to.
I would start by adding enough to get to 30-40 ppm cya, then add the rest you need to get to 70 ppm. Remember, cya (stabilizer) is easy add, drain/refill to remove.
Put it in an old sock and hang it in front of the water return to the pool.
Put it in an old sock and hang it in front of the water return to the pool.
I just read my booklet that came with my SWG and it says 2.5 lbs for every 10000 gallons. Mine is 10472. So should I do the 2.5 or 3?
See this link for recommended swg levels: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/water_balance_saltwater_generator
Poolcalculator.com give me 93 ounces by weight or 97 ounces by volume of granular stabilizer to raise your 10000 gallon pool to 70 ppm.
The cya should be put in a sock like mentioned above.
You can swim with it in the sock in the pool. Giving the sock a squeeze every once and awhile will speed up the process.
Poolcalculator.com give me 93 ounces by weight or 97 ounces by volume of granular stabilizer to raise your 10000 gallon pool to 70 ppm.
The cya should be put in a sock like mentioned above.
You can swim with it in the sock in the pool. Giving the sock a squeeze every once and awhile will speed up the process.
Ok if I'm going to add CYA in a sock in front of the return to stabilize, and I need to add muriatic acid to lower my PH and I also need to add more bleach because I am getting 0 reading again, can I do all of this at once?
You can add the bleach and CYA at the same time. Let the bleach get mixed in for an hour or so and then you can add the acid -- NEVER mix bleach and muriatic acid. I THINK you can add the acid even with the cya sock in place, but can't say I know for sure. You could always take the sock out for 45 minutes or so while you add the acid and let it mix in, then replace the sock. Just put it in a bowl and then dump the contents of the bowl into the pool after you re-hang the sock. This might be overkill, but if no one chimes in definitively on adding muriatic acid on top of cya, I'd do it this way.
Well should I play it safe and just add the bleach now. Let my grandchildren go ahead and swim then add the sock of CYA. Then if my ph is still high tomorrow go ahead with the acid?
If your ph is 8.2 you need to get that down. And as you know, you need some chlorine in the pool. where they should both be done asap, I don't know what the pros would say about which one first. I guess i'd add the bleach and hang the cya. Let the kids swim 1/2 hour or so after bleach added (with pump on). Then add acid when the kids get out or when they can take a 45 minute or so break - I always allowed 1 hour after acid with an Intex pump, but around here people say 1/2 hour should be plenty. So 45 minutes splits the difference - just be sure the pump is on to disperse it.
mimidjets said:
Yep, I didn't check linen's math, but he's a pro. He is indeed telling you to put 97 ounces by volume of it in the sock -- the cap has graduations, I think. That is going to put you at 70 CYA, so use that as your number on the FC/CYA chart to get your minimum and target numbers for FC (to figure out how much bleach to add).
The CYA will take up to a week to show up on a test, but after it is dissolved fully, you can assume it is in there and bleach accordingly.
Ok, I am kinda confused then. My book tells me 2.5 lbs. to 10000 gallons, but you think 97 oz?