new pool owner with 0 FC and questions

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scottj21

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Sep 12, 2012
11
hi all,

I just bought a house that has a 18,000 gallon in ground pool with a SWG. the previous owner kept the SWG running at 60% and let me know that maintenance was fairly easy and all he did was monitor PH and Chlorine amounts. thanks to this site, i know it's more than just that!

here were the first readings when i took some water to the pool store while waiting on my taylor K-2006C and 1766 kits to arrive.
FC - 0
PH 8.2
TA - 170
CH - 340
CYA - 0
Phosphates - 300

I tested my own Salt when I received the kit and it read 3400, which was also on par with the recommended amount for my SWG.

Of course, this info was very alarming but it explained the algae on the walls. after reading many posts, i got started with the Pools School links and began to focus on what needed to be done. I followed the 'Water Balance for SWG's' instructions and began working from there.

Using MA over the course of a few days, I now have:
PH - 7.6
TA - 110

I've also added about 3lbs of dry CYA in a sock in the skimmer basket which got me up to CYA - 50 (but I know that can raise and I should take another reading a week from dissolving)

My water is clear, except when i scrub the pool, in which it gets cloudy but the filter clears it up after a few hours. I've upped my SWG to 80% as well.

Questions:

Do I keep working on the TA to get it to 60-80 range by using only MA and raising my PH through aeration or should I get my TA down to correct levels and raise my PH back up with borax or soda ash?

When and how do I get my FC up to correct levels? I'm guessing my SWG can't make enough as the pool is in the sun the whole day and I had essentially no CYA until earlier this week. Bleach? Shock?

Do I just keep scrubbing my pool every other day to get the algae off the walls?
 
scottj21 said:
Questions:

Do I keep working on the TA to get it to 60-80 range by using only MA and raising my PH through aeration or should I get my TA down to correct levels and raise my PH back up with borax or soda ash?

When and how do I get my FC up to correct levels? I'm guessing my SWG can't make enough as the pool is in the sun the whole day and I had essentially no CYA until earlier this week. Bleach? Shock?

Do I just keep scrubbing my pool every other day to get the algae off the walls?
Click to expand...


Congrats on the new pool!

Just keep lowering PH to 7.2 each time it rises and your TA will come down over time. Do not use borax or soda ash as it would be counterproductive to lowering TA. If yoy are in a rush to lower TA you can aerate to raise PH faster.

Time to go through the shocking your pool process described in pool school. The algae will die during the shock process and continue scrubing during the process. Shock is a process not a product. You use bleach to raise FC above shock level which is determined by how much CYA you have in your water.
Good luck!
 
so once i have PH, TA, and CYA to the desired levels, i can use the Chlorine/CYA chart to determine how much bleach to use to get the FC up to the recommended level for shocking my pool?

should i get my cya to 70-80 prior to shocking?
 
your welcome!...nope...keep CYA lower as it is easier to get to shock level and maintain that level. Once done shocking then adjust CYA up to around 70. Also as general rule of thumb after you are done with the shock process.... in a swg pool, you use liquid chlorine/bleach to make FC level adjustments and you rely on the swg to maintain that FC level.
 
also...don't bother testing PH while shocking...FC over 10ppm makes PH read falsely high. You can finalize TA adjustment after you are done shocking. The longer you wait to start the shock process the worse it will get if it is truly algae. You could always perform the overnight FC loss test to confirm it's in fact algae...but very likely given you have 0FC. Good luck!
 
Is that cya level your own measurement or the store's? If the store measured it I'd only put 20ppm worth in until you have proof of the zero starting level.

This will also help make shocking to rid the pool of the algae a lot easier.


- Sent using Tapatalk
 
Good catch Vayna...never trust PS CYA results...but the OP already added enough CYA to get to 50ppm so too late. Bottom line do not adjust CYA again until you can confirm it via your own test kit and you are done with the shock process. :goodjob:
 
that was my reading but done the day after the dry CYA dissolved. should i still wait 1 week and take another reading before i shock it or just take one now and use that as my CYA shock value?
 
scottj21 said:
that was my reading but done the day after the dry CYA dissolved. should i still wait 1 week and take another reading before i shock it or just take one now and use that as my CYA shock value?
Click to expand...

Go ahead and treat it as if it was the CYA level. Good work!


- Sent using Tapatalk
 

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50 was what i was expecting. when i measured this morning, it was 40 and that's what i used for my shock value. since i have a SWCG, but my CYA was only 40, i was going to shock with FC of 16.

does that sound about right?
 
@CYA of 40...that's about right, however it's a bit early to be testing CYA since it was recently added. Maybe assume it's between 40 and 50 and aim for a shock FC of 18ppm.
 
thanks for all the great advice.

after an overnight test shows a loss of less than 1ppm in CL, is CYA the next thing to get up to the correct levels? and then PH and TA?

also, for CYA, if i let it dissolve in a sock in the basket, do i still need to wait a week for it to completely be integrated?

thanks,
scott
 
I always adjust PH first then FC. If TA does not come down as much as you like when reducing PH you can wait until the next PH rise or you can aerate to raise PH faster, which will then cause you to add more acid. You can dissolve CYA in a sock and bucket, but it will likely take longer although squeezing it every 15 mins or so may make that happen faster. Not sure about waiting a week using that method, but I would. No need to waste r-0013 reagent and not be sure if the test was correct or not. Just assume your CYA is at the level you adjust to and confirm in a week :goodjob:
 
so i just did the overnight test with my SWCG off last night and my before and after reading were .5ppm apart. i started my shock on Friday and my overnight test results were in on Monday. here is what i'll plan to be doing, please let me know if this sounds right.

  • 1. turn the SWCG back on and let my CL drift back down to about 4 on it's own
    2. after CL drops below 10, start adjusting PH to about 7.6
    3. figure out TA and adjust that with aeration and MA as needed. last reading was about 110 before shocking
    4. add CYA in a sock to bring expected levels close to 70
    5. one week later (to allow for CYA to fully dissolve in the filter), backwash my cartridge filter (for the first time since moving in, btw. previous owner said he did this one to twice a year and did it just about 3 months ago)

until i get my CYA up, would i possibly need to add bleach to keep my CL at the correct level?

thanks all!
 
Sounds like a solid plan. Step 3 is only needed if you notice PH rising rapidly, otherwise TA will come down over time with acid additions. Aeration speeds up the process. Acid lowers PH & TA, while aeration increases PH, but has no effect on TA.

Step 4 only after you have re-confirmed current CYA level. Perhaps target 60 at first to avoid overshooting target of 70-80.
Step 5...you can;t backwash a cartridge filter. The cartridge(s) have to be removed and hosed off, unless you have a DE or sand filter?

Lastly, just keep tabs on FC daily with your test kit. The SWG will maintain FC level so no need to turn it on just yet if your FC is still high. Sometime you may need to adjust with bleach if the percentage for the SWG is set to low or if CYA is low.
 
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