How often do you have to clean your SWG cell?

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Sep 10, 2013
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El Cajon CA
This is the first year I have had the Intex SWG filter/pump combo setup and This is the second time I have had to clean the cell on it because of buildup. I bought the unit used when I bought my pump and sand filter so I got a great deal on it. I have it bypassing the cart filter and using the sand filter with it. I just set my pool up right before July 4th weekend and this is the second cleaning. Just wondering if this is a normal thing or if my water is causing it. My fill water has high TA and PH stays around 7.8, I do lower it to 7.4 7.5 and it will creap back up but stay down for a while. I will get buildup on our garden hose and fittings but not that bad or quickly. What does everyone think?

My current test yesterday is.
FC 4.5
PH 7.8
TA 130
CYA 70
CH 225

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I've cleaned mine once in almost three years, and the reason I had to clean it is because keeping pH and TA were difficult after my replaster. Get the pH down a little and TA down a lot, and you should have fewer issues. I'd target a TA of 70. I've found adding borates helps with reducing scaling also.
 
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We have a dozen IC40 and IC60 systems and never clean the cells by keeping water chemistry in balance. One key apart from overall balance has been regular monitoring of the cells with Pentair IntelliWand.
 
I have the same SWG and similar water characteristics. I think it would help with the scaling if you bring your TA down and keep your PH lower. To adjust your TA down you'll want to lower you PH down to 7.0-7.2. When it gets back up to 7.5 bring it down again. As you lower your TA it will take less acid to make your adjustment and also your adjustments will last longer. I've found keeping my PH at 7.5 or lower helps keep the SWG cleaner longer. Once you've got your TA down, just try to keep your PH around 7.5 to just a little under.
 
Thanks everyone. I have seen the CSI on pool math and thought it didn't mater on the vinyl pool. Thanks for all the good suggestions. Reading some of the pool school I missed the one for CSI and I thought TA wasn't a big deal if your PH stays steady and didn't climb. Still a learning curve but getting it bit by bit. :study:
 
How long can I expect the PH to stay down when I lower it and try to aerate to bring it up? Does the TA come down with the PH or will it take a couple/few times to get the TA down? I brought the PH down to ~7.2, is it still safe to swim in the pool at that level? Thanks again for the info.
 

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Yes it's safe to swim at that PH level. Early in the year when my TA is really high, I bring the PH down to 7.0 and we swim. I don't do any additional aeration beyond what the SWG and kids provide. Lowering the TA is a process, it doesn't happen all at once. For now just concentrate on keeping that PH down and the TA will work its way down. 130 is nothing, I start the year way over 200; I go thru some acid early in the year keeping my PH in check while my TA comes down. Makes sure you are using both values in the calculator when you make adjustments. It takes way more acid at the beginning of the year to move my PH .5 than it does once I get down to the level your starting from.
 
jcp said:
Yes it's safe to swim at that PH level. Early in the year when my TA is really high, I bring the PH down to 7.0 and we swim. I don't do any additional aeration beyond what the SWG and kids provide. Lowering the TA is a process, it doesn't happen all at once. For now just concentrate on keeping that PH down and the TA will work its way down. 130 is nothing, I start the year way over 200; I go thru some acid early in the year keeping my PH in check while my TA comes down. Makes sure you are using both values in the calculator when you make adjustments. It takes way more acid at the beginning of the year to move my PH .5 than it does once I get down to the level your starting from.
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OK that sounds good, I will keep the PH down and see where we go. Is your fill water High TA i'm guessing? I checked my fill and it's 130 TA and 7.8 PH so I'm guessing this will be a constant battle with High TA & PH.
 
I have high TA fill water and I constantly battle rising pH. But in 3.5 years I've never had to clean my cell. Weekly additions of MA keep my TA and pH in check and I never let my CSI get more than about +.2 before I bring it down to around -.2. Adding MA weekly is getting old, but other than topping up CYA, salt and borates it's about the only chemical maintenance I need to do.
 
mas985 said:
If that is the case, then you might want some sort of acid dosing system.
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I might have to look into that later down the line.

HouTex said:
I have high TA fill water and I constantly battle rising pH. But in 3.5 years I've never had to clean my cell. Weekly additions of MA keep my TA and pH in check and I never let my CSI get more than about +.2 before I bring it down to around -.2. Adding MA weekly is getting old, but other than topping up CYA, salt and borates it's about the only chemical maintenance I need to do.
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Thanks, I will live with a weekly addition of MA instead of daily liquid chlorine.
 
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