New guy here, Chlorine generator confusion

[redbandit98]

Ok, Ill try to make this as quick as possible. I have 18x48" Intex easy set pool. I purchased the salt generator and also purchased a sand filter/pump that would actually do something vs the tiny cartridge style filter/pump that it came with. Anyways never owning a salt generator I tried to follow the directions. I added the necessary salt and starting using it. The directions say to get the copper level to between .1 to .2 ppm if I remember correctly. I did like 4 boost cycles trying to get the level up but it never showed on my test strips. The water is crystal clear but my son complained of his eyes being red so I tested the chlorine and ph with a "drop" kit I had from last year. The chlorine was off the charts and the ph was reading super high. However the test strips that came with the pool were reading super low ph but the chlorine was still high. I thought the best thing to do was to turn off the generator for a few days and let the chlorine come back down. I also ordered the taylor k2006 test kit so I could get some real numbers instead of throwing darts at it. Anyways I broke down and took a sample to the local pool store. They suggested I shock the pool (I guess maybe I shouldn't have left it off for a few days). I'm confused about the chlorine. The results say my combined chlorine is high, yet both of the other chlorines are low. Also I still have no copper in the system where it says that its critical to maintain it. I ran the boost cycle many times and never got anything? My plan was to run a "boost" , and put some ph decreaser in. I apprciate any help.


Results from pool company test:

fee cl =.46 , low
total cl=.79 ,low
combined cl=.33 ,high
ph=8,high
total alky=48 ,low
calcium hardness=18 ,low
cyanuric acid =24 ,low
copper 0 ok
iron .6 , high
manganese, nitrates, TDS,=0 , ok
salt=3000, ok

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello and welcome! Congrats on the pool! Now the first rule - avoid the pool store. Your K-2006 will serve you well, and most of their products just rob you of your money. Yes, FC (free chlorine) is low. Combined Chlorine (CC) is the trash stuff, so you always want ideally zero, but never more than .5 ppm. Total Chlorine (TC) is simply the sum of the two. Use the poolmath calculator (link below) to enter your pool volume then your NOW and TARGET FC level. With a SWG, you eventually want to get your CYA up to the 70-80 range. Right now though, at only just under 30, your FC TARGET should be 4. As hot as it is, you could go 2-3 above that to avoid going too low in the day. As your CYA increases, make sure you maintain the appropriate FC level.

Also use the Poolmath calculator (link below) to figure out how much stabilizer to add to get your CYA up to at least 70. Use the "sock near a return" method to soak. Remember it takes about a week to register on the CYA reading.

I doubt the chlorine (or lack of) is any reason for eye discomfort. I suspect it's probably the high PH. Use the calculator to determine how much acid to add (use a NOW value of 8 and shoot for 7.5). If that doesn't get you low enough, then recalculate. You just don't want to overshoot and go too low.

You can also use the calculator to raise TA. 48 is low, so try a target of about 70. It will change as you go back & forth with the PH at first. You can add chemicals about 30 minutes apart from each other while the pump is on.

Remember you can use regular liquid bleach to help maintain your FC level until your SWG kicks-in and can maintain the load on its own.

Your two important tools right now are the Chlorine/CYA chart and Poolmath Calculator - both links below. Let us know if you have any more questions. Some SWG experts may have more specific advice for you as well. Best of luck!

 

[msgtdan]

Welcome,

SWGs have trouble getting the chlorine to maintenance levels so use plain bleach, then the SWG should be able to hold a clean pool. But you may have to SLAM since you levels were low. Adjust PH before SLAMming as PH test is inaccurate at high FC levels. I'm terrible at reading PH above 7.5 so when my kids complain about the pool hurting there eyes I bring it down.

 

[redbandit98]

Thank you very much for your responses. I think I may have been okay to begin with but freaked out when the "OTO" chlorine test showed off the chart. I should have left my generator on instead of turning it off. I will hit it with some bleach tonight then turn the generator back on to the recommended setting. I just added the recommended acid to bring down the PH.

 

[redbandit98]

well, we have had a ton of rain but I have managed to keep my FC up. It is about 14 right now. My CYA was 25 before the rain hit. I have not tested since. My plan was to let the chlorine come back down to about 5 and then add enough stabilizer to make it 70 per the chart recommendation. My water was never green, nor did my CC go above .5, but my FC was almost zero so I figured it a good idea to do the SLAM method. Is waiting a few days for the FC to come down, then adding the stabilzer, and then turning the SWG back on sound like a good plan? Thanks so much.