A Houston Pool Build Inside the Loop

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Oh I so have to bookmark these helpful pages for Marla's pool care, since I will need to know all this soon.

I am glad I looked up what a sweet gum was. Those look great and we may need to consider them too now. Between your and Suz's landscape we are getting great ideas. :)
 
ummgood said:
What are you trying to keep your FC at with the SWG? I am shooting for 4-5ppm on mine. What is your CYA at?

My pool was at 5.5PPM and after the rain it dropped to 4.5PPM. My CYA is at about 65 or so. I have trouble with my SWG because if I set it at 25% it drops fast and if I set it to 30% it creeps up over time. I am constantly changing my % between 25 and 30% to try to keep it flat.
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So this a.m. I went to Lowes (did you know Lowes opens at 6, and you can get really great help then??) at 6:30. Bought bleach (12%), stabilizer, CH raiser, and muriatic acid. Here were my numbers after I got home and tested:
FC 0
CH 275
TA 120
CYA 60
pH probably 8.4

So I added per Pool Math 43 oz bleach and about 15 min later added 32 oz muriatic acid. I didn't add anything else because I was pretty sure the pool service would be out today. I am trying to get the FC to 4 and lower my pH.
 
ummgood said:
I run mine from 6am to midnight I think...

I run it on a high speed (2700rpm) for 3 hours from 9am to 12pm so it can do adequate skimming
The rest of the time it is on a low RPM like 1000.

Not sure if that is right or not but the pool always looks crystal clear so I guess something is right.

My polaris runs from 9a.m. to 11a.m. I don't have a robot yet.

Initially my PB had my pump way overkill. I think it was at 2700rpm from 9 to 3 and then 2000 from 3 to 9. He had my polaris running for something like 5 or 6 hours. I think it is good to run the pump longer when the pool is just starting to get dust and etc... out of the pool quick but after that whatever it takes to keep it clean.
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We run ours from 8 am to 10 pm. We have ours set to run on high for only a short time, but I think it cycles between high and low. Also, the salt is at 35% and is 3100.
 
Check the born on date on the shock. Lowes and Home Depot tends to have low turn over on it. We had one member buy quite a bit and turned out to be "water" due to the age. She was able to get her money back but lost quite a bit of time in efforts to clear her swamp.

Kim:cat:
 
I am wondering if your SWG is working?? I haven't had to add any bleach since mine has been on. Just small adjustments to the percentage. Either that or something is living in your pool eating all your FC?

I know when I started it took a ton of liquid bleach to get the pool to register any FC. I have a theory that stuff was growing in the pipes and drains because my pool took so long that had to be killed off. I know when they started my equipment it wasn't pretty.
 
Umm, how would I actually know if ithe salt cell is working? The panel says it's at 35%. If I have algae eating the FC, where should be the first place to look? Skimmers? I haven't seen anything when I've brushed the pool. I'm going to run another test today to see where I am. The pool service was here yesterday and added a pound of shock to the pool.

- - - Updated - - -

Kim, I need all the help I can get remembering stuff, so keep reminding me! These last few days of school are chaotic! We're out on the 25th, but I'm 11 mo and work through June.
 
Here are my numbers from this morning.
FC 14
CC .5
CH 275
TA 100
CYA 60
pH 8.2
Salt 3100

Pool Math says I should add muriatic acid and stabilizer. How do I add the granular stabilizer? Hang it in a sock?
Also, the PS just added a pound of Cal Hypo yesterday. Should I wait to add chems?
 

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Marlahoutex said:
Here are my numbers from this morning.
FC 14
CC .5
CH 275
TA 100
CYA 60
pH 8.2
Salt 3100

Pool Math says I should add muriatic acid and stabilizer. How do I add the granular stabilizer? Hang it in a sock?
Also, the PS just added a pound of Cal Hypo yesterday. Should I wait to add chems?
Click to expand...

Wow I guess with FC=14 stuff shouldn't be living in there for long. I would test it again after 12 hours or so and see if it is stable or if it has dropped a lot. The SWG should be able to generate chlorine on its own without you needing to add bleach unless something else is happening. Personally I would shut it off and add bleach by hand until your pool is stable. Once you know what is going on with the bleach then you can turn the SWG back on and figure out what percentage maintains the chlorine around 4-5 ppm. Someone might correct me but when my SWG was turned on I had the pool pretty stable so I knew there was nothing living it in and it made dialing in the SWG easier. Of course based on weather the chlorine can increase/decrease. Like on sunny days it goes down to 4ppm but if we are overcast more than a few days in a row it rises to 5 or even 6ppm then I have to turn it down.

Put the stabilizer in a sock and put it in your skimmer. If your CYA is really low that would explain why the SWG can't make enough chlorine but yours should be ok at 60ppm. Mine sits around 70ppm.

Also try to keep your pH between 7.6 and 7.8. When my pool was new this meant adding acid every day. It will slow down so don't worry. I add my acid now about every 4 or 5 days but when it rains it needs it more often.

I would start lowering your pH now. I honestly don't have a clue what cal hypo is. Someone else can hopefully chime in. All I know is for the first few months you'll need to be pouring A LOT of acid in your pool. My pool is almost 20k gallons and I swear I have gone though at least 10-12 gallons of acid since November. New plaster pools LOVE acid.

Oh and one more thing adding CYA will lower your pH too. Figure out how much CYA you need and use the bottom of the pool math to figure out how much your pH will drop. Subtract that from your 8.2 number and put that in the calculator to figure out how much MA you need to add. I am guessing since your CYA is already at 60 it won't drop it much.
 
To see if your salt cell is working, turn up the % so you know it is running (you should hear a click or noise that indicates it turned on) and then go to the return in the pool nearest to the equipment pad. You should see bubbles coming out of it. Those bubbles represent the chlorine gas that your salt cell is producing.

Agreed that's it's better practice to have your FC stable before turning your pool over to your salt cell. Stable doesn't mean FC doesn't change of course, just that it changes by roughly the amount you think it should over a day or few days.
 
We don't get out until June 10th :( this summer and we go back the first week in Aug. BUT that is so we have an even school year next year. This year our "9 weeks" were-

1st 9 weeks=9 weeks
2nd 9 weeks= 7 weeks
3rd 9 weeks=9 weeks
4th 9 weeks =11 weeks :shock: OUCH!

Kim:cat:
 
Kim, ouch! On those last 9 weeks!

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When I got home I tested the pH, CH and TA.

PH 7.5
Ch 300
TA 110

So why did the TA go up? Maybe I miscounted the drops this morning? But I though that adding MA would lower it and the pH. I went under the amount suggested for CH, so I will add some again in the morning. I didn't have an old sock, so I used a fine mesh skimmer sock and rubber banded it closed and hung the end out the skimmer lid. Worked pretty well..

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Thanks Bmores, I will try that with the salt cell in the morning. It's at 35 now. What do you suggest I turn it up to?
 
I'm not advanced enough to know why the TA went up. Is it possible that a TA of 110 is still in the ballpark of 100? Or is it the water temp difference from an early morning testing to an evening testing?

I'm going to learn more from you, my friend!
Suz
 
Marlahoutex said:
Thanks Bmores, I will try that with the salt cell in the morning. It's at 35 now. What do you suggest I turn it up to?
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Either up enough that is must run to meet the requirement during the current pump run cycle or more easily, just turn Super Chlorinate on. That represents 100% for a fixed period of time (ours is 6 hours). But just to be clear, I'm just suggesting doing that to confirm its working.
 

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