Balancing help!

[Schaeper]

Brand new pool and struggling to balance it and I guess understand what levels are safe to swim in? 12K gal, IG fiberglass, Autocover, Quad Cartridge Filter, Hayward 1.85 HP pump, Hayward Omnilogic Turbocell SWG, Hayward HeatPro, Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus cleaning robot, Taylor K 2006 Salt Test Kit

I can't seem to get the Free Chlorine to be consistent. PB said to keep salt cell at 50% but we keep playing this game of chlorine is too high so we turn off salt cell and open our cover...get it to be just right and then not choosing the correct percentage to keep it where it needs to be. Currently we have the heater turned on to 84 (but water temp is 88 baking in the sun) and we have the pump running 24/7 to keep the heat up and filter out the debris from construction (idk if thats the correct thing to do). Our temps have gotten a bit hotter here over the last week in the 70s-80s. Anyway... is there like an order of fixing things. Do one thing and then wait a day and test and do another thing? Our pH keeps rising so I think I need to lower the alkalinity as that is way too high but unsure what to buy. I'm nervous to put the wrong chemical in the pool and just playing with chemicals in general lol. This is what I tested today:

Free chlorine 9.2ppm
Combined chlorine .4ppm
pH between 7.8-8 hard to tell from
Alkalinity 130
Calcium hardness 190
CYA 30
Salt 3500

Is there also a list of what is an absolute NO DO NOT SWIM levels of stuff? Just makes me nervous with kids potentially getting into harmful water. Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

With an autocover your FC loss per day will depend on how long you have the cover open with the sun shining and pool use.
Which TurboCell do you have?
Your CYA is 30 so you are safe to swim with a FC between 2 and 12 ppm. pH in the 7's for eye and skin comfort.

 

[pjt]

Free chlorine 9.2ppm

Use a 10 ml sample so each drop is 0.5 FC. Saves time and reagents.

 

[mgtfp]

Generally, pool water is safe to swim in between minimum FC and SLAM FC according to the recommended FC/CYA Levels, which for your CYA are the values that Marty posted above.

Below min FC, the water is at risk of becoming unsanitary, above SLAM-FC it will become a bit harsh, wearing out bathing suits faster for example. But there is no magic FC-level where pool water will suddenly nuke you, everything in chemistry goes gradual.

General rule: Not below minimum FC, not above SLAM-FC.

 

[Schaeper]

With an autocover your FC loss per day will depend on how long you have the cover open with the sun shining and pool use.
Which TurboCell do you have?
Your CYA is 30 so you are safe to swim with a FC between 2 and 12 ppm. pH in the 7's for eye and skin comfort.

Says Hayward TurboCell Cell S340. I attached a pic of our cell incase thats not what you're looking for. Should I be decreasing the Alkalinity?

 

[mknauss]

That SWCG will generate quite a bit of FC per hour run for your 12K gallon pool with an autocover. You likely need to reduce its production to 2 ppm FC per day at most and test FC often to see what is the best setting for your system.

You alkalinity will reduce as you manage the pH in the 7's. When the pH reaches 8, lower it to 7.6 using muriatic acid.

 

[wireform]

Not mentioned yet, the CYA is low for a SWCG pool and needs to be 60-70 but since you have an auto cover I find 50 is plenty but with the 30 you have as soon as the sun hits it'll eat the small amounts produced by the cell quicker.