Bought a foreclosure home with a long-neglected SWG pool

[denofa]

Hey all! New to pool ownership and new to the forum. I've read a ton but just wanted to make sure I don't miss anything.

Long story short, I live in Wake Forest, NC and recently bought a foreclosure property which came with an in-ground salt water pool. I believe the pool is original, but the SWG system is not. The shed with the pool equipment has an old pump and heater which look to be remnants from an old system, as the pipes were cut and they are not connected. For the system which is connected to the pool, I have a Hayward sand filter, booster pump, and SWG system paired with Pentair SuperFlo VST pump. There is also a Nature2 mineral dispenser which I've already ordered a replacement cartridge for.

I've read a lot about the steps to open the pool and get it ready for the summer. I am planning to remove and clean the salt cell to see what kind of shape it's in. Are there any gotchas or less obvious steps I'll need to take to be successful?

Thanks!!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
First step is to cancel the order for the mineral cartridge. You do not want that in your pool. It adds metals, that stain surfaces.
Next is to order a proper test kit. When you get it, run a full suite of tests and post them here.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[Bperry]

Hey all! New to pool ownership and new to the forum. I've read a ton but just wanted to make sure I don't miss anything.

Long story short, I live in Wake Forest, NC and recently bought a foreclosure property which came with an in-ground salt water pool. I believe the pool is original, but the SWG system is not. The shed with the pool equipment has an old pump and heater which look to be remnants from an old system, as the pipes were cut and they are not connected. For the system which is connected to the pool, I have a Hayward sand filter, booster pump, and SWG system paired with Pentair SuperFlo VST pump. There is also a Nature2 mineral dispenser which I've already ordered a replacement cartridge for.

I've read a lot about the steps to open the pool and get it ready for the summer. I am planning to remove and clean the salt cell to see what kind of shape it's in. Are there any gotchas or less obvious steps I'll need to take to be successful?

Thanks!!

X2 above, you don’t want that nature2 stuff in your pool.

 

[Homebrewale]

The booster pump is probably for a pressure side Polaris or other make pool cleaner. @JamesW is the Hayward Aqua-Rite SWG guru here so he could probably tell if the SWG is working by looking at the outputs on the LCD screen.

 

[denofa]

Welcome to the forum!
First step is to cancel the order for the mineral cartridge. You do not want that in your pool. It adds metals, that stain surfaces.
Next is to order a proper test kit. When you get it, run a full suite of tests and post them here.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

X2 above, you don’t want that nature2 stuff in your pool.

Thanks for the feedback and suggestion! The old Nature2 cartridge has been de-balled and put back in place. Will return the new cartridge when it gets here. This is the exact type of feedback I was looking for.

I've read through a good bit of the guides already, but I'll keep the homework progress going.

The booster pump is probably for a pressure side Polaris or other make pool cleaner. @JamesW is the Hayward Aqua-Rite SWG guru here so he could probably tell if the SWG is working by looking at the outputs on the LCD screen.

That's a good point. I'll see if I can figure out where it goes. And thank you for tagging JamesW as well. I am sure I'll have some good questions about the SWG at some point.

 

[denofa]

To share a more fruitful status post, we pulled the covered off yesterday and it's honestly not as bad as we thought...

The majority of the leaves have been removed. I backwashed the filter until clear and rinses. Everything seems to be working, waterfall and slide plumbing included! I purchased a K2006-C test kit and added the salinity test. FC didn't find any chlorine, and the CYA test did not get cloudy which some forum searches told me we're at a CYA level of 0.

First SLAM is scheduled for tonight!

 

[proavia]

First SLAM is scheduled for tonight!

Here, let me correct that for you...

First SLAM Process is scheduled TO BEGIN tonight!

SLAM is not a one and done addition of chlorine. It's a process and can take days to serveral weeks, based on how bad the water is and the time/effort you put into clearing the water.

 

[denofa]

Here, let me correct that for you...

First SLAM Process is scheduled TO BEGIN tonight!

SLAM is not a one and done addition of chlorine. It's a process and can take days to serveral weeks, based on how bad the water is and the time/effort you put into clearing the water.

Understood! I was not planning to be one and done, just need to work on my TFP lingo usage

 

[denofa]

SLAM process is in progress! I checked at dawn this morning and we were at 8 FC and 40 CYA. I added 1.5gal of 10% bleach which should bring FC up to 16 according to PoolMath. Will update again later on!

One question: is there a recommended pump speed while I'm SLAM-ing? It is currently running at 3200 which seems high for normal operation from what I'm but unsure if that is the type of speed I want while in the SLAM.

 

[Homebrewale]

You can run the pump a lot slower and keep the pool well mixed. I used to hit the clean button on the pump to get the pump to full speed, add the bleach in front of a jet and then turn the pump back down to lower speed. Probably all unnecessary but it may me feel better.

 

[denofa]

You can run the pump a lot slower and keep the pool well mixed. I used to hit the clean button on the pump to get the pump to full speed, add the bleach in front of a jet and then turn the pump back down to lower speed. Probably all unnecessary but it may me feel better.

Do you have a recommended RPM during SLAM? 2000? 2500?

 

[mknauss]

Whatever skims the surface

 

[wireform]

Best of luck. Did you adjust the PH before the slam to the recommended 7.2 ? And you don't mention how you went from zero CYA to 40. It's better to creep up on a level then overshoot although 40 isn't terrible but I'd make sure it actually 40 and not possibly 50 as then the slam isn't as effective with the level FC you're at.

 

[HermanTX]

SLAM process is in progress! I checked at dawn this morning and we were at 8 FC and 40 CYA. I added 1.5gal of 10% bleach which should bring FC up to 16 according to PoolMath. Will update again later on!

I tried to look at the PM Logs linked to your profile but they would not load. Not sure if that is a web issue. In the meantime, it would be helpful to provide all your test results prior to the start of the SLAM process.
It was a little puzzling that it was originally stated ZERO CYA then above it is stated as 40ppm. Did you add stabilizer?
pH
FC
CC
CH
TA
CYA
Salt
Water Temp

 

[denofa]

Whatever skims the surface

I dialed it back to 2400 and that looks good. Will reassess later on.

Best of luck. Did you adjust the PH before the slam to the recommended 7.2 ? And you don't mention how you went from zero CYA to 40. It's better to creep up on a level then overshoot although 40 isn't terrible but I'd make sure it actually 40 and not possibly 50 as then the slam isn't as effective with the level FC you're at.

I tried to look at the PM Logs linked to your profile but they would not load. Not sure if that is a web issue. In the meantime, it would be helpful to provide all your test results prior to the start of the SLAM process.
It was a little puzzling that it was originally stated ZERO CYA then above it is stated as 40ppm. Did you add stabilizer?
pH
FC
CC
CH
TA
CYA
Salt
Water Temp

Before SLAM numbers:

pH: 7.5
FC: 0
CH: 180
TA: 125
CYA: 0
Salt: 600

I do not have the numbers for CC (presumed it would be 0 so did not test) or water temp. We've had and will continue to have sunny days for a while, so I added stabilizer on 3/31. I also did not see any harm in adding salt before the SLAM process, so I added that as well.

I just tested FC, CYA, and salt which are:

FC: 12
CYA: 40
Salt: 3400

Based on the FC chart for slam, I'm looking at 16 FC for a CYA level of 40. Since FC is a little low, I added 1gal of 10% bleach which should bring me up to 17 FC according to the calc.

On the pH level, the SLAM guide says 7.2-7.5 is okay so I assuming I would be okay to leave at 7.5 and not adjust down to the bottom of the range. Should I correct this to 7.2?

 

[wireform]

Leave the PH alone as testing with a FC higher then 10 isn't accurate.

 

[denofa]

SLAM process is chugging along. Morning FC was dialed in at 16. Pool is definitely more of a cloudy light green than a murky dark green, which seems huge to me! We have some rain and clouds on the schedule today, so I don't expect to lose too much chlorine to sun.

I was planning to let my filter do the heavy lifting and wait until it's a bit more clear to start vacuuming, but is this a good idea? Should I blindly vacuum through the green?

Also I've dropped my pump speed down to 2200, which puts my filter pressure around 4.5psi. The skimmers are definitely still skimming at this speed, but should I have any concerns about the filter pressure? This is much lower than I've seen when reading up on pool maintenance going into this.

Thanks again for all of the help everyone! I'm thankful this community exists and that I get to be a part of it.

 

[Bperry]

SLAM process is chugging along. Morning FC was dialed in at 16. Pool is definitely more of a cloudy light green than a murky dark green, which seems huge to me! We have some rain and clouds on the schedule today, so I don't expect to lose too much chlorine to sun.

I was planning to let my filter do the heavy lifting and wait until it's a bit more clear to start vacuuming, but is this a good idea? Should I blindly vacuum through the green?

Also I've dropped my pump speed down to 2200, which puts my filter pressure around 4.5psi. The skimmers are definitely still skimming at this speed, but should I have any concerns about the filter pressure? This is much lower than I've seen when reading up on pool maintenance going into this.

Thanks again for all of the help everyone! I'm thankful this community exists and that I get to be a part of it.

Lower filter pressure is always better. Filteringnis bwtter at lower pressure.

Yea, you should vacuum blindly if you think theres junk on the floor. The more you get out early, the fasternthe process will go.

 

[wireform]

Don't be fooled by the filter pressure. If you were to be at a higher rpm you may have sky high pressure which is X amount higher then what clean pressure is. You have to know what absolute clean pressure reading is to have what to compare to. If you don't know what X is then feel the return water with you hand to see if it pushing good otherwise your wasting time and need a filter cleaning.

 

[HermanTX]

I dialed it back to 2400 and that looks good. Will reassess later on.





Before SLAM numbers:

pH: 7.5
FC: 0
CH: 180
TA: 125
CYA: 0
Salt: 600

I do not have the numbers for CC (presumed it would be 0 so did not test) or water temp. We've had and will continue to have sunny days for a while, so I added stabilizer on 3/31. I also did not see any harm in adding salt before the SLAM process, so I added that as well.

I just tested FC, CYA, and salt which are:

FC: 12
CYA: 40
Salt: 3400

Based on the FC chart for slam, I'm looking at 16 FC for a CYA level of 40. Since FC is a little low, I added 1gal of 10% bleach which should bring me up to 17 FC according to the calc.

On the pH level, the SLAM guide says 7.2-7.5 is okay so I assuming I would be okay to leave at 7.5 and not adjust down to the bottom of the range. Should I correct this to 7.2?

Thanks for test data.
Remember to test FC every 4 hrs as that ensure syou are staying at SLAM level
You ave a sand filter. Does it have a bypass or waste setting on the input side>. Not all do but wanted to confirm.

If you vacuum to your SAND filter, that just may clog up the filter more and it may need cleaning. That’s why vacuum to waste is better but then you need to add water which alfects the FC level so that needs to monitored closely.