Cloudy Pool after conversion to SWG

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Ronson_321

Well-known member
May 12, 2020
65
Los Angeles
Last weekend I decided to start using my Intellichlor again and yesterday finally got it producing chlorine (I added salt very slowly and it took nearly a week to finally get to the right level for it to work). During the process my pool (previously pretty clear) became cloudy. I suspect the reason may be that during the time I was adding salt I got sloppy on my daily testing process and allowed the FC to drop below 2 (probably closer to 1). It was at that point I noticed the cloudiness. I've since added more bleach and got it up to 6 where it has been for the last 2 days with daily backwash and pump running 24x7. However the cloudiness has got only slightly better.

My question is: What to do next ? Should I raise the FC level higher ? Should I continue to use the chlorinator while I address this problem ? Anything else ?

My numbers are:

FC: 6
CC: 0
PH: 7.26
CYA: 80
Salr Level: 3200

Thanks!
 
Unclear water calls for an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

if the cloudiness is a result of going below minimum, you’ll probably fail and need to SLAM Process.

If you pass because you’ve already killed whatever grew, then you just have to be patient while the filter does it’s thing and filters it out. Maintaining a higher FC is good in this case just because.
 
How did you determine the salt concentration? You reported 3200, but Pentair for the IC line recommends 3600 to 4500ppm, with 3600 the ideal level. Taylor K-1766 salt test kit might be a good idea.
 
At the moment I'm relying on readings from the pool store. My k-1766 is supposed to arrive by tomorrow. I will eventually get to 3600 - I was being conservative because I was adding salt and it it is my understanding that it can take 48 hours to fully dissolve and I didn't want to exceed the maximum. Once the test kit arrives I will take my own reading and add more salt accordingly. Actually the red salt came on today and I will probably;y add a bad even ahead of getting an accurate reading
 
The salt that you added could be contributing to the cloudiness. Some salt is "dirty". My pool also got a little cloudy for the couple days that I was adding salt. I would run the pump 24/7 for a couple days, to mix the salt and to remove any impurities from the salt.
 
mknauss said:
There is no reason to in your climate. I run my IC at 2900-3000 ppm.
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Thanks. That's goot to know. I just checked and am pleased to find I had a IC40 not an IC20. My next step is to use trial and error to find out how long to run it to generate enoughh chlorine for my needs. . I currently have my pump on 1800rpm for 6 hours a day and 600rpm for the 18 hours a day. Do you know if the IC40 will generate when the pump is only on 600?
 

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SecoSteve said:
The salt that you added could be contributing to the cloudiness. Some salt is "dirty". My pool also got a little cloudy for the couple days that I was adding salt. I would run the pump 24/7 for a couple days, to mix the salt and to remove any impurities from the salt.
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That could indeed be what happened. I used Clorox salt that is on special offer at Walmart in my area, Anyway , after 72 hours of reunning the pump at full blast and increasing FC to 10 its now nice and clear again!
 
Ronson_321 said:
Do you know if the IC40 will generate when the pump is only on 600?
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Not likely, but look at the unit to see if the flow is red or green.

In your climate, I would start with the SWCG creating 3 ppm FC per day right now. For 6 hours per day, that is 90% generation. If the FC rises, lower the % generation by 10 points and test in a couple days.

The FC use will be falling this time of year as the sun angle lowers in the sky.
 
All the IC40 lights stay green even when on 600rpm so its sounds like some chlorine is being generated.

My IC40 appears to have 5 settings for chlorine generation so I'll set it 80% for now and leave the pump settings at their current values, then ajust the generation % depending upon what happens to the FC level over the next few days.
 
If the flow light stays green at 600 rpm, that is the lowest I have every seen. Be careful at 80% (you must not have automation) as if that is 24 hours per day, it will spike your FC.
 
mknauss said:
If the flow light stays green at 600 rpm, that is the lowest I have every seen. Be careful at 80% (you must not have automation) as if that is 24 hours per day, it will spike your FC.
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Thanks. Good point, I will dial-it down to 60% initially. I have a basic question on how the IC40 works: Is it a binary either its generating chlorine or its not or does it generate more chlorine the higher the pump speed?

The people who intstalled the IC40 wired it up to an old intermaitc timer that was used on my old pump so in theory I could use that as a control as well.
 
Ronson_321 said:
Is it a binary either its generating chlorine or its not or does it generate more chlorine the higher the pump speed?
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It is generating or not. If the flow switch is closed, it can generate. It uses a 5 minute cycle. So at 60%, it is generating for 3 minutes and not generating for 2 minutes.

I would think you would want to use the timer with your electric rates. Not sure I would even run the pump 24 hours per day.
 
My pentair inteliflow pump has an inbuilt timer - I just like to run the pump 24x7 on a low speed as my hot tub is connected to the pool and has a water feature that only operates when the pump is on and (I assume) is quite low cost to run at 600rpm - probably should check that assumption!
 

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