Draining and bringing down the waterline?

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tsar said:
k I'm caught up with some work, but I'll try to reach the SLAM parameter today. And do OCLT. I'll run a few cycles of nautilus as well.


Do I need to clean the filter before leaving, or can I leave it for the next 2 weeks with the SWCG/filter pump running 7-8 hrs daily.
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Likely ok, at 28 and 25% rise being 31/32, your are likely ok.

On the pump/SWCG side, the challenge is that we don’t know how much FC your pool consumes daily. Your cell produces 5.4 FC at 100% running 24 hours. 8 hours would give you 1.8. If your pool loses > 1.8, you will come back to algae. We’ll need to see if we can figure this out before you leave!

tsar said:
Lastly I know my skimmer is not working properly right now because of the waterline, but what do you guys usually do for skimming - manual/robot or do skimmers do a good job if the level is correct?
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Skimmers work great. You will want to lower your water to the center of the skimmer…
 
@PoolStored - How fast does CYA reduce over time? I feel it's closer to 30, maybe 35 now. And yest it was 40, so just wanted to understand if that's something to expect. The test itself is somewhat flaky because of the "AT A GLANCE" requirement.

How fast do FC levels come down during daytime? It was 12 for me when I just tested. Was 14 in the morning. This is from 6:30 am for the morning test to 7:30pm for the evening test.

Finally do skimmers also catch pollen, I feel there is a lot of pollen at the surface, what's the best way to clean that? Do skimmers generally catch pollen?
 
tsar said:
@PoolStored - How fast does CYA reduce over time? I feel it's closer to 30, maybe 35 now. And yest it was 40, so just wanted to understand if that's something to expect. The test itself is somewhat flaky because of the "AT A GLANCE" requirement.
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Not that quickly, maybe 5-10 per month. SOME users that have very hot pool water (>90 degrees) might find that a bit higher.

My guess is your testing. You can get a 50ppm standard solution from tftestkits. I has 50ppm in it, then you can test it like pool water so you know what 50 looks like.

Biggest thing is outdoors, bright sunlight at your back, with tube in the shade at your waist. This is the biggest thing that swings results. I can get it to change just by altering the light.
tsar said:
How fast do FC levels come down during daytime? It was 12 for me when I just tested. Was 14 in the morning. This is from 6:30 am for the morning test to 7:30pm for the evening test.
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Lots of factors, in the southern tier, they consistently lose 3-4 per day. In Ohio, I can lose up to 5.5 with hot, full sun and a bunch of swimmers. This information (2 FC loss per day) will help us set you up for vacation. How sunny was it today? Do you have a solar cover? Was it on?
tsar said:
Finally do skimmers also catch pollen, I feel there is a lot of pollen at the surface, what's the best way to clean that? Do skimmers generally catch pollen?
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Yep, it will ultimately drop from surface. Many of us put hair nets in our skimmers to keep that stuff out of the filters. Have to watch them daily, as they can fill up quick. I would not put these in for vacation.

 
Biggest thing is outdoors, bright sunlight at your back, with tube in the shade at your waist. This is the biggest thing that swings results. I can get it to change just by altering the light.
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Hmm.. that could def be the case, I've done it at different times during the day at different lighting conditions for sure. I'll try and see if doing it consistently inside helps.

Lots of factors, in the southern tier, they consistently lose 3-4 per day. In Ohio, I can lose up to 5.5 with hot, full sun and a bunch of swimmers. This information (2 FC loss per day) will help us set you up for vacation. How sunny was it today? Do you have a solar cover? Was it on?
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It was partially cloudy for some part of the day and 74-75F at an average. I don't have a solar cover.
 
tsar said:
Hmm.. that could def be the case, I've done it at different times during the day at different lighting conditions for sure. I'll try and see if doing it consistently inside helps.
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You want to do it outdoors in bright sunlight. The test is calibrated by Taylor to read correctly in indirect sunlight. Taylor picked that kind of lighting because that is a much more consistent light source (from person to person) than any regularly available kind of artificial light. Confirmed with call to Taylor.

Very roughly speaking, direct overhead sunlight is around 100,000 lux, strong indirect light (i.e. shaded from the sun) is around 10,000 lux, an overcast sky is around 1000-5000 lux but varies on how overcast (which is why a bright white cloud overcast is still OK), indoors is usually < 1000 even in a bright kitchen (more typically 500 lux). The CYA test, being a turbidity test is VERY dependent on lighting.
tsar said:
It was partially cloudy for some part of the day and 74-75F at an average. I don't have a solar cover.
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Ok, so assuming, in NY, that you lose about 3ppm/day in sunlight, you might target adding 3.5-4ppm per day with your SWCG while you are gone. Your SWCG will produce 1.8ppm in 8 hours at 100%. 16 hours at 100% will produce 3.6 and 18 hours at 100% will produce 4.0.
 
tsar said:
@PoolStored wouldnt increasing the cya to the recommended limits help in reducing the amount of hours swcg needs to run?
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Yep! You got it! That's why I included stabilizer in your shopping list in post #72!

Dry Stabilizer (for when we get your SWCG back online, so you can raise your CYA).

Draining and bringing down the waterline?

You may have been over pressuring the separation tank if it was full, sending DE back into the pool. Inspect the bag carefully when cleaning it out for any rips, tears etc.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
tsar said:
1. Well the oclt passed in the morning.
2. Cc is 0.5
3. Water is clear but quite a bit of pollen. I can deal with it when i come back.

Havent done a cya test.

I leave on Saturday afternoon
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Do you have anyone that can test your FC and adjust the SWCG?

So, you are at a crossroads, and have a few choices
  1. Leave your CYA as is, since you know the general FC consumption. Just up the output when you leave, so that it adds a bit above your average consumption. My cell, when set for vacation, increases my FC about .25-.5 per day while I'm gone.
  2. Up your CYA. However, since it takes 24-48 hours to be accurate for CYA testing purposes, you really won't know where your FC demand will net out and where to set your SWCG.
  3. Do either 1 or 2, and have someone test every (other?) day and adjust your SWCG.
 

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tsar said:
When can i start running the swcg?
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Really, anytime. HOWEVER, your FC is still 11.5 (from logs). pH test is invalid at FC >= 10. I'd like to see you let FC drop to 9.5 and get a good pH test. When you do, I would lower your pH to 7.0 before you leave. You likely will see pH rise while you are gone. After you get a valid pH test, then I'd turn on SWCG.
tsar said:
Also I am going to go with option 2, i.e. increase CYA and test before i leave. I have 2 more days approx
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Yeah, so here is the thing, it will take a couple days for the CYA to fully show up in test. The higher the CYA level, the higher you need FC to be to keep the pool sanitary, and the less total chlorine you need to add to the pool day to day (because you are losing less to sunlight). Translated, you need to target your SWCG at the top end of the FC target AND ensure your SWCG is adding enough to cover FC demand plus a bit for variability (better to come back at higher FC than a swamp).

For whatever you target for CYA, make sure the system will keep you above minimum for your target FC FC/CYA Levels. If 2 is your choice, I'd get that CYA in NOW, tonight, even if I had to squeeze it all by hand so you have a day and a half to gauge FC demand to set your SWCG.
 
Tsar just to throw it out there, Did we ever confirm your SWCG is working? Last note in the thread was its low salt/no flow lights?
 
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tsar said:
@Lake Placid Nope I haven’t confirmed its working. Hope it is when i start it now. There wasn’t any calcination when we set it up. Thats about all I know.
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Great catch @Lake Placid
tsar said:
@PoolStored Btw FC is 9.5 and cya is 30 tried outside in sunlight its 7:30 here so not very bright but neither too dark.
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Super Deal! Then I would test your pH now. I would then turn on/up the SWCG, let's see if is working overnight. Can you turn it and pump on overnight?

What are you going to target for CYA?
 

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