First time testing water using TFP kit - help

[Riddler0520]

I’m no expert, especially for calcium and plaster, but I got 53 lbs needed to bring you to the ideal 450. Have at it.

happy Memorial Day weekend

Full test results below - question, few weeks ago FC was at around 9, now I’m at around 9 drops (4.5)
SWG was at 40, I flipped it up to 50% last week. We had a week of mid 90 temps and lots of swimming

is it normal for the FC to drop as it did ? Is 4.5 high enough or should I increase my SWG to like 60%
is there a max % you don’t want to increase your SWG by ?

is my ALK ok, I should I look to increase it a to 80 ?

my pool doesn’t seem to be consuming as much acid which is good. Beginning to figure out that every 2-3 days it needs about 1/4 gallon for me to drop it down to the 7.6/7.8 range, don’t want to add to much and then pull down ALK with it

thoughts ?

 

[mknauss]

Everything looks good to me.
I would suggest you set your SWCG to generate 4 ppm FC per day at this time of year. In your pool, that would take it being set at 100% generation for 15 hours each day. Then test your FC each day just before the SWCG starts and see if the FC is staying in range. Adjust the % or time as necessary.

 

[mguzzy]

is it normal for the FC to drop as it did ? Is 4.5 high enough or should I increase my SWG to like 60%
is there a max % you don’t want to increase your SWG by ?

is my ALK ok, I should I look to increase it a to 80 ?

Remember your SWG will need to be turned up as you progress through the summer to account for more UV and more swimmers... then likely you'll turn it down as you progress from the peak of your season into the fall. Its like a bell curve kind of thing.. and that is assuming all other things stay equal (Like the CYA level, pump runtime etc). If you see a sudden drop in your FC that cant be accounted for by sun or swimmers do an OCLT to see if something is churning in the water. For example for me, the temps are going to spike on Mem day to 105 or so.. so I started raising my SWG % a few days ago.. if I let it creep up I'm prepared. I can always throw in some liquid chlorine for a quick CL chaser if I need to.

I like to keep my FC in the 7-9 range during the peak swim season to accommodate a sudden burst of swimmers, as teenagers like to do. At 4-5 ppm you don't have much wiggle room in my opinion but that's my pool, yours may respond differently.

 

[Riddler0520]

Remember your SWG will need to be turned up as you progress through the summer to account for more UV and more swimmers... then likely you'll turn it down as you progress from the peak of your season into the fall. Its like a bell curve kind of thing.. and that is assuming all other things stay equal (Like the CYA level, pump runtime etc). If you see a sudden drop in your FC that cant be accounted for by sun or swimmers do an OCLT to see if something is churning in the water. For example for me, the temps are going to spike on Mem day to 105 or so.. so I started raising my SWG % a few days ago.. if I let it creep up I'm prepared. I can always throw in some liquid chlorine for a quick CL chaser if I need to.

I like to keep my FC in the 7-9 range during the peak swim season to accommodate a sudden burst of swimmers, as teenagers like to do. At 4-5 ppm you don't have much wiggle room in my opinion but that's my pool, yours may respond differently.

Thank you - good insight

105, nice pool weather for sure

 

[Riddler0520]

Everything looks good to me.
I would suggest you set your SWCG to generate 4 ppm FC per day at this time of year. In your pool, that would take it being set at 100% generation for 15 hours each day. Then test your FC each day just before the SWCG starts and see if the FC is staying in range. Adjust the % or time as necessary.

Ok, so a 12 hr run time at 100% adds that 3.4-4ppm as suggested

for some reason setting it at 100% seemed like constantly doing Boost mode and not good for the Cell - just what I thought, doesn’t mean it was right (ha)

I’ll dial it up and then recheck, and then lower as necessary. Feels like a 7FC with 70 CYA is a good safe balance with some extra caution again sudden outbreaks and can allow for a sudden small drop

is that a good approach ?

 

[mknauss]

is that a good approach ?

Sounds good.
The SWCG could care less if set at 100% for 1 hour or 10% for 10 hours.

 

[Riddler0520]

Sounds good.
The SWCG could care less if set at 100% for 1 hour or 10% for 10 hours.

Roger that
I just ch it to 100%, how long should I wait to check again as I now have my baseline for this time of year at 50% output with a 4.5FC

maybe wait a few days and recheck ?

thank you, I’m feeling more comfortable by the week for sure

 

[mknauss]

Test your FC each day just prior to the SWCG starting. Once you confirm things are going well, you can stretch that testing out to every 2 or 3 days.

 

[Riddler0520]

Test your FC each day just prior to the SWCG starting. Once you confirm things are going well, you can stretch that testing out to every 2 or 3 days.

Thank you
Makes sense - I’ll check prior to pump turning on at 8:30a and get a feel for things vs mid day

 

[mguzzy]

Roger that
I just ch it to 100%, how long should I wait to check again as I now have my baseline for this time of year at 50% output with a 4.5FC

maybe wait a few days and recheck ?

thank you, I’m feeling more comfortable by the week for sure

Just remember the SWG is slow and continuous output.. so it doesn't respond immediately.. it will take a while for it to ramp up. If you need a quick bump use liquid chlorine and then use the SWG to maintain it. They are just different approaches to the same thing, trying to get to your desired target and figuring out what it takes to stay there.