Having a pool built and need advice

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voidpointer said:
I found a post from you, about 4 years ago or so, where you said you had yours set up for 30 minutes at the start of the day, 15 in the middle, and 30 at the end. The advice given later in that thread was that you could get away with removing the one that runs 15 minutes in the middle of the day. So I was going to try twice a day, 30 mins each. But I don't know what is enough or too much. I also don't know how you experiment with it. Another thread said to test CL separately in the spa during a time when the spillover hasn't run in a while.
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I now run my spillover for 20 minutes at 9AM to get fully chlorinated water in the spa for the day and then at 1:30PM for 20 minutes to refresh the chlorination in the spa until sunset. The entire purpose is to maintain the chlorination in the spa as it loses FC during the day from the sun.

If the spa never gets algae then you are running the spillover enough.

How long you run the spillover depends on the flow you run. I want to run enough flow that I fully dump the 500 gallon spa over the spillover and get fresh water from the pool in. For me I run my spillover at 2400 rpm and that is about 50 gpm. 20 minutes sends 1000 gallons through the spa and should completely turnover the spa water.

Just keep an eye on the spa. If it never shows any signs of algae then your spillover is running enough during the day.
 
Thanks. I don't know the signs of algae, so now might be a good time to learn. Any tips? Is it complicated?

I wish I could be as mathematical with my spa, but I don't know how many gallons are in it. And not only that I don't know the GPM for a particular RPM.

I'll share my schedule here. It's mostly completely made up, or composed of ideas/advice from folks here.

  • Run time (1800 RPM): 8am - 12am (16 hours). I'll keep an eye on this once I dump salt in the pool this Sunday and my SWG starts doing work.
  • Skimming at 3000RPM from 10am - 12pm
  • Cleaner at 2800RPM from 8:15pm - 10:15pm
  • Spillover at 2000RPM from 8:15am - 8:30am and again at 10:45pm - 11:00pm
  • Run all pool features (slide, sheers) 11AM - 11:15am (separate one speed pump)
  • Turn on bubblers (main pump, just toggles a JVA) 11AM - 11:15am
If you have any advice let me know... I know that some of this is experimental until I figure out the SWG run time and percentage, as well as figure out proper skimming RPM and times.
 
voidpointer said:
Thanks. I don't know the signs of algae, so now might be a good time to learn. Any tips? Is it complicated?
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Just use your eyes.

Green or yellow spots on the plaster that rub off when brushed or rubbed with your fingers.


voidpointer said:
I wish I could be as mathematical with my spa, but I don't know how many gallons are in it.
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See the bottom of this page for Estimating Pool Volume...

PoolMath

Discover the calculator behind the perfect pool, PoolMath. Dealing with pools has allowed TFP to become the original authors of the best calculator on the net.
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Measure your spa and assume it is a rectangle although it is not. You will get a number that is on the high side. Maybe subtract 10% or 20% but good enough to ballpark.

voidpointer said:
And not only that I don't know the GPM for a particular RPM.
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I don't know what your Jandy setup shows you.

Your heater needs at least 40GPM so if 2250 RPM is good for you then 2400 RPM probably gives you at least 50 GPM and maybe more. Again good enough to ballpark.

As long as you error on the conservative high side you are good enough.

Apply the TLAR principle - This Looks About Right.

voidpointer said:
I'll share my schedule here. It's mostly completely made up, or composed of ideas/advice from folks here.

  • Run time (1800 RPM): 8am - 12am (16 hours). I'll keep an eye on this once I dump salt in the pool this Sunday and my SWG starts doing work.
  • Skimming at 3000RPM from 10am - 12pm
  • Cleaner at 2800RPM from 8:15pm - 10:15pm
  • Spillover at 2000RPM from 8:15am - 8:30am and again at 10:45pm - 11:00pm
  • Run all pool features (slide, sheers) 11AM - 11:15am (separate one speed pump)
  • Turn on bubblers (main pump, just toggles a JVA) 11AM - 11:15am
If you have any advice let me know... I know that some of this is experimental until I figure out the SWG run time and percentage, as well as figure out proper skimming RPM and times.
Click to expand...

That is a fine starting poont. You can tune it up over the summer.
 
ajw22 said:
Green or yellow spots on the plaster that rub off when brushed or rubbed with your fingers
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There's this constant red dust/sand everywhere along the pool, but especially bad on the steps, benches, and tanning ledges. It's very pronounced when I brush it off (red/brown cloud underwater).

It's been there since the pool got filled. I assume this isn't algae, but just sand getting in the pool somehow. I'm not sure if it'll always be like this (it's somehow getting put in the pool) or if I still haven't cleaned out everything from construction.
 
voidpointer said:
There's this constant red dust/sand everywhere along the pool, but especially bad on the steps, benches, and tanning ledges. It's very pronounced when I brush it off (red/brown cloud underwater).

It's been there since the pool got filled. I assume this isn't algae, but just sand getting in the pool somehow. I'm not sure if it'll always be like this (it's somehow getting put in the pool) or if I still haven't cleaned out everything from construction.
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You will need to learn what is normal for your pools environment and eco system.
 
Quick measurements of the spa in inches: 140x57x42

Comes out to about 1400 gallons if it were rectangular. I chopped off 20% because it's bean-shaped and there is a bench that goes around 70% of it. That comes out to about 1150 gallons.

Running at 2000 rpm, I'm not sure how long it needs to run every day since I don't know what GPM that is. But it seems like 30 minutes a day won't be enough.
 
Today I added 9 bags of salt and I'm at 3100-ish salt level. I have 4 bags of salt left. What is my target salt level? Supposed to be 2.6k - 3.8k but we said we are creeping up to some number and I'm not sure what that number is.

Also added 5.3lbs of CYA. Using pool math, it suggested that amount to go from 40 to 75. A few hours later, I tested and got a CYA of 60. I know this test is super subjective, but it seems like I didn't hit my target despite adding the correct amount.
 

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You want the salt to circulate and mix. If the cell gets a slug of high salt content (because it hasn’t mixed yet), it can damage the cell.
 
I just want to be clear. I did not turn it on until all the salt was dissolved in the water. I will turn it off though and wait a few days. I was out of chlorine and wanted to see if it could save me some trips to town.
 
voidpointer said:
I just want to be clear. I did not turn it on until all the salt was dissolved in the water. I will turn it off though and wait a few days. I was out of chlorine and wanted to see if it could save me some trips to town.
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You can see real time salt readouts from the SWG on your Aqualink app. I set mine to 0% production, dump my salt in and watch the meter. When it settles down and the salt level is steady, I turn it back to 55%.
 
voidpointer said:
I did not turn it on until all the salt was dissolved in the water
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You can kinda tell it's been dissolved but you can't tell if it's been mixed besides waiting.

The water on the bottom may be incredibly high concentration and it's just not worth the risk for the first day. Like @PoolStored said, it only matters at startup and spring openings where you are down a few bags. Throughout the season you won't be adding enough to matter.
 
What should my strategy be for the SWG adjustments? I tested CL today and it's up 0.5 PPM from yesterday (it's at 5.5 right now). So I definitely see it going up. What I'd like to know is:

- What PPM am I trying to target?
- What do I do with the SWG when I hit that target?
- I'm worried about the SWG either not generating enough or too much. I'm not sure how to properly adjust & monitor.
 
voidpointer said:
What should my strategy be for the SWG adjustments? I tested CL today and it's up 0.5 PPM from yesterday (it's at 5.5 right now). So I definitely see it going up.
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Just keep on checking itd aily. If it is up by 2PPM in another 3 days then time to turn down the SWG a bit.

Use PoolMath to determine what SWG % gives you 0.5 ppm less FC.
voidpointer said:
What I'd like to know is:

- What PPM am I trying to target?
Click to expand...

What is your CYA?

www.troublefreepool.com

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

voidpointer said:
- What do I do with the SWG when I hit that target?
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Keep checking your FC every day or two.

voidpointer said:
- I'm worried about the SWG either not generating enough or too much. I'm not sure how to properly adjust & monitor.
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Low is no good.

High is fine.

Seeing FC increasing is fine until you get to SLAM level.
 
voidpointer said:
What PPM am I trying to target?
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Dial it in on the high side to allow room for error. Shoot for 8 to 10. Once you've mastered the SWG and how your pool responds to it, you can run as low above min as you'd like. Running hot works so well, I never stopped.
voidpointer said:
What do I do with the SWG when I hit that target?
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Nothing. You'll only step in if you are below target, or particularly above target. A little above target is fine and if you accept that you'll make a little too much at times, it will far easier not micromanaging it.

Just remember that the PH test is invalid at 10+ so if you find the FC more than that, wait until it drops below 10.
 
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Regarding AquaLink scheduling: What happens if, say, Spillover mode kicks in while I'm enjoying the spa in Spa Mode? Will it switch over to spillover anyway? Or is it smart enough to know not to do that if it isn't in pool mode?

I want to ask the question more broadly, because everything I've scheduled should only be done when I'm not using the pool, basically. But it would have no way of knowing that, presumably. So I am wondering how I can avoid fighting the schedule. I don't see a quick way to disable the schedule temporarily if I know I'll be using the pool at a certain time.

Any tips on this?
 

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