Help managing our SWG pool as manual chlorine pool until temps warm up!

[The Houlagans]

Good morning! For the past few weeks I have been reading, researching, and testing our pool chemistry diligently. Today's test results attached.



Water temps are still COLD here in NH (we had snow this weekend!), so I am waiting a bit before turning on our salt cell. For now I plan to manage the pool by manually adding chlorine based on pool math calculations. After adding CYA earlier in the week, our level went up to 90, so I set our FC goal to 11 yesterday (when my test read 5) and added the amount of liquid chlorine based on pool math (84 oz). That should have brought our FC level up to 11, but today when I just tested our FC is 16 -- a bit of an overshoot, but I followed what the calculator said, so not sure what happened there?!?! Not a big deal because our pool is in bright sun all day long, so I know this will come down in time.

My questions right now are:
• How does our overall chemistry look as I anticipate turning on the SWG soon?
• Anything I should be addressing here before I decide to turn on the salt cell?
• What level do I let our FC fall to before turning on cell? -OR- Do I turn it on while levels are still higher than our FC goal?
(I don't want to risk algae growth as water looks FANTASTIC right now.
• What goal should I set for our FC level once we turn on the salt cell -- I know this number is based on CYA levels, but compared to most pool people, will likely have more "organics" in the pool as we have 5 dogs that enjoy swimming, so I am thinking our FC goal should be/will be higher than most? How high do I go?
• My understanding is that as long as we keep the FC level in our pool less than SLAM FC it should be safe to swim?
• Should I expect our SWG to be able to keep up with our FC demands? Or do most people with SWG still add chlorine manually?

I love running pool chemistry tests, so will continue to do so as we learn about pool care. My ultimate goal is to be swim ready by Memorial Day -- so hoping NH temps improve a bit to make this enjoyable!

Thank you to anyone taking the time to read this post and answer my questions!

 

[mknauss]

Your current test results look great. Keep the FC in the target range.

When the water warms up enough, turn the SWCG on. I would set it to creat 2 ppm FC per day to start with. If the FC goes up, turn down the SWCG a bit.

As long as FC level is above minimum and at or below SLAM level, safe to swim.
Your SWCG should easily maintain your FC at target range with no issue. Keep increasing the % generation as needed to maintain FC levels. You may have to adjust run time too as you do not have an automation system and your IC40 will not adjust to that fine of a % after you go above 10%.

 

[The Houlagans]

Thanks, Marty!

So if our water temps stay high enough to turn SWCG on, I guess I should do so when our FC levels are still in target for a NON-SWCG pool (based on our CYA level of 90 that would be FC between 10-12) to not risk algae growth?

Until the temps warm up I will continue to manually add chlorine to keep it in the target range of 10-12. If I turn salt cell while FC is still in that range, then my goal is to figure out run time and % to keep it at that level (even though target for SWCG would be lower)?

I guess what I am asking is if you think it is harmful to having a higher GOAL for a SWCG pool than what the chart recommends (as long as I keep levels below SLAM)? Will a higher FC level be damaging to the salt cell itself? Or possibly damage anything else around pool? Just wondering if a higher FC goal will be a more proactive way to ensure our extra organic load won't be a future concern later on. I would like to figure out a FC goal to strive for this season. Thoughts?

Thanks again for your prompt reply! After all this help from kind folks on the forums, I hope to become a TFP supporter this season when I have some extra money to do so!

 

[mknauss]

Your FC level will not harm the SWCG.

It is up to you what level of FC you maintain. If you wish to maintain it higher than the target range shown on FC/CYA Levels, good for you. We have many members that just use 10% of CYA as their level.

 

[The Houlagans]

Fantastic! Then I will aim for 10% of CYA as my FC goal level -- FC of 9 (when our CYA is at 90).

I believe that setting goals are good -- especially during this crazy time -- something to strive for! Thanks again