Featured High FC demand and #TeamRunHot.

[Mdragger88]

I let the 3 leaves sit on the pool floor for a week. There. I said it.

I can't see the floor unless I am right at the pool edge. Even then its usually too sparkly or windy to see. Ignorance is bliss.

For shame!!

 

[Mdragger88]

I call my minimum 10% of my cya - although I rarely run that low. A gaggle of teens or a summer pop up tornado can drop the fc quick so I prefer to be prepared.
In the heat of summer I aim for 10ppm or a little more with my cya about 80.
My ph stays pretty solid so going higher than that for a bit is no biggie.
My pool slammed itself between the swcg and the cover the past two seasons upon opening- thats what I call lazy

 

[Mdragger88]

Also, I vote we get badges- i am out of space on my signature to proudly display my allegiance to #TeamRunHot

 

[Newdude]

I only had time for the 'will I hit minimum in the next couple days' test today. The answer is no.

 

[AUSpool]

Now that i understand how it all fits together, I just use it to be lazy. I tested 14 FC today and thats a 3 or 4 day reserve with no SWG production. I turned the cell down and it will take a week or more to hit 10 FC, still allowing plenty of wiggle room for any curveballs.

It may be worthwhile to note that the 3-4ppm of FC over the recommended range is still protected from UV degradation. There is likely a slight increase in exposed FC but the loss would be negligible.

 

[AUSpool]

I fully subscribe to the logic of #teamrunhot. But do have a question - how do we test pH when above 10?
I don't worry about it much, as I keep my TA around 60, so it tends to be good anyway. But it would be nice to know once in a while.

A really good question.

Other then the pools in the harsh desert environments there is no reason not to run with a CyA of 70ppm which will give a bit of a buffer zone against the high FC interference.

The interference turns the sample a deep purple, more purple than the regular 8.0 color. If a pH of 7.8 or lower is expected it can be easy to see. I always run my FC first so I know what to expect.

There are buffers in the pH reagent that prevent interference from normal FC levels and these will also help to slow the effects of the interference all the way up to a FC of 15ppm. For samples that are just a little over the 10ppm FC it is possible that no interference is seen or the interference is delayed enough to get a reading if the test is done as normal. Don’t waste time, add the reagent, swirl to mix or invert and take the reading. And don’t go back to the treated sample.

If interference is expected using the full 5 drops of the pH reagent may help. One drop of r-0007 before the pH reagent as already suggested may help but no more than one drop and use the full five drops of the pH reagent. The wiki under pH currently suggests to avoid sodium thiosulfate in preference to a dilution. I haven’t tested that for myself but the cheaper kits used to pretreat pH samples as an extra dechlorination step before adding the phenol red but nowdays most are formulated with buffers and dechlorination agents. If all else fails a 50/50 dilution with distilled water.

 

[wolf party]

I aim for 15 FC at 60 CYA. I use a Hanna HI98103 probe for pH. If you keep the tip wet with some decently clean water (or KCl 3M if you don't use it much), the calibration lasts for quite a long time. I see lots of people happy to buy robots and all kinds of gadgets, but pH probes don't seem common - any reason for that?

Oh, on the why? Hot, sunny, swampy, rainy Florida = constantly changing parameters = ALGAE!

 

[PoolStored]

#TeamRunHot

Follow up analysis:

Day FC Demand
1 5.5
2 3
3 .75 (the .75 was averaged over 2 days of additions, likely day 3 was higher and day 4 normal)
4 .75
5 .6
6 .6

Took 3 days to return to normal demand. Filter was also more dirty than I thought, normal psi is 2.5, psi was 4.5. (Busy non-pool weekend). My guess is that I could have returned to lower demand sooner if I had backwashed the filter on day 1 or day 2.

 

[AUSpool]

Being proactive pays off. The average non-TFP owner will ask a FB group what the yellow mark around the pool edge is about two weeks after the event and without any test results. We get that when the wattles bloom.

 

[mariane]

I just found out keeping fc high and being a lazy pool owner was a thing.
I guess I just thought it's better to keep the fc on the high side above 10 to make it easier when I miss testing. Although I don't have a SWG but who's checking. lol
So I'm joining #TeamRunHot and #TeamLazy.

 

[sduda210]

Last weekend I freaked out because I pulled the solar cover off and it looked like I had an algae outbreak. I grabbed a water sample and threw a couple pounds of calhypo in. I tested the water that was grabbed before the calhypo addition and it was at 11ppm.

I vacuumed the pool and it was instantly clean. That night I passed the over night chlorine test. Lesson learned that extreme pollen can look like algae.

 

[jark87]

Last weekend I freaked out because I pulled the solar cover off and it looked like I had an algae outbreak. I grabbed a water sample and threw a couple pounds of calhypo in. I tested the water that was grabbed before the calhypo addition and it was at 11ppm.

I vacuumed the pool and it was instantly clean. That night I passed the over night chlorine test. Lesson learned that extreme pollen can look like algae.

Glad I discovered this thread. I tend to keep FC in the 8-10 range with CYA at 70-80. With the exception of truly knowing my CYA level (stupid dot test), I tested today after skipping a couple of days and my FC was down to 5. Yikes! We just had heavy thunderstorms roll through Monday and I’m hoping the FC drop is due to pollen/dust/etc that was knocked off the trees and into the pool. I’m out of LC and am now running at 100% to get FC up until I can get some LC to dose up. I don’t know if it was the rain or what, but CYA tested at either 50 or 60, so more will be added as soon as it arrives. Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe the dot test?

 

[jark87]

Interesting to read about maintaining FC in the 10-15 range. When I’m above 10, I notice that my skimmer socks start to dissolve pretty quickly. I attributed that to the FC level. Any concerns with any other degradation?

 

[Gambit80]

#TeamRunHot here. Been that way since the beginning, as I read so much info on here and really wanted an easy pool. Been the easiest year and everyone asks how I keep it so clear. I wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[mariane]

Interesting to read about maintaining FC in the 10-15 range. When I’m above 10, I notice that my skimmer socks start to dissolve pretty quickly. I attributed that to the FC level. Any concerns with any other degradation?

I buy hair nets. They're so much cheaper and change them almost daily.
Our pool liner isn't happy with it.

 

[PoolStored]

Interesting to read about maintaining FC in the 10-15 range. When I’m above 10, I notice that my skimmer socks start to dissolve pretty quickly. I attributed that to the FC level. Any concerns with any other degradation?

@jark87 The 10-15 range is not a range, and I don't know where you picked that up.

For any readers, you should always follow this advice...run your FC based on your CYA. Not an arbitrary 10-15. FOLLOW THIS LINK-->FC/CYA Levels

I have a CYA of 80. MY range is 6-11. I choose to keep it 12 or 13, just for high demand days, I will still fall within range.

As for your skimmer sock, what is YOUR CYA? (your logs are not up to date).

HOCl concentration at 10ppm FC with even a CYA of 30 is less than HALF of 1ppm FC and no CYA...and 5-20% of the HOCl levels of 2ppm FC and 0 CYA.

I don't think it was the FC that was the issue...


@j

 

[mariane]

Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe the dot test?

Not my favorite either

 

[oledan]

I’m very pleased to join this group and I agree with the member that said it’s also the LAZY way to do it. I try to keep my CYA at 50 which means my target range is 5-8fc. I never let it go below 8 and am currently sitting at 9.5 FC! I like to run hot as it gives me some wiggle room.

 

[jark87]

The 10-15 range is not a range, and I don't know where you picked that up.

For any readers, you should always follow this advice...run your FC based on your CYA. Not an arbitrary 10-15. FOLLOW THIS LINK-->FC/CYA Levels

I have a CYA of 80. MY range is 6-11. I choose to keep it 12 or 13, just for high demand days, I will still fall within range.

As for your skimmer sock, what is YOUR CYA? (your logs are not up to date).

HOCl concentration at 10ppm FC with even a CYA of 30 is less than HALF of 1ppm FC and no CYA...and 5-20% of the HOCl levels of 2ppm FC and 0 CYA.

I don't think it was the FC that was the issue...

View attachment 650499

Ok. It wasn’t an arbitrary reference - just noting that some people mentioned maintaining FC around 10 and others up to 15 (I think - I didn’t reread the thread). And yes, while I have no idea what HOCI is nor do I understand your chart, I do understand that there’s a relationship between FC and CYA levels and that they should not be managed independently. As mentioned, I attempt to maintain CYA in the 70-80 range, but admit that I’m never certain of what the actual test results are. My Pool Math logs have never worked. It doesn’t save my results and always shows my prior results from years ago. I just assumed it’s because I use the free version. Not a big deal to me, as I use it only as needed.

So I guess your response is that high FC (along with the requisite CYA) does not cause degradation. I wasn’t questioning the run hot method. I’m a supporter! It was just a question I’ve always had since the skimmer nets definitely degrade much quicker with high FC levels. If not due to those high levels, any idea as to why?

 

[kul]

Oh yes. I’m on the team! Mostly because I never want to have to SLAM. Also because with a SWG running hot is so easy/lazy I can’t resist.