How to best manage the hot weather transition?

KurtinTUS

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Silver Supporter
Jul 20, 2017
84
Tucson
Thanks again to all for the great info which helped get our new pool up & running last year! It is a new-build and has had water now since mid-Dec '17. Below are some recent readings from my TF-100 kit:

IMG_0490.jpg

Also the IntelliChlor SWG is currently set to 10%

I seem to have the cold water temp chemistry dialed-in and stable (water temps been right around upper 50's all winter--SWG is on sometimes, and sometimes turns off) and the water has just been beautifully clear. Since this will be the first Spring/Summer with the new pool, my concern is now how to stay ahead of the upcoming transition to warm water and 100-degree air temps? Should I now stick much closer to whatever PoolMath suggests, or are there other considerations? Thanks!
 
Kurt,

If you look at this chart... [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] you can see that we recommend a CYA of 70 or 80 in a saltwater pool, especially in places like Arizona...

The high CYA helps prevent the sun from burning your FC off in a micro second... :p

You will find as the weather gets hotter, that you will have to keep increasing you cell's output percentage, or increasing your run time, to maintain the right amount of FC. I personally like to run the FC a little high, just to make sure it never falls below the minimum value...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
That's TFPs Pool Math app, the perfect companion to TFPC! Free, with some in app upgrades available for reasonable.
 
Updated test results. I've been boosting the FC and CYA in anticipation of warmer temps ahead:

IMG_0582.jpg

Am I still on the right track? Any recommendations would be appreciated!

This week I'm obsessing over CSI. I gather that a CSI as close to 0.0 as possible is the goal, but it seems like I have to run the pH on the high side (approaching 8) to achieve this. Is a pH in this range desirable for the long term, or is there another way to better manage CSI?
 
I would say that 0.0 CSI is not ideal for your pool, you want to run it slightly negative. I would tend toward -0.3 as an ideal CSI for your pool because of SWG, plaster and location. Anywhere from -0.6 to 0 is fine, as Mr Bruce says your CSI is fine. Running your pH on the high side is fine, I would let it rise to 8.2 and lower it to 7.8. This will slowly lower your TA u til pH and TA find equilibrium. Your TA will likely land somewhere between 50 and 60. As low as 50 is fine and will likely work well in your pool. A negative CSI will help to prevent scale build up in your SWG cell.
 
Your CH will increase as evaporation really kicks in. You will then need to manage your pH at a lower level to maintain the CSI in the slightly negative range. As your CH goes into the upper ranges (above 800 ppm) you then must be very diligent with your CSI to keep from scale on all surfaces.

Take care.
 

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This has been an interesting transition week with higher water temps (about 80F, supplemented with the heater), and lots of kidlets swimming in the pool for many hours each day. I keep ratcheting up the SWG (now at 45%) to keep up with the FC demand, but have found I still need to supplement with liquid bleach. I know there is some lag with the SWG achieving a new target FC, but does anyone have a good WAG as to where I should be setting the SWG for these warmer temps, and roughly how long it might take for the pool to reflect the higher SWG settings?
 
Remember the SWG is good for maintaining FC levels but not for raising levels. Whenever you have a good/long load of bathers is always a good idea to supplement with liquid chlorine even before they swim. There is 2 ways to increase your FC, either by increasing % or by longer run times.

Felipe
 
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