Liner fade already? Just got my TF100 test kit.

[offtheclock]

New pool been open 3 weeks and swg has been on for 2.5 weeks. Pool guy came two times as apart of opening package and two days ago said my balance was spot on besides low alk which he did something to raise. Went swimming tonight and I can already see the liner is lighter on the water line below.
Test kit came today and here are my results. Could this possibly be liner fade already after such a short timeor is it normal to have a slightly light liner under water line? It is minor.
7PPM FC
.5 CC
50 Alk
40CYA
4000 salt

PH looks to be 7.8 but chlorine looks real high like off the charts according to colors on attached picture.

Pentair SWG is set to run 12 hours per day at 60%. Please let me know what to do. I don’t want to ruin my liner.

 

[offtheclock]

During full sun it was most noticeable but as the day went on it was not.

 

[Mike1162]

I can't tell what the PH or Chlorine level is. You either didn't mix after adding the drops or the lighting was awful when taking the picture. After adding the drops put the cap on & flip the comparator block a few times until the solution is the same color from top to bottom.

 

[Mdragger88]

You did not list your ch level so hard to say if it could be scale.
Also it looks like reflection to me - my pool appears this way sometimes but its an optical illusion. I am sure you’ll get some more opinions soon.
Your fc of 7ppm is not off the charts for a cya of 40. Anywhere between minimum & Slam level for your cya is safe to swim in & safe for equipment/surfaces
FC/CYA Levels
a little higher than target is recommended.
Did u arrive at that number using the fas- dpd test? (powder, beaker & drops) it is the chlorine test you should be using daily as u dial in your run times.
The oto test u show (yellow block) is more of a “do i have chlorine or not?” Kinda test. Its not real accurate & only tests total chlorine up to 5ppm with any closeness.
Cya of 40 is low for a salt pool. Around 70 is recommended. You should increase it in steps as to not overshoot your target.
This would allow you to run your swg/pump less as well. At 100% your cell will produce approximately 4ppm fc running for 7.5 hrs a day. Most pools use approx. 2-4 ppm fc/day
You can tinker with PoolMath effects of adding (select your swg) to help you dial it in

 

[offtheclock]

I can't tell what the PH or Chlorine level is. You either didn't mix after adding the drops or the lighting was awful when taking the picture. After adding the drops put the cap on & flip the comparator block a few times until the solution is the same color from top to bottom.

I’ll do this test again tomorrow but I thought I mixed pretty well.

 

[offtheclock]

You did not list your ch level so hard to say if it could be scale.
Also it looks like reflection to me - my pool appears this way sometimes but its an optical illusion. I am sure you’ll get some more opinions soon.
Your fc of 7ppm is not off the charts for a cya of 40. Anywhere between minimum & Slam level for your cya is safe to swim in & safe for equipment/surfaces
FC/CYA Levels
a little higher than target is recommended.
Did u arrive at that number using the fas- dpd test? (powder, beaker & drops) it is the chlorine test you should be using daily as u dial in your run times.
The oto test u show (yellow block) is more of a “do i have chlorine or not?” Kinda test. Its not real accurate & only tests total chlorine up to 5ppm with any closeness.
Cya of 40 is low for a salt pool. Around 70 is recommended. You should increase it in steps as to not overshoot your target.
This would allow you to run your swg/pump less as well. At 100% your cell will produce approximately 4ppm fc running for 7.5 hrs a day. Most pools use approx. 2-4 ppm fc/day
You can tinker with PoolMath effects of adding (select your Iswg) to help you dial it in

I did use the tf100 powder and drop test to grt the FC level. Should I lower my SWG to 40% from 60%? Or reduce pump time from 12 hours?

I really hope it is a reflection from the suns angle. I am normally the very observant one but my wife noticed it as well. Could be suns angle and shadow from coping.

 

[Mdragger88]

You need to up the cya to at least 60 then adjust the swg so you’re doing so in ideal conditions to get a true idea of consumption.
Be sure to always follow the FC/CYA Levels
Most of us like to maintain a little higher fc than target so there’s a buffer for the unexpected like extra sunny/hot days or higher bather loads etc.
It doesn’t matter to the cell (in terms of cell life) if u reduce percentage or run time - 100% for 5 hrs is no different than 50% for 10hours but you will save on some electricity by running your pump less. If u have a vsp & run on lower rpm all the time it’s usually easier to just adjust percentage. Adjust, Test, adjust. Most people need to run their swg more in the dog days of summer & less in the shoulder seasons obviously.

 

[PoolStored]

Are there ANY other chemicals that have been added to the pool? Particularly anything that has been "broadcasted" directly on/into the pool?

 

[Mike1162]

I’ll do this test again tomorrow but I thought I mixed pretty well.

You may have put too much pool water in the comparator block. After adding the 5 drops & capping there should be an air bubble at the top. The air bubble mixes the solution as you flip the block from top to bottom.

I'd take a picture of the liner every month & then compare it to the previous pics. My liner has faded badly above & below the water line. Wish I had taken pictures.

 

[offtheclock]

Are there ANY other chemicals that have been added to the pool? Particularly anything that has been "broadcasted" directly on/into the pool?

Initial they added two pucks to skimmer to get chlorine up at start up and then I added some soda ash diluted in a bucket to bump PH and when tech came back the other day he said he had to bump the alk level but then everything was perfect. I am not sure what he did to bump it.

 

[Bperry]

Initial they added two pucks to skimmer to get chlorine up at start up and then I added some soda ash diluted in a bucket to bump PH and when tech came back the other day he said he had to bump the alk level but then everything was perfect. I am not sure what he did to bump it.

Make sure you don’t use that comparator tube you posted for chlorine checking. It’s only for pH.

 

[offtheclock]

I can't tell what the PH or Chlorine level is. You either didn't mix after adding the drops or the lighting was awful when taking the picture. After adding the drops put the cap on & flip the comparator block a few times until the solution is the same color from top to bottom.

 

[offtheclock]

Make sure you don’t use that comparator tube you posted for chlorine checking. It’s only for pH.

I used the Tf100 test kit.

 

[offtheclock]

You need to up the cya to at least 60 then adjust the swg so you’re doing so in ideal conditions to get a true idea of consumption.
Be sure to always follow the FC/CYA Levels
Most of us like to maintain a little higher fc than target so there’s a buffer for the unexpected like extra sunny/hot days or higher bather loads etc.
It doesn’t matter to the cell (in terms of cell life) if u reduce percentage or run time - 100% for 5 hrs is no different than 50% for 10hours but you will save on some electricity by running your pump less. If u have a vsp & run on lower rpm all the time it’s usually easier to just adjust percentage. Adjust, Test, adjust. Most people need to run their swg more in the dog days of summer & less in the shoulder seasons obviously.

I have been worried about the higher FC levels as compared to the info sheet that came with liner that recommends 3PPM. I thought that maybe this is why I might see a slight change in liner already?

 

[Bperry]

View attachment 368313

Only use this tube for checking the pH. The yellow side is the OTO chlorine test which is different from the FAS-DPD. Just wanted to make sure you were trying to use the yellow side. In the picture, your pH looks like 7.1-7.2

 

[Mike1162]

View attachment 368313

That looks much better. I'd add a pound of 20 Mule Team Borax & recheck after a few hours. You might end up using all 4 pounds but just add 2 today & if necessary repeat tomorrow.

There's nothing wrong with doing the OTO chlorine test along with the PH. At the very least it'll verify that there is some chlorine in the water. I'd say your 5 or 6 ppm but if I was betting I'd increase the range to 4 to 7 ppm.

 

[Mdragger88]

It’s your pool so your choice but even at your low cya you should never go below 3ppm - that’s an algae bloom waiting to happen. Then you’ll be having to use much higher levels to abate it which kinda moots the point. The cya buffers the harshness of chlorine by reducing the amount of active chlorine. I have no idea the manufacturer of my liner but I maintain 7-8ppm w/ a cya of 70-80 all the time & haven’t experienced any fading in 3 seasons. All liners will eventually fade over time due to uv. Alot of manufacturing recommendations for pool/spa equipment/ chemicals is based on outdated info that doesn’t take into account the fc/cya relationship fully. The FC/CYA Levels is based on this relationship.
Here’s a little more info on the subject

I personally would want to ensure the longest life of my swg (by operating it less) vs risking any mild liner fade (which i feel is a minimal risk so long as other Recommended Levels are maintained).

 

[offtheclock]

Well I certainly think all the blue in my liner has faded. The black looks to be the same. Here is a picture of some new liner from a cut out laid up against pool wall. First noticed this after new pool had been opened for about 2 weeks and now it is worse. Not sure what to do pool is now only 1.5 months old.

 

[Mdragger88]

Dark Blues are definitely the fastest to fade from uv but in only a couple months it is a little concerning.
Keep that spare piece protected from uv so u can continue to compare/document over time w/ time stamped pictures.
Hopefully it’s just an initial thing that will not really get much worse over time. Also keep in mind that the vinyl in your pool is stretched in place whereas the spare piece is not.
You are keeping your cya quite low for a swg pool which makes your active fc higher in comparison.aka harsher. Following the FC/CYA Levels is paramount.
@jimmythegreek thoughts?

 

[offtheclock]

Dark Blues are definitely the fastest to fade from uv but in only a couple months it is a little concerning.
Keep that spare piece protected from uv so u can continue to compare/document over time w/ time stamped pictures.
Hopefully it’s just an initial thing that will not really get much worse over time. Also keep in mind that the vinyl in your pool is stretched in place whereas the spare piece is not.
You are keeping your cya quite low for a swg pool which makes your active fc higher in comparison.aka harsher. Following the FC/CYA Levels is paramount.
@jimmythegreek thoughts?

Thank you. Pool had only been opened for 12 days when I noticed initial and recent picture is only 1.5 old. During initial time it was opened by pb pool company to set up chemicals and then I worked with to dial back swg until we found what worked. That FC was at the initial swg setting ended up going from 60 to 40 to 20% over a couple of days to find sweet spot for my CYA.