New pool - Am I doing okay? Pump running too much? SWG not keeping cL high enough?

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Q13

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Jul 29, 2024
10
North Carolina
First off - thank you to the TFP community! I'm a first time pool owner and have been doing my best to get educated here and hopefully rely on myself (and TFP) to handle everything in terms of maintenance.

Install was completed on our in-ground plaster pool, with water added roughly two months ago. We're in North Carolina. Would love to hear your comments generally and addressing my concerns...
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Pool volume: 15,100 gallons
Pump: Jandy CV460
SWG
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*Pump ran 24/7 for 1st month per builder's recommendation. I now have it running 21 hrs/day at 2575 RPM, with SWG set at 90%.
*Whenever I test cL it's always about 1.5 (seems very close to looking "clear" like bottom level on test but has some reddish color). We don't have any visible issues, but it seems like I'm barely holding on to enough chlorine despite running pump and SWG so much.
*When I test pH 2x a week it's always about 8.2 (maybe slightly higher). I use the Orenda app which recommends around 10-14 OZ of muriatic acid to get me to 7.7 pH. So I end up adding 10-14 OZ of muriatic acid roughly 2x a week, which does bring the cL up some and the pH down to about 7.7, but within a few days it's back to cL of 1-2 on the tester, and pH level of 8.2 or so.
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Questions:
*Is it crazy how much I'm running the pump? 21 hours feels like a ton based on my conversations with others, but it seems I can't run it less because I'm already barely keeping up with cL production despite running SWG at 90%.
*Is it normal to be adding that much muriatic acid?

(I'm using Tyler test kit. As best as my eyes can tell, my TA is usually around 6-7, calcium at 250, salt level right where it should be)
 
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Q,

Saltwater pool operation is not based on Magic, but on Science..

The amount of Chlorine that your cell can generate is a math problem, it is not based on what your friend's think or believe. :mrgreen:

1. For proper operation, your cell must be at least 2 X the volume of your pool.. a 15K pool needs a 30K cell, but 40K would be even better.
2. You have to run the pump long enough for the cell to generate the FC (Chlorine) that your pool will use each day.
3. Your CYA (Stabilizer) needs to be between 60 and 80 ppm, to protect the FC from burning off too quickly.
4. The pool must be algae free.. This is because algae can consume all, or almost all, of the Chlorine that your cell can make.
5. You need to ability to test your pool water yourself..

We would be glad to get you pointed in the right direction..

Pool Care Basics

FC/CYA Levels

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
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Thanks for the response!
I do test the pool water myself. That's where those test result numbers I provided came from.

Understood that I have to run the pump and SWG a sufficient amount to generate enough chlorine... that's where my concern is. It seems I'm running pump and SWG a ton but barely keeping up with the chlorine level.
 
Sorry - pump is Jandy Flopro VSFHP185DV2A 1.85 hp

SWG: Jandy Truclear11KU

This is my test result for CYA (sorry not sure how to determine what level that color puts me at...).

1722270417880.png

When you say "rated size" of salt cell - meaning pool size? Jandy website says for this SWG the pool size is up to 35,000 gal
 
You can't rely on test strips. You need a test kit such as a Taylor K2006c or TF Testkits TF100 or TFPro to properly measure everything, especially CYA. Your new pool will consume lots of muriatic acid for the first couple of years as the pool cures.
 
Q,

We call them 'guess' strips for a reason... :mrgreen:

That said, it appears to be close to zero, which would be the main reason your pool is eating all the chlorine your cell is making.

This is how your cell should work in your pool...

The cell is rated to make .93 lbs. of chlorine gas when run at 100% for 24 hours. That would increase your FC by 7.4 ppm per day.. Most pools only use 2 to 4 ppm per day, so your cell is plenty big enough.

7.4 ppm in 24 hours is about .32 ppm per hour at 100%.. Since your pump runs for 21 hours that produces 6.72 ppm of FC.. At 90% your are down to about 6 ppm a day.. Still plenty of chlorine production.

If you increase your CYA to 60 or 70, you will see a huge drop in the amount of FC that the sun consumes each day.

Your pool most likely cost $50K or more... You should treat it to a 'real' test kit so you can stay on top of things..

I'd get the TF-Pro.. Costs a little more but it is worth it for the neat case the speed-stir device...

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thank you! I'll order one of the recommended test kits so I can start testing CYA more accurately I don't know how long that'll take to deliver, and I have to be out of town for next several days.

Do you see any issue with me adding some CYA increaser now? Lowe's sells 4lb bag of Clorox pool chlorine stabilizer. Any issue with that product? And any suggestion for how much to add to help out the next several days while I'm out of town? (Clorox bag says for 16,000 gal pool, add the entire 4lb bag to get to 30 ppm). Then I should be able to get in a regular routine when I get back in town.
 
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Thanks everyone. Just ordered the TF-Pro.

Since I may not be in town couple days from now when kit comes in, do you think there's a risk to going ahead and adding some CYA increaser now? Thoughts on me going ahead and adding 1lb of Clorox pool chlorine stabilizer today (Clorox bag says for 16,000 gal pool, add the entire 4lb bag to get to 30 ppm). I included picture of CYA "guess strip"/test strip in post above... which I realize isn't perfect but assume adding 1lb now isn't at risk of being too much, right?
 
I would not add the stabilizer until you can test the current level. If you already have adequate CYA in the pool, you could overshoot your target with the addition. To remove it, you need to drain some water from the pool.

Edit to say you should run an overnight chlorine loss test (OCLT). If the test indicates your pool has algae, a SLAM would require less chlorine if your CYA doesn't exceed 30 ppm.
 
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As for your run time for your pump, many of us run our pumps 24/7. How did you come up with 2575 rpm for your run speed? The slower you run your pump, the more electricity you save. You need the run the pump fast enough to turn on your SWG, turn on a heater if you have it, run any water features and adequate skim the pool. You should try turning down the speed of your pump until the SWG stops running from low flow. Then add 100-200 rpm and run at that speed. All pools are different. Some people can run their pumps at 1200 rpm. I need to run my pump at 2000 rpm to keep the SWG happy.
 
Homebrewale said:
As for your run time for your pump, many of us run our pumps 24/7. How did you come up with 2575 rpm for your run speed? The slower you run your pump, the more electricity you save. You need the run the pump fast enough to turn on your SWG, turn on a heater if you have it, run any water features and adequate skim the pool. You should try turning down the speed of your pump until the SWG stops running from low flow. Then add 100-200 rpm and run at that speed. All pools are different. Some people can run their pumps at 1200 rpm. I need to run my pump at 2000 rpm to keep the SWG happy.
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Thanks. I'll do some experimenting once I get CYA figured out. The run speed was what the pool contractor, and the pool service company they use to perform "pool school" (1 hour demonstration on how to take care of pool) set it at - so I haven't changed it.

As unreliable as test strips may be, you don't think based on that picture I posted it'd be safe even adding 1lb CYA increaser? That should only add around 10ppm to CYA. Or is test strip so inaccurate that I could already have plenty of CYA despite that picture?
 
Looks like you are in good hands with the advice you are getting. But let me address the pump.

I run my pump 24/7 but at 1200 RPM. It is enough to drive my SWG and keeps the pool water circulating which I like. Also at that low speed it only consumes 150W of power so not very much.
 
Katodude said:
Looks like you are in good hands with the advice you are getting. But let me address the pump.

I run my pump 24/7 but at 1200 RPM. It is enough to drive my SWG and keeps the pool water circulating which I like. Also at that low speed it only consumes 150W of power so not very much
Click to expand...

Katodude said:
Looks like you are in good hands with the advice you are getting. But let me address the pump.

I run my pump 24/7 but at 1200 RPM. It is enough to drive my SWG and keeps the pool water circulating which I like. Also at that low speed it only consumes 150W of power so not very much.
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Stupid question - but you like running it constantly simply because it keeps the pool more clean that not doing so? Feels like that would be a lot of stress on the pump, running it that many hours particularly when it's not "necessary." Obviously more experienced folks do it, so I'm sure it's fine, but the wear and tear and reducing lifespan of the pump were my concerns there.
 
I am in Florida and we can get inches of rain in a few hours at any time of day. I am frequently not home, but with the pump running all the time that rain water will get mixed with chlorinated water. Also it allows me to be constantly adding chlorine to the pool through my SWG. I also run the FC hot, and this allows me to do that. Pumps typically last a very long time so I am not really worried.

For cleaning I have a robot army that takes care of that.
 
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