New Pool - Doing Great - Couple of Questions

[rdavis75]

Had a pool installed and completed July 4, 2018. So far, doing great.

Test results as of yesterday:
FC - 8
CC - <0.5
PH - 7.4
TA - 170
CH - N/A
CYA - 40

Only things that have ever been added to the water: Salt, CYA, Muratic Acid.

Comment 1 - TA Lowering is a laborious process. Started at 250 though so it's coming down.

Comment 2 - I'm astonished how well the IC40 works. At 20% 24hrs/day it can maintain FC over 8 (pump runs 24hrs @ 50GPM). I dropped this down to 10% yesterday to see what that will maintain, however see question #2 below as it is related. With the cover on, I could conceivably run up to SLAM levels I think, not that I would.

Question 1 - After reading the horror stories on here about CYA levels through the roof, I'm a little hesitant about bringing it up to the 70-80 recommended here, although once there, I would be doing nothing else that could add any so upward creep should not be an issue. What is the reasoning behind the higher level in SWG pools? I found no clear explanation in Pool School.

Question 2 - With the ability of the IC40 to maintain levels like it does, I could easily be turning the pump off for part of the day. Aside from some electrical savings and perhaps equipment longevity, is there other advantages/disadvantages to continuous or cyclical running of the equipment? It feels like nice consistent stable conditions would be better for chemistry rather than the roller coaster of filtering and FC generation on intermittent use.

Thanks in advance for any comments or advice.

Rob

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Rob and welcome to the forum! Looks like you are truly taking charge of your pool and water. For your two questions:
1 - It really boils-down to efficient FC production/protection and longevity of the cells. It's noted a bit on the Pool School - Water Balance for SWGs page.
2 - As you said, besides perhaps equipment longevity, run time is a balance between FC production, vacuuming, and surface area skimmer movement. Pool School - Determine Pump Run Time

There's a little more info on the Pool School - Salt Water Chlorine Generators page, but it sounds like you're just doing some fine-tuning for your pool.