New Pool Owner looking for ideal settings for Florida

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FlGator68

Member
Jun 28, 2020
21
Tampa, FL
Hello,

I have been following this forum for the last few months that I have owned a new pool. This is my first time managing a pool, I put all of my basic info in the signature.
I am at a point where my SWG cannot keep up and I have visible algae. I am going to attempt the SLAM process but wanted to confirm my targets before I start.
My pool is outdoors in direct Florida sunlight all day, screened in. Average outdoor temp in the low to mid 90s all day, average pool temp right now around 90F.

My main question is what FC and CYA levels should I target? I know these are covered on the forum but am asking specifically for high Florida heat, direct sun, with an SWG.
Most general info says FC of 2-3 but I have read some posts on TFP that say for a SWG this should be higher, maybe 4 or 5?
I was keeping CYA 30-50 but found that the SWG at 100% could not keep up. So I have read in Florida I may want to target 50-70 or higher?
I keep salt at exactly 3000.

My other targets are currently:
TA 80-120
CH 200-400
PH 7.4-7.6

If I could get a little direction from the experts on the correct targets for my particular installation then I should be set to start SLAM and then restart with a clean slate.

Any help is much appreciated!
 
Ignore the general info on 2-3 CL ppm if your referring to information outside this forum. Here we take into account the relationship between FC and CYA which affect the “effective” FC. (Not expert term lol) see FC/CYA chart in pool school

Slam the pool and clear up the algae first. Save on chlorine. See slamming in pool school. Lower PH to about 7.2 first.

After clearing all slam criteria, then raise CYA to 70 or so.
CYA 30-50 is big range. You need to narrow down closer for normal operation and a slam. Your normal target FC is 5 for 30 CYA and 6 for 50. The minimums are just that, bare minimum. Anything less an you risk algae as you found out. 😀
In my 3 years following TFP I have yet to slam except to close or open the pool.
 
Msch99 said:
Ignore the general info on 2-3 CL ppm if your referring to information outside this forum. Here we take into account the relationship between FC and CYA which affect the “effective” FC. (Not expert term lol) see FC/CYA chart in pool school

Slam the pool and clear up the algae first. Save on chlorine. See slamming in pool school. Lower PH to about 7.2 first.

After clearing all slam criteria, then raise CYA to 70 or so.
CYA 30-50 is big range. You need to narrow down closer for normal operation and a slam. Your normal target FC is 5 for 30 CYA and 6 for 50. The minimums are just that, bare minimum. Anything less an you risk algae as you found out. 😀
In my 3 years following TFP I have yet to slam except to close or open the pool.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I have the pool at 7.2 PH and the CYA is around 50. I just download the PoolMath app which is set up to do the SLAM math for me so that process will start tomorrow! (y)(y)
 
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I have about the same size pool as you, and the same SWG. My pool is also screened, and in full blaring Florida sun all day long. Im keeping my CYA at 60, and running my SWG at 12 hours a day between 40 and 50%. That is keeping my FC level at about 8 ppm. At 50%, the FC creeps up to about 10, then I change the SWG to 40% to drop it back down. The SWG seems to definitely keep up with chlorine production. Get your SLAM done, and your SWG will be able to take over, if my experience is any indication.
 
One thing to note is that once algae gets to the visible stage it will consume a lot of FC. Often even before it’s visible it can significantly affect your chlorine demand. The sun and the UV will also affect your chlorine demand, but with a SWG rated at 35k and only an 8500G pool your SWG should have no trouble keeping up under normal circumstances. Especially since your pool is screened in as the screen will block a good amount of the UV.

I suspect that once you complete the SLAM (make sure you pass all three criteria to finish it) and start maintaining an appropriate FC level for you CYA level that you will discover that your SWG has no problems keeping up.
 
How long do you run your pump each day? That SWG at 100% should be creating lots of chlorine way more than you need for your sized pool.
 
carnivalday said:
I have about the same size pool as you, and the same SWG. My pool is also screened, and in full blaring Florida sun all day long. Im keeping my CYA at 60, and running my SWG at 12 hours a day between 40 and 50%. That is keeping my FC level at about 8 ppm. At 50%, the FC creeps up to about 10, then I change the SWG to 40% to drop it back down. The SWG seems to definitely keep up with chlorine production. Get your SLAM done, and your SWG will be able to take over, if my experience is any indication.
Click to expand...
This is great info, thanks! I will attempt to replicate your scenario. The one thing I am still unclear on is whether pump speed (GPM) affects amount of chlorine? I knkw the pump runtime certainly does but does the pump speed have an impact as well?
I typically run my pump at half speed (1750rpm) to save power and extend equipment life. Would flow speed affect the runtime needed for the SWG to achieve the same result as full speed?
 
Pump speed doesnt affect the amount of chlorine produced. You just have to be sure that the speed is high enough to make sure the switch for the SWG is on (Im just repeating that, I have no clue how they work). Your SWG will say if its chlorinating or not when you set your pump speed.
 
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Running the TruClear for 8 hours at 100% produces a max of about 4-5 parts chlorine in your sized pool. With hot sun, low CYA and even a few things to clean, you could run short on Chlorine. Solution: You need to run your pump more than 8 hours/day. I would bump to 12 and see what that does.
 
PoolGate said:
Running the TruClear for 8 hours at 100% produces a max of about 4-5 parts chlorine in your sized pool. With hot sun, low CYA and even a few things to clean, you could run short on Chlorine. Solution: You need to run your pump more than 8 hours/day. I would bump to 12 and see what that does.
Click to expand...
That's good advice. I will try that after I finish the SLAM.
I am on the first day of slam, checking it every 4 hours. My SLAM FC is 24, I am correct that I need to continue until I can maintain a reading of 24 overnight without it dropping below 23 right? I am asking because I wasn't clear if I do the OCLT every night until it doesn't drop more than 1ppm (regardless of reading) or if I need my reading to actually be 24 before I do the OCLT? Like if my goal end the end is to maintain FC 5-6, during SLAM am I trying to get it to hold a 6 overnight or a 24 overnight?
 
PoolGate said:
Running the TruClear for 8 hours at 100% produces a max of about 4-5 parts chlorine in your sized pool. With hot sun, low CYA and even a few things to clean, you could run short on Chlorine. Solution: You need to run your pump more than 8 hours/day. I would bump to 12 and see what that does.
Click to expand...
I came up with some different math.

It looks like that unit produces 18g per hour, so 432g in 24 hours. That is 0.95 lbs per day. Plugging that into PoolMath for a 29,000 gallon pool gives your 1.3ppm FC at 100% for 8 hours.

The recommendation is to typically get a SWG that is rated for twice the pool gallons. In this case, since the poster's gallons are 29,000, then the unit being rated for 35,000 gallons means that the SWG will have to run almost continuously.

Based on pool math, running the SWG at 100% for 24 hours would yield 3.9ppm of FC. That is probably what will be needed in Tampa in the summer.

That unit produces 0.93 lbs per day. Plugging that into PoolMath for a 8,500 gallon pool gives your 4.4ppm FC at 100% for 8 hours.

That is probably what will be needed in Tampa in the summer.
 
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Randrx2 said:
I came up with some different math.

It looks like that unit produces 18g per hour, so 432g in 24 hours. That is 0.95 lbs per day. Plugging that into PoolMath for a 29,000 gallon pool gives your 1.3ppm FC at 100% for 8 hours.

The recommendation is to typically get a SWG that is rated for twice the pool gallons. In this case, since the poster's gallons are 29,000, then the unit being rated for 35,000 gallons means that the SWG will have to run almost continuously.

Based on pool math, running the SWG at 100% for 24 hours would yield 3.9ppm of FC. That is probably what will be needed in Tampa in the summer.
Click to expand...
Thanks for running the math, and you are correct about the .95lb/day, however my pool is only 8,500 gallons so the SWG is sized 4 times larger than my pool.
 
Randrx2 said:
I came up with some different math.

It looks like that unit produces 18g per hour, so 432g in 24 hours. That is 0.95 lbs per day. Plugging that into PoolMath for a 29,000 gallon pool gives your 1.3ppm FC at 100% for 8 hours.

The recommendation is to typically get a SWG that is rated for twice the pool gallons. In this case, since the poster's gallons are 29,000, then the unit being rated for 35,000 gallons means that the SWG will have to run almost continuously.

Based on pool math, running the SWG at 100% for 24 hours would yield 3.9ppm of FC. That is probably what will be needed in Tampa in the summer.
Click to expand...

The original poster’s pool is 8500 gallons, not 29000. I think that’s why your math is different:)
 
I just checked my FC again, so I could give you my numbers. Two days ago I tested FC, it was at 11 ppm (high I know!), and my SWG was set at 50% for 12 hours. I lowered the SWG to 40% and 12 hours. Checked it today (2 days later) and the FC is 10 ppm. So its dropping about .5 ppm per day running at 12 hours @ 40%. That setting produces 2.4 ppm of chlorine a day, so I think Im using about 3 ppm chorine per day. I think the screen enclosure really helps on chlorine usage.
 

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