no choice but to convert to SWG, need advice.

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Poolmonkie

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Apr 28, 2017
57
Phoenix Arizona
I've been using the TFP method using liquid chlorine for over 2 years now, no refill since I started doing it on my own. I never had an issue with being able to add liquid chlorine every day as needed however things are changing and I'll be traveling a lot more, possibly being out of town for up to 2 weeks at a time. I do have a family member that can stop by almost every day however I don't want them to deal with the pool long term. So I'm thinking the SWG is the way to go, don't think that is in question.

I contacted a local contractor who is willing to put the SWG in asap however he mentioned that since the water is 2 years old that maybe I should just get it through this summer (Arizona) and do a refill in the early spring and then have the SWG installed, starting with a fresh base vs dealing with high TDS and hardness, etc. I think this is prudent.

So basically I need to get the water through the next 8 months without overburdening my helper, so I was thinking of just doing the chlorine pucks since I don't really care about CYA buildup as much due to the planned refill.

Does this sound reasonable? Is it a better idea to start the SWG with a fresh refill vs dealing with my current water?

I'm kinda in a bit of a bind and don't want to go back to using a pool service just to get 8 months out of the water and I also don't want to burden my family member to stop by and deal with the liquid chlorine until I get the SWG installed.

Any thoughts?
 
What is your CH? Post up your test results.

Otherwise you could float trichlor pucks while you are away and then drain enough water when you return to keep the CYA manageable.
 
I'll do a full test later today but as of 2 months ago my CH was 1100.

If I am using the pucks for the next 8 months with knowing I am going to drain the pool and refill anyway for the SWG would I even have to worry about the CYA level getting too high? I guess I'm not familiar with using the pucks and how much stabilizer they are going to add over that time period.
 
Stenner seems like the logical choice since you are already used to the liquid chlorine routine , plus not a huge up front cash outlay . Instead of dumping liquid chlorine in the pool a little at a time , just dump it in a vat all at once .
I am on the fence with a SWG also, but the stenner is so rock solid that I cant really make the jump . I can go at least a month without adding any liquid chlorine to the vat . My chlorine usage is approx 1/2 gallon per day . My chlorine vat holds about 20 gallons or so . Going a month at a time is no problem.
I have stenner systems in my 25,000 pool and my 400 gallon hot tub . Never have to add liquid chlorine manually (just fill the vats occasionally) , and they are crystal clear .
 
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Once your CYA reaches 70 to 80 ppm the pucks cannot add enough FC to inhibit algal growth.

With your CH that high, it is time to drain the pool.
 
Well now I'm really wondering the best way to deal with the pool Mknauss.

The main reason I started using the TFP procedure was because my pool service used nothing but pucks and the CYA went through the roof and they had me drain the water after one year. I was hoping to at least get 3 years out of the water before another drain (I'm at 2 years now with the current water). But it seems because the CH is high, and I don't think there is any way around that in Arizona I need to drain after 2 years? I see you are in NV Mknauss so I'm guessing you deal with the same type of water we have in Phoenix?

As for the Stenner system thanks for that advice, I didn't know such a system existed, I'll check into it.
 
I am sure your fill water is Colorado River water as mine is. I tend to exchange my pool water to fresh every 16-18 months. That is when my CH hits nearly 1000 ppm. It is all about evaporation. I would think you might get two years or a little more. Have you used any Cal Hypo shock since the last drain?
 
What is the CH of your fill water? Apparently I am blessed with a CH of around 100ppm, all well water.

I have read that we get about 4 feet of evaporation in a year, so that is basically the entire pool. Roughly means that your pool CH will go up by whatever your tap water CH is every year.
 
First no I have never used cal-hypo for a shock, the pool is almost never used by anyone other than me and faithfully maintain the FC around 7ppm year round, so I have never found a reason to do a shock.

I just tested and even though the CH test is kinda hard to get an accurate measurement I am showing around 1000, also the pool store gave me a reading of 600 about 2 months ago for whatever that might be worth.

As for fill water I believe Phoenix uses reservoirs that use snow runoff from the mountains vs colorado river water but I am thinking they are both going to be very similar in hardness. There is no doubt that Arizona has some of the hardest water around, it just kills plumbing, no way around that.

My CYA is about 50, I had to bring it up slightly over the past couple of weeks because it was near 30 early this year and I was putting almost 80oz of chlorine in a day to maintain my FC at 7.

I tested my FC today after putting in a floater with 2 chlorine pucks and it's has dropped to 4.5 down from 7.0 2 days ago that I was maintaining with the liquid chlorine.

So the phoenix area pretty much drains and refills every 2 years? I think I'm between a rock and a hard place, I was hoping to get 3 years out of the water at least but it seems that is impossible with the hard water.
 

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Tap water shows about 250. From what the city of phoenix states, water total hardness varies between 200 and almost 300, so I think my test is at least in the ballpark.

so basically in 2 years I should be pushing 750, however my test is showing 1000 and the pool store said 600.
 
The last time it was drained, was it fully drained? Also, are you absolutely sure the pool service did not use Cal Hypo at their visits? Normally they raise the FC really high at their weekly visits to make it to the next week without the ever present algae really showing itself.
 
Yes it was fully drained. The pool service drained the pool and began the startup after which I fired them and started the pool care myself. So the water in the pool now has only seen liquid chlorine other than whatever they used for startup and perhaps a couple of weeks of them putting tabs in the chlorinator. If they did use Cal Hypo it would have been during the startup otherwise all they ever did was load the chlorinator with about 6 pucks once a week.
 
I just looked up pan evaporation rates and in AZ it can exceed 100" in a year, that is over 8 feet. So conceivable that double the tap water CH levels could be added each year. Although this does not account for the 0 CH rain we do get and any water loss from splash out or filter cleaning.
 
I'm just really rethinking the total pool care plan. I was under the impression that the TFP method was to combat the high CYA which caused me to have to refill after about 18 months the first time. Now it seems that I would have to refill after 18 months due to the CH anyway. So either way I'm looking at 18 months and it would seem the pucks are a lot easier for someone in my position to deal with vs hauling storing and applying liquid chlorine on a daily basis. And if I install a SWG nothing will change, I'll still be at the mercy of the CH and an 18 month refill schedule?
 
Well, part of the problem is that while your CYA will rise and build up, the FC level needed to keep the pool sanitized and clear also goes up. And the tablets will NOT keep the FC high enough. So you are looking at having to test and supplement with extra chlorine ... otherwise, by late summer your pool will be green. So if you are testing and having to add liquid chlorine to keep the FC high enough anyway, why also use the tablets?

Tablets can work great in places that get a lot of rain that displaces and slows the CYA build up or places with short seasons and large drains to winterize their pool, but neither of those are true here.
 
Ok, I understand I need to refill but I've been told it's a bad idea to do that during the summer because the intense sunlight can damage the pool lining when it's empty? If this is the case can I get the water through till at least January even with the high CH?

So since I'm just trying to limp the pool through another 6 months, 4 of which will be hot, perhaps I can use a combo of the pucks when I'm away and liquid when I'm home.

After the refill I am going to have to try to see if a SWG will be the best answer or perhaps the Stenner system.

Thanks for the advice and info, it's giving me a lot to work with and think about.
 
I have never been able to keep the PH in the normal range, I will push it down to 7.2 and within 4-5 days it is right back up to 8.0+ I was told that it should level out but I never had any luck and went through many gallons of MA in the attempt.

right now I've got

PH 8.0
TA 150
FC 4.5
CH 1000
CYA 50

Also with the high CH how do you preform an exchange?
 

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