Plaster finally going in ... Bi Carb Questions and possible guidance

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Question regarding my booster pump. When it's running, the suction is supplied from the discharge from my filter, when it runs it basically takes all the fluid from the discharge ...actually if I open the air valve on top of my filter it will suck air. One more reason I think my pump is weak, or is this normal? I am hoping to get my new pump installed soon but the rains been delaying that... I have the three HP Intelliflo which should make a big difference. Just surprising that that Polaris booster pump takes more than the other one can put out. This isn't normal is it?


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Is the booster used for anything else other than the cleaner?

I'd say your experiences are normal but I am not very much of an advocate of pressure side cleaners. You'd be well suited and likely fairly easily switched to a suction side cleaner, or better yet a robot.
 
Yes, I just spent well over $100 repairing the this pressure side cleaner, wish I would've not did that and just put the money toward a robot. From what I read that Nautilis plus is a good one. Thanks for confirming my situation regarding the pressure side cleaner.


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What should my CSI be after a couple weeks? I have mostly been watching chlorine and ph mostly. CSI .3-.4 range.

Cl 4
Ph 7.6
TA 240
Ch 300
Cya 35

Got rain last night will check levels tonight.

Stay this course? How long and then what CSI to target?


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It is best to keep CSI slightly negative, -0.1 to -0.3. Wow, that TA is high! What a pain. I would seriously consider setting up a rain water catchment system. Get your TA lowered and try to fill with rain water as much as you can.
 
OK, I was out of town for five days, my wife was checking the numbers for me, and she did a good job. All I had her check was pH and CL. We had a Lot of rain, these are my current numbers and I want to know if there is a reason for concern since my plaster is only a few weeks old.

C 4
CC 0
PH 7.3
TA 170
CH 225
CYA 35

My concern is, since I did the bicarbonate start up, my TA And CH combined is now less than 500. Everything good? Please advise if I need to add any calcium hardness.

On a positive note, my new Pentair Intelliflo has been running for about three hours. Big difference in circulation and noise. I think I'm going to love it.


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It looks like you average around 36" of rainfall per year which is likely close to your average pool depth. You also have fairly high CH fill water. I would leave your calcium alone for a while to see what you can expect in the future. Calcium can always be added, but getting rid of it is much more challenging.

Your current numbers yield a CSI of -0.12 which is very good. As your TA drops, you will compensate by running the pH a little higher. Keep an eye on the CH and watch how fast it rises.
 
Thanks, CH is actually down around 100 ppm from when I filled it, from rain. So there's no worries with the bicarbonate start up at this point with the TA and CH being less than 500 combined? I know that was the magic number when I filled it for a bicarbonate start up.


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500 isn't a magic number. The CSI is what you are really targeting and maintaining +0.3-+0.5 for the first 3 weeks. Since you are passed that stage, you can safely take the CSI into the slightly negative area.

Even with the TA+CH > 500, you can still very easily have a negative CSI value which is counterproductive to the bicarbonate startup process and would essentially disqualify the parameters from even meeting the bicarb startup criteria.
 
Thanks ...today is the 20th day since I filled pool. I have kept the CSI between .3 and .7 steady since the start point. I will now start to maintain a CSI of slightly negative.


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I now have my variable speed Intelliflo pump installed. Any input on how many hours a day and at what speed I should be running this?


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4-5 hours at the lowest speed that still allows for effective skimming should be adequate. It will take some trial and error to see what your pool likes.

Try 1200rpm and see how that works out. There really isn't any benefit to speeds lower than 1000.
 
Couple hours AM and a couple hours PM. Move up from there if the pool isn't as clean as you want. Look at the watts consumed at 1000, 1100 and 1200. For some folks it still uses the same watts at the higher RPM, so, might as well run at the higher speed. Mine runs at 1100 rpm for skimming and making chlorine with SWG.
 
I'm not at home now but if I remember right I had to approach 1800 - 2000 RPM to get pressure on the filter, is that even a concern? Currently I've been running it 14 hours at 2650... Overkill no doubt. I will adjust time and slow it down know that I have a better idea.


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I plan on adding a Hayward AquaRite T15 soon, i'm trying to learn all I can about these SWG in a pool, I know it has to run when the pump is running, is there any rule of thumb for this? When I had the new pump plumbed in I left a straight leaving my filter of 20 inches to allow for the SWG. Does the cell know when to turn on and off or does it have to run every time the pump does?


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