SLAM/Floccing and a Potential Blind Vaccum. Ingenius ideas needed from the TFP brains trust.
- Thread starter Reubzy
- Start date
Thanks all! I jumped in today with the little man and it was great. He loved it and so did I.
It is looking clear and I’m still dosing with chlorine with the view to check the overnight chlorine loss test soon.
As I’m reaching the end of this journey could anyone suggest how I should transition to maintenance?
I’ve been filtering 24h for some time now and I’d be keen to bring down the electricity usage without losing the pool.
What steps should I follow? Keen I hear what you think I should prioritise like raising CYA etc?
It is looking clear and I’m still dosing with chlorine with the view to check the overnight chlorine loss test soon.
As I’m reaching the end of this journey could anyone suggest how I should transition to maintenance?
I’ve been filtering 24h for some time now and I’d be keen to bring down the electricity usage without losing the pool.
What steps should I follow? Keen I hear what you think I should prioritise like raising CYA etc?
You do not indicate in your signature which pump you have and is it Single Speed or Variable Speed.
Do you use Pool Math app?
Also, it would be helpful to see a full set of test results however pH is erratic when FC levels are above 10ppm
CYA levels will guide which level of FC to maintain your pool properly sanitized. FC/CYA Levels
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,110
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Best starting point would be to post a full set of test results (with your CCL kit):
FC
CC
pH (if possible at current FC)
TA
CYA
CH
Salt
Temperature
FC
CC
pH (if possible at current FC)
TA
CYA
CH
Salt
Temperature
Thanks Herman/mgtfp.
I’ll do a full set of results tonight with my kit, I do have a subscription to PoolMath.
It’s variable speed, I’ve had it at med/high while filtering and now dropped to low while still filtering.
Photos of equipment attached.
And a bonus filthy Chlorinator
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- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,110
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
And one more question: Is your eQ chlorinator equipped with pH and ORP probes, and are you running that in fully automated mode (I think Astral calls it AI-mode)?
I'm not a big fan of ORP-control. It only (kind of) works with low CYA, which means that the SWG has to work a lot harder.
I'm not a big fan of ORP-control. It only (kind of) works with low CYA, which means that the SWG has to work a lot harder.
Big negative to both of those, it’s just got 8 settings for chlorination. Manually set as P1 - P8.
No probes either PH or ORB
I have the V35 SWG which is very similar in specifications. In Adelaide I am running my pump for 8 hours (8am-4pm) at max speed and max chlorination to maintain 5ppm chlorine in a 65,000L pool. My CYA is between 60-70ppm
Hope this helps as a starting point!
Hope this helps as a starting point!
The pool industry will tell you that you have to run your pump at a speed high enough to turn the water over 2 times a day. That's false. Running your pump serves three purposes, 1. Filter the water, 2. Skim the surface of the pool, 3. Add chlorine. The pump only needs to run long enough to ensure the proper level of chlorine is maintained at the given setting of your swcg. The skimming and filtering is per your preference. Rpm doesn't matter for chlorination as long as its high enough to close the low flow switch and turn on the cell. The speed of the pump really only affects skimming. The higher the speed of the pump, the more skimming action you get typically. Use pool math to determine the amount time your swcg needs to be on at your given setting and determine the lowest rpm you can use to close flow switch. These are you bare minimum settings. It will take a little tinkering to get them right as each pool is different.
Test your water regularly for this season, get to know what your pool likes. This way you will stay ahead of any alge bloom and be able to balance pretty easily efficiency and chemistry.
As an example, my pool runs every day from 2:30pm to 6:30 pm @ 1550 and my swcg set at 20%.
Test your water regularly for this season, get to know what your pool likes. This way you will stay ahead of any alge bloom and be able to balance pretty easily efficiency and chemistry.
As an example, my pool runs every day from 2:30pm to 6:30 pm @ 1550 and my swcg set at 20%.
Okay I’ve done a full suite of tests at approx 6pm.
FC 12 (just dosed an hour before freehand pour)
CC 0.5
PH 7.6
TA 100
CYA 26 (from pool store result)
CH 250
Salt 800ppm
Temp: 25.5 deg C
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- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,110
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Looks like you managed to vacuum a lot to waste, going by your salt level. Would be good if you could confirm the CYA with your own test kit, not sure if that lines up with the salt. Assuming that salt was at least at 4000 before diluting the water to run an AstralPool SWG, it got diluted by a factor of 5. That means your CYA must have been at 130ppm before the dilution, which sounds unlikely for a salt pool.
You certainly can start adding salt, and confirm your CYA before doing anything with that.
The test doesn't look too bad.
You certainly can start adding salt, and confirm your CYA before doing anything with that.
The test doesn't look too bad.
I’ll knock out the CYA test tomorrow. Thanks for your help buddy.
Is there a way I can continue to use the liquid chlorine rather than dose up the salt straight away as I’d like to use up the stock of liquid chlorine before I start using the SWG.
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,110
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Sure, not a problem. Liquid chlorine is as good as SWG - apart from having to lug the bottles home. Would be a shame to waste all of this chlorine.
Start adding salt back whenever works for you. Also no harm in getting the salt in and continue using liquid chlorine for a while.
Dump the salt in now and continue with the liquid chlorine with the swcg off to allow the salt time to dissolve. This will help keep slugs of very salty water from damaging your swcg.
Thanks for the test results. All looks good.
Suggest you continue to use LC for chlorination until you do 2 actions
Add Salt to the recommended level for your SWCG. Don't turn on SWCG until the salt level is stable (takes a couple of days)
Add stabilizer to reach minimum 60ppm but don't exceed 80ppm. Suggest you do it in stages so you do not overshoot it. Use the sock method hanging in front of a return to disburse the stabilizer. This could take a couple of days to thouroughly mix and register - so don't be quick to keep adding stabilizer after the first dose. It would be best if you could test CYA on your own - do you have a test kit for CYA?
The instructions on the stabilizer will say to add directly into the skimmer basket. I did this and I'm pretty certain the most of it got trapped by the filter. It would take a while for this to dissolve if it is in the filter for sure. I personally left it a week between doses.
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,110
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
Yep, that's why we usually recommend the sock method.
One thing to consider is, that CYA is sold in Australia as a fine powder rather than the granules common in the US. As soon as this powder gets wet, it tends to clump together and these clumps become as hard as brick and take ages to dissolve.
I usually fill the powder into a sock and tie it to the end of a stick. While lowering into the water, I immediately start kneading the sock, that prevents the powder from turning into a brick. Then I either hang it in front of a return until the sock is empty. Or I just walk around the pool, pulling the sock on the stick through the water. Like that the powder leaves the sock pretty quickly and gets distributed uniformly around the pool. Some settles on the floor, which disappears quickly with brushing. I'll keep the pump running on high (only skimming, no cleaner running). After a few hours, the CYA usually registered as expected in the test.
Thanks mate, will confirm CYA with my kit. I just find the test quite hard to do to be honest, I can never quite tell if the CCL logo has disappeared.
Any tips where to get decent priced CYA and salt? I was thinking straight to Bunnings as the pool shop (Poolwerx) charges a decent premium.
Bunnings are lowest prices guaranteed and have the same hy-clor products that all the other pool shops have.
- Mar 5, 2020
- 3,110
- Pool Size
- 66000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron V35
I know, takes some time to get used to the test. I once ordered a big bottle of the Taylor R-0013 reagent on Amazon, so I don't have to be stingy with the reagent and can get used to the test. If stored cool and dark, the reagent lasts a long time. If you add the CYA gradually, like in 10ppm increments, you can use this as test training and see if the added CYA shows up as expected. Also helps to avoid overdosing.
I often buy the Bunnings stuff. I usually buy the higher grade salt which is finer and dissolves faster. It hardly costs more. Just make sure you don't buy any of those expensive mineral nonsense salts (with Magnesium, etc). Don't add it all at once to avoid getting to high. But the AstralPool SWGs work in a wide range of salt levels.