So....just started the SWG. How does this thing work?

[SunnyOptimism]

My problem with color change is I find it very hard to detect. Always have, back to chemistry lab. I tend to trust a machine, however imperfect, over my imperfect optical analysis. I hear you both about the ColorQ, noted.

Now, does liquid CYA take a while to disperse, or should it be immediate?

Thanks!

Well, like a lot of men, I'm partially red-green color blind and, being a guy, I genetically programmed to only recognize 5 colors, so I usually ask my wife to double check my color determination. All in all, we do pretty good

Solid CYA is very slow to dissolve and can take up to a week before you'll register it on a test. Liquid CYA will disperse faster but I also believe it takes days before you'll see it show up.

Not sure how the ColorQ does it, but the Taylor method uses a reaction with melamine to form a finely dispersed suspension of melamine cyanurate which visually occluds a black dot at the bottom of a sample tube. I find it to be quite accurate a repeatable and it is my understanding that it is the "gold standard" for CYA testing. Strips are totally useless for CYA testing


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[Needsdecaf]

The Color Q uses a tablet you crush and dissolve. Being an engineer, I have been suspect of this test from the beginning, as I have almost always found un-crushed tablet in the solution after the two minute period. No good, says me.

However, after 4-5 results repeated themselves my suspicion waned but did not leave completely.


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[SunnyOptimism]

The Color Q uses a tablet you crush and dissolve. Being an engineer, I have been suspect of this test from the beginning, as I have almost always found un-crushed tablet in the solution after the two minute period. No good, says me.

However, after 4-5 results repeated themselves my suspicion waned but did not leave completely.


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You can probably just purchase the Taylor CYA test separate or get it from TFTestkits.net

It's a very simple test and there's even a 50ppm CYA standard solution you can buy to help calibrate your eyeball in determining the best lighting and visualizing conditions to determine the disappearance of the black dot. I've always felt very comfortable with the test results as my local pool store is useless and test strips just simply don't work.

And sure, you have 4 to 5 repeatable results....they can still be 4 to 5 erroneous results (offset bias).

Sorry to harp on it, but most folks around here use the Taylor reagents to determine water chemistry parameters and so you're going to get a lot of qualified help

"well, assuming you can trust your ColorQ results, then I would blah, blah, blah...."


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[SunnyOptimism]

One other point about the ColorQ and then I'll shut up -

I don't believe the ColorQ can measure very high FC values. That's a huge downside if you need to do a SLAM as you won't be able to measure the FC values needed to get to shock level for killing algae.

What's the upper limit of the ColorQ? If it can't go beyond 15ppm FC, then you won't be able to SLAM or perform an OCLT.

EXPERTS- ColorQ upper limit on FC? Anyone know?


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[Needsdecaf]

One other point about the ColorQ and then I'll shut up -

I don't believe the ColorQ can measure very high FC values. That's a huge downside if you need to do a SLAM as you won't be able to measure the FC values needed to get to shock level for killing algae.

What's the upper limit of the ColorQ? If it can't go beyond 15ppm FC, then you won't be able to SLAM or perform an OCLT.


EXPERTS- ColorQ upper limit on FC? Anyone know?


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I believe the upper limit is 10ppm. There is always dilution, of course, but that's not as accurate.

 

[Needsdecaf]

So, finally was able to get my pH down low enough to lower my TA. It had been right around 100, and my pH was staying high, finally I got enough acid in to drop it to 7.2.

Interestingly enough, despite lowering the SWG to 45%, and bringing back run time, my test kit (no comments please) is now reading over 10ppm FC (it reads Hi). Yes, I have ordered a TF-100, but I still trust these results to a certain extent.

I am now aerating to return my pH back up to 7.6, now that my TA is 74.

Question is....my FC was 6.4, 7.7, 6.9, 7.7 as I played a bit with run times and percentages (raised some, lowered some). Now it's over 10.

Why would that be?

 

[jblizzle]

Cloudy day? Lower loss to sun on some days?

Why bother to aerate to raise the pH? Let it rise on its own.

 

[Needsdecaf]

Cloudy day? Lower loss to sun on some days?

Why bother to aerate to raise the pH? Let it rise on its own.

It was lower sun than some recent days.

Why aerate? Just doing what I read here to lower TA.....

http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/129-how-to-lower-lowering-total-alkalinity

 

[jblizzle]

But your TA is already down ... unless you are planning to add more acid to lower it more.

 

[Needsdecaf]

No, but I didn't want to be in it with pH that low.

 

[jblizzle]

You would not have noticed any difference.

 

[Needsdecaf]

You would not have noticed any difference.

Ok, just trying to keep it in the recommended range.


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[Needsdecaf]

So, chlorine still over 10 ppm. Turning down the generator to 20%. Was cloudy and some rain all day.


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[timerguy]

Regarding %, Circupools run on 200 minute cycles for as long as there is flow, meaning that out of every 200 minutes the SWG is actually only generating for 150 minutes, shutting down the last 50 minutes of each cycle. 3 cycles is 10 hours so it is generating chlorine for 750 minutes total. I am running mine for twelve hours now so the last 2 hours it is generating the whole two hours. But that's only circupools as far as I know. someone with other models can maybe explain for their swgs.