SWG or Algae?

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Cya seems to have dropped to 40-45, just added 4#. Was definitely 60-70 a couple weeks ago.

Just turned off pump to empty pump basket. Odd thing, water normally drains out (level goes down halfway or more), but this time started pouring out the top. Filter tank lost a bunch. No water spewing out under pressure, so don't think there's a leak. Just weird stuff with all the CO2 in the lines (but shouldn't be backing up into filter).

Anyway, turned back on and now getting low salt (just checked it's at 3600). With off button pushed, there's still a blue blinking light inside. So could be the cell or control!
 
Kill power to the cell and then restart it. Most cells only check temp and salt at start up and will remain off for 12 or 24 hours until the next self check time.
 
Newdude said:
Kill power to the cell and then restart it. Most cells only check temp and salt at start up and will remain off for 12 or 24 hours until the next self check time.
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Power cycle did the trick this AM to clear no salt LED. Looks like I may need to slam again. FC dropped from 7.5 to 6 overnight (maybe the heat?), CC still less than .5. Adding 4# of CYA since it's drifting down. Going to run SWG 12 hours during day at 6 LEDs to see if FC stays above 5. Cell definitely has some calcium build up, but no check cell warning.

Good news, went from 6 to 8 (in 4 hours) with 6 LEDs. Will give it the rest of the day and crank back to 62%, or maybe 50%. CYA is definitely 70 after adding 4#.
 
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Curious if slam is necessary if FC goes from 8 to 6 overnight, CC less than .5. Looks like SWG is keeping FC above 6. Pool is clear (at night with pool light appears slightly milky in deep end).
 
duraleigh said:
Maybe I missed it......what does your water look like during this period?
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During the day, clear. No signs of green tint. I did check pool about an hour after sunrise, but pool is 100% shaded by house until about noon. FC shouldn't drop 2ppm in an hour of "light", so there must be "some" algae. It is over 80 degrees all night if that has any effect. Pump not running at night.
 
tcat said:
Did not run pump or agitate.
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Learning new things always pushes some old ones out the mind at our age. I'm WITH ya. I promise. :)

To recap :

1) mix after adding FC and verify you reached target (if using liquid chlorine)

2) mix well in the AM (or anytime) before testing.
 
SWG takes some getting use to for sure! Having used Stenner and LC for 10 years, SWG seems to be a bit trickier to get dialed in! Looking like my Edge-40 needs to be at 75% rather than the 38% that I expected. FC was definitely a bit higher after pump was running.

Edit:. All good at 75% for 9 hours. FC 6.5 in AM, 8.0 end of day. I'll probably drop it to 62% to see if it will stay 5-6. CC hit .75 last night, but seems to be below. 5 now. It is dropping .5-1.5 at night, hopefully that will drop some.
 
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Started SWG a month ago, working well. I was passing oclt, but now I'm dropping 2ppm FC at night (still under .5 CC). So SWG is adding +4, then losing 2 at night. 5 to 7 to 5, sometimes 5.5 to 7.5 to 5. Water is clear. CYA at 70, so don't want to slam if not necessary. As long as FC be is above 5, won't any algae keep dying? Floor is free from "algae dust".
 
Sorry this is still giving you some grief Tcat. They usually go alot smoother, especially for someone who was already used to another dosing device.

Did you get every inch of the pool with the previous SLAM ? I'm talking every inch. One member had a recurring issue last year and after a couple of SLAMs, found a nasty autofill that they hadn't thought previously to check. As soon as they popped the top of the pot, they knew. It kept reintroducing the bloom a few days after the last one was clear. There likely has to be an 'Aha' here that was overlooked in a similar fashion. You finish the slam, things seem ok for up to a week and it's right back at square one.

Light niches, ladder rails, fill/overflow, features, skimmers...... we've even seen the foam block that makes the weir door float be filled with algae. You can't see that block from the top or front of the skimmer unless you get all up in there.

Having the initial bloom was one thing. Then the CYA dropped and added another smokescreen again pointing to the SWG not keeping up. I'm now thinking there is some original funk left somewhere doing it a 3rd time.

Keep us posted. We are in this together and we got you.
 
No ladders, no odd corners, bottom has never been so free of "dust", nothing coming off walls. Only area could be is filter, but backwashed a week ago. Maybe I'm checking too late in the am (maybe an hour after sunrise), but pool gets no direct sun until noon. Pump starts at 8, I check about 8:30. I'll run pump all night tonight and check earlier. By noon FC is back up to 6.5. Pretty sure I just had SWG set too low before my first slam.

Really don't want to slam. I'd have to buy grocery store brand at $5, but at least it's 7.5%. Nothing at HD or Lowes for past few weeks. Hoping whatever is bringing it down at night just "disappears".
 
I don't have any Borates in the pool or 5-10 at most. Can this stuff be used? Pool math says I need about 25#.

www.homedepot.com

JT Eaton 25 lb. Boric Acid Insecticidal Dust in Resealable Pail 3625 - The Home Depot

The Boric Acid Powder Insecticidal Dust is an effective control for roaches, palmetto bugs, ants, and silverfish. This dust is long lasting and effective even in small amounts and kills larger roaches
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SKU# 205018850
 
Looks like I need to slam again, now with CYA 70 ☹️. FC was 5.5 at 9pm tonight, so I'm losing ground. CC was 1. Just switched SWG to 24/7 to see if it will ramp up to at least FC 10 before I slam. Will be buying 7.5% from HEB ☹️. Looks like it will take at least 5 jugs.

Curious if anyone has slammed using SWG (or at least get it to like 20 before slamming).
 
I did some maths for you. Running the cell 24 hours, 100% for a week will cost you an extra $18-$20 in lifespan over your current 9 hour runtime. So, 4 gallons of LC ? It's probably cheaper to let the SWG help as much as it can. If it takes 3 days it would be about $8.

Spike it with LC to start. Test and add LC as usual, but you'll likely need to add alot less.

When it comes time for OCLT, the unit goes off.

Deep clean the filter as it's the only question mark. Do another once over for every inch. Algae keeps being reintroduced from something.
 
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