SWG with fountain

[Rumbleehockey03]

It’s super hot in central NC so I’ve been running a small fountain 24/7 to help cool the pool off. I’m noticing my chlorine level drop pretty low on a setting that typically keeps everything steady. It seems to me that running the SWG with the fountain attached is somehow severely reducing the amount of chlorine getting into the water. Is this possible or am I possibly ignoring another issue? I have zero CC so it’s not algae eating it up and CYA is around 60 so the extra sun shouldn’t really be causing my noticed drop in FC level based on previous experience.

Any science behind the issue I think I have?

 

[mknauss]

A CC of zero does not rule out algae.
Do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight.

Running the fountain should have no effect on FC loss.

 

[Rumbleehockey03]

A CC of zero does not rule out algae.
Do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight.

Running the fountain should have no effect on FC loss.

Just an update...ran my SWG until dark last night and then turned on the fountain to run overnight. Been running the SWG all day and am up to about 2-3 FC. Should be able to get it up high enough to run the overnight test tonight. Didn’t have any liquid chlorine to get it up to normal yesterday, thus the delay.

 

[mknauss]

All the time you are below minimum FC for your CYA algae is planning a party in your pool.

 

[Rumbleehockey03]

FC 2.5 after dusk and 30min after Swg was turned off. Have a bad feeling about this because it’s been running wide open almost all day Either it has scale and isn’t working (seems unlikely with the amount of gas I see coming from my return, or I’ve got some algae brewing. This will be my first battle if that’s the case, but I feel confident in working the SLAM process if that’s the case Will report in the morning with my reading for the overnight test.

 

[Newdude]

Its generally a much easier battle when you are starting with clear water. Empty and clean your steps good too.

 

[Rumbleehockey03]

The results are in. Measured FC at 2.0 this morning so passed the overnight test. I pulled my SWG and cleaned with acid solution and got no bubbles, suggesting it’s clean. Also cleaned my filter while the system was empty. Turned it on superchlor and will let it run while I’m at work and see what happens.
I didn’t mention before but my pool is getting about 12hrs of direct sun daily right now and my water temp hovers right at 90 during the day which could be lowering the SWG efficiency from what I understand...maybe I was just running it at too low a setting? Also, air temp had been in the upper 90s for the last 2 weeks from about noon-7pm, which is in the time I run my SWG. Perhaps I should run it at night while it’s cooler for the sake of the electronics?
Im open to any suggestions.

 

[CrystalRiver]

60 CYA is low for SWG. You say it's been hot, and that can degrade CYA, too. How long since your CYA level has been tested? It might be lower than you think.

 

[Rumbleehockey03]

60 CYA is low for SWG. You say it's been hot, and that can degrade CYA, too. How long since your CYA level has been tested? It might be lower than you think.

I didn’t realize CYA could degrade, but that would explain the constant low levels I see when I do the full gambit of testing. I did run a full test last week and found CYA at 40 and added 2lbs to bring it up and haven’t done a recheck. I have been adding CYA after every test because I tend to find it low...in that 40 range.
This is great information and I’ll keep a closer watch on that as we continue with the extra-hot weather here.

 

[Rumbleehockey03]

Came home after SWG ran at 100% for 8hrs to find FC at 4. The wife got me some liquid bleach so I added enough to bring that to about 6 and shut off the SWG to let it cool off AND Added 1.5lbs of cya. Reset my SWG timer to run during the night enough to provide 2ppm and will monitor time see what happens the next few days. It’s still wicked hot...heat index around 105, air temp almost 100, pool water temp 91.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Remember- SWG's work too slow to bring a pool's FC up from <too low> to <desired level> before algae can take hold.

So you always want to toss in some liquid chlorine to bring your FC up, then let the SWG *maintain* that level, assuming no algae or other reason is chewing thru your free chlorine.

Maddie

 

[Rumbleehockey03]

Remember- SWG's work too slow to bring a pool's FC up from <too low> to <desired level> before algae can take hold.

So you always want to toss in some liquid chlorine to bring your FC up, then let the SWG *maintain* that level, assuming no algae or other reason is chewing thru your free chlorine.

Maddie

My SWG is quite oversized and I’ve managed to compensate in the past. But with this ordeal I’m definitely onboard with holding some bleach to keep up. Gonna continue to monitor the SWG performance running it overnight to try to learn a bit more about its performance. I only got the pool last June, so I’m still new