What are the odds of getting algae with FC of 1-2 in a salt water pool?

[bertschb]

I've been helping my neighbor with his pool during his conversion to salt water. I helped him get his CYA in the 80 range and told him with that CYA level, he should shoot for a FC level of around 6 in a salt water pool. I also sent him a link to the TFP chart showing the recommended levels. BUT, both his old pool guy and the one he just hired told him he should shoot for 1-2 for FC. I've told him twice that I wouldn't recommend that but he's going by what his pool guys recommend. I can't blame him for that as he knows I'm a new pool owner and have very little experience. Plus, the pool guys are experts, right???

My neighbor is leaving for the summer and his new pool guy will service his pool once a week. He has a Pentair SWCG.

So my question is...
What are the odds he will end up with algae while he's gone with FC at 1-2?

 

[mknauss]

Pretty high. Less in the desert as you have few organics, but way higher than if you follow the FC/CYA Levels

The 'pool guy' of course will use 'shock' every week so the pool will likely get cloudy first. Most likely use algaecide too.

I would suspect the neighbor will have very high CYA when they return as the shock will most likely be dichlor.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Actually, I doubt he'll get algae because his pool guy is not going to test and keep the water at that level. What his pool guy is going to do is put a bunch of tabs in his skimmer and shock the heck out of the pool. I sincerely doubt he'll show up once a week, more like once every 10 days or so. The pool will remain clear because the SWG will create chlorine and keep a residual and all the shock will kill everything. He'll occasionally check pH and TA and adjust with soda ash as needed. Your neighbors SWG cell will get ruined from the pucks sitting in the skimmer and sending a slug of acidic water into the plumbing every time the pump kicks on.

But you know what, who cares. Let your neighbor use a pool service. It'll be standard chlorine-stink pool in no time.

 

[woodyp]

You can't save them all....learned that long ago.

 

[bertschb]

You can't save them all....learned that long ago.

I sure tried!

 

[bertschb]

What his pool guy is going to do is put a bunch of tabs in his skimmer and shock the heck out of the pool.

I hope not! I may set up a security camera and share it with my neighbor so he can keep an eye on what his new pool guy actually does when he shows up.

The sad thing is I told my neighbor to just set his SWCG so it keeps FC at around 6 and all will be well. Pool guy won't have to mess with chlorine. Pool guy can just monitor and adjust pH and vacuum. Oh well. Not my pool!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Most pool service companies instruct their techs to simply ignore an SWG if one is present. They don't typically mess with anything at the equipment pad except turning on and off a valve they might need. They charge extra for filter cleanings. So their standard operating procedure, if they are competent, is to check chlorine and pH. If the pH is "low", they throw in a bag of dichlor or add some fraction of a gallon of liquid chlorine (most prefer not to carry liquid on their trucks so they use granular chlorine). Then they add a few trichlor pucks to skimmer. If the pH is less than 7.5, they will add soda ash to raise it to 7.5/7.6. If the pH is above 7.6, they will lower it. Most will use granular acid to lower pH because it's easier to carry than liquid. Then they will quickly skim the pool and make sure the pool vacuum is running. If there is no automated pool vacuum, they will vacuum manually but usually they will charge more for that (time is money). The pool service profit model is predicated on spending less than 15-20mins at any one customers' pool and a tech typically needs to service 15-20 pools/day to make profit for the owner. As long as they can dump & go, they can finish a route in a reasonable time frame. If a customer stops them to chat, they're losing money.

Right now in the Tucson area, pool service companies (the bigger ones) are charging around $250/month for service that includes chemicals & light cleaning (skimming leaves and emptying the strainer basket) and you get 2-3 visits per month.

 

[bertschb]

Right now in the Tucson area, pool service companies (the bigger ones) are charging around $250/month for service that includes chemicals & light cleaning (skimming leaves and emptying the strainer basket) and you get 2-3 visits per month.

Holy cow! That's crazy. I've only owned a pool for four months but it's soooo easy to take care of. Can't imagine hiring somebody. Of course, I have an IFCS, SWCG, IntellipH and autofill. All I do is test the water.