Installing a new Intex AGP with saltwater chlorination.

Hello folk, just looking to touch base with some test numbers to make sure Iam still on course. Our pool has been up and filled since Mother's Day, and we have had NO issues at all, thanks to everyones advice and the help on this site! Thanks a million! Our pool get pretty much direct sunlight from about 10am til 6pm daily. Our temp is up to about 78 degrees, and the whole family (and neighbors) are enjoying it! Nothing like walking into your backyard to cool off!
*I run the pump/filter nightly from 6-8 hours, depending on that days usage, or if alot of debris has blown into pool.
*I run the SWCG anywhere from 5-7 hours night also, depending on on CL numbers and that days usage.
*I usually only test for CL and pH levels daily, and then every 10-14 days run the full Taylor kit tests.

Using the Taylor kit my numbers this am are as followed:
FC=4
CC=0.2
ph=7.5
Alkalinity=70
Calcium Hardness=80
CYA=40
salt=2750ppm

I only run pump and SWCG nightly to maintain my CL levels. After a weekend or a couple of days of heavy usage, or if CL drops rapidly, I will pick a night--skip SWCG usage, and add a dose of dichlor/borax to bump up levels by morning. I have only had to do that once.
Any advice or recommendations on anything based on these numbers? Like I said, we have a totally clear pool which holds daily CL and ph levels really good.
Thanks in advance!
BTW...I emailed off some photos of our pools build process from start to finish, yet I can't find them anywhere?

Your numbers look fine. The only thing I am wondering about is your CYA. Does your SWCG manual not call for a higher reading than that?

Can't remember if we suggested this to you previously and don't have time right now to rescan the whole thread to find out but...... just use a 10mL sample instead of a 25mL one. It will make your testing reagents last longer. You'll multiply by 0.5 instead of 0.2.

Did you disconnect the copper electrode to your SWCG?

Yes I unplugged the copper electrode from day one. I had issues initially getting the CYA up. The SWCG has been very consistent in keeping the CL in range, and I am not seeing giant shifts in the CL, so I assume the CYA level is functional at its level?
Would it be wise to NOT use the SWCG for a couple of days, and instead add a nightly dose of dichlor/borax to up the CYA, retest and if find, continue on using SWCG from there? Or just stay the same course, I am on?

Do you have your manual for your unit? Or can look it up online? I'd try and find out what the required CYA level is for your SWCG.

All the manuals are available online at http://www.intexcorp.com/index.php/manual-video/

Yes, so according to the Intex "preferred water chemistry readings", they have this in the manual for CYA levels:
Minimum-10ppm
Ideal-20-40ppm
maximum-50ppm

They also have readings for free chlorine:
minimum-0ppm
ideal-0.5-3.0ppm
maximum-5.0ppm

Combined Chlorine:
minimum-0
ideal-0
maximum-0.2ppm

pH:
minimum-7.2
ideal-7.4-7.6
maximum-7.8

I guess based on their preferred readings, my CYA of 40 is right in the middle. Does this seem to low? Do I assume that since I am maintaining consistant levels for pH and CL, have a clear pool with no signs of algae bloom,ect. that this is ok?
Thanks everyone again.

You can certainly run a pool successfully with those levels.

Hello all! It has been a great summer so far with our pool and all things seem to be pretty much right on course. I noticed over the past couple of days, that the pool water has a slight haziness look to it? I did the full Taylor test this am and the results are as followed:
fc=2
cc=0
ph=7.5
alkalinity=70
calcium hardness=70
CYA=50-55
salt= 6 or equivalent to 2490ppm
CL=2.5
Due to splashing around, rain water,ect. I will add more pool salt to get the salt level up to at least 3000ppm, which is recommended for the SWCG. I have a newly replaced pump filter.
**Along with adding more salt, and running pump for a few hours to mix it in, should I turn off the SWCG tonight, and add in a 1/2 or 1/4 dose of dichlor/borax mixture to help clean up slight haziness??
Any suggestions or previous experience (stories) much appreciated.
Thanks

It wouldn't hurt and the haziness may be from your chlorine being a little low. If that is the case, shocking it may help clear it up.

Keep in mind that your NORMAL chlorine level needs to be about 10% of your CYA level -- so 6 ppm in your case. You can go as low as 5% if EVERYTHING is perfect -- low bather load, no thunderstorm debris, good filtration, no trace of algae, etc -- but otherwise it needs to be closer to 10%.

'Recovery' chlorination needs to be 10 - 20% of your CYA level, (9 - 12 ppm), and is probably what you need at the moment.

I have been keeping the chlorine level daily between 2 and 4. It will jump up to 5 (6?) possibly after adding a dose of dichlor, which I do if the level has dropped faster then normal, with more use, debris,ect.

So.........are you saying that my daily chlorine levels should be up around 6 for maintanence level? I thought levels above 4.5-5, you may start to see the effect of higher chlorine such as bathing suit deterioration,ect.?

What are normal levels usually?

Needed chlorine levels are based on your CYA reading. More info in the chart at this link:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

Your CYA level is high enough. Time to stop using Dichlor and switch to bleach.

So, yesterday we did a whole overhaul and cleaning of pool and equipment. Scrubbed sides,floor, vacuumed,ect. I discovered that the water that just sits in all of the connections hoses, had given the hoses a slight film of green algae. Disconnected everything, sprayed out hoses, swiched some diluted bleach water thru them. Also, I ran the filter for 36 straight hours, and the filter was literally green. The water has definately become much clearer after shocking it and running filter a longer hours, earlier this week. Chlorine levels, ph, CYA, and such are all back on track. I have added more salt to get the level (ppm) back up to around 3100 (per SWCG handbook for optimal use) and will just maintain again from here.
Question I have is, with my CYA level appropriate, how much bleach should i use instead of dichlor at this point? And also HOW OFTEN? Only when needed (algae, cloudy water,ect.), daily?
Thanks again for advice. Nice to have wife and kids comment on how water clarity looks so much better then a few days ago! haha!

Did you look at the link I put in post #52 above? If not, here it is again:> http://pool9.net/cl-cya/

You will see that your maintenance chlorine levels need to be kept between 3-6 all the time and whenever you need to shock, your shock level will be 15ppm.

Test your pool each evening and then add however much bleach you need to take your chlorine level back up to 6ppm. If you find that by the next evening, you have dipped below 3ppm by the time you test, then take it up to 7ppm instead. The goal is to keep it from ever dropping below 3ppm.

In a 4.5K gallon pool, each quart of 8.25% bleach will add about 4.6ppm of chlorine and each cup will add about 1ppm. You can use those as a reference to help you figure out how much to add each evening.

With time, will get the feel for how much is typically going to need to be added each day. You may find that you can add bleach every other day. But, for now, I'd test it every evening until you learn your pool's pattern of behavior.

Hope this helps.

Perfect! Great refence again, thank you.

Hello again all,
After a few days of being out of town on vacation, came back to a pool full of leaves,pine needles, and dirt on the bottom. Cl level maintained at 5-6, with a ph at 7.5 with running SWCG nightly. Pool has not been used in almost a week, so there has not been anyone in it stirring up dirt, to have the filter remove it. Vacuumed it out and scrubbed it today. When we came home I initially noticed a light brown ring around the edges of the pool at the bottom. Could this be from the circulation of the water in the filter process, I assume? I had a few areas of heavy dirt piles on the bottom. This was all taken care of after a scrubbing/vacuum. I have also noticed that the top surface water looks to have some tiny green flakes floating around. I ran the full taylor kit test this afternoon and numbers are as followed:
cl=6/7
ph=7.8
FC=9.5
CC=4
CYA=65-70
salt=3280
The FC and CC levels are what are concerning to me.
1) The FC and CC levels seem high---What would you recommend to remedy them?
2)As far as the small greenish top floaters on surface water---Shock pool with bleach and how much? I will not use dichlor since the CYA level is already at 65-70. I will stick with bleach,yet how will this shock episode affect FC/CC levels for adjustment?

I will keep an eye on the ph for now. Not looking to bust out the Muriatic acid unless necessary.

Just finally order the Unicel filter as well. Running the pump/filter more, I have been flying thru the TYPE A's! Not to mention, they are harder to find around my area with it being middle of August here!

Sorry, another thing....should I turn off the SWCG and deal only with bleach until levels come down?
Thanks all again!

Try the FC and CC tests again. It would be very unlikely that you would have a CC reading of 4. Here are some testing demo videos that may be helpful.

http://pool9.net/K2006-vid/

Must have missed my extra cup of coffee this am!! Sorry folks, I totally missed a step in my initial post! Repeated the test using the 25ml tube and now have this to report:
FC=7.6
CC=0.4
Makes much more sense now. At this point I think I need a good dose(s) of bleach tonight to shock it. Its too cool to swim today, and we are expecting rain tomorrow, so this will hopefully be the perfect time to shock this thing and let the clarity clear up, without having to worry about swimmers for the next 24-36 hours.

That's looks more like it! ;)

You can save on your chlorine testing reagents if you will use a 10mL sample instead of a 25mL one. You will multiply the drop count by 0.5 instead of 0.2. Also, in case we haven't told you previously, if one scoop of the powder turns the water pink, no need to add the second one. That will also save on your powder.

What I've found, when you know the FC is really high, you can actually use half the water, to the 5ml line, and the each drop of R-0871 equals 1ppm of FC. So if you've been shocking, say to 25ppm, using the 5ml line uses half the reagent of the 10ml, and 1/5 the reagent of the 25ml line. At 25ppm, it really doesn't matter if it's actually 24.5 or 25.5ppm.

@CarlD: the standard K-2006 test tube does not have a 5ml. But you are, of course, absolutely right as long as 5ml can be measured.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BigDave

@CarlD: the standard K-2006 test tube does not have a 5ml. But you are, of course, absolutely right as long as 5ml can be measured.

---

I just find the half-way point between the bottom and the 10ml line. Works for me!

As the pool season for myself will soon be coming to an end, I have a couple of questions. Using the SWCG and a few doses of bleach a couple of times a week, what is the best way to I guess, neutralize the pool water before draining it, so as not to kill off the grass as much?

1) Can I simply disconnect all filters, SWCG, and just let it set for a few days, let FC levels drop, and then simply drain it??
2) My taylor test kit---will the chemicals for testing still be good for next season, or is it recommended to replace them all eventually?
3) I noticed this summer that even after a full run (8hrs) of filtering, I get lines of dirt on the bottom of the pool liner, mainly right where there a ripples (aka not smoothed out areas). Will having a perfectly smooth pool liner layer out on the bottom help with this? I currently use a filter and the unicell cartridge--would upgrading to a sand filter system (maybe next year) fix this problem? There are some great deals on AG sand filter systems since its coming to the end of the season in my area.

I learned a great deal this summer by the info and help on this website and it has been much appreciated!! Only issue I am worried about for next season is the underlayment area of our AG pool. Our pool developed three tiny tears in the liner bottom, all about 1/8" wide due to a pesky rock in that area! And.....that was after careful inspection of the area prior to setup, using a tarp, then topping that with 1/4" foam board with all seams tapped together, then a second tarp on top! I have been able to use an underwater patch on these spots to slow down/stop any additional water leakage. This fall plan on draining, cleaning, and reapplying brand new patches prior to folding it up for the winter. I actually ran across a guy who is selling used heavy thick moving blankets, for $2 a pop! I may buy off some from him and somehow incorporate them into the ground cover for next year?
As usual all replays to my questions are greatly appreciated!
Thanks again all!

Don't forget: With your SWCG, you've got lots of salt in the water, too, which will kill your grass as well and poison the ground.

I think moving blankets would get pretty gross after a season under a pool.

Hey Tiger, or anyone, how do you disconnect it?

Not sure what you are asking. Can you be more specific?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FormerBromineUser

Not sure what you are asking. Can you be more specific?

---

sorry, i should have quoted the comment i was responding to. The situation is that i bought the Intex 9x18 4,500 gallon pool which came with a Krystal Clear 1200 gph Sand Filter Pump. I want to add a saltwater system, but was advised on this forum that there is a problem with the copper ionizer. Someone said it's possible to disconnect it and i was just asking someone if they found proper instructions.
While i have your attention can i seek your counsel to help me figure out which salt water pump in the link below would be compatible with the pump I already have? http://www.walmart.com/search/search...ex%20saltwater