Starting up and trying to avoid the pool stores

I have gained a lot of valuable info from this site already. Three weeks ago, we purchased and put up a 5,000 gallon Intex Ultra Frame pool (16x48). We upgraded to the larger pump and also got a SWCG. Initially I went to the pool store with samples, but quickly found out that they know very little and just want to sell me more chemicals. By reading on this site, I think I have been able to figure out the pool and get it into "proper" swimming levels.

I run my SWCG 4-6 hours per night (initially I had low chlorine) and my filter 8 hours. The pool is very clear. The bottom does get some algae like substance in a few places, but it is easily brushed off with our feet when we swim. I have taken charge of monitoring for the last week and a half and have kept the following #s consistently.

Chlorine- between 3-5 depending on time of day
ph - 7.3
Alkalinity - 180/190
CYA 20 (this was tested the day after I added the acid - I thought I remember reading that it can continues to rise a little)

My alkalinity is high, but I'm thinking that is okay since my ph is stable? I just want to make sure my kids have a safe place to swim. Thanks!!

Welcome to the forum!

What you have on the bottom of the pool may not be algae but just plain dust and dirt. I have that in my pool as well and I know I don't have algae. I vacuum it up now and then.

I'm no expert with SWCG systems but I do know that each has its own CYA requirements. Please check the manual for yours and see what the recommended level is. Did you add granular CYA or liquid? If liquid, the test is probably close to actual. Granular takes a few days to fully go into solution.

Your pH is in range. I like mine at 7.5 but anything between 7.2 and 7.8 is fine.

The alkalinity is very high. What have you added to the water to get it to those levels?

Are you doing your own testing? If so, what test kit do you use?

The pool is fine for the kids to swim in. If they're splashy kids and you have to top the pool off with new water frequently then your alk will drop over time. You're looking for something between 80 - 120.

May we please ask you to complete the

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

.

I was thinking it might just be dirt because there have been a few times that we haven't swam for a few days and it stays the same and then goes away when we get in I thought if it was algae, it would be taking over.

Initially we didn't add any CYA. It said you could add just over a pound. I called Intex to see if we should add it and the guy said we didn't have to and that we could just wait and see if we needed it. Of course then we couldn't hold chlorine. I shocked it (once dichlor and once trichlor I think) based on the recommendation of the pool place. I brought up the no CYA issue which they ignored at first, but finally gave me. It was granular and I probably put in .75 pounds because we had trace amounts of CYA from the shocking. Also I heard it was very hard to lower and I didn't want to much. Once the CYA was in, we haven't had any trouble holding chlorine.

The alkalinity has always been high. It was 268 according to the pool store when we took in our first sample. All we had done at that point was put in the salt. I've read that the high alkalinity isn't as big of a deal if your ph is good. The pool store gave us Low and Slow to use to lower it, which we did the first week or two. But the directions say to stop if your ph lowers to 7.2, which ours has.

I was using the test strips and then bought the 2012 HTH kit which I think I saw on here as a good "cheaper" option to the Taylor ones. But I plan to get one of those.

Do you think I still need to lower the alkalinity?

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I called Intex to see if we should add it and the guy said we didn't have to and that we could just wait and see if we needed it.

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Really? Was that a guy on the Intexcorp.com helpline?

OK. You need to:

1. Read the Best Guess page (see my sig)

2. Raise your stabilizer. An easy way to do it is with undiluted dichlor
==> Sams Club "PoolBrand" 24lb box of dichlor shock - EXCELLENT price, if available. Otherwise
==> Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs @ Amazon
(Almost all other locally available brands are diluted or mixed with goo.)

3. Fill out the Pool Chart, so we have the info we need, and can tell you how MUCH stuff to add:

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

4. Keep chlorine in the pool by dosing each evening, till you can hold levels consistently over the day.

5. Turn off your SWCG, until your CYA levels are up.

Yes, it was the customer support guy from Intex Corp that told me I could wait and see if I actually needed it. I hated to add extra chemicals that weren't needed, so that is why we didn't use it at first.

Once we added the CYA, we have had consistent levels (all good I think with the exception of a high alkalinity) for 2 weeks now. I guess I am a little confused. I looked at the best guess chart and to me it seems that my chlorine level of 3-5 seems right for a CYA of 20 and it stays at that level all day. Am I not looking at that right? Are the steps that you gave me to help lower my alkalinity?

Thanks!!

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Originally Posted by Pool8

I looked at the best guess chart and to me it seems that my chlorine level of 3-5 seems right for a CYA of 20 and it stays at that level all day. Am I not looking at that right?

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Yes, but...... since you have an SWCG, you have to run higher CYA than pools without SWCG. Like Anna said in post #2 above, you need to check your manual to see what their recommendation is for CYA level. Usually they recommend 60-80.

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Are the steps that you gave me to help lower my alkalinity?

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No. What Ben suggested was using dichlor as it will add chlorine and raise your CYA at the same time.

My manual says it should have a min of 10, an ideal of 30-50 and a max of 100.

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Originally Posted by Pool8

My manual says it should have a min of 10, an ideal of 30-50 and a max of 100.

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you said, they said:

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I called Intex to see if we should add it and the guy said we didn't have to [add stabilizer] and that we could just wait and see if we needed it.

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If that's correct, we already know, they don't know what they are talking about. The recommendations you report are simply copied from old NSPI / NSPF recommendations. You need higher levels.

I don't want all of you to think I am doubting your advice, I am just trying to learn the reasons why I am doing something. We plan to have a pool for many years and I hope to be able to manage it on my own. That was my biggest problem with the pool stores. They would just hand me a print out and a handful of chemicals and tell me to add all of them. But, they never could really explain why and sometimes they would ignore certain things I would bring up like CYA, but then other times it was important.

What all does the CYA do? My pool seems to be holding chlorine at the 3-5 range consistently without dissipating. I was under the impression that the only purpose for CYA was to help you maintain chlorine, which I am doing. Is that right?

Also, I agree Intex is probably not the experts on pool care. I only posted what the manual said because people said I should consult that. According to them, my chlorine is too high already. The manual says I should have a max of 3 ppm. I typically have closer to 5.

I appreciate all of the help!!

The CYA shields the chlorine from the sun, allowing more of it to stay in the pool to fight bacteria, viruses, algae, etc. However, because it makes the chlorine less aggressive, the higher the CYA level is, the higher you must maintain your baseline chlorine to make sure algae stays away. Read the "best guess chlorine chart" page that Ben directed you to--it will explain it more in-depth.

The higher level for CYA is being recommended because you have a SWCG. SWCG's use a cell to electrically generate the chlorine from the salt in the water(there are those on this forum who can explain this process chemicall--I can't, so I won't try!). That cell is designed to wear out and stop working after a certain number of hours, and will have to be replaced at that point. By having your CYA high, the chlorine stays in the pool longer, so the cell is required to run less time to maintain the needed chlorine...therefore your cell will last a lot longer if you have the recommended amount of CYA for your unit. Most of them require CYA levels around 80-100 ppm.

You are smart not to just blindly throw stuff into your pool at the whim (and profit) of the pool store, and we're here to help you understand exactly what you're asking for--what each thing does and how it affects your chemistry, so you're not adding stuff you don't need to the pool.

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Originally Posted by Pool8

What all does the CYA do? My pool seems to be holding chlorine at the 3-5 range consistently without dissipating. I was under the impression that the only purpose for CYA was to help you maintain chlorine, which I am doing. Is that right?

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Bottom line: higher CYA will make your SWCG work less hard, and last longer. The Best Guess page has not been rewritten to reflect either the SWCG norms, or the HiC2 (high chlorine + high CYA) option. It's on the to-do list.

Ok, that makes a lot more sense. It is more about making my equipment last than my levels being wrong. I am away from home for 2 days, but then I will get started. As far as the alkalinity being high, is that a concern too or not really since my ph is good? Thanks for everything!!

High alkalinity will tend to make your pH drift upwards, but on a vinyl pool, it's not necessarily a concern otherwise. However, since you have a SWCG, it would be better to hold your pH at the low end of things. This will also cause your alkalinity to go down over time.