Newbie - Help

[sw_stupid]

I'm so glad I found this place!!! My pool is three years old.
I believe it is 27,000 gallons - vinyl.
Aquarite generator. Pump runs 12 hrs a day!
It has worked great up until this year. I killed the pump over the winter (electric bills). And I haven't gotten it right yet. The salt level is now around 2700 - that's after adding 150 pounds of salt. It kinda fluctuates for whatever reason (I like to keep it at 2800). I've set the generator to 75% and I can't get more than about 1.5ppm of FC in it. My cya is at 42. Is that enough? My pH is at 7.6. Calcium hardness is a little low, but we got rain last night so I will wait for that to level out. The pool is very clean, BUT it is not yet crystal clear like it always has been. I assume it is the lack of FC, but I don't know what to do. I have tried the "super chlorinate" shock feature twice now with limited results. The FC will go up for a day or so but then go back down. I also have a small amount of green algae trying to form on the walls. I swear if I ever get this back to perfect, I will never turn the pump off again for extended periods.
BTW: Could it be time to change my sand?

Help - I'm just very ignorant of this stuff. (If only it had a carburetor!)
Thanks for the time,
Brad

[Beautye350]

Brad,

Take a look at this post: http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=414

This should explain what you need to do as far as getting your pool chemistry in line with what the Aquarite likes to see.

Hope this helps.


Regards,

Mark

[mas985]

Also, check to see that the cell is clean. When they get scale on them they tend to reduce chlorine production.

[sw_stupid]

I soaked the cell in a 25% muriatic acid solution - per Aquarite. It looks to be perfectly clean. Anybody got a "life-span" on filter sand? Basically, I think my problem is that I can't get/keep FC in it. You would think running the pump 12 hrs a day at 75% on the Aquarite, I would see a change, but it slowly dissipates. I added another 50 lbs of salt again today. It was at 2700 before so I will see tomorrow how far it changes. Should my cya really be around 80? If so could that be my problem - it is 42 now.

Thanks for the replies,
Brad

[duraleigh]

Hi, Brad,

Reading thru your first post, two thoughts come to mind.

One, Go get some Clorox and shock with it, not the SWG. It's cheaper and more effective. It seems SWG's are much better at maintaing a Cl level than trying to bring your ppm way up suddenly. I don't have mwsmith2's calc in front of me but You'll need somewhere around 6-8 gallons of Clorox and your algae issues will be history, I believe.

Secondly, check with your SWG's recommendations on CYA level....I think they want you up around 80ppm.

Okay....trade-out time...would you stop by my house and help me get my lawnmower running? Sounds like you could do it!!!

[sw_stupid]

Okay, you got it. I just have a hard time believing I should put laundry bleach in my pool. You all know a lot more about this stuff than I do so I’ll do it. I need to maintain about 3-5 ppm of FC, right? I checked my algaecide this morning and it’s not “poly”. I read what Ben said about only use poly so I won’t be using this junk anymore. I always wondered why you couldn’t just forego the algaecide and maintain it with chlorine and now I guess the answer is yes, you can. Does anyone know if the SWC cells have a life span? Will they last and last if properly cleaned? Or do they kinda start wearing down after a while? Everyone said pools were a lot of work and they hated having them and I didn’t know how they felt until now. Hopefully, I can get everything back in order (with your help) and enjoy this thing again. Another question: (I’ll have them all asked eventually)
Is calcium hardness and calcium the same thing? I saw where Ben said not to worry about calcium in a liner pool. I understand why, but is that the same thing as calcium hardness? I am always adding that stuff – they say it’s our local water.
Anyone here use a sand filter? I am just wondering how often the sand gets changed. The local pool store said I probably have algae growing in the filter. This doesn’t make sense to me because the algaecide/chlorine/whatever flows through the filter so it should kill it.

Thanks again – this place is great,
Brad

Lawnmowers – not a problem
Pool Water – rocket science!

[JohnT]

Does anyone know if the SWC cells have a life span? Will they last and last if properly cleaned? Or do they kinda start wearing down after a while?

Yes they do have a life span. The higher the level they are set for, the shorter the lifespan. That's the benefit of shocking with bleach. It extends the SWC life.

Everyone said pools were a lot of work and they hated having them and I didn’t know how they felt until now. Hopefully, I can get everything back in order (with your help) and enjoy this thing again. Another question: (I’ll have them all asked eventually)

2 or 3 minutes a day is all it takes when you stay on top of it.

Is calcium hardness and calcium the same thing? I saw where Ben said not to worry about calcium in a liner pool. I understand why, but is that the same thing as calcium hardness? I am always adding that stuff – they say it’s our local water.

Calcium hardness is a measure of the amount of calcium in your pool.

Anyone here use a sand filter? I am just wondering how often the sand gets changed. The local pool store said I probably have algae growing in the filter. This doesn’t make sense to me because the algaecide/chlorine/whatever flows through the filter so it should kill it.

The sand will last a very long time unless you add weird things to the pool. You are right that the algae in the filter thing doesn't make sense. Two things work against it: One is the chlorine circulating through it. Second is the lack of sunlight inside the filter.

Thanks again – this place is great,
Brad

Yes it is.

[sw_stupid]

So should I worry about the calcium hardness levels in my liner pool or can I ignore it? I firmly believe that the pool store's main objective is to keep you confused so you continue to go to them for help. They band-aid it for a while and when it shows back up, you head back for their advice because they were so smart the previous time.

Thanks yet again,
Brad

[JohnT]

So should I worry about the calcium hardness levels in my liner pool or can I ignore it? I firmly believe that the pool store's main objective is to keep you confused so you continue to go to them for help. They band-aid it for a while and when it shows back up, you head back for their advice because they were so smart the previous time.

Thanks yet again,
Brad

I think you've figured out the poolstore thing. There are levels where calcium is an issue, even in vinyl pools. Go to Ben's tips on Poolsolutions.com and read the one about calcium in vinyl liner pools. I don't know firsthand about it, but whatever Ben says, I believe because he hasn't steered me wrong yet.

[gwrace1]

If your salt level is really only 2700PPM then I would advise bringing it up to at least 3200PPM. I've run our pool as high as 3600PPM and could still taste next to no salt in the water.

At 2700PPM your bearly at an acceptable salt level for the Aquarite. My Aquarite takes several days to properly register any salt changes.