Quote Originally Posted by haeffnkr
Hello,
I have a 13,500 gallon fiberglass pool, with an AutoClear SWG.
I plan to open it in a couple weeks and get it ready for it's 3rd year of service.

Last Fall it the pool was drained and a few minor gell coat cracks were repaired by the installer, This was also done the first year - it was then that it was painfully noticable that the pool was a grey and somewhat scaly. The new gell coat was white and the rest of the pool was a dull grey.
The installer stated it was from the SWG- he did not use them normally use them but I insisted I wanted one.
After the repairs last fall the pool was filled and cleaned with Citric Acid - the pool was now one color and all the gell coat patches and original gell coat was one color and it was whiter brighter like the new gell coat - about that time I found this site - I got the PH at 7 and had the Chlorine at shock levels with bleach...put in a the tablet floater and had it winterized...It looks good so far when I have peeked under the cover.

I have had a new 234s kit on order for some time now...but in the past I did not use a salt testing kit and only used test strips for checking PH and Chlorine - my water was very clear and I was happy with overall use of the the SWG - but not the grey sides of my pool and the scale. Once I got the water setup both of the past 2 seasons then added the salt (both times the pool was drained the fall before) I only had to tweak the amount of time the SWG ran depending on the outside temp and how much the solar cover was on. My PH and chlorine stayed on and my maintenance was so easy.
I added about 375 pounds of salt, based on the chart in the "AutoClear" manual - based on my gallons of water - not sure if that was OK/high/low/etc. I never added any more the rest of the year, both years.

So - after giving you my background - should I use the SWG again?
If I monitor the salt PPM and keep a closer eye on the chemicals via the new test kit will my pool stay white and scale free?
Was the "greying" I had really from the SWG?

I plan to open my pool in a couple weeks - giving it another shot of citric acid and starting it up.

Any input on from SWG owners would be really appreciated.
thanks Kevin
I see no reason for you not to use the SWG, but I would wait until you have cleared any algae and debris from over the winter before putting the SWG in service. Once you can maintain a good water chemistry with the PS234 kit, you can then turn on the SWG. Don't be afraid to use a lot of bleach and only bleach to get it back in shape first. Post your water analysis after you test, and we can give you better advice.

I don't think you want to use citric acid any more, but I may be corrected on this. Also not sure where the greying could come from. Some of the other members with pool construction experience could help on this.

Provided you keep the calcium hardness less than 300 ppm, you should have little problem with scaling on the walls or the cell.

Hope this helps.

Pat