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Thread: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

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    Default Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    Hello. We have a 22X52 round pool by Intex. We have a 2,500 gph filter and have started using the Intex SWG. The only way we could get water into the pool was to pump from our pond. We have been running the filter and using the SWG approx. six hours a day. We have tested the salt level and it is good. The test strips we have say that there is no chlorine present. We have not added cyanuric acid. Could this be why the pool is still looking like pond water? It's still green/brown. It's supposed to be a warm weekend here and we would like the kids to be able to swim in it. Any help would be appreciated!!! Thank you.

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    Hi brefri;

    Do this:

    1. Enter your pool info:
    Pool Chart Entry Form
    Pool Chart Results
    2. Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) test kit (see test kit info page in my sig) . If possible, get an HTH 6-way drops kit from your local Walmart. Some have them; some don't. Order a K2006 *and* salt test strips.

    3. Do NOT count on your SWCG for cleanup. SWCGs work for routine chlorination; not for clean up . . . and that's a SMALL SWCG.

    4. Begin treating your 11,000 gal pool (PF=11) with 4 gallons of PLAIN 6% household beach each EVENING. Repeat the dose each following evening, if the OTO kit does not show dark yellow.

    5. If you have the cartridge filter, get (2) Unicel replacement cartridges. These will filter the algae (once it's dead) better than your existing cartridges, and will last all summer if you rotate and clean them properly. Do not try to buy them locally since what's usually sold are other Asian source replacements that are NOT equal in quality.
    Unicel C-4607 Replacement Filter Cartridge (Easy Set Size A or C) @ Amazon
    Unicel C-5315 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 15 Square Foot Intex B Filter @ Amazon
    For cleaning -- but you can buy these locally:
    Rubbermaid BRUTE Gray 10 Gal Container w/o Lid @ Amazon
    Round Brute Lid For 10-Gallon Waste Containers, 16" Diameter, Gray
    1lb Savogran 10621 Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) @ Amazon
    6. Read the muriatic acid page in my signature; use either muriatic acid (to lower) or 20 Mule Team borax (to raise) to make sure the pH is above 7.0 and below 8.0

    7. Once you have an HTH 6-way or the Taylor 2006, report full test results. Do NOT waste the CYA test, if you have not added CYA, nor the salt strips, if you have not added salt.

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    Thank you for your quick and detailed response. It is very appreciated! We added 4 lbs. HTH 3 in 1 pool startup for salt pools which contained cyanuric acid, vacuumed the pool, then added almost four gallons of Clorox last night and ran the filter all night. This morning, the pool is still green/brown (looks like the pond). I tested this morning using the HTH 6-way test strips. The results:
    Free Chlorine/Bromine = 5/10
    pH= 7.2
    Alkaline = 40
    Cyanuric Acid = 0

    I've modified my goal of being able to swim in it today. Now I'm hoping for tomorrow? I may drive to Wal-Mart right now and buy some algaecide and try that today??? I really don't know what else to do.

    Thank you!

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    • Do NOT use algaecide, especially from Walmart. It will make things worse, not better. Even polyquat -- which we sometimes recommend -- would NOT speed this up.
    • Use borax -- 20 Mule Team borax -- to raise your pH to around 7.6. Add 1/2 box at a time -- slowly, to the skimmer, pump on -- wait 4 hours, and retest.
    • Buy 10 gallons of PLAIN 6% (check the %) household bleach. Add 2 gallons immediately, and 2 more tonight.
    • Buy a cheap OTO (yellow drops) test kit. If you go to Walmart, they may have the HTH 6-way DROPS kit -- it's an excellent starter kit. Get if if you can. 'Guess-strips' are NOT an acceptable substitute.

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    I may be too late, but I wouldn't add algaecide. Algaecides are a pretty good preventative but not so great at killing algae, plus most of them cause other problems like foamy water. So, if you haven't already added some, I would advise against it. By the way, you do not have bromine in your pool. You can ignore that side of your tester.

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    Thank you. You caught me before I went to Wal-Mart - it is a distance from my home so I hadn't left yet. I appreciate it. I will do everything you suggested this afternoon. It has caused quite a discussion in the house - algaecide or no algaecide!

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    Chlorine is -- by FAR -- the strongest available algaecide.

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    Thank you so much for your help. I've done everything you've said, except buy the test drops - I couldn't get them yesterday. The pool looks a little better. The pH is now 7.8, the chlorine is 5, alkaline is 80 and cyanuric acid is 0. I added more bleach this morning (2.84 gallons). It's a pretty sunny day here, so I will add more tonight. I believe there is a pool store about a half hour from here that is open today, so I may go get some cyanuric acid? Again, thank you.

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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    If you need stabilizer, and have access to a Sams Club, buy their 24lb pack of 1# bags of 100% dichlor shock. Each bag will add about 7 ppm of chlorine, and about 6 ppm of stabilizer, per 10K gallons of water. Otherwise, order dichlor from Amazon:
    Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs
    We do NOT recommend buying dichlor locally, otherwise, at least until you are an EXPERT reader of chemical labels. The chlorinating pool chemicals sold at Walmart, Kmart, Costco, and most other local stores are diluted blends, sometimes with copper and other products with bad side-effects.

    You can also add stabilizer directly, but it doesn't dissolve quickly, and people often have to clean their filter before it dissolves. So, if you buy stabilizer directly it might be better to use the sock trick: put the stabilizer in an old long athletic sock, and hang it in front of a pool return.

    On your pool, with an SWCG, to reach a CYA of 70 ppm, you'll need 6# of stabilizer, or ~ 13 lbs of dichlor.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Starting with SWCG - no chlorine level

    I have the same filter/pump as you on my little Intex pool. I ordered 3 of those Unicel "B type" filters from PoolDocs link.....they are top quality everything compared to the Intex filters you buy anywhere. For example, press down on the corner of the intex filter and it will bend and the filter material with collapse with it, also, look at your Intex filter, see how the filter material is NOT evenly spaced all the way around the filter? Not so with the Unicel filters.....it takes alot of force to bend the Unicel top or bottom corners and ALL the filter material is evenly spaced (and comes out of the pump that way too).

    I used to replace my Intex filters every week, now generally using the pool just as we have been I am starting week number 3 (although it could be 4 weeks I knew I should have written it down, but I didn't think it would last this long...) and the flow is still strong and my pool is nice and clean and clear, and my chemical levels are good too.....got your Taylor test kit yet?

    Bob E.
    Intex 10' x 30" metal frame pool, Intex 2500 gph filter/pump, Intex Saltwater generator, SwimMax 11KW heater, 2 x Small Game Solar Domes.

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