Installing a new Intex AGP with saltwater chlorination.

[tigers75]

Great! Thanks for the advice! Plan on running filter for a couple of hours after adding salt to start recirculating. Will also start on nightly "care recipe" of dichlor and borax (equal parts). All this upfront advice has been so helpful!

[tigers75]

One question I forgot to check with: I occasionally have pine needles falling into the pool--will the acidity of those have a great enough effect that it will mess with readings?
And also...anything special to pay attention to if I have numerous days of rainfall?
Thanks again

[Watermom]

i have no idea about the pine needles, but I doubt it.

The biggest problem that rain causes is that people don't get check their pools. Then, they get algae and assume it was caused by the rain. As long as you remember that you still need to keep the chlorine and pH levels in check, you are fine.

[tigers75]

After I have added the 4lbs of dichlor to get the CYA up, my understanding is that the SWCG should be able to handle the levels at that point?

Is it still recommended to to the dichlor/borax combo every night from here on out?

[tigers75]

Full Day 2 for my new setup and filling. Salt was added the first night (sunday night) and the first dichlor /borax batch added the last two nights. Had less then 0.5 chlorine reading last night. Added nightly dose dichlor/borax mix and ran pump for 6.5 hrs overnight. This morning water readings are as followed:
CL=5
pH=7.5
Alkalinity=70ppm
Total Hardness=100ppm
CYA=filled tube to 30ppm and black dot faded but I could still see it. Not sure what to do about this?
Chlorine reading of 5.....Is that to high? I am using test kit "HTH 6-way" from Walmart, and the test guide says chlorine should be between 1-4 ppm.

Will this eventually lower on its own during day?
With CL reading of 5, should I still dichlor/borax nightly after SWCG is hooked up? Should I test the CL in the evening prior to adding the nightly dichlor/borax mix?
Pool will be sitting in full sunlight most of the day. No swimmers in it yet, still a little to cold at 60 degrees.
Planning on turning on salt water chlorine generator tonight and running along side filter/pump.

Thanks in advance again for your input.

[Watermom]

Chlorine in a pool without much CYA doesn't stick around long so, yes, your chlorine will come down. Your tester may say that chlorine should be between 1-4ppm but it actually isn't that simple. How high your chlorine level needs to be depends on your CYA level. (See the Best Guess Chlorine Chart below for more about that.) However, when you have a pool with a SWCG, you need to follow your SWCG manufacturers recommendation for how high the CYA needs to be. You'll want to continue to use dichlor until your CYA is a the level you need it to be. At that point, your SWCG will take over the chlorine production for you.

Your pH is great at 7.5 so no need right now to add any more Borax.

CarlD has an SWCG. I'm going to ask him to look in on this thread and walk you through the rest of your start up with it.

[tigers75]

Sounds good, thank you! Yes, I was wondering if it was worth starting up the SWCG now to assist with the chlorine, or wait until the chlorine level has stabilized along with the CYA together, and then start using it? Looks like I only have a couple of CYA test in my kit.........do they sell individual CYA testing kit?