Shock and SWG

[OffTheDeepEnd]

Hi -

I'm new to the forum, but I've been reading a lot to get myself educated. This is our 4th season with our 18x39 inground vinyl pool, and this year I decided to invest in an Autopilot SWG. When I opened the pool over the memorial day weekend, I (mistakenly) used the cheap HTH algaecide (1 gallon jug), and added shock like I usually have done each year. The next day, I added about 500lbs of salt, and I'm around 2500ppm. I am going to add more salt, but I had a couple of questions:

1) My chlorine level is still above 3ppm (from the initial shock! ) - is this normal? I've never seen chlorine levels hang around for so long from an initial shock.

2) Myself and my kids all have noticed that our eyes are irritated after swimming. I'm assuming this is due to the high chlorine levels?

3) Should I turn on the SWG (after getting my salt readings correct), and will this help bring the chlorine levels down to the proper levels?

I should add that I've ordered Ben's test kit, but in the meantime, I've bought a 4 test drop kit just to get some basic readings. My chlorine is definitely over 3ppm, my pH is around 7.2, and my alkaline is about 120. I have no idea about the CYA of CH, so bear with me until my kit arrives. Can anyone shed some light regarding my questions?

Thanks - Eric (re-educated pool noob)

[JohnT]

2) Myself and my kids all have noticed that our eyes are irritated after swimming. I'm assuming this is due to the high chlorine levels?

3ppm isn't high at all. In a pool with a SWC, 3ppm is probably too low due to the high CYA levels usually used with a SWC.

[davebva]

I'm sure about to get better advise than mine, but it sounds like you need to check your Combined Chlorine levels along with the FC. If you have CC you will need to shock again till the CC is 0. If I'm not mistaken it's the CC that makes the smell and irritates your eyes.

[waterbear]

3ppm isn't high at all. In a pool with a SWC, 3ppm is probably too low due to the high CYA levels usually used with a SWC.

Not according to Poolsean and to the tech support at Goldline controls.

[waterbear]

the irritated eyes are from the HTH algecide which is a linear quat. The reason your Cl levels are higher than 3 ppm is becuase the SWG is generating chlorine! You have to ajust the cell output and pump run time to get your chlorine levels in line. Get a full set of test results and post them and then we can better advise what to do.

[Maxout]

3) Should I turn on the SWG (after getting my salt readings correct), and will this help bring the chlorine levels down to the proper levels?

Sounds like it is off now so it would not be producing chlorine.

I agree with testing for CC, (and everything else for that matter )

[OffTheDeepEnd]

Thanks for the responses. I thought I recalled reading on some posts here that around 1.5ppm chlorine was ideal for the SWG. At any rate, the unit is not generating chlorine right now, as the setting is at 0%. It simply is controlling the pump run time, which is why I was wondering if setting the unit to x% (maybe 30-40%) would help balance out some of my chlorine issues. If I understand correctly, I thought part of the generation process involved the elimination of chloramines in the cell, thus brining my "good" chlorine levels more in line with where they should be. I know that I still have some unknowns as I'm patiently waiting for Ben's kit to arrive.
If the HTH algaecide is causative of the irritated eyes, how long should it be until that dissipates? Again, it's been almost 3 weeks now since that was initially added.

[PatL34]

Do not wait for Ben's test kit. Get a sample to a pool store and post the results as Waterbear suggested. Make sure the store does NOT use test strips. We cannot help you without a full analysis.

Pat

[JohnT]

Not according to Poolsean and to the tech support at Goldline controls.

Since the SWC is off, you wouldn't be getting the benefit of the "mega-shock" in the chlorinator though, so you are then dealing with a (potentially) high CYA, non-SWC pool that requires a high Cl level per Ben's table.

[waterbear]

Sorry, I missed that the SWG was not turned on yet!