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Thread: 1st year SWG help

  1. #1
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    Default 1st year SWG help

    This my 1st year on an AquaRite system purchased on eBay. The SWG has been running for almost a month now at 90% settings. Watter was a muddy gray when opened pool. Now it is crystal clear.

    Can't get my free chlorine level up. What should I do?

    Approx 22K gal pool

    pH=7.7
    Cl free = 0.05
    Cl total = 2.0
    CYA= 125
    Alk=150
    Salt=3600
    H2O temp=75

    Obviously I have Total chlorine in the pool, just no free chlorine.
    Do I need to shock the pool? And with what kind of shock and how much?
    Last edited by cheesemaster; 05-31-2007 at 09:20 PM.

  2. #2
    tenax is offline Registered+ Widget Weaver tenax 0
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    Default Re: 1st year SWG help

    your cya level seems very high...40-80 seems to be the norm. and if too high, you need to have way more chlorine. many threads about it here. i run 50-60 and it works fine. also, i don't think it would affect your chlorine level, but your alkaline seems very high to me as well.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: 1st year SWG help

    Have you cleaned the cell?

    Is the system spec'd for the size of the pool or over spec'd? I went to the next size bigger than my pool and can run it at about 40-60%.
    14'x31' kidney 21K gal IG plaster pool; SWCG (Saline Generating System's SGS Breeze); Pentair FNS Plus 48 DE DE filter; Whisperflow 1 HP pump; 8 hours hrs; kit purchased from Ben; utility water; summer: none; winter: none; PF:5.7

  4. #4
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    Default Re: 1st year SWG help

    Well, you will have to shock your pool to get rid of the combined chlorine. The difference between Free and Total Chlorine is Combined. To shock it, you will need to add enough chlorine to introduce 10 times your combined chlorine level. In this case, you have 1.95 ppm Combined (although I'm not sure how one can test 0.05 ppm chlorine, are you sure this isn't 0.5 ppm?), so you'll have to introduce 19.5 ppm (or 15 ppm, depending on where that decimal should be) of chlorine.
    There's a bleach calculator on here somewhere, that tells you how much of whichever form of chlorine you want to use.
    With a Salt Chlorine Generator, I would normally recommend using Granular Tri-chlor as it is lower in pH and has Cyanuric Acid. In your case, you don't need any more cya.
    You didn't mention your calcium hardness level, so that would determine if you should use Cal Hypo to shock. If you're higher than 350 ppm Cal Hardness, avoid using Cal Hypo.
    So, that leaves bleach. Its higher in pH so expect to use acid to bring the pH back down afterward.
    Sean Assam
    Commercial Product Sales Manager - AquaCal AutoPilot Inc. Mobile: 954-325-3859
    e-mail: sean@teamhorner.com --- www.autopilot.com - www.aquacal.com

  5. #5
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    CarlD is offline SuperMod Emeritus Vortex Adjuster CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars CarlD 4 stars
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    Default Re: 1st year SWG help

    Sean's right, of course. You need to shock it up with bleach or liquid chlorine. Don't worry, bleach is compatible with SWGs--the "inert ingredients" is mostly salt water.

    The SWGs don't seem to be anywhere close to adequate for a full-scale algae war. But don't blame the SWG. Once your water is clear it should keep it sparkling again.
    Carl

  6. #6
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    Default Re: 1st year SWG help

    How much water should I drain to reduce my CYA level?
    I used a digital meter to measure the chlorine level of 0.05.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: 1st year SWG help

    Ouch...a digital meter is only as good as the calibration solution it's been calibrated to. Especially for a chlorine tester.
    I just received a colorimeter from LaMotte that I will be trying out. But I guarantee that I will also be comparing it to my trusty Taylor K2006 test kit.

    In either case, you're got quite a bit more Total Chlorine than your do Free Chlorine, which means a high amount of Combined Chlorine. To be sure, I would just consider the 0.05 ppm FC as ZERO, and treat from there.
    Sean Assam
    Commercial Product Sales Manager - AquaCal AutoPilot Inc. Mobile: 954-325-3859
    e-mail: sean@teamhorner.com --- www.autopilot.com - www.aquacal.com

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