Salt System newbie

[chem geek]

As I wrote, the reason for the higher CYA for an SWG pool is to reduce the rate of pH rise by reducing the rate of chlorine consumption thereby letting you lower your SWG on-time.

If you are not experiencing a pH rise that you find intolerable, adding a lot of acid every week, then you can certainly leave your CYA at 50 ppm and keep your FC at least at 2.5 ppm if not 3 ppm minimum. That's perfectly fine and is totally up to you. I was only explaining why a higher CYA is usually done in most SWG pools -- it is a legitimate reason that works well in most cases.

Yours, however, is the only case of stinging eyes from tens of thousands of pool owners that is not attributable to either chloramines (usually from low FC relative to CYA) or an out-of-whack pH. There are many pools with very high CYA levels -- even over 200 ppm in pools using only stabilized chlorine -- and stinging eyes aren't a direct result, though indirectly if the FC is low and Combined Chlorine (CC) is present then stinging eyes are reported. Your experience is very real and there is no question about that -- it may be the CYA or it might not be. Chemical sensitivity is a unique experience and perhaps you have a sensitivity to this chemical.

Also keep in mind that pool store tests are very often wrong. I would only trust your own testing. Though the pool stores usually don't get the pH that wrong (though sometimes they do), they very often get the CYA test very, very wrong. It could have been far higher than 100 and you could have very likely had high chloramine levels as a result. This should not happen if you maintain a higher FC with the higher CYA -- i.e. 4 ppm FC with 80 ppm CYA, but again you do not have to do this -- it's completely up to you.

[waste]

Listen to chem_geek!, you may not always understand the whys - but he won't steer you wrong!

If you follow the advice here, you may add a little more of this or that, but in the end, you'll be using LESS of any chemical than you would otherwise. (quite the conundrum, eh? )

[BigTallGuy]

Thanks Chem Geek for taking the time to help me. I will watch my pH levels and FC very closely. If I find the pH rising, I will certainly add more CYA. I am going to look into buying a better test kit this weekend. I guess the thing that I am starting to understand is that this is a completely new system. I NEVER had to add any acid to lower the pH before with the old chlorine system, seriously the dry acid would literaly harden in the bottle.

I think you guys may have cracked the code, meaning I think I am starting to understand. Waste, Carl, Watermom, thanks to all of you for your help. This is an awsome websight.

[BigTallGuy]

In the infamous words of Gomer Pyle....Well Gooooolllleeeeeeee. I tested My pH and found that it had gone from 7.6 or 7.7 back up to 7.8 or 7.9 in about 1 weeks time. I added Acid and brought it back down to 7.4. So it looks like I'm going to need more Stabilzer. I had my stabilizer level tested again, it kind of blew me away at what the guy did. He filled the test cylinder with my water and added the solution, then he slowly pumped the spoon a couple of times, no more than three, and proudly announced that I had no stabilizer in my pool and then tried to sell me a bottle of CYA. I won't even mention what the results were, as I totally discount this an an accurate test.

So to re-cap, As Chlorine is depleted by UV rays or time or whatever, it does some kind of funky chemical wizardry and burns off the acid or maybe it leaves some sort of alkaline behind. In any case, the pH goes up. The Cyanuric Acid slows down this depletion of Chlorine, and there by slows or stops the pH rise. So, is this process unique to Salt system pools? As I stated before, I never really had to add acid before with traditional chlorine. So did the BTDG get this registered correctly in the old gray matter?

Don't worry Chem Geek, your job is safe, but thanks for your wisdom.

[CarlD]

BTDG:

Relax: there are situations where higher CYA levels are called for. aylad runs her pool high because there's SO much loss due to sun and biologics she needs more stabilization. So she compensates by running a higher residual FC level.

But SWGs need higher CYA levels and lower FC levels. I'm not sure of all the chemistry, but years of watching the SWG people has me convinced.

[chem geek]

The key is being able to turn down your SWG on-time. The higher CYA level should let you do that by greater protection of chlorine from breakdown by sunlight. It's not the higher CYA itself that slows down the rate of pH rise -- it's the turning down of the SWG on-time (i.e. the % on-time) -- the higher CYA is just one way to be able to do that.

[BigTallGuy]

Yes Chem Geek I agree, you are absolutely correct. I was instructed by the installer to simply run the SWCG for 12 hours a day and forget about it. This took me out at the knees. How does not buying Chlorine tablets save you money if you are spending more than the price of chlorine on your electric bills every month, or if you're pouring gallons of acid into your pool every week? So learning from knowledgeable people is worth its weight in gold.

CarlD, I do realize that different locations, different pool types, and different situations will all affect pool chemistry. My pool is 20 miles east of Phoenix and I am sure that I have my own unique situation to learn and understand. I am relaxed, I am listening, and I am learning, I am still on start-up, I am still a salt system newbie, and don't forget, I am still a BTDG too. LOL. Thanks for your help. We're cool.

[BigTallGuy]

As I wrote, the reason for the higher CYA for an SWG pool is to reduce the rate of pH rise by reducing the rate of chlorine consumption thereby letting you lower your SWG on-time.

If you are not experiencing a pH rise that you find intolerable, adding a lot of acid every week, then you can certainly leave your CYA at 50 ppm and keep your FC at least at 2.5 ppm if not 3 ppm minimum. That's perfectly fine and is totally up to you. I was only explaining why a higher CYA is usually done in most SWG pools -- it is a legitimate reason that works well in most cases.

I have come an unbelievably long way since I joined this forum and I just wanted to post an all around Thank you to everyone, especially CarlD, Chem Geek, Watermom, and Ben (for providing and maintaining this forum). THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP AND TOLERATING THE NEWBIE.

My most recent stats are as follows:

CYA 50-55
FC - 3.0 (morning reading)
TC - 3.0
pH - 7.4 - 7.6

I now run the system for 5 hours a day, which is pretty close to what I ran it for using traditional Chlorine, and my SWCG is set at 80% output. This gives me a FC reading of 2.0 at sunset. I have only added less than 1 gallon of muriatic acid since I bought the box over 3 weeks ago (I hope this stuff don't go bad in the box). It only seems to require a cup or two every third day. So I would almost say this is a tolerable level.

The Crux of the issue is this. I went from "Turn it on for 12 hours a day and forget it" to a properly maintained, sparkling clean pool WITH NO BURNING EYES, and an electric bill that is as it was.

The only problem I have now is convincing my wife that I am not an excessive/compulsive pool fanatic.

[zmachines]

Hi BTDG (And others!),

This is my first post as a member and I just wanted to say I have been reading a lot over the past few days and I pretty much fall into BTDG shoes (as far as pools go .
I am a pool newbie with a SWG system (AutoPilot), all fresh and new and I decided at the last second to go this route because of this forum.
I plan to follow the advice given by the members to BTDG to get my pool going. I'm sure I'll have questions, but these four pages of post really hit home with my setup.

Just wanted to say Hi and Thanks!
Michael

[Watermom]

Hi, Michael! Just wanted to say hello and glad to have you here on the forum. It is a great place to learn and we are happy you found us!