Gonnago

pmsl.

datamile

Ok Pool people still waiting for pool maint to turn up for the rental, but the dip stick results are in.

Average size salt IG pool.

Pump and chlorinator been running for at least 5 hours a day, god knows when someone was last in it.

ph low 6.2
free chl high 10
total alk low 0-40
ppm sab low 0

Analysis for the pool owners ?

biggy

ph low 6.2 you need to add soda ash
free chl high 10 turn your chlorinator down and reduce the pump time....5hrs is way to long when the pool is not in usetotal alk low 0-40 this is very low and this will be affecting the PH correct this and do another test before adding SA to correct PH, you can buy a buffer from your pool shop
ppm sab low 0 what is this one? is it the salt? if it is...the reason there is none is because the chlorinator has turned it all into free chlorine....so a few bags of salt needed too

just double check with your pool shop

datamile

Thanks.. sounds like the pool is b*****red at the moment. Better hassle the agent about the pool guy.

biggy

its just needing a wee health check b4 the swimming season

datamile

I need to wee in it ?

Brit kids first season, they'll jump in it once it hits 18c.. or perhaps now at 16c

Bunna_Wabbit

I agree with the last post - I never had a pool before but a Salt pool is 10 mins a week for filter cleaning and once every month clean the chlorinator cell. Don't bother with testing kits just take a sample every few weeks to any pool shop for a free test and free advice! - Honestly, once someone shows you the ropes it's so easy to do. The biggest cost is the electricity to run the pump 6-8 hrs a day !!

biggy

ours was at 18 today....we have been here 3 years now, got the pool in this time last year and have now decided that it needs to be at LEAST 25 before we go near lol

steveyp

Don't use Soda Ash, use buffer (Sodium Bicarbonate dissolved in a bucket) to raise your total alkalinity at a rate of 2Kg per day. This will raise your Ph too.
With a Ph of 6.2 your pool is very acidic and you may require 10Kg +
If the pool has been like this for a while there may be long term damage to the pools surface especially if it is pebblecrete, concrete, plaster or a painted finish.
I am assuming SAB is Stab or a stabiliser reading, this is Isocyanaric acid which bonds to your Chlorine molecules and protects them from UV. This should be 30-50ppm, around 2Kg of stabiliser will get the average pool to this level, place it in a skimmer sock and into the skimmer basket.
The only way to test salt is using an electrical conductivity meter, your pool man/shop will be able to do this (I am a little out of your area).
Contrary to popular belief Salt is recycled within a pool, the only salt loss you experience is via water loss (not evaporation you only loose water through evaporation) i.e. backwashing, bommies, splashing and dilution e.g. rain and top ups.
Interestingly (possibly not)..anyone using Liquid Chlorine (Sodium Hyperchlorite) is slowly getting a salt pool anyway.... each 20ltr of chlorine will produce around 4Kg of common salt .... I regulary see 5000 ppm of salt in a chlorine pool.
Cheers
Steve

Dawn Adams

Two points not mentioned so far:

Dogs swimming in the pool will kill the chlorine immediately.

Everyone should know about meningococcal meningitis.
http://www.meningococcal-australia.org.au/

biggy

yeah having a large dog swim in your pool is the equivilent to having 30 adults in there. Our staffy had fallen in before....we stick it on superchlorinate after he has

steveyp

There is no risk of menigitis from swimming pool water, the main risk in water is cryptosporidiosis.
There is no evidence to suggest a dog being in a pool will kill the chlorine, the rate of chlorine use would depend on size of dog/dirtyness of dog/number of dogs swimming and free chlorine level before the dog got in. Chlorine can remove the natural oils from a dogs coat and may irritate their skin... if your dogs swims rinse him after and keep your chlorine below 3ppm.

moneypenny20

Unless you have 20 odd people using your pool daily there is no way the pump needs to be running any more than 3 or 4 hours a day even in Summer. Couple of hours first thing and again in the evening. Anything more is giving money away to Energex for no return. If you want, you can post the excess dollars saved to me, just pm me and I'll give you my bank details

biggy

i keep my pump on to a minimum in the summer too...I have it on 3 hours and keep an eye on the water....if it needs more then I increase it...no worries....

stacey and jordan

We picked our keys up for our rental last week. Every time we go to the house the Noo Noo (the sucky thing that goes around the bottom) always seems to be on. How do i reduce the time it's on, because no one is using it at the moment. There is this little shed next to the pool with all these buttons and dials. One of the dials looks like the timer on my old central heating system in England.... is that it. If it is can i just move it, or do i have to shut the whole thing down first.

Can you take the Noo Noo out of the pool, or does it have to stay in at all times.......and another silly question how do you know the temp of your water. Do you have to buy a special thermometer

Stacey