AquaBright Ecofinish--Alternative to Acid Washing
- Thread starter xyz
- Start date
- May 23, 2015
- 24,689
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Jaimslaw
LifeTime Supporter
RE: CSI numbers: Yeah, that calcium will get higher before you know it.
When I refilled after pool refinish, was concerned about my lower than optimal CH number via relatively low So Cal. tap water source CH levels. But with high summer temps/evap rates and the consequent increased schedule of adding fill watter, it only took 3-4 months before CH was 500+. When CH was at that lower level, had to put self control into overdrive to keep me from ramping up the CH level (you know...the usual overwrought hand wringing over CSI just after new pool finish is in place accompanied by the irrational delusion that in a weeks time, dissolving pool finish will be exposing gunite, LOL).
So CSI levels were far from optimal for a while...and I did make some other adjustments to get a better CSI. But am glad I resisted the temptation to manually adjust CH.
When I refilled after pool refinish, was concerned about my lower than optimal CH number via relatively low So Cal. tap water source CH levels. But with high summer temps/evap rates and the consequent increased schedule of adding fill watter, it only took 3-4 months before CH was 500+. When CH was at that lower level, had to put self control into overdrive to keep me from ramping up the CH level (you know...the usual overwrought hand wringing over CSI just after new pool finish is in place accompanied by the irrational delusion that in a weeks time, dissolving pool finish will be exposing gunite, LOL).
So CSI levels were far from optimal for a while...and I did make some other adjustments to get a better CSI. But am glad I resisted the temptation to manually adjust CH.
In most cases the CSI won't be low enough for long enough to do much damage. You have to remember that the vast majority finishes get acid washed the day following application with undiluted acid... Far more detrimental to anything especially when comparing a -0.6 CSI to whatever straight acid equates to on 24 hour old plaster.
In the case of the AquaBright finishes, they will see no effect from low CSI values so the only worry is the tile grout and preventing the pH from getting low enough to hurt the copper in the heater and conduit (in older pools).
From my experience a CSI of -0.6 will take a very very long time to have any noticeable effect. The pools that I've acid washed are often surprisingly resilient to even straight acid and end up causing a good deal of frustration when I'm trying to intentionally roughen up the surface or remove built up scale.
In the case of the AquaBright finishes, they will see no effect from low CSI values so the only worry is the tile grout and preventing the pH from getting low enough to hurt the copper in the heater and conduit (in older pools).
From my experience a CSI of -0.6 will take a very very long time to have any noticeable effect. The pools that I've acid washed are often surprisingly resilient to even straight acid and end up causing a good deal of frustration when I'm trying to intentionally roughen up the surface or remove built up scale.
xyz, thanks for the informative post. It's reassurance to me since we are starting a new build and are having AquaBright in it. Still not up to speed on all the chemical info but I'm learning. I'm sure I'll refer back to this thread in the future.
Thanks. I was thinking about this approach. Just make my end time earlier as it starts to cool off, not only does this reduce FC generation, but a theoretically proportional amount of MA so I kind of get an adjustment to both. With my pump on 1100, I am worried I may be getting too low on circulation. And I don't want to find out by seeing green. Also, I want plenty of skimming, because that is keeping the robot fairly empty, and I get a lot of leaves. I'm at 8 hours right now, so you are at 3-- what speed or flow rate do you estimate?
REALLY love it at night! WOW!
Kim
Picture doesn't do it justice. I was afraid the darker blue would kill the brightness since I'm used to white and incandescent (intellibrights are not as bright as old school bulbs). But I'm glad I went with the darker blue. As you can tell I'm a fan of blue and the lagoon gives it a character during the day that is almost purple, but not. A great looking color though. I'm not a fan of the darker colors, even though they do look nice.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,689
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I have no idea on the flow as I do not have a way to measure it precisely. I suppose I could go to the pumping curve and figure it out but it's not really relevant as I do not care about turn-overs and overall chlorine production is not that sensitive to flow rates, i.e., you get the same amount of FC no matter the pump speed as long as it's above the cutoff. I pretty much have my suction side cleaner attached and running all the time, so I tend to run my RPMs a little higher to make sure it is moving. That way, even if the cleaning efficiency is poor at low speed, it's still sucking up water form the lower depths and aiding in homogenization. Here's my over all schedule as of right now (I'm using Pentair automation-speak below) -
11am-2pm : POOL Mode @ 2000RPM* (SWG active, cleaner running slowly)
12pm-1pm : POOL Mode + SPILLOVER Feature circuit @ 2250 RPM** (this F-circuit activates a valve and runs water through my attached spa)
5pm-6pm : KREEPY Feature circuit only @ 2500RPM (no SWG active with F-circuits when POOL Mode is off)
* 2000RPM is the bare minimum needed when I am pulling thru my skimmer + main drains (sadly, they are tied in series) and my suction cleaner in order to get Kreepy to move at a slow pace (less than 10 linear ft per minute).
** 2250RPM is needed to get the flow rate high enough for the spillway to spill and not just dribble.
The "KREEPY" feature circuit is designed simply to run the suction cleaner at higher velocity to improve coverage and add an efficient cleaning step every day. Around here, the winds tend to blow in the afternoon so its better to run the cleaner after the winds die down in the evening. I also have a "SLOW SKIM" Feature circuit that runs the pump at 1400RPM which activates the skimmer and produces a low flow so that the surface can be skimmed but I don't run this F-circuit much (it's not on a schedule).
My goal is to buy a robot in the future (maybe next year) and then deprecate the suction cleaner and only use the suction port for occasional manual vacuum. Once I get rid of the suction cleaner, I'll reduce my pump speed further so that my POOL mode speed is just above the minimum needed to turn on the SWG (for my plumbing, that's ~1500RPM).
With the above schedule and my SWG output at 30%, I maintain an FC between 3.5-4.5ppm (a little on the high side for my pool, I prefer to be lower at 3ppm).
FC dropping back to 4.6
pH holding at 7.6. But ever so slowly inching up. So I'm going to 15% on the IPH
I will add about 20 CYA soon.
Robot staying cleaner longer.
pH holding at 7.6. But ever so slowly inching up. So I'm going to 15% on the IPH
I will add about 20 CYA soon.
Robot staying cleaner longer.
If you mean the gray vs white, the plaster was questionable in some areas, so we decided to Chiota it out and replace it with cement.
May any have been overkill.
May any have been overkill.
Nice work on the Chiota-ing.Maybe a better word based on how much trouble it was!
However, I will assure you, no dolphins were harmed during the filiming of this pool movie.
However, I will assure you, no dolphins were harmed during the filiming of this pool movie.
PH stable at 7.6. A little lower than I'd like, but full numbers and adjustments planned for this weekend. I have not touched the PH in > 2 weeks. In fact, the only thing I've added is CYA, as I inch up to 70 over time.
I think I'm nearly to the point where I only need to watch. Pool stays balanced and crystal clear. All I'm doin now is cleaning the robot 2x a week, and replacing the skimmer hair net sock once a week. I tweak the chlorine setting depending on use.
I think I'm nearly to the point where I only need to watch. Pool stays balanced and crystal clear. All I'm doin now is cleaning the robot 2x a week, and replacing the skimmer hair net sock once a week. I tweak the chlorine setting depending on use.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,689
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
What if you turn off the the IntelliPH? It would be interesting to see what your pH rise is from 7.5 to 7.8.