limited chemicals choice

[kamili view]

Dear all,

were we live finding the chemicals you advise to use is a mission... impossible for the most!

- No liquid chlorine... regular bleach (neither a good one) comes only in 1lt bottles... we cannot affort the cost ($1.5 p.pc) nor the plastic wastage (Zanzibar has already enough problem with rubbish)
- Never hear of any shop selling muriatic acid a part from pool shops

But we would love your comments on what we've got:
- super chlorine 90% (powder)
- standard chlorine 65% (powder)
- acid to lower the ph (granular)... gray color with some dark suspicious grains, once dissolved in water the suspicious dark things became something similar to black oil/petrol... some got stock along the bucket!!! Couldn't believe!!!
- floculator .... ???..... I understand this should be used on a milky pool during pump off (overnight). Should help to set the dust on the bottom. ANYONE KNOWS THIS?

So far I don't take into consideration anything else: algicide, magic touch... don't remember all...

Any advice to get the best out of the poor choice we've got would be higlhy appreciated!!!

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Tanzania...wow mods, is that a first?

So to answer your questions...well, you're kind of stuck with whatever your local economy provides. Do local commerce/environmental laws require that manufacturers label their retail products with an active ingredient list? For instant, those chlorine powders, do they come in containers with labels describing the chemical make-up? In the US, chemicals sold in retail stores need to be labeled with their active ingredients and approximate concentrations. Perhaps if you can find out what those various granular products are composed of, then the folks here at TFP might be able to advise you better.

Obviously, without access to liquid chlorine and muriatic acid, you are going to have to modify some of the procedures found here. Typically granular stabilized chlorine products are either calcium hypochlorite or some form of chlorinated cyanurate both of which pose potential problems with either over-stabilizing your pool water or adding too much calcium hardness. Once we know what you have to work with, some folks here might have good advice on how to proceed.

Good luck.

 

[morzh]

I woud say, get thee a very good test kit. In case of unexplained chemical behaviour you will at least be able to figure out most of it, and informed means prepared.
Again, we here only use those products that the industry steers us to, and then we try to pick those that work, but it means not other products are not available, it's just we do not have them or do not have to use tgem, but you might. You have to research, of course. And....Hydrochloric acid is called other names (which is many even in English alone) so if there is no muriatic acid there could be simply Hydrochloric, HCl, or in many languages something that means "salt sour".
You certainly have washing soda, baking soda and potassium carbonate for pH and alcaline boost.
Chlorine might be available in some unexpected industrial app form....


But. Test kit, and you will need an advanced one, is important. Good feedback can correct almost any birderline bad system behaviour.