Anyone ever TFP their friend's pool "just because"

Small update: They're leaving this Friday so that'll be the first day I go over and measure.

I also heard last night that they're still fighting a full on green bloom and are still getting pool store schooled :( Right now they are being told to add "even stronger shock" + algaecide. They're also being told that their problem is really because their filter's multiport doesn't have a 'vacuum to waste'. Uhhhhhhh? Yeahhhhh.

So the Pool Store frustration is building :)

I empathized with her and told her I'm up for the challenge of wrangling her green lagoon, and afterwards if she's willing I can teach them how to control their pool without having to rely on a a store.
 
Better find out what's in the algaecide they've recommended. Often times its copper based or bromine based and both of those cause a HUGE mess that is difficult to fix using the TFPC Method. Those algaecides, depending concentration, typically require draining the pool.

Find out what they've put in their pool BEFORE you commit to cleaning it up.
 
Well here's a pic from last Saturday the 16th. Copper algaecide... great! Bleh
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Now to get the water tested at the store and trust their readings, or just get the K-1730 Taylor Copper-Test kit

Let's just assume that their copper level is high, all I really need to do is make sure and keep their PH above 7.0 or there will be the chance of copper stains, right?
 
Let's just assume that their copper level is high, all I really need to do is make sure and keep their PH above 7.0 or there will be the chance of copper stains, right?

No. Copper can scale at any pH above 7 but can be stable at low pH (it depends on how much oxidizer is around).

How much of that stuff did they add and what is their pool volume?

The pool is green so you're going to have to SLAM it anyway. You'll just have to deal with possible copper stains later. Your best hope is that it scales out but gets trapped in the filter, although that is not a given.
 
30k and "8 bags of burnout, 2 bottles of banish. Followed by a big bottle plus a bag of turbo shock plus".

Le Sigh, looks like I get to go rummaging thru their trash looking like a hobo to figure out just what in the heck and how much they put in their pool.
 
The BioGuard Banish MSDS's vary a bit by retailer but the worst case scenario puts the copper metal concentration at 3.3%. They list copper metal directly and a pH of 1-2, so they must be using a chelated form of copper metal rather than just copper sulfate or some other soluble cupric salt.

Assuming the two quarts plus "one big bottle" is roughly a gallon of the stuff, you're probably looking at a copper metal concentration just north of 1ppm. That said, I would expect staining to develop after the SLAM. If it does, your going to have to find out from Jacks Magic folks how to treat and remove it. Ascorbic acid doesn't work well on copper so you'll need to find a commercial product to remove copper stains.

You could also get the water tested to see if they can detect metal. If so, it might be in your interest to just drain as much of the pool as possible to lower the copper levels further. It will also help with the SLAM if you can get their CYA down because I'm sure they've added a lot of dichlor shock by this time.

First things first - get their water tested AND DON'T BUY ANYTHING! Figure out what the state of their water is and then formulate a plan.
 
This pool seems like more trouble than it's worth.

When my neighbors were out of town, their pool turned green. I got their permission to do with it as I pleased, so I SLAMMED it and spent a lot of time getting it perfect upon their return. But, as it seems with your neighbor, they either don't care enough or don't know enough (I've preached TFP too much to them already) and within 2 weeks they had a pool party and their pool got cloudy again.

You can't save the world. At some point, they just need to figure it out on their own.
 
I know right! I bet their next complaint will be stains on their grout/steps and/or green hair which will lead to even further trips to the pool store to 'fix'.

Even if you know nothing about the TFP method or how to test your own water I would think a great motivational factor (other than the $$$ savings) would be that you don't have to make constant trips to the pool store for test results/chemicals. That's gotta chew up a lot of their free time unless the store is conveniently on their commute to work.

Much teaching, I have.
 

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