Old Pool Owner switching from Pool Company to Self Maint

Jump to latest Follow Reply
J

JRock80

0
Jul 21, 2009
8
Dallas, TX Suburbs
I have had a pool for a little over 3 years without a problem. Unfortunately, I have been paying a pool guy to come and maintain my pool. Lately, I have been seeing the mustard algae on my walls, which has prompted me to google search and I found this forum. I think I am about to fire my pool guy but I am very apprehensive about doing this as my schedule can be somewhat limited.

I have a 15K gallon pool. I have a Jandy Onetouch automated system with a Pentair 320 Auto Chlorinator, Polaris 280 and a DE Filter.

I am not afraid of the chemicals however, I do not have the time nor energy to go and get numerous gallons of bleach. I am thinking of using one form of tabs in the autochlorinator. Which brand/form of the tablets do you recommend. I will be adding the 20 mule team borax at 50ppm. I also need to know how much and type of shock to buy.

My current levels are as follows;
FA=2
TAC=2
PH=7.5
TA=70
CH=200
CYA=50
TDS=500

Please help me as I take this plunge.
 
I would suggest a SWG (Salt Water Chlorine Generator) as a viable solution...it may cost anywhere from $200-$1,200 upfront, but you will save that by not paying the PB anymore.
 
One other tip you could use is this...http://www.waterwarehouse.com/

If you send for their catalog, they have three inch tabs that are not stabilized...They come in public pool sized orders that can cost between $250 and $500...But they are chlorine tabs that are unstablizied which is what you want to use if you want to go that route. Personally, I don't spend more than 10 minutes a day on my pool. See Specs below...I buy 12.5% liquid Chlorine from my pool store...I am lucky enough to get it for $2.25 per gallon. I am on my secod two cases for the summer. about 60 ounces per everyother day keeps FC between 8 ppm and 3 ppm. This is all I need to maintain a happy and balanced pool. So that is all it takes. I maybe vaccuume twice per week. But if you have an auto cleaner that is even better.
 
Welcome to TFP!!

Just a quick note on what Beave said (Hi Beave :wave: )

YOU CAN NOT USE THE PUCKS HE'S TALKING ABOUT IN A TRI_CHLOR FEEDER!!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOU'VE HAD TRI_CHLOR TABS IN IT EVER!!! :hammer: :hammer: There is a very real risk of explosion :shock: !!

If the finances are there, a SWCG is definitely the way to go :) If not, we'll help you work out something manageable :cool:
 
I have considered adding a SWG, however, based upon the previous condition of the pool, did not think the cost was warranted. I priced converting switching to a Saltwater pool as was quoted slightly under $2K. Based upon the BBB method, this was a no brainer. Properly maintain my pool and avoid all of the craziness I see others have who do not maintain their pools. Just a thought.
 
I could only find stabilized tabs on their website - I'm sure I just missed it. But if they have unstabilized chlorine tablets, it's guaranteed to be cal-hypo, and A) must definitely NOT be used in a tri-chlor feeder and B) will raise the calcium up and up, just like stabilized tabs raise CYA.

While we don't recommend it, you can manage a pool using trichlor tabs in a feeder if you manage the CYA level by monitoring it and replacing water periodically to keep it low. Splashout and backwashing help too. It's all about knowing what the sanitizer adds and proactively mitigating the affects of it.
 
that's ridiculous. a hayward swg is $700 or less for your size pool. the problem with tabs is that they will constantly raise your cya level. if you don't mind draining your pool every so often, use them. judging from your first post though, that would be way too much work and time. the first thing you need to do (after reading pool-school/ pool chemistry section) is get your chlorine up (actually you need to be shocking). see pool school for instructions on that also. if you don't want to use the bbb method, that's fine, go to a pool store, tell them the deal and they will get you set up. it will be a lot more expensive and it may or may not work, but chances are you'll be able to spend less time on it.
 
You can use trichlor pucks. (don't use the HTH brand.)

Just understand what they do to your water. They are acidic, so they lower PH/TA. They contain CYA, so that level will go up with their use. The only practical way to lower CYA is water replacement.

So if you want to fire the pool guy, you will need one of the recommended test kits, so that you can monitor the PH/TA/CYA levels.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison

Your PH/TA levels will drop with pucks. Borax and Baking soda in combination can be used to keep these levels in range... or Soda Ash/Washing Soda will raise both at the same time.

Don't think about Borates right now, focus on clearing your pool.

What probably happened is the CYA level is now at the point where the amount of FC released by the pucks isn't enough to kill the algae that has taken hold. If the pool guy allowed the FC to drop too low at any point it's fairly easy for algae to get in, and then the pucks can't keep up at all. Mustard Algae is particularly stubborn and resistant to "normal" chlorine levels.

You'll need to shock the pool with bleach/liquid chlorine, until the algae is dead and the FC is holding overnight, then you'll need to run with a higher "min" level of FC to keep the Mustard Algae from returning. You won't be able to do that with pucks, you'll have to use bleach or liquid chlorine and test daily to keep the FC up.

http://www.troublefreepool.com/chlorine-cya-chart-t2346.html

Maybe you don't need to fire the pool guy, maybe you just need to teach him the methods of TFP. :wink:

So order a test kit, and read Pool School. Start with How to Shock your Pool and How to use the Pool Calculator.
 
JRock80 said:
I have considered adding a SWG, however, based upon the previous condition of the pool, did not think the cost was warranted. I priced converting switching to a Saltwater pool as was quoted slightly under $2K. Based upon the BBB method, this was a no brainer. Properly maintain my pool and avoid all of the craziness I see others have who do not maintain their pools. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Not sure if you are confusing the two, but a SWG = Saltwater Pool :goodjob:

As reebok mentions, you could easily find one for around $700-$1000...If someone is quoting you $1000 to install it, they are trying to rip you off. :grrrr:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
waste said:
Welcome to TFP!!

Just a quick note on what Beave said (Hi Beave :wave: )

YOU CAN NOT USE THE PUCKS HE'S TALKING ABOUT IN A TRI_CHLOR FEEDER!!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOU'VE HAD TRI_CHLOR TABS IN IT EVER!!! :hammer: :hammer: There is a very real risk of explosion :shock: !!

If the finances are there, a SWCG is definitely the way to go :) If not, we'll help you work out something manageable :cool:
Click to expand...

Waste, God you are right...I knew that... I should have known better. :grrrr: Thanks for putting that out there. :hammer:
 
Looking at my attached photos, you will see why I am hesitant to convert to SWG. I have Oklahoma Flagscape and rocks surrounding my pool.
[attachment=1:3it1as0y]June 15-19 005.jpg[/attachment:3it1as0y]

My PB finally got rid of the algae. I guess he finally decided to shock the pool. After spending all day on this site, I went over to Leslies and ordered the FAS-DPD test kit. I also priced some of their chemicals. Are Leslie's chemicals some of the better brands, or are their other sites/stores I should consider. I saw that someone mentioned to avoid HTH, which I think Wal Mart (hate the store anyway) carries.

Now that the algae problem has been resolved, I am now considering adding the Borax and Acid. Where can I go to find 11 boxes of this stuff at one time or will I have to go to a few stores and purchase all of their stock?


Beave...would it be worth spending the $250 for the unstabilized pucks instead of buying zillions of gallons of bleach. Would this cause a chemical explosion if I replaced the Tri-Chlor tabs?


Thank you for all of your assistance thus far. I love the feedback. Keep it coming.

[attachment=0:3it1as0y]June 15-19 006.jpg[/attachment:3it1as0y]
 

Attachments

  • June 15-19 005.jpg
    June 15-19 005.jpg
    355.1 KB · Views: 278
  • June 15-19 006.jpg
    June 15-19 006.jpg
    382.3 KB · Views: 277
The Cal-Hypo tabs, while they don't increase the CYA level, they increase the CH level. So eventually water replacement is still required either way, plus I don't think there is an inline unit designed for use with cal-hypo tabs, but I could be wrong. I think they are usually just used in a floater. (Yes, putting cal-hypo pucks in the current feeder could result in explosion.)

Be sure your FC is holding overnight - even if it looks like he defeated the algae issue, the FAS-DPD test will confirm that.
http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/overnight_fc_test

Instructions for Borates:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/so-you-want-to-add-borates-to-your-pool-why-and-how-t4921.html
 
Cal-hypo would most likely promote calcium build-up in the future on your beautiful pool. I'm not sure a 3000ppm saltwater pool would be an issue at all...but perhaps some of the more experienced will chime in soon
 
are you using that nature2 catridge?
also, if you haven't paid for it yet, I would order the kit from www.tftestkits.net it's a much better value (lot more reagent) and will probably come quicker. while I was waiting 2 or 3 weeks for my leslie's kit to arrive, I ordered one from www.tftestkits.net and got it in 2 days. I returned the kit to leslie's when it finally showed up. and it only came then cause I called and complained and they said "oh the order is stuck I'll try to unstick it" :shock:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply