Problems after adding calcium?

[grivera]

OK, I know I goofed, how bad? I added Calcium Increaser but diluted in bucket with water ahead of time and it turned hot (4lbs.). I've been so acustomed to diluting everything that I didn't realize I was suppossed to broadcast it in dry. I didn't read instructions until after my next goof up (next paragraph) which state that diluting may cause to get hot and cause adverse chemical reaction.

Shortly thereafter (5mins.) I shocked and the water turned cloudy. I'm not sure if it was already getting cloudy with the calcium or if it was a result of the 2 items together. How likely is that I've done any damage to my 2-week-new plaster?

 

[chem geek]

Relax. Calcium increaser is calcium chloride and yes, it heats up when added to water so you normally add it directly to the pool. But it's not a disaster diluting it first. It gets hotter, but I'm not sure of what adverse reactions they are talking about.

The reason your pool clouded up was that adding the calcium increased Calcium Hardness (CH) and then adding chlorine to shock the pool increased the pool's pH. What kind of chlorine did you use to shock the pool? If it was Cal-Hypo, then you added even more calcium in addition to chlorine. If it was bleach or chlorinating liquid, then this just adds chlorine, but the pH will still go up initially.

Please report a full set of numbers and we can help you some more. You probably just need to get the pH lower and that will happen on its own as the chlorine gets used up, but without numbers we don't know if your CH is to high, or your TA is too high, or what.

Richard

 

[JasonLion]

There won't be any damage. Worst case is that it may take several days for the water to clear up.

I believe that the "adverse reaction" they are talking about is that it can burn you.

 

[grivera]

Thanks for the quick reassurance. My hardness number yesterday was 170, and the A&S store told me to add 13.5 lbs of acid divided equally over 3 days. The shock I used was the granular cal-hypo. My ph was at about 7.2 before doing so and my TA yesterday was 80-100. CYA yesterday was 35. I shocked due to heavy pool use over the last 3 days. According to A&S store, my chl and ttc were both 1.5. Leslies said they were both at 4.5+. (A&S was a computer analysis).

I am currently waiting on the TFP to arrive, i purchased it this morning. Does this change anything?

 

[grivera]

That should read 13.5 pounds of calcium and ttc should be [tc].

 

[Guest]

I always predissolve calcium chloride and broadast the liquid over the surface of the pool. The trick is not to dissolve a LOT at once so the water doesn't get too hot! A few pounds at a time in a bucket of water until you get the whole amount in.

Cal hypo often clouds the water since the calcium that is in it does not readily dissolve. Dropping your pH will make the cloudiness go away.

 

[JasonLion]

You are fine.

All of the calcium products run some risk of clouding the pool. This goes for cal-hypo as well as calcium increaser. The more calcium you are adding the greater the risk. You particuarly don't want to raise the PH on the same day as adding calcium. If it does cloud up the pool you can usually clear it by lowering the PH a little. If that doesn't work it can take a few days to clear on it's own. This isn't dangerous or anything, just annoying.

You dont want to bring your calcium up too high with new plaster because the plaster will raise the calcium level as it cures and it is easy to overshoot and end up with too high a calcium level. Most of the calcium increase will be within the first month. I am not sure when your plastering actually happened. If it was much less than a month ago I would slow down on adding calcium.

 

[grivera]

Good to know about the NEW plaster increasing the calcium. The plaster is new as of 6/28/07.

 

[grivera]

New numbers today (A&S Computer Analysis):

FC- 2.55
TC- 2.14
PH- 7.2
CH- 240
TA- 90
CYA-45
Copper- .61
Iron- 1.17
TDS- 200

The pool water is crystal clear. This past Sunday I added Blue Shield Metal Magnet from Namco Pool store. It must be snake oil 'cause the metals are barely affected and the stains are still there. Any recommendations on a good metal remover/stain remover.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

Metal magnets do not remove the metals. They sequester them, which is to do something to keep them suspended in the water. This way they do not cause the staining. Someone else can add more, but that's all I know!

 

[grivera]

So that means I'll continue to get a metal reading in my tests?

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, you will continue to get the same metal reading even after adding a sequesterant. In rare cases the sequesterant will cause the metals to clump enough to get filtered out, but this seems uncommon. The sequesterant simply holds the metal disolved in the water in a state where it won't cause stains.