White paper like flakes

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walleye

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Apr 22, 2012
42
I switched my tub over to a SWG on 7-8-12. I never have shocked it, just added a few ounce of bleach and added the SWG and have maintained a 3-4 ppm chlorine level. As far as I can tell, it has never been below 2 ppm, usually 3-5 ppm. My tub is 395 gallons and the water is crystal clear. I have not turned on the heat since it is so hot here, the water temp is around 95 degrees. I have noticed over the past two days, about 5-6 pieces of what appeared top be "chips" of a white substance on the bottom. When I tried to pick one up, it just dissolved into nothing, almost like it was nothing there. Can this be white mold? I tried to pick up all the pieces I could see since there were just a few, but they dissipated into nothing when I tried to retrieve them. Tonight I added 12 ounces of 6% bleach to shock just in case. Is this white water mold? If so what should I do? do I need to drain and decontaminate? What are the dangers if I have soaked in the tub? Thanks. I am hoping it is something different. :shock:
CH =175
PH= 7.6
TA = 80
Chlorine = 3 ppm
temp = 95 degrees
Techichlor SWG
 
Update: I decided to retest my water using my old Taylor kit K2106. I had bought a new one (also taylor) My old kit uses R0004 reagent. I needed to add 11 drops of acid to get it down to a decent level! On my new PH test kit that uses R0014 it shows PH at 7.6, and has for days, I should have known this was not the case! Anyway, using my old kit that I trust, here are the results.
Ph = Off the charts. I needed 11 drops to get it down and have added 4 ounces of dry acid.
TA-70
Ch = 170
Chlorine = 18 After shocking and (after using bromine test and taking the bromine results and dividing by 2.2 as Chem Geek said)

Could the high PH contributed to the white flakes? It had likey been high for 4-5 days.
 
Yes, high PH will tend to cause calcium scaling, and the first place you will notice calcium scaling is in the SWG cell. The SWG tries to keep it's self calcium free by getting the calcium to flake off, but that only works for a while and it will eventually get clogged with calcium.
 
JasonLion, you are spot on! I removed the SWG last night prior to bed, and after reading your post, the SWG is definitely the main area of these flakes. I found 6-8 flakes in my tub over the past couple days, but there is likely 10 times as much formed in the SWG. Overall not nearly plugged, but enough to know this is where it is coming from. Prob a tbsp worth in there. 95% clean. I rinsed it out and most came out, but how should I remove the reminder? I can't access the inside as there are just 4 small holes in the tube. Will white vinegar work? Or do I just the majority out and out back in tub? Last night I also added a couple more ounces of bleach after the dry acid and here are the results as of now:
PH= 7.4
Chlorine = 19
The SWG is still removed. Any chances I damaged anything? What is my course of action, or do I just get water in shape and go forward? This appears to be calcium scaling based on the PH and the source, but the flakes were very soft, is that to be expected? No signs of any flakes this morning.
 
You can clean the cell with vinegar or a dilute muriatic acid solution.

Calcium can vary from almost paste like to very brittle depending on how thick a layer it forms and what other chemicals are in the water.
 
Thank you JasonLion, you are extremely helpful and it is very much appreciated. As far as any action in my tub, anything to do, or do I just correct water and go forward? I am concerned about equipment, but since there was so little in the actual tub hopefully I am good to go? Thanks again.
 
Lot number on R-0014 which reads a perfect 7.6 all the time is 1063A

Lot number on R-0004 which is accurate is 3134A (K2106 KIT)

Bought kit from Leslies pool supply. Says Taylor 1105 inside box on instruction paper, test kit is for only PH and CL / BR

Other kit is the Taylor K2106 (R-0004 one that works)
 

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Chem Geek,
After this event, Is there any reason for me to be concerned about any of my equipment? The white vinegar completely ate up all the scale in my SWG in about 10 minutes time. I have the water under control (kinda) test a few minutes ago were:
PH = 7-2 (currently have all jets running)
TA = 30 (added 3.5 ounces baking soda, should raise both TA and PH)
Cl = 15 (coming down from shock, was 19) Must not be too much contamination as CL is dropping very slow.

Note: seen three flakes tonight when I got home, but am pretty convinced they were leftovers. Have now all removed, hopefully no more show up after cleaning SWG where most were located.
 
If you've cleaned the SWG, then you're probably OK. The other place scale could form is in the gas heater, but now that you've lowered the pH to a normal range it should be OK and dissolve/flake off (I'll bet it didn't scale though -- the SWG is the first place that develops scale when the saturation index is too high).
 
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