Yes I bought phosphate remover

[benavidescj]

Yes I bought phosphate remover but not because I wanted to.

It all started after I did the ascorbic acid treatment per pool school, for metal stains in my pool. The treatment went great and all the stains are gone. Then I stared to bring up the chlorine nice and slow along with the pH. That was going great until I noticed that the chlorine level just would not hold, even after three weeks of doing the treatment. Now I am thinking I have algae so I did the overnight FC test and passed the test just fine. I did the test two more times over a couple of nights cause I did not believe the results and both times passed the test. Then I checked the salt level and found it to be at a low 2600ppm when it should be 3400ppm so I added salt. Surly this must have been the problem? No, still not maintaining chlorine. Then I thought it must be a coincidence, but maybe the SWG went bad at the same time I did the treatment so I called the Pentair service place and they came out and checked the cell. They said the SWG was producing chlorine and that it is probably the amount of phosphates in my pool, over 1000ppb, that is the issue.

Now I know that phosphates is probably not the problem, but I am never going to get warranty service if I don't get them down to an acceptable level, below 125ppb, according to Pentair.

Test Results:
Water: clear
FC: 4
CC: .2
CYA: 70
TA: 70
Salt: 3400
CH: 300

The only other things I remember happening around the same time is the I added 2 quarts of polyquat to keep the algae at bay while I dropped the chlorine down to 0 for the ascorbic acid treatment. I added a quart of sequestrant. The reason why the phosphates are so high, probably, is that my kids where adding dish soap to the trampoline which is a few feet from the pool.

What could have possibly caused the cell to all of a sudden not be able to keep up with the chlorine demand?

 

[257WbyMag]

If your warranty requires it, then you seem to have no choice. Although, I am not sure how they would know whether you had it in there or not. Let's hope that some of our local Pentair guys can explain it to us in a way the we can understand.

 

[benavidescj]

Although, I am not sure how they would know whether you had it in there or not.

What are you referring to when you say "not sure how they would know whether you had it in there or not.". You talking about phosphates, cause if you are, they came out to the house and tested for them.

 

[257WbyMag]

Was talking about phosphate remover.

 

[Swampwoman]

I added 2 quarts of polyquat to keep the algae at bay while

Just so you know...I did a mini citric acid treatment on my stairs, added 32 oz of polyquat 60 and 64 oz Jack's Pink Stuff a month or so ago. I had the same issue with not being able to maintain chlorine/having high chlorine demand for several days.

Someone, possibly Chem Geek or Jason, explained to me that both the polyquat and the Jack's constituent chemicals did tend to increase chlorine demand, and that Jack's was one of the better ones in terms of that (meaning it does so LESS than other sequestrate options).

Today, I was on phone with Jack's magic tech support with a few questions for a full AA treatment in the future, and he had said pink stuff shouldn't cause that kind of demand except for a few short days.

With respect to phosphates, though, I know pink stuff contains phosphonic acid, which when spent, becomes a phosphate -- so if you're wondering where it came from, I believe that will be one of your sources, just FYI.

 

[69kram]

This article may be of interest to you: "Failing Salt Generators, The Phosphate Connection" http://www.recmanagement.com/feature_pr ... 201010gc01

 

[JohnT]

This article may be of interest to you: "Failing Salt Generators, The Phosphate Connection" http://www.recmanagement.com/feature_pr ... 201010gc01

The idea that phosphates cause algae is similar to claiming that the fact that a grocery store carries donuts makes you fat. You have to eat the donuts before they affect your weight, and no matter what the phosphate level is in the pool, algae can't grow with sufficient chlorine in the water.

As to phosphates affecting the production of chlorine by a SWCG, the article proposes no mechanism for this to happen, and I've never seen one. Does the phosphorous react with the sodium or chloride ions to prevent chlorine production? Where does the large amount of heat come from that would be required for such a reaction? If the phosphorous is involved in some kind of compound, then it wouldn't have any effect on the growth of algae, and in fact, such a reaction would tend to restrict algae growth.

 

[chem geek]

The thread Will Phosphates increase chlorine demand? talks about this same issue and also has in common the use of Polyquat and metal sequestrant that seem to be the culprit, not the phosphates by themselves as both separate experiments and other people's experiences have shown.

By the way, the author of that article notes that "He is currently product specialist and Northwest Territory sales representative for SeaKlear Pool and Spa Products." SeaKlear makes, among other things, phosphate remover products.