Can You Help Me?
- Thread starter mimidjets
- Start date
Rain!!!
Just a question: If my numbers are all balanced and it rains. Is there anything in particular to do other than test and make sure everything remains balanced? I tested this morning after the rain and my ph was up to 7.8. Could the rain have caused that?
Just a question: If my numbers are all balanced and it rains. Is there anything in particular to do other than test and make sure everything remains balanced? I tested this morning after the rain and my ph was up to 7.8. Could the rain have caused that?
I put more muriatic acid in it tonight because it was back up to 8.2. Everything else is good though. I vacuumed this evening and it was so nice to be able to see the bottom of the pool and to be able to get all of the dirt vacuumed up! :-D
Ok question. If it has rained a little and/or I add water to the pool, do I need to add more bleach if my chlorine reads low? I actually decreased my SWG because my chlorine read high. Was that a mistake? I was running it 11 hours a day and I cut it down to 10. Now today when I tested it, I lost a lot of chlorine. Could that be due to the addition of water two days ago or cutting the hours of the SWG
You need to keep your FC above the minimum for the swg.
What is your cya now? Have you measured it?...seems it been about a week since you added it.
If cya is 70 ppm, then your minimum level for a swg is 3 ppm FC. If you need to use bleach in the short term to maintain that minimum...do it.
What is your cya now? Have you measured it?...seems it been about a week since you added it.
If cya is 70 ppm, then your minimum level for a swg is 3 ppm FC. If you need to use bleach in the short term to maintain that minimum...do it.
I added 1.5 gallons of bleach and it brought it back up. It has maintained it at 3-4 since then. I ran out of the CYA drops in my kit and am looking for more. In the mean time I have used the strips and I am getting a 30-40 reading on my CYA. So not sure how that measures up on the drop kit. I still have problems keeping my PH in the 7.8 and lower range. It seems to always rise to 8.2 or so. I cut down on the hours of SWG running. Went from 11 hours a day to 10 to see if that will keep the PH level down but still maintain my FC. Hasn't worked yet. PH still up. Should I try running the SWG at 8 or 9 hours to help with that. Hopefully it won't mess up my FC. Water still crystal clear! 
Swg's will cause ph to rise, especially since your TA is high. Do you have a current TA reading?mimidjets said:
Everytime your ph goes up to 7.8, drop it back down to 7.2 using Muriatic Acid.
Lowering ph is a lot easier then defeating algae, so make sure you keep at a minimum 3 ppm FC in you pool at all times.mimidjets said:
http://tftestkits.net/R-0013-CYA-Refill-8-0z-p52.htmlmimidjets said:
Don't trust this number.mimidjets said:
still fighting high ph! now my blonde headed granddaughter has green hair! could the high ph cause that? 
y_not
0
That would be caused by copper, either from your fill water, or from the cell in your SWG which generates a small amount of copper ions as part of the chlorination process, for it's algaestatic properties.
So says Intex, is it really necessary? I don't know, someone else will chime in and give info on that if need be.
If this (copper) gets too high, which it may have with your SWG running so much, you will get too high a concentration of copper, thus causing the green hair when it reacts with the chlorine.
You'll have to test for copper levels to see where they are at, but I'm sure it's in there, it's just a matter of how much.
As for testing, Intex should have included some copper test strips with your SWG, check the expiration date on them and follow the instructions. I know test strips are frowned upon here, as they are horribly inaccurate for FC/pH/CYA, etc.. type levels, as is true, but we do use them for salt, not sure if they are accurate enough to trust with copper. Someone else will have to chime in on this.
To reduce the copper, you can do one of the following.
A. If your fill water doesn't have copper in it, then just drain some of the existing water out of the pool and fill with fresh water, adjusting levels appropriately. How much you drain, depends on how much copper is in there. Test both the pool & fill water.
B. Use a sequestrant, which doesn't remove the copper, but it binds to it, preventing it from causing problems such as green hair.
C. Some filters will eventually pull it out of the water, but if you have the Intex cartridge filter, this likely won't happen. Some people have been successful with using rags in the skimmer basket, or skimmer sock/scum bag.
If A is true, I would go that route, as sequestrants break down over time & have to be added again. C is probably going to take quite some time, so if A doesn't hold true, then B would work temporarily while you perform C. How long C will take, I can't say, I have never dealt with metals. But trust me, someone here will now, you can count on that. :-D
As for pH itself being the cause, to my knowledge, it won't cause green hair, not on it's own, but high pH can exacerbate the effects of any copper present in the water and "activate" it if you will, so it turns blonde hair green.
As far as getting the green out of the hair, Nexxus makes a product for that, which the forum recommends and users have used with success, called Nexxus Aloe Rid Shampoo.
Also, some users have reported the "Swimmers" line of products by "Ion" sold at Sally's Beauty Supply. One is a clarifying treatment sold in a little packet, the others are conditioners, shampoos and an all in one conditioner+shampoo. All of which have been reported to work, but not sure on the conditioner alone, but the others, yes.
So lots of choices there.
As a final note, do inspect your SWG's electrolytic cell and copper cell to make sure they aren't beginning to corrode, seeing as you have been running it so much with yo-yoing water chemistry as you have worked to get it in check here on the forum and through your own hard work.
If it is built up with white or black stuff, then it's time to soak her in vinegar as per your manual's recommendations.
I have found that using a hacked down styro cup on the end of the electrolytic cell works great to seal it up, it even kinda threads on there if you twist it. This way you can stand it on end and fill her up with vinegar and let it do it's thing, without it leaking everywhere or having to use a bucket and end up using more vinegar and making a mess.
Have fun, glad you are able to start enjoying your pool again and excellent signature BTW!! :-D
So says Intex, is it really necessary? I don't know, someone else will chime in and give info on that if need be.
If this (copper) gets too high, which it may have with your SWG running so much, you will get too high a concentration of copper, thus causing the green hair when it reacts with the chlorine.
You'll have to test for copper levels to see where they are at, but I'm sure it's in there, it's just a matter of how much.
As for testing, Intex should have included some copper test strips with your SWG, check the expiration date on them and follow the instructions. I know test strips are frowned upon here, as they are horribly inaccurate for FC/pH/CYA, etc.. type levels, as is true, but we do use them for salt, not sure if they are accurate enough to trust with copper. Someone else will have to chime in on this.
To reduce the copper, you can do one of the following.
A. If your fill water doesn't have copper in it, then just drain some of the existing water out of the pool and fill with fresh water, adjusting levels appropriately. How much you drain, depends on how much copper is in there. Test both the pool & fill water.
B. Use a sequestrant, which doesn't remove the copper, but it binds to it, preventing it from causing problems such as green hair.
C. Some filters will eventually pull it out of the water, but if you have the Intex cartridge filter, this likely won't happen. Some people have been successful with using rags in the skimmer basket, or skimmer sock/scum bag.
If A is true, I would go that route, as sequestrants break down over time & have to be added again. C is probably going to take quite some time, so if A doesn't hold true, then B would work temporarily while you perform C. How long C will take, I can't say, I have never dealt with metals. But trust me, someone here will now, you can count on that. :-D
As for pH itself being the cause, to my knowledge, it won't cause green hair, not on it's own, but high pH can exacerbate the effects of any copper present in the water and "activate" it if you will, so it turns blonde hair green.
As far as getting the green out of the hair, Nexxus makes a product for that, which the forum recommends and users have used with success, called Nexxus Aloe Rid Shampoo.
Also, some users have reported the "Swimmers" line of products by "Ion" sold at Sally's Beauty Supply. One is a clarifying treatment sold in a little packet, the others are conditioners, shampoos and an all in one conditioner+shampoo. All of which have been reported to work, but not sure on the conditioner alone, but the others, yes.
So lots of choices there.
As a final note, do inspect your SWG's electrolytic cell and copper cell to make sure they aren't beginning to corrode, seeing as you have been running it so much with yo-yoing water chemistry as you have worked to get it in check here on the forum and through your own hard work.
If it is built up with white or black stuff, then it's time to soak her in vinegar as per your manual's recommendations.
I have found that using a hacked down styro cup on the end of the electrolytic cell works great to seal it up, it even kinda threads on there if you twist it. This way you can stand it on end and fill her up with vinegar and let it do it's thing, without it leaking everywhere or having to use a bucket and end up using more vinegar and making a mess.
Have fun, glad you are able to start enjoying your pool again and excellent signature BTW!! :-D
I tested with a copper strip. Of course the expiration date is 9-8-2011!! It shows to be 0.5 which is 1 square up from ok according to the package. I have also added my 72 oz. of muriatic acid. I am going to not run my SWG today. Don't know if that even matters! My problem is my 7 year old granddaugter has a birthday party at 5 today!!! Right now I have a thin sock on my intake to maybe strain the water coming in. Is that ok or should I take that off?
A regular SWG does not generate any copper and the normal electrolytic plates are not made of copper. It is specifically the newer Intex SWG systems that separately add copper ions to the pool water via separate copper plates. The potential problems from copper are described in their FAQ:y_not said:
You can see guamguy's post of how he stopped the copper production by cutting the copper plates off of his SWG and disconnecting the power wire that went to them. Technically, you just need to disconnect the wire to the copper bars and don't need to remove such copper plates (see these posts). Just note that these newer units only output half the chlorine of the older units so they would need to run longer to make up for that.
y_not
0
Thanks for providing that awesome info Mr. Chem Geek. Always a pleasure, we are very lucky to have your expertise on this wonderful forum!!!!
Any advice as to whether those test strips are a wash, due to being expired? Are test strips for copper testing 'only' accurate enough on their own for her to make a determination as to what direction to go? Or does she need new ones, if so, what brand is best?
Is there really any point to that seemingly dumb copper electrolytic cell, for it's "algaestatic properties", or is it just a nuisance?
They output 1/2 the CL?? WOW!! So it sounds like they cut costs by shrinking the electrolytic cell, maybe titanium is cheaper than copper? Although copper isn't cheap anymore!
Then they "made up for it" by putting in an "algaestatic" copper cell. Think that about explains it?
When did they make the reduction cut?
Any advice as to whether those test strips are a wash, due to being expired? Are test strips for copper testing 'only' accurate enough on their own for her to make a determination as to what direction to go? Or does she need new ones, if so, what brand is best?
Is there really any point to that seemingly dumb copper electrolytic cell, for it's "algaestatic properties", or is it just a nuisance?
They output 1/2 the CL?? WOW!! So it sounds like they cut costs by shrinking the electrolytic cell, maybe titanium is cheaper than copper? Although copper isn't cheap anymore!
Then they "made up for it" by putting in an "algaestatic" copper cell. Think that about explains it?
When did they make the reduction cut?
Nuisance, you don't need copper with proper chlorine levels, and that is what it adds.y_not said:
Over 3 years ago, though you might still be able to find the old one on ebay. I have the new one and disconnected the copper day one. I am on my third season now with it.y_not said:
Ok so I don't need to worry about it once I unhook the copper ion? I put a sock on my intake and the water comes through it. I actually has stains on the sock like something is coming through it. May it's dirt that filter is missing? Could it be copper stains?
Nope, just unscrew the retaining nut and pull the plug and leave it.mimidjets said:
What color is the stain?mimidjets said:
y_not
0
Over 3 years ago, though you might still be able to find the old one on ebay. I have the new one and disconnected the copper day one. I am on my third season now with it.[/quote:343nyaxz]linen said:
I figured it was unnecessary.
Nor do I really want copper in my water anyway.
I was looking for the specs on the pre-copper unit from year 2009 and having trouble finding a link that works. Do you know what it's sanitizer production rate was?
The current 2012 year model CS8110 is 12grams/hr of sanitizer production.
The 2011 year model 8220G is 18grams/hr of sanitizer production. But this is a pre-copper unit, listed under their 2011 year models, it has a separate power supply on it.
Is that the one they had in '09?
Or was it even more still?
So, save for the Intex units, what other options are out there that produce more sanitizer that don't cost 2/3x as much? Or is there nothing out there under $200/300?
MikeInNH
0
This is the model I have, it's 24 grams/hr. It's the 2 button style.
http://pooldiscount.com/KrystalCleanSalt_System.pdf
http://pooldiscount.com/KrystalCleanSalt_System.pdf
The stain was kind of a light brown. there is also a brownish stain on the top of my out take skimmer bucket.
Brown stains are often caused by high iron. How did you fill your pool...does you fill source have high iron? If that is the only places you are seeing it, it doesn't sound like it is much of a problem.