Australian Test Kit

[squibcakes]

Hawknz,

How do you find reading the test tube? I find it hard when the solution colour is between the colour bars. What would you say your reading in the photo is?

 

[Jezza]

I've also had no luck trying to find DE - even in the online stores here in Oz.

Sal have you tried directpoolsupplies.com.au.

 

[MarianParoo]

Spell it out: diatomaceous earth

 

[Salsiccia]

OK, found it cunningly hidden in the "Newcastle Delivery" section of that website which I hadn't bothered checking because that's no use to me.
$AUD33 for 4.5kg plus another $AUD22 for postage to me.

Think I'll pass for now and put that money towards a new suction cleaner which is a far more urgent problem that I have now !

 

[AUSpool]

You really don't want food grade, at least in the US.

Thanks Marian, the obvious question is why? I thought it had something to do with impurities but I think I found the answer via wiki, pool DE is calcined right? And when cooled it's in a crystalline state with a higher silica content and larger overal size than the food grade derived from fresh water species.

Diatomite produced for pool filters is treated with high heat (calcination) and a fluxing agent (soda ash), causing the formerly harmless amorphous silicon dioxide to assume its crystalline form.^[25]

Salt-water-derived pool/ beer/ wine filter grade is not suitable for human consumption or effective as an insecticide. Usually calcinated before being sold to remove impurities and undesirable volatile contents, it is composed of larger particles than the freshwater version and has a high crystalline silica content (>60%)

Freshwater-derived food grade diatomaceous earth is the type used in United States agriculture for grain storage, as feed supplement, and as an insecticide. It is produced uncalcinated, has a very fine particle size, and is very low in crystal silica (<2%).

BTW loved the 20 mule team history, it would have been quite a sight seeing one of those teams. I can't help think what it would look like seeing them go around tight bends, good thing they didn't have round abouts back then.

Steve.

 

[AUSpool]

Hawknz,

How do you find reading the test tube? I find it hard when the solution colour is between the colour bars. What would you say your reading in the photo is?

I thought the same, my guess is 7.2. I can't see any colour difference between 7.4 and 7.6.

 

[MarianParoo]

Here you go: Food grade Diatomaceous Earth

 

[Jezza]

Well guys, bugger me but I found DE (pool grade) in Bunnings today. Not advertised online as being available but there it was in the pool section of Bunnings. It is a Hyclor brand and it was $31.

 

[AUSpool]

Thanks Jessa,
I stopped in at Clark Rubber today and no luck there, I'll have a look next time I'm in Bunnings.

 

[MarianParoo]

How many pounds (kg)? Ours is a little less than a dollar a pound.

 

[Crmdgnly]

Good to see another local on here and although I'm new too, welcome.
Thanks for the CCL kit info, I'm still undecided with regards to a new test kit but it's good to know that the pH kit has a sensitivity of 0.2. The really great thing about both the Taylor and CCL kits is that they come with standard solutions. Once you've gained some experience with using the test run your test as carfully as you can with the standards and that will give you a little confidence about choosing the right colour match.

Thats so funny that my gauge is cactus (stuffed) and yours is a cactus gauge (brand), who would have thought.

Your dust, does it go through your filter? If you stir it up does it seam to never go away?

Steve

Sorry, my attempt at humour was misplaced, I have an Onga gauge, but it too is cactus, I was just trying to express it in a funny way. Since mine is a simple top mount I'm going to try a cheap replacement. I've seen them as low as $15 and since I have one that doesn't work I'll try a cheapie and if that too ends up being "cactus" I'll spend the extra for an oil filled stainless one and chalk it up to false economy.
Re the sand/dust, I'm still not certain where it's going or where it's been. it settles on the ledges and steps where the auto cleaner doesn't get too, I brush it off to stir it up a little and invariably it's back in a day or two. I must try manually vacuuming and see what happens but want to get the balance right, and the gauge replaced and establish a good maintenance routine.

 

[MarianParoo]

This thread is all over the place.... May as well keep it going! Crm, is there a possibility that it is dead algae? Has your FC stayed at least at your minimum?

 

[AUSpool]

Well guys, bugger me but I found DE (pool grade) in Bunnings today. Not advertised online as being available but there it was in the pool section of Bunnings. It is a Hyclor brand and it was $31.

No such luck for us, it's only available in Western Australian stores. Couldn't even get it in as a special order, the girl rand Hyclor for me. But hay presto got some on the way home from a purely random stop. Celite AquaCel Celite Diatomite, is that a real name, the MSDS clearly says Diatomaceous Earth, contains crystalline silica. Why don't they just call it Diatomaceous Earth?

Steve.

 

[AUSpool]

How many pounds (kg)? Ours is a little less than a dollar a pound.

I got some today for AU$40 for 4.5kg or US$2.80 a pound. We get stiffed again. Such is life, I'll move on and get over it.

Steve.

 

[MarianParoo]

If it does the job, it's worth it. Skimmer socks (hairnets, paint strainers, whatever) and adding DE to a sand filter are my two most favorite filtering tricks!

 

[AUSpool]

Sorry, my attempt at humour was misplaced, I have an Onga gauge, but it too is cactus, I was just trying to express it in a funny way. Since mine is a simple top mount I'm going to try a cheap replacement. I've seen them as low as $15 and since I have one that doesn't work I'll try a cheapie and if that too ends up being "cactus" I'll spend the extra for an oil filled stainless one and chalk it up to false economy.
Re the sand/dust, I'm still not certain where it's going or where it's been. it settles on the ledges and steps where the auto cleaner doesn't get too, I brush it off to stir it up a little and invariably it's back in a day or two. I must try manually vacuuming and see what happens but want to get the balance right, and the gauge replaced and establish a good maintenance routine.

I would assume that if is on your ledges and steps it would also be settling on the floor. If it's not on the pool floor your auto cleaner must be getting it and since you have said that you water looks fine I would assume that it is being caught in the filter. If it were going through the filter I would think that your bulk water would look kind of cloudy or you would see suspended particles until it settles.

Or is it possible that you have just a little bit that is going through the filter and the auto cleaner is only allowing it to settle where it can't go, on the ledge and steps?

 

[MarianParoo]

Everyone has their own way of knowing when they have a nascent algae bloom: Slimy walls, higher CC, off-color, just not looking right, dust on the steps...... It doesn't have to be visible green algae.

 

[AUSpool]

If it does the job, it's worth it. Skimmer socks (hairnets, paint strainers, whatever) and adding DE to a sand filter are my two most favorite filtering tricks!

Love the instructions, they have measurements using a 1-pound coffee can...

On another note I owe you an apology Marian, a while back you wrote 'bleach' but I read 'beach', you must have though I was a nutter, I seriously need to face reality an get some reading glasses. We don't appear to have freshness labels on bleach containers, I get my container refilled. I thing I read somewhere that the US have ventable lids, ours close up air tight.

Steve.

 

[MarianParoo]

This thread is SO not TFP standard. How many issues can we discuss here????

But okay. There is no code or anything on your bleach in the AUS stores?

Nice that you can get refillables!

 

[Crmdgnly]

This thread is all over the place.... May as well keep it going! Crm, is there a possibility that it is dead algae? Has your FC stayed at least at your minimum?

I don't think so, feels more like fine gritty sand. FC did drop to 3 since I had turned the SWG down, but turned it back up again shortly after that test, no excessive CC (0.5 max over the previous week). I just think its from the garden, airborne from local building earthworks etc. I'm not concerned about it (at the moment) I just wanted to comment on the coincidence that AUSpool and I were both on the Sunny Coast, had a bit of dust and had dead (as he put it "cactus") gauges. At the moment quite happy with my first month of pool ownership, with a plan to swap the gauge and give the filter a good clean at the same time very soon.
This forum introduced me to the idea of skimmer socks, which looking at what I have been scraping out of mine was a genius idea as well as the need for a good test kit...getting back on topic...and the Clear Choice has served me well so far. Although I'm uncertain about their salt test, the concept has many ctiticisms that I have read. But, my SWG isn't complaining about low salt so I'm not too worried at the moment.