I inherited a problem and need help

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Is a generator an option? I guess the duration of the outages makes a difference in how practical that may be.

In normal conditions you can add bleach and then brush and even swim to distribute it. Since you expect periods of poor circulation you should go a bit higher than the cya levels would normally indicate keeping your minimum an extra 3-4 ppm over the norm - still well below shock - to give extra insurance.

Another possible approach depending on the cost is polyquat 60 as a preventative and maybe 50ppm of borates to reduce algae's chance to get a foothold.


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(my opinion) A good test kit should be high on the priority list. It may cost some $ up front but in the long run it will save you $$$ and lots of headaches. If you have results from a good kit the members here will have the info they need to help you out an incredible amount. There is a topic in pool school that talks about test kits.
 
The test kit that I am using has an Alkaline test that uses 2 drops of one thing 5 drops to turn it green and then another solution for which you count the drops until it turns red. mine takes about 30 drops to turn red which by the calculations on the sheet is about 300ppm. I also have the Phenol red ph test and an acid demand test. The phenol test is off the charts high and when I do the acid demand test it takes about 10 drops to get it back to a good color.

BTW I do not live where there is a walmart or anything remotely close. The power outages are unpredictable but often happen during the day and there is better power at night. Right now we have had power for almost all of 3 days which is pretty amazing.

again thanks for the help.
Tim
 
That makes your TA 300 ppm wich is very high and that will make your pH very high.

Muratic acid is what you need. Did you use the calc to figure how much acid to add?

The answer is ultimately to keep adding acid until the pH (and consequently the TA) comes down. Ever how much that takes.
 
First you need a CYA test, a Calcium Hardness test, and a FAS-DPD test to do things the BBB way. However the individually packaged tests are not cheap, it's typically best to buy a combination kit to start out. You already have a good pH test and because of that you might want to see if you can get a TF-50 to go with what you have. The TF-100 is more often recommended and is a better bargain long term but there's something to be said for saving a little money now given your water costs!

IF the TF-100 & TF-50 are not an option due to shipping; check where you got your current kit. If they can order other Taylor kits/chemistry then you have a choice. You can either get the K2006 combination kit or add the following kits to your existing kit:

K1515-A or K1515-C; FAS-DPD - measures FC and CC at high precision over a wide range. -A is the same size as the K2006; -C is the same size as the TF-100. Larger size is more economical in the long run.

K1770 measures Calcium Hardness (CH). Includes test tube and kit box etc. May be cheaper to buy just the reagents since you already (presumably) have a test tube with your current kit. Reagents needed: R-0010-A, R-0011L-A, R-0012-A.

K1721 measures CYA. Includes specialized CYA specific test tube and reagents. Larger size is availabe (K1720).

Once you have all the necessary tests the next season or when you run low you can order just replacement reagents since you'll have the test tubes and specialized gear you need.

NOTE: There are other combinations of kits that could work. Just make sure that the tests included in these kits are part of whatever you get. The details of these kits and others from Taylor are here: (http://www.taylortechnologies.com/produ ... search.asp) The Search by Analyte option allows you to pick what you want to test and then find all the kits that might be appropriate - this would be handy if the store you used has kits already in stock that do not match what I posted but include what you need.
 
tim_schandorff said:
BTW I do not live where there is a walmart or anything remotely close. The power outages are unpredictable but often happen during the day and there is better power at night. Right now we have had power for almost all of 3 days which is pretty amazing.
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Run the pump at night then. The SWG option still may be worthwhile if you oversize it and only need it to run a couple of hours a day.

I'm still curious if a generator is an option that's feasible... at $6 a gallon the cost of bleach makes gas look attractive...
 
I actually do have a generator and solar panels but the panels have trouble keeping the batteries charged long if the pump is on. The generator works well but costs a lot to run and we don't really have to use it much if we don't run the pool pump. I did find a place to buy larger bottles of bleach for a little less per oz. so that's helpful. Most of the stuff I buy has to be shipped in so I try to keep that to a minimum.
 
tim_schandorff said:
I actually do have a generator and solar panels but the panels have trouble keeping the batteries charged long if the pump is on. The generator works well but costs a lot to run and we don't really have to use it much if we don't run the pool pump. I did find a place to buy larger bottles of bleach for a little less per oz. so that's helpful. Most of the stuff I buy has to be shipped in so I try to keep that to a minimum.
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The question is going to boil down to - how much does it cost to buy bleach vs. running the generator and using an SWCG. Assuming the SWCG is not cost effective then bleach and brushing /swimming to distribute will work fine. Fire up the generator every couple of days to give the pool a couple of hours of good circulation and filtering.
 
ok so I have been testing regularly and have used a lot of "ph minus" to get the ph down but it seems to be having no impact at all. My PH is still ridiculously high and my chlorine is disappearing as though I'm dumping down an endless hole. I have tried bleach and was told that bleach here might be watered down so I tried HTH granular unstabilized chlorine but it doesn't seem to be any better. I am seriously considering going with the SWG but it is a big investment and I really don't know how long I am going to live here.

First of all is the high PH actually killing my chlorine or is that unrelated? secondly can you recommend some products that you know can lower the ph quickly? I might be able to find them here or I might be able to order them. Secondly how long does your SWG have to run in order to make enough chlorine for one day in a 26,000 Gallon pool? My thinking is that right now I think I can get our cost without the SWG down to about $4.00 per day in chlorine unless I find a better source, so even if it didn't work every day and I had to supplement it might pay for itself.
Thanks again for the input.
Tim
 

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pH and chlorine are unrelated. Use muriatic acid (31.45% from the hardware store) to get the pH down. Use the pool calculator, dose it, let the pump run for 30 min, test, and repeat. With a TA of 300, it will take a lot.

Draining the pool took care of a lot of algae and all of the CYA, but the pool is obviously still dirty. In terms of the bleach, all I can say is, it takes what takes.

We're all gonna start sounding like parrots here, but you really need a good test kit to do this our way. You're pretty much flying blind wihout it.

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SWG will vary in chlorine output. They are not very useful for clearing up a problem, but they do a great job keeping chlorine at rational levels. Buy a bigger unit than they recommend if you care about the long term - it will last longer if oversized.

Any luck on the search for test kits?

Muratic Acid is the simple way to reduce pH.


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Tim, I don't have your test kit, but I have the Taylor 2006. From your description of the ph test it sounds completely different. In mine, you add five drops of the first red bottle and then cap and shake it. That gives you the ph reading. In your description I couldn't tell if that's how you were doing it. What color/ph level does it show after the five drops? Is it deep purple or something?

I also don't know how your chlorine level can be 6 when your test kit only goes to 5. If in fact your chlorine level is over 10, then it will skew your ph readings and they'll read way high when they're NOT. So please don't add any more stuff regarding ph until you can confirm your chlorine level. Since you felt it wasn't "showing" I suspect in fact it's TOO high to read with your kit. You don't want to keep adding until you've got that sorted out, either by finding a pool company to read your FC level, or getting your hands on a drop kit that reads chlorine higher as others have mentioned. That's why this forum only recommends the TFT or Taylor 2006, if you can't tell chlorine levels above 5, then everything else becomes error-ridden! You could inadvertently drop your ph to very low levels which could corrode your equipment if prolongs and make the water uncomfortable to swim in because of the acidity.

Hope that helps. Let us know when you can get a bead on true FC, then we can guide your balancing.
Cheers.
 
My FC is not to high unless there is a drop test on the market that shows completely clear when the FC is too high. As for the comment about my ph test it works the same as yours. it is connected to the FC test and you use 5 red drops then mix. it comes out a little darker than the darkest example on the test. the acid demand test then takes about 4 drops to get it back where it needs to be on the test's scale. I apologize I probably said ph test and then explained how my Alkaline test works. still getting used to the vocab:) I did get some Muratic acid today and will dose it tomorrow. Also I know that everyone on here seems to be big fans of bleach and the SWG which I am considering, but I'm wondering about other forms of chlorine like HTH or some other dry unstabilized option. it looks like that might be a slightly less expensive way to go until I decide on the SWG, any thoughts?

Also I know I have not fixed my signature yet but I will as soon as I have time. sorry about that.
Tim
 
Oh and one other question about the SWG. you mentioned that it should be oversized. would oversizing it allow it to make more chlorine when the pump is running? I am wondering if that would help with issues arising from losing power from time to time. My pool is about 25k gallons so would you recommend the 40k gallon SWG? and is Hayward the best way to go and most economical?
 
tim_schandorff said:
My FC is not to high unless there is a drop test on the market that shows completely clear when the FC is too high.
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There is, the DPD test. Which I think you got. The key clue is the test block for chlorine - is the color red or pink rather than yellow or orange?

tim_schandorff said:
Also I know that everyone on here seems to be big fans of bleach and the SWG which I am considering, but I'm wondering about other forms of chlorine like HTH or some other dry unstabilized option. it looks like that might be a slightly less expensive way to go until I decide on the SWG, any thoughts?
Click to expand...

The only really viable option for powdered chlorine is Calcium Hypochlorite. It works great - but calcium hardness will rise and eventually put mineral stains called scale on the pool's surface.

But you can use just about any chlorine as long as you understand the trade offs and the remedies.



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Yes a larger SWG "should" make more FC PER HOUR. Min size recommended is 2x pool size or larger. 25k might need 60k sized SWG in your case.


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How do you top off your water when its lost to evaporation or splash out? How much rain do you get per year? As long as you know the drawbacks of using pucks they can be a viable option. They will also help keep your PH in check once you get your TA down. Bleach or a SWG are they best options but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.
 
So I am very close to pulling the trigger on an SWG system. I understand that you want go 2x or more than your pool size but I'm not seeing anything for 60K only 40K. Our pool is 25K if it is completely full so it is probably closer to 22K most of the time. Could I get by with a 40K Cell and if not where do I find a 60K cell? How long do you expect a cell to last? What is involved in the initial setup (i.e. adding salt and so on). I think based on what I have seen on here the Aqua rite is the way to go if anyone knows differently let me know.

BTW my test does use yellow for the chlorine test not pink. it uses pink for the PH test. I have been able to get the Ph under control but it goes up some whenever it rains. a little acid brings it back down. the CYA is about 50 and but the pucks that I have been using don't even seem to change the chlorine level. I am using HTH and that seems to work well but doesn't last long. Should I be keeping the CYA level a little higher?
thanks.
Tim
 

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