Phosphates, Lies and videotapes...(don't worry, I know phosphates are baloney)

[chem geek]

If you truly get small paticles that the sand doesn't handle well, then the DE should help, but if you want to use a clarifier then it should be less expensive to use a poor clarifier rather than PHOSFree that also contains a phosphate remover. If one really wants to use a clarifier, then GLB Clear Blue or BioGuard Polysheen Blue would be good choices. Be careful not to overdose or use it more often then you feel is absolutely necessary because clarifiers tend to gum up filters (though probably not as badly with a sand filter compared to cartridge and generally they should not ever be used with DE.

 

[bdex]

I assume that the fine dust particles that end up on my automatic cover end up in the pool when the cover is open. Which is not often, but with the wind??? I travel every week for work M-F so every Saturday I get up before the wife and kids and go down with my tests kit and check everything that I possibly can. Ph, FC,cc, ch, ta, cya, phosphates, salt. My ph creeps .2-.3 per week due to the SWG I am sure. So my handy Taylor guide that came with the kit says to add 1.75 qts of MA. Everything else is generally in line and my saturation index according to the wheel is around .5 once ph is corrected. The wife checks the pool daily with 7 way strips to make sure nothing goes sideways during the week. I do also add the capful of phosfree and a splash of clarifier as "insurance" along with a couple seconds of LC in each end. (So I don't have to overwork my SWG). When the phosfree and clarifier that I bought is gone I will probably just stick with the clarifier as suggested. Sometimes I find a steal on chemicals (like 12.5% fresh LC for $1.99 gal) and I stock up. And I know, it doesn't matter how much of a deal they are if I don't need them. But the LC has many uses and the $11 clarifier was $3 at a store that seasonally carries pool chemicals.

 

[chem geek]

So my handy Taylor guide that came with the kit says to add 1.75 qts of MA. Everything else is generally in line and my saturation index according to the wheel is around .5 once ph is corrected. The wife checks the pool daily with 7 way strips to make sure nothing goes sideways during the week.

So you use a Taylor K-2006 kit on the weekends but your wife uses 7-way test strips during the week? During the week, probably only chlorine (FC) and maybe pH needs to be checked so just make sure you correlate the test strips against your accurate K-2006 kit since test strips can often be wrong (I assume your wife thinks the K-2006 too complicated?).

 

[bdex]

Exactly what we do. I leave my spreadsheet with my test results right in the drawer by the Taylor kit and the strips. As long as the numbers line up she goes on with her day. If not I get frantic calls. This very rarely happens.