Yellow Out chlorine question

Jump to latest Follow Reply
D

DiyDave

Member
Feb 18, 2021
11
Florida
Mustard algae cropped up in my pool and I was having trouble getting rid of it with higher shocking and brushing so I tried Yellow Out from Natural Chemistry. It has sort of a staged process where you add it to the pool, wait 5 minutes, add shock to the dosage they recommend and then add more in 12 hours and then again in 24 hours.

I'm at the point where I added more shock 12 hours after the initial dose and shocking. Before I did so I tested on a strip (yes I know) that the process consumed all my free and total chlorine overnight which I believe is expected.

My question is, after I reshocked the pool and tested about an hour later my readings were still non-existent for total and free chlorine. Does that mean I should add more shock now or is that normal and just wait 24 hours before doing the last round of shock? I'm shocking with calcium hypochlorite.
 
Without reliable testing, you can't know where you're starting. Therefore, getting to where you need to be is a dump and pray scenerio. The pool store is chocked full of spendy potions to try and if they get their way, you'll try them all. They exist not to help you but to sell product, and they're clearly doing GREAT with their MO.

All of your issue stems from the method, not the rare Mustard Algae frequently blamed to explain the faulted process. Shocking is an knee jerk overcorrection and makes a faulted sanitation process even faulty-er. But that's not the problem. No Sir. It must be Mustard algae or aliens.

Get a drop based test kit. We'll walk you through the rest and you'll be trouble free in no time. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mdragger88 and JamesW
Congratulations, you have added ammonia to your pool.

Yellow out from Natural Chemistry/Coral Checmical Company contains Disodium salt of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid Dihydrated Ammonium Sulfate. MSDS attached to this post.

Diammonium Sulfate, YELLOW OUT

How does this chemical work? -Disodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid dihydrate -Diammonium sulfate -YELLOW OUT
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

The Yellow Out product will consume chlorine with the ammonia combining with chlorine in seconds. If there is any leftover chlorine or if you add more chlorine later, it will oxidize the EDTA over days and you may notice that as additional chlorine demand until you get rid of all the EDTA in this fashion.

We recommend getting rid of yellow/mustard algae through super-chlorination and getting behind light niches and under removable ladders since yellow/mustard algae prefers shade, but if your CYA level is high then the first thing to do is to dilute the water (partial drain/refill) to lower it. Otherwise, the problem will come back again. See the Pool School article on Mustard Algae for more info.

Why is Yellow Out or Yellow Trine Harmful to your pool?

Why is Yellow Out or Yellow Trine harmful to your pool? Are they the same thing? I was reading eariler that it "Complicates Things." Can anyone explain that a bit further? Whatever you decide to do, please do not add that yellow out to your pool. It will add bromine to your pool that will...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Leslie's yellow out- tried and don't like it

Thought I'ld provide a report on my experience with yellow out. I tried it as I thought I had mustard algae and super shock was not removing it. Yellowout was easy to apply and wiped out any visible algae very very quickly. HOWEVER, it has a nasty side effect. FC drops for many many days after...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 

Attachments

  • 00367662.pdf
    81.4 KB · Views: 1
  • Like
Reactions: Mdragger88

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
DiyDave said:
Ammonium Sulfate. Yellow Out® - Natural Chemistry
As I understand it, it turns your chlorine into chloramine which is very effective against mustard algae, but it uses up all your chlorine which is why they have this process where you shock multiple times over 36 hours.
Click to expand...
Welcome! You’re just going to have to add lots of chlorine to get rid of the ammonia. Nothing you can do now other than that.

Not intending to kick you when you’re down but you probably didn’t have mustard algae in the first place. (Lots of people come here thinking they have it) The SLAM process with a good test kit will help you avoid getting led astray by the pool store again.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude
I guess my question is more (for those familiar with Yellow Out) should I be adding more shock during the process if it bottoms out due to the increased chlorine demand between the steps or wait until tomorrow to add more per the instructions? Overnight the Yellow Out took out the majority of the staining I couldn't get out with brushing or very high chlorine levels. For future maintenance though I am going to get a proper test kit so I can use SLAM instead of niche products.
 
Bperry said:
Not intending to kick you when you’re down
Click to expand...
HUGE +1. We exist solely to help people like you. Most of us have a personal stake in the matter not wanting someone else to be fooled like we were, before we got here.

We'd love to show you the way, but we can't do it the pool store way which brought you here. :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: JamesW
Bperry said:
Welcome! You’re just going to have to add lots of chlorine to get rid of the ammonia. Nothing you can do now other than that.

Not intending to kick you when you’re down but you probably didn’t have mustard algae in the first place. (Lots of people come here thinking they have it) The SLAM process with a good test kit will help you avoid getting led astray by the pool store again.
Click to expand...
Based on reading about what mustard algae was on the forum it seemed to indicate it was. The pool water itself was clear and it was appearing in shaded areas and wasn't responding to elevated chlorine.
 
You are likely seeing zero FC and TC because the test strips are being bleached out. They are both inaccurate and unsuitable for any chlorine levels above those dictated by industry standards (0-4ppm). Only a proper test kit based on DPD-FAS titration can accurately assess chlorine levels. High levels of chloramine can also cause problems with testing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JamesW, Bperry and Newdude
DiyDave said:
Based on reading about what mustard algae was on the forum it seemed to indicate it was. The pool water itself was clear and it was appearing in shaded areas and wasn't responding to elevated chlorine.
Click to expand...
Don’t get me wrong, it’s entirely possible you have it. The trouble is those test strips are really terrible at measuring anything accurately and so you don’t really know of the chlorine was elevated or not. Perhaps try getting the test kit ordered and see if the strips are just being bleached out like mentioned above. The TFP site is designed to help people avoid using products like yellow out and so there may not be many people with experience using it to answer your specific questions.

Once you have a better test kit, lots of people will jump in to help with specific issues you might still be having. The test kit thing is a big deal around here because giving out advice with bad test results can make things worse in a lot of cases and nobody wants that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JamesW and Newdude
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply