AquaBright Ecofinish--Alternative to Acid Washing
- Thread starter xyz
- Start date
Brian is correct about the suggestion to keep the CSI within a reasonable range in all pools, whether plaster or not, and whether there is cement-based grout or not.
I believe that it really isn't a good thing to allow the CSI to go below a -0.3 due to the fact that an overly aggressive CSI water is also usually corrosive to metals.
The Ryznar Index is a "cousin" of the CSI and LSI and also indicates whether water is corrosive to piping and other metal surfaces.
And some heater and other equipment manufacturers are citing the Ryznar and/or LSI as necessary to keep balanced; otherwise their warranty on the equipment is null and void.
I believe that it really isn't a good thing to allow the CSI to go below a -0.3 due to the fact that an overly aggressive CSI water is also usually corrosive to metals.
The Ryznar Index is a "cousin" of the CSI and LSI and also indicates whether water is corrosive to piping and other metal surfaces.
And some heater and other equipment manufacturers are citing the Ryznar and/or LSI as necessary to keep balanced; otherwise their warranty on the equipment is null and void.
Yes and it is very common option for resurfacing them. The company is saying that this is one of the few things that will actually adhere and last on fiberglass. Many waterparks are using on their fiberglass waterslides too.
Killer95Stang
Well-known member
So.... what does it ballpark cost?.... I know plaster prices are regional, but say it costs $10k to plaster your pool in a pebble finish, what is the difference in cost? That seems like the huge mystery about this product.
OK, so after a few days, I have found one downside to the AquaBright. It is slicker than my old calcified plaster. That stuff was like 40-grit sandpaper. Mostly a bad thing, wrecking bathing suits, and not very comfortable. But it did provide excellent traction for my Pool robot. So now the robot can only climb my first step, whereas it used to be able to climb both my first and second step. Also, it struggles to accomplish the waterline scrub; it still does it, but not with aggression like it did with the 40-grit.
The jury is still out on this though. It seems AquaBright leaves behind a lot of fairly fine dust, and the robot is taking a few days to clean it all out. I used to be able to get through at least 1/2 a week before needing to change the robot filter, now it is a day. I expect this will go to zero after a week or two. Without being clogged with all this blue dust, I expect my robot will have more downforce, and so will work a bit better than it does.
Also, my 2 year old robot tracks may be worn from the 40-grit, so I may look into new tracks--so the jury is still out.
Another challenge is that I don't think I can keep TA in the suggested range. With the water I have, if I went to the suggested TA range, my CSI would be extremely negative. I'm at a TA of 130 right now, and that seems to be OK, despite the suggested range of 60-80. I'll have to see. I'd rather be out of "spec" for a particular value but have a slightly negative CSI.
Now back to some good news. Again, this is just my gut, but it seems much easier to get stable PH and FC. This is with lower CYA and no borates [well, I just added both, so now we will see about that soon too].
All told, so far I'm pretty happy.
The jury is still out on this though. It seems AquaBright leaves behind a lot of fairly fine dust, and the robot is taking a few days to clean it all out. I used to be able to get through at least 1/2 a week before needing to change the robot filter, now it is a day. I expect this will go to zero after a week or two. Without being clogged with all this blue dust, I expect my robot will have more downforce, and so will work a bit better than it does.
Also, my 2 year old robot tracks may be worn from the 40-grit, so I may look into new tracks--so the jury is still out.
Another challenge is that I don't think I can keep TA in the suggested range. With the water I have, if I went to the suggested TA range, my CSI would be extremely negative. I'm at a TA of 130 right now, and that seems to be OK, despite the suggested range of 60-80. I'll have to see. I'd rather be out of "spec" for a particular value but have a slightly negative CSI.
Now back to some good news. Again, this is just my gut, but it seems much easier to get stable PH and FC. This is with lower CYA and no borates [well, I just added both, so now we will see about that soon too].
All told, so far I'm pretty happy.
Good to know about the dust. Maybe next time I'll pressure wash the pool and pump the water out before filling.
Keep in mind the recommended levels are designed to take the thinking out of water chemistry for those new to testing and managing their water. You are far from that beginner level and know what you need to do to keep your water from being too aggressive while your calcium levels are low. A higher TA won't hurt anything but just requires a little more acid than otherwise would have been needed with a more appropriate TA.
Keep in mind the recommended levels are designed to take the thinking out of water chemistry for those new to testing and managing their water. You are far from that beginner level and know what you need to do to keep your water from being too aggressive while your calcium levels are low. A higher TA won't hurt anything but just requires a little more acid than otherwise would have been needed with a more appropriate TA.
Thanks Brian.
And so far, it seem to want very little acid, at least what I'm used to. So if it is far better than before when I had a reasonable TA, sounds like I'm on the right track.
I'll report back once I get a feel for this new water and new pool coating.
OK, water seems to be stable.
FC - 5
CC - ~
TA - 120
CA - 180
PH - 7.4
CY - 40
Salt 2850
Temp 78
I put in too much MA on Sat. I think I may have incorrectly measured the PH at 8.4, and then dropped it too far. Now, it is not coming up nearly as quickly as it would have in the past; at least so it seems. I want to get it to 7.6-7.8 to keep the CSI slightly negative, and I have the IPH set to 5%.
Let's see how the dose of FC does today.
I'm liking these numbers other than the PH. I think I'll leave the TA at 120 for now, and if I am using less MA despite the higher TA like my gut tells me, that will be completely cool.
Water is clear, and the Robot made it through 2 days without triggering a filter change, so the fine powder is likely subsiding.
We also added an auto fill, so between the SWG, IPH, auto fill, and robot, I may get to my goal of once or twice per week check.
FC - 5
CC - ~
TA - 120
CA - 180
PH - 7.4
CY - 40
Salt 2850
Temp 78
I put in too much MA on Sat. I think I may have incorrectly measured the PH at 8.4, and then dropped it too far. Now, it is not coming up nearly as quickly as it would have in the past; at least so it seems. I want to get it to 7.6-7.8 to keep the CSI slightly negative, and I have the IPH set to 5%.
Let's see how the dose of FC does today.
I'm liking these numbers other than the PH. I think I'll leave the TA at 120 for now, and if I am using less MA despite the higher TA like my gut tells me, that will be completely cool.
Water is clear, and the Robot made it through 2 days without triggering a filter change, so the fine powder is likely subsiding.
We also added an auto fill, so between the SWG, IPH, auto fill, and robot, I may get to my goal of once or twice per week check.
Davis Custom Construction - AquaBRIGHT
Scroll down to warranty and click on the image. It's a 10 year prorated warranty and I'm matching it on labor as well.
Scroll down to warranty and click on the image. It's a 10 year prorated warranty and I'm matching it on labor as well.
- May 23, 2015
- 25,708
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
And Brian will discount all jobs if the customer provides smoked brisket from either a Primo or Big Green Egg smoker...
They have recommended levels which coincide with typical industry specs. They gave me a couple of examples of warranty issues... Guy threw multiple bags of Cal Hypo in the pool and let it sit on the floor an entire winter. They still worked with the guy.
I get the feeling that they will stand behind their product but I truly hope I never get the opportunity to find out.
And Brian will discount all jobs if the customer provides smoked brisket from either a Primo or Big Green Egg smoker...
Primo only! BGEs get charged double!