Suspect Black and Mustard Algae

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Take a read through these threads. TA = Carbonate Alkalinity (CA) + CYA Alkalinity + Borates Alkalinity. CA sets the maximum pH in a pool. I raised my Borates and CYA and lowered my TA to get my CA into the 30-40 region. This put a low ceiling on my pH. Look at the posts by @JamesW for the corrections to TA to CA.

Added Boric Acid

I added the Boric acid and see the other thread about using the Crud from Home Depot. My TA did not change based on the TA test, still about 70. I'm also increasing my CYA to 80, about 1/2 way there (76 with my eyes). The goal for me is to reduce my CA down to a level that the maximum pH is...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

And this one

Reducing TA - How long?

FC 8, pH 8.0, TA 90, CYA 80, Borates 50, Salt 2900 as of 7 AM this morning. Poolmath says to add 1.5 gallons to reduce the pH to 7.0. Added! I'm now "aerating". The question is, how long should this be? Lower Total Alkalinity - Trouble Free Pool just says to keep doing it until the pH reaches...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

pH vs CA chart

1626011594590.png
 
All, thanks again for all the help with balancing my pool water. The work has paid off. I've been able to keep FC, CYA, PH and TA in good range. My numbers as of a half hour ago are

FC - 6 / plan to add LC later when there's not so much sun shining on the water to bring it up to 7-8
PH - 7.8 / added some MA to bring it down a to 7.4-7.6. Since I've been able to lower my TA the PH appears to be stabilizing better day after day. I hope to get to a point where I only check once a week.
TA - 60
CYA - 50
CH - 250 (I am on the lower side of CH. Should I look at increasing this to get me close to 350)?

Thanks,
 
I would raise CH a little as you have a plaster pool, you do not want to leach any out of the plaster... You could raise it slowly using Cal-hypo, get chlorine and calcium at the same time..

Those number look great :)
 
Cowboycasey, based on what I read, cal-hypo comes in the pucks as I did not see any pellet or other form. I found one 4lb bag at home depot, but that's it from a big box store in my region all other locations are out. II I plan to call Leslie's and Pinch-a-Penny pool store to see what they have as I am having a hard time finding CH Increaser locally. I imagine with all the rain we've been getting, pool owners are stocking up on the CH increaser as well, just like liquid chlorine is getting harder to find in my area as well.

Thanks,
 
The only CH increaser Ive been able to find is this product at Home Depot. I read a post that these products have sodium chloride and potassium and that they can cause more harm, but want to check with others as the thread was from 2017, not sure if anything has changed since then. I am buying the only two 4lb bags they have left.

I found one store with cal-hypo at $110 for a 25 lb bucket and it’s a good distance from where I live.

I appreciate input about this product

Thanks

D217E838-B4EA-45A3-9132-048DCDE0E5EB.png943B67C1-0E76-4AA1-BCB5-D6AC1F87F3AF.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Silva1181 said:
Cowboycasey, based on what I read, cal-hypo comes in the pucks as I did not see any pellet or other form. I found one 4lb bag at home depot, but that's it from a big box store in my region all other locations are out. II I plan to call Leslie's and Pinch-a-Penny pool store to see what they have as I am having a hard time finding CH Increaser locally. I imagine with all the rain we've been getting, pool owners are stocking up on the CH increaser as well, just like liquid chlorine is getting harder to find in my area as well.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
Cal Hypo does come in 3" tablets. But they are quite expensive, since very little is made.

Poolife NST (NST = Non Stabilized Tablets)

Amazon.com : poolife NST Tablets (20.6 lb) : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Amazon.com : poolife NST Tablets (20.6 lb) : Patio, Lawn & Garden
amazon.com

This is what I use for CH increaser

Amazon.com: Robelle 2808B Calcium Increaser, 8-Pounds, White : Everything Else

Buy Robelle 2808B Calcium Increaser, 8-Pounds, White: Everything Else - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases
amazon.com
 
Thanks again, All. Looks like I will need about 13lbs to get me from my 250 reading to the 300-350 range. Since I've never added this product, I am starting with one 4lb bag and will recheck in two hours and continue to add until i reach a 300-350 range.
 
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I managed to get my CH to 270 from 250. Need to buy more CH increaser later today. I tested my FC which is now at 5 but I am sure this is due to sun burn off from yesterday.

PH raised above 8 which I believe is due to adding the CH increaser. My TA is now at 70 from 60. Should I adjust PH after I am done getting the CH to the 300 level or can I adjust PH now as well as adding LC?

Thanks,
 
Add and then take a 30 minute break and add another...

FC > wait 30 > MA to drop PH and TA > wait 30 > add CH > wait 30 > Test :)
 
Guys, I just want to say thanks again for your help during my trial/error of balancing the pool. I have some basic questions regarding balancing.

My numbers as of this morning:

FC 5 - adding LC to raise
PH - 7.2
TA - 60
CH - 375
CYA - 40
CC - 0

FC - I usually test my FC in the morning after the pump has been running two hours. My pool gets a lot of sun so LC drops 1-3 points daily. Should I add LC in the morning even though there's sun, or should I wait until the evening, retest and then add accordingly, or both?

CYA - I was good at 50 over a week ago, then in the past couple of days, it dropped to 40, then 30. It seems that I am needing to raise CYA about once a week, but not sure why.

CH - 375 is within the preferred target range. Should I bring it up a bit more?

thanks,
 
Add in the morning or the evening, it really does not matter. They key is never let you FC come close to the minimum. In fact I use the recommend level as my minimum. Run FC hot and you will never have a problem.

CYA- A lot of sun and a lot of rain will cause a loss of CYA. Monitor closely. This time of year with our rain and the pool being a high temp I lose CYA a lot. I bought extra reagent just so I can test CYA often.

CH- 375 is perfect. Dont touch it. Just manage your CSI. Thats the important number.
 
Thanks, I thought I was done bothering y'all with questions.

CSI is calculated using pH, TA, CH, CYA, temperature. When I input these in to PoolMatch my CSI shows "NAN". But I also noticed that for some reason PoolMath auto populates 1000 in the "salt" line item. When I leave the 1000 under salt along with my other numbers CSI is -0.48, when I delete the 1000, CSI is "NAN". What am I doing wrong?
 
Also let your pH drift up the CSI will become more reasonable after that. I have not met a plaster pool that can keep pH at 7.2 without adding a lot of acid. Mine likes to be a 7.8
 
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