Ultraviolet to reduce algae?

[sierradave]

In our tropical climate, algae is the biggest problem. I use AquaPool Triple Action tablets, along with Algicide and Clarifier from a Mexican company . I vacuum the algae out frequently, but it really has been impossible to get ahead of it.
I'm researching ultraviolet systems to see if this might be an answer to the problem. I would not stop using chemicals, but it would be nice to have chlorine levels sufficient for bacteria control rather than trying to kill the algae with it.
Any thoughts? Please remember that we don't have access here in Mexico to all the brands and technology there is in the States. Thanks!

 

[woodyp]

Welcome to the forum. I edited out the link to that company in your post.

 

[tim5055]

Having spent quite a bit of time in both Mexico and islands of the Caribbean, I think your problem is less availability of chemicals, but using the wrong chemicals. We neve, OK seldom recommend tablets as the primary source of chlorine and clarifier and algecide almost never. WhT you need to do up is use an I stabilized form of chlorine, meaning liquid chlorine. I know bleach is available in MX and that is what most/many of us use.

The stabilizer in the tabs you are using have built up so much that the chlorine is no longer killed by the chlorine.

You have plenty of UV every day from the sun.

Check out Pool a school to,learn more about our methods

ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
[FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]
SLAM Process

 

[Isaac-1]

In general we find UV systems to be pointless if you have a well maintained chemical balance, in particular the correct ratio of chlorine to stabilizer

Given your location, and lack of availability of chemicals I think a SWG with careful calculated initial CYA stabilizer setup makes the most sense. With an SWG the only bulk additional item you will need is salt which is commonly available almost everywhere. The SWG converts the salt dissolved in the water into chlorine so there is generally no need to haul bleach or one of the dry forms of chlorine which also add unwanted items.

 

[sierradave]

Welcome to the forum. I edited out the link to that company in your post.

Oops... sorry about that.

 

[sierradave]

I don't think the SWG systems are available around here. For acid, everyone I've talked with uses Muriatic Acid which is sold everywhere as it is used as a household cleaner. (Virtually everything is either concrete or tile on which the MA works well,)
Liquid chlorine bleach is everywhere, though. Are we talking about household chlorine bleach here?

 

[Isaac-1]

Yes, we commonly use household bleach for chlorination, however we have heard that the bleach sold in many tropical areas is much weaker and more expensive than the bleach sold in the U.S. (commonly 8.25% these days, was 6% until a couple of years ago) Cheap bleach even in the U.S. tends to be 3% or even 1% on rare occasions, but I have not seen any of that in about 5 years. Either way you go the key thing is maintaining the right ratio of chlorine to CYA stabilizer, the pool does not really care if that is from the addition of liquid chlorine / bleach or from an SWG, however all forms of solid chlorine contain things that can build up and cause problems. Dichlor and Trichlor both add CYA which builds up over time and reach levels where it becomes impossible to maintain an appropriate FC/CYA ratio rather quickly, and Cal-Hypo adds Calcuim which increases calcium hardness, something I suspect you want to avoid if your water is like much of the Yucatan it is already VERY hard. My best suggestion is to read the information in the pool school link in the upper right of this page starting with the ABC's of pool chemistry

Ike