Change Water, start fresh... please help.

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Happy to report that the small gasoline pressure washer rented from Home Depot does an excellent job at removing black algae with no apparent ill effects on the Shasta stone. (Pebbletech)
I'm going to wash out my filters with it a long as I have another coupla hours on the rental.
 
OK - that worked great, normally takes about three and a half hours with a hose, gotta get this back.
Next up, chlorine treat what's left of the black algae spots.

Umm... it's a small one 2000 psi 3 gpm. Used a lot less water than a hose and did a good flushing without having to go over and over.

My filter cartridges are large with deep pleats, Hayward C-59, EIGHT of 'em.
 
'K - entire pool scrubbed with 50/50 chlorine and water mix, rinsed out, waste bleach water removed.
I'm putting the drain covers back on, going to acid wash the rust stains and water line, rinsing as I go, hose to stay on and fill pool.
Not going to suck out the acid/water mix.
 
Muriatic acid / water 1/4 considerably lightened but did not totally remove the rust stains. Looks like one of the kids dropped the dog leader chain in there overnight at one point. Anyway, it's real light and you have to look for it to see it now.
Pool is filling.

All traces of algae have been nuked. :hammer:
 
frustratedpoolmom said:
Its just what I've been told since joining TFP...:)

waterbear said:
A power washer, even with the low pressure nozzle on it, can still damage the polyester fabric of the cart. It is not recommended by any of the major OEM and Replacement cartridge manufacturers.
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Not sure about this. People I know with carts take them to the car wash all the time. I guess the old, YMMV, applies.
 
It is certainly possible to destroy a filter cartridge using a pressure washer. The actual risk depends on how much pressure you are using and what kind of nozzle. At the same time, there isn't any reason that you should have to use a pressure washer. A regular garden hose will do the job. As generic advice, it is much better to tell people not to use a pressure washer, rather than risk the occasional person who will destroy an expensive cartridge because they didn't know what they were doing.
 
I think, like most things, it is all in how much attention you pay to the task at hand. I prefer a pressure washer for the simple fact that it uses a fraction of the water that a garden hose with a nozzle does. I'd say that I can get cartridge filters equally clean with either method, I just like the water savings (which is important here!) that I get with the pressure washer.
 

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Yes, definitely test your tap water. I've tested mine a couple of times. Here's what mine reads and we have excellent tap water.

FC = 1
CC = 0
pH = 7.9
CYA = 0
TA = 130
CH = 20
Iron = 0.0
Copper = 0.0

So you see when I filled my pool I had to add acid to begin with because the pH of the fill water is high. I also had to add Calcium because the water is so soft. But in some parts of the country the water is very hard so they have to be aware of that. I also had the water tested for metals because you never know.
 
LOL
'K - Soup's on.
I held back a little on the CYA and the salt to see where I'm at tomorrow.
Water here is VERY HARD so I'm not adding any calcium unless for some unforeseen miracle of water purity I absolutely need to.
Chlorine level is of little concern at this moment as I can crank up the SWG to get it where I want it.
Pool has been running for about an hour and the low salt warning is off on the cell system, so I assume I'm making chlorine now. Set at 5% power now, I will have to adjust this to maintain the desired chlorine level.
In the test kit is the identical blue ph / chlorine tester that I have been using for years.
Late tonight or early tomorrow I will see if I have to do any drastic moves on the ph or if I can just gradually nudge it there.
Added the complete amount of baking soda and borax the pool calculator said I needed on the low end of the scale as I know that these compounds should not be naturally occurring in the water... Threw in one gallon muriatic acid, most certainly I'll need more but I know better than to add it all at once.
I assume by Monday I will be pretty close to where I should be on ph and chlorine level so at that time I will break out the big bad TF test kit and see where everything is exactly. Kit ain't cheap and I'm not going to practice on tap water.
Gotta read the borates section again as I don't know if this level will stay put indefinitely or if it something that gets used up and needs maintenance?
Edit: Found the answer. Cartridge filter, so no water loss due to backwash means the borates should not go away.
I know for a fact, that salt and CH will go UP over time here. After two years, the water will be so ridiculously hard that I will have to drain it again. Even before then, I will have to run my ph a little lower than y'all recommend to keep my salt cell cleaner longer, as the water here has lots and lots of calcium.
 
The salt level goes up due to continued use of chlorine. The CH and TA goes up from evaporation and refill so you can virtually eliminate that by using a pool cover. Since you're in Arizona and I presume don't want to heat your pool much during the day, you can use an opaque light (white or reflective) pool cover that will stop evaporation, but generally reflect sunlight and limit heating of the pool.
 
I have a SWG so I don't ever add chlorine, except when we shocked it a couple times due to algae at the water line even though everything else was fine according to the pool store...
Which is why I'm here in the first place :lol:
Pool store torqued me off for the last time. It's one thing to know you're paying too much for a bunch of chemicals that they never tell you how or why for in the first place.
It's supposed to be easy, just bring in a water sample and we'll fix ya right up...
But when you ask questions and their methods don't work, and they start lipping you off and being all smart-*** with your wife, that's it.
Sorry, doesn't take a chemistry degree to make your pool run right does it?
That's when I started looking for info and found this website.
Ha! So I can find everything I need at Wal-Mart except for the acid which is right next door at Home Depot.
What I learned so far:
There is a critical relationship between CYA and chlorine.
Borates! Borax is waaaaay cheaper than Optimizer or whatever the overpriced thing they want you to buy is...
My extreme acid demand in the summer is because of the aeration, which I need to do to control water temp, vicious cycle.
Anyways, I know I live in an extreme environment so I'm going to have to adjust a little bit when it gets in the teens or 120 here, with 2% humidity. The evaporation is unreal and it cooks down your water fast. On top of that, you have to aerate at night to keep the water temp below 95....
 
Copperhead said:
Added the complete amount of baking soda and borax the pool calculator said I needed on the low end of the scale as I know that these compounds should not be naturally occurring in the water... Threw in one gallon muriatic acid, most certainly I'll need more but I know better than to add it all at once.
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Hi again,
since you didn't post test results.... I'm wondering why you added Baking Soda, Borax and then added a gallon of Muratic Acid? (Seeing as these counteract each other- wondering why you added all of these things?)
 

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