BBB vs Pool store recomendations

[treefarmer]

I just found you guys and really like the BBB way of thinking. We built our pool in 2007 and my wife has been taking water samples to the Swimming Pool Superstore every week or 2 since then. I didn't cover the pool this last winter and filters were almost totally clogged. Dumb I know. Our ozone generator stopped working and I noticed we had the green algae start growing. 2 weeks of adding 50 lbs of hardness, 1 gal of acid, 4 lbs of shock, then 2 qts of acid, 1 cap mustard eliminator, 4 more lbs of shock, then next day 3 more lbs of shock, and then received Frog mineral refill and Bam algicide and 4 lbs of CYA tied to nylons.
This did clear up the pool very well. My ozone is still down and we ordered a rebuild kit for it.
I noticed some of you have SWG for your chlorine. my builder wouldn't use it due to corrosion of the equipment. Platinum Pools. Can I switch to a SWG? If I do what about the chlorinator. what are your thoughts on the ozone as well. As far as the BBB our Ph is always HIGH and we are constantly adding a gallon of acid just to keep in the normal range. Our water is very soft and I had to put an automatic water filler device to keep the level up. We are in the country out in the open and loose about 5/8" a day due to evaporation. Because of all that fresh soft water we go through a lot of CYA as well.
thanks for any and all feedback!

 

[RobbieH]

This is going to be fun!

How about some water test results to start with?

 

[JasonLion]

The salt used with an SWG is really only a problem for a few of the softer kinds of natural stone work. Other than that it really isn't an issue. Unless you have stone work that you are worried about you could easily add a SWG.

I can't know for sure until you post a full set of water test results, but your PH is probably rising because your TA is too high. PH can also rise a lot if you have a plaster pool that is less than one year old.

5/8" is a lot of water to lose due to evaporation. Also, the CYA level does not go down due to evaporation, since the CYA doesn't evaporate. I suspect that you have a leak somewhere.

We don't recommend either the Frog or ozone systems. Chlorine alone works so well that there is little if anything those systems can improve on. The Frog can also cause problems with coloring blond hair green or staining the pool sometimes.

 

[treefarmer]

OK. Before we started the first steps:
4/22
FC 0
TC 0
CC 0
Ph Ovr 8.2
hardness 30ppm
TA 173 ppm
CYA 25 ppm
Copper 0
Saturation Index -0.12 What does that mean?

Second test 5/6:
FC 0
TC 0
CC 0
Ph still Ovr 8.2
hardness 160 ppm
TA 157ppm
CYA 10ppm.

Using Trichlor for shock.

 

[Bama Rambler]

How are you testing? You need a good test kit if you don't have one.

You need to bring that pH down pretty quickly first. That'll help your TA because it is a little high even for using Trichlor. You then need to add enough bleach in there to get to about 10 ppm FC.

How did the CYA go from 25 on the 22nd to 10 on the 6th? While I'm here. CYA doesn't evaporate, so when the water evaporates the CYA concentration actually increases and when you add water back the CYA concentration goes back to the previous level. However if you're leaking water and not evaporating it the level will go down as you refill.

 

[JasonLion]

Don't worry about the saturation index.

Trichlor isn't the best thing to use for shock. It dissolves slowly and also raises the CYA level (which you don't usually want).

The first thing to do is to get the PH down to something more reasonable. Lower PH down to around 7.2 to 7.4 before continuing. Chlorine is much less effective when the PH is out of range.

What are you using for testing? CYA shouldn't have gone from 25 to 10, so that is probably a testing error. Knowing you levels precisely is very very important.

The same things Bama said, but all very important, so worth repeating.

 

[treefarmer]

regarding 5/8" loss. I thought the same thing. Fought with Platinum for months. Did the bucket test and some days it was a 1/4" and some it was 5/8". They finally sent out American Leak Detection to find it. They said because of the open area it's in, no fence open pasture to the south and west, and almost constant south wind they weren't surprised about the amount a loss, and they didn't find a leak. Well I take that back, they claim one of the strainer covers had a leak yet there is no evidence of it leaking. They have to find SOMETHING or they don't get paid.
Testing was done at the pool store. On the form it has Saturation Index: first one was -0.12 next one was 0.55 ??Have no idea what that means. I do need to get a GOOD test kit. Will be ordering it today or tomorrow. How do you drop the TA?

 

[madwil]

pool-school/lowering%20total%20alkalinity

Basically, you lower pH and allow aeration to get rid of TA- repetitively

 

[treefarmer]

When I switch to bleach do I just turn off the chlorinator and stop putting in the 3" pucks?
With a 30K gallon pool would I be adding bleach every day or so? Would a SWG be better?
Thanks again for all the help.

 

[madwil]

I use a 1.4 gal jug about every 4 days right now- a little more in the heat of July and Aug! test daily and add as needed
My min is 4ppm, so when it drops below 5 on the OTO kit, I add a jug... only use the whole test kit about once a week!

This is with 26k gal and CYA of 50

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, you can just stop putting new tablets in the chlorinator and start using bleach.

Many people prefer a SWG, and many people prefer to add bleach directly. Both are good solutions, it depends on personal preferences.

Saturation index is really not important. It is a measure of how likely calcium scaling or etching of the pool surface is. As long as your keep your levels in the right ranges the saturation index will always be in range. In some extreme situations, which you can't keep your levels in range, the saturation index becomes important.

Leaks can be very tricky to find and likewise tricky to determine if there even is a leak. If your CYA level is going down noticeably then you probably have a leak. CYA normally will go down from say 50 at the start of the pool season to perhaps 30 or 35 at the end of the season. If it is going down faster than that, something is going on.

 

[Bama Rambler]

http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/lowering%20total%20alkalinity

Basically, you lower pH and allow aeration to get rid of TA- repetitively

Hey Madwil, I'm just gonna correct this a little. It's common to get it backward.

You raise pH by aeration and you then lower pH with muriatic acid which also lowers the TA. It's the acid addition that lowers the pH and the TA. Aeration just raises pH without raising TA.