Power Powder Plus - use for spring startup and algae growth?

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The Raddish

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May 15, 2007
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My numbers:

FC = 0
CC = .5 (actually a bit more, but not quite 1.0)
PH = 7.2
TA = 130
CYA = 0

Unfortunately, I have a slight algae bloom as well, and I've gotten rid of most of it so far. My water is pretty clear overall.

I've had the pool open for 24 hours now. I started with two and a half bottles (1.5 gal?) of Wal-Mart 6% bleach last night at dusk. This morning my readings are as noted above. I added another two and a half bottles of bleach. When I got home this evening, my FC was 1 and my CC was about .5. I added two more bottles of bleach.

I've bought some CYA to add, but I still have to get the rest of the algae vacuumed out. For some reason, the bug isn't covering the entire pool like it did last summer and is skipping places. Unfortunately, the bug is all I have at the moment as the manual hose has split and the manual vacuum head is broken.

I still have some Power Powder Plus left over from before I found Ben's forum back when I was initially pool stored. Would it be wise to go ahead and use it instead of bleach while I'm so low on CYA? If so, how much? Also, it's two years old, stored in my garage, is it likely still any good?

Also, should I brush the algae and put the pump on low instead of using the bug on high?



Pool specs:

24' x 52" AGP, aproximately 13,200 gallons.

Hayward 24" sand filter, Pentair 3/4 hp two speed pump, and lots of POP.
 
This morning I still had some chlorine in the pool. My Test kit only reads to 5, so I'm assuming there is actually more than that. I'll add one bottle of bleach today, and test again this afternoon, and if the chlorine is low this afternoon I'll try a bag of shock instead of bleach.

I've decided to pull the bug out of the pool, brush, and put the filter on low for the day. The bug just doesn't seem to be getting all the dead algae off the bottom, although there is still much less than there was last night. This confuses me because the bug would cover the whole pool last year without any problem.

At any rate, things are looking good. I'll also add a box of borax today, and hopefully I'll be able to add some stabilizer this evening as well.
 
If your water is really cold, that may be affecting your bug... some auto cleaners don't do well in cold water.

To get your OTO test kit to read to 15, mix one part pool water with two parts DISTILLED water in a clean container. A shot glass works nicely for measuring the parts. Then fill your tube with this new water, and test as usual. Multiply whatever result you see by 3 to get your actual ppm. This loses some accuracy, but it is more accurate that "something greater than 5" !!

Edited by TMQ to remove faulty information!!
 
Re: Power Powder Plus - use for spring startup and algae gro

edit 5/16/07 TMQ - added link to TF kit below

The Raddish said:
My numbers:

FC = 0
CC = .5 (actually a bit more, but not quite 1.0)
PH = 7.2
TA = 130
CYA = 0

Unfortunately, I have a slight algae bloom as well, and I've gotten rid of most of it so far. My water is pretty clear overall.

I've had the pool open for 24 hours now. I started with two and a half bottles (1.5 gal?) of Wal-Mart 6% bleach last night at dusk. This morning my readings are as noted above. I added another two and a half bottles of bleach. When I got home this evening, my FC was 1 and my CC was about .5. I added two more bottles of bleach.

I've bought some CYA to add, but I still have to get the rest of the algae vacuumed out. For some reason, the bug isn't covering the entire pool like it did last summer and is skipping places. Unfortunately, the bug is all I have at the moment as the manual hose has split and the manual vacuum head is broken.

I still have some Power Powder Plus left over from before I found Ben's forum back when I was initially pool stored. Would it be wise to go ahead and use it instead of bleach while I'm so low on CYA? If so, how much? Also, it's two years old, stored in my garage, is it likely still any good?

Also, should I brush the algae and put the pump on low instead of using the bug on high?



Pool specs:

24' x 52" AGP, aproximately 13,200 gallons.

Hayward 24" sand filter, Pentair 3/4 hp two speed pump, and lots of POP.
Click to expand...
rad,
Several pieces of advice:

- I don't know what kind of "bug" you have but it's a very secondary (maybe tertiary) concern right now. Deal with that in a separate post after you've dealt with the water.

- I'd get a new hose and vacuum head ASAP. It's a great backup to automated cleaners and will do some things better than the automatics (e.g. corners).

- What are the test results you posted from? Pool store? Your own test kit? What test kit do you have? Sounds like it's an OTO chlorine test which is not very much good for treating an algae problem. You can make do in the short term by using the technique Grace gave you, but you need to get an FAS-DPD soon (Taylor K-2006 or the kit sold here).

- If your CYA test results are accurate, you need 10 ppm chlorine to shock your pool (according to the Best Guess chart). According to BleachCalc, that will take 2.2 gallons for your pool if you're starting from zero. You need to bring your water to that level, test several times a day (at least three), and return the chlorine to 10 ppm after each test. Keep this up until the chlorine level keeps overnight. That may take a couple of days and it may take a week or longer. Sounds like yours is a fairly minor outbreak so I'm guessing a couple of days.

- Run the pump on high 24x7 until the algae problem is dealt with. You should also brush as frequently as you can; at least once per day.

- If the Power Powder Plus is the stuff from Leslie's it's calcium hypochlorite and won't do anything for your CYA. I wouldn't mess with it if it were me. Buy your CYA separately and add it via the skimmer (don't backwash for at least a week after adding it that way) or put it in a stocking and hang that from a ladder until the CYA is dissolved. You'll need about 3 pounds to bring your CYA to 30 ppm from zero. Regardless, I'd wait until the algae problem is solved before dealing with the CYA; t will just make your calculations more difficult at this point.

Best of luck.
 
My numbers come from my Taylor OTO test kit. I'd like to find just the FAS-DPD chlorine kit instead of having to replace the entire kit. Any ideas on where to get just the Chlorine kit at a reasonable price?

I've been using BBB for over a year, I've come to this forum from Ben's forum.

I've used Bleachcalc and Ben's Best Guess chart for pretty much everything with fantastic success last year. This is my first algae issue and it seems like it's going away. My questions in this thread were more related to using my two year old Power Powder Plus from Leslie's (my first 'pool store' experience) versus using bleach to shock. It looks like that question has been answered.

I'll be getting new manual vacuum stuff this evening. I brushed the pool down quickly this morning before work and turned my pump on low. It seems to filter much better on the low setting rather than the high setting. On high, everything just collects in the middle of the pool, even when I aim the Aqualuminator return down and to the right to minimize the current as much as possible. My 3/4 hp Pentair pump is just too strong on high unless I have some kind of attachment while I use it (vacuum, fountain, etc.)

I've already purchased three pounds of CYA, but as I stated above (and like you mentioned) I don't want to use it until the algae problem is gone.

For reference, my 'bug' is a Hayward Aquabug. It would not surprise me at all if TMQ is correct about the cold water affecting it's performance. The water is indeed a bit on the chilly side.

Thanks for the responses. :)
 
Rad,
Sounds like you have a good handle on things (sorry if I came across overly harsh in my first response). That being the case, I think it'd be OK to use the Power Powder Plus; you understand what it will do to your calcium and unless your CH is crazy high, it won't matter a bit in your vinyl pool.

Cheers,
kv
 

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This morning was very promising.

My numbers:

TC = 10+ (mixed pool water with an equal part of distilled water)
pH = 7.8
TA = 130
CYA = 0

I added some borax yesterday evening to bring my pH up. It was 7.8 all last year and never had a need to adjust. This morning I vacuumed and backwashed, and everything looks clear.

I put 1.5 lbs of CYA in a sock and stuck it in the skimmer. I'll add the other 1.5lbs this evening (didn't have time this morning). I also added 2 cups of DE this morning as well, which is what it took last year to raise the pressure 1PSI.

Monday evening when we took the cover off:

pool001pk6.jpg


pool004mo5.jpg


This was this morning:

pool007fv8.jpg


pool009ch4.jpg
 
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