New user of Omni Synergy box system & problems

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Kidsdogsandpool

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Jun 12, 2012
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I have a 24x48 above ground pool. It has a Hayward Power-Flo Matrix 1 1/2hp pump with Sandmaster SM2106T sand filter. The pool & equipment is new as of Aug 2010. We have had problems every year! I'm new to pool ownership & operation. Last year I had an algae problem due to using cheap chlorine & 2 days of being away from home. We live in a small town & there is one pool store (locally owned). I purchased the Omni Synergy box system to use this year thinking it would simplify the chemicals. Upon opening the pool with a fresh refill I added 17.5lbs of the Initiator & shocked as instructed. The 4 way test strips included with the Synergy kept showing no chlorine, so I continued shocking as instructed. The pool place has no idea why the pool won't hold chlorine. I noticed white papery like deposits on the bottom of the pool. The pool place had me use a chemical called Pink Treat along with 3 1/2lbs of shock & said probably white mold was the problem. My test results before the Pink Treat & shock are
Total chlorine 1.6
Free chlorine 1.4
Ph 7.8
Total Alkalinity 220
Calcium Hardness 175
Stabilizer 12
Copper & iron 0
Total Diss. Solids 457
I added 1/3 gal of muratic acid to lower Ph prior to adding the Pink Treat & shock. Before adding those I noticed a white powdery substance on the pool floor that brushed off easily. The pool place says it's the white water mold. Any suggestions??
 
Omni Synergy Tabs contain trichlor and borates and appear to be PH neutral, or at least close to PH neutral.
Omni Synergy Clear is 58% dichlor with the remaining contents not listed.
Omni Synergy Initiator is borates.
Pink Treat is 89% sodium bromide {{EDITED}}.

Your stabilizer(CYA) level is very low. Because of that you will lose most of your chlorine each day to sunlight. I suspect that is all that is going on, though it is difficult to tell for sure from your description.

There is never any reason to use Pink Treat. Chlorine alone is completely effective against pink algae and water mould.

Your TA level is fairly high, which is going to make the PH tend to go up.

I recommend you get your own top quality test kit. Without reliable test results we need to do a lot of guessing about what might be going on.
 
As far as the stabilizer being low does that mean I need to add more Initiator? Is there something else I can use that will work the same that's not made by Omni? The chemicals are very expensive & I have to order them from Leisure Living because no pool supply stores anywhere around me carry them. By the way the test results I posted earlier I had to drive 45 min. to a pool supply store to get. The place that's local to me doesn't give you numbers when they test only what you need to buy to adjust & tell you to bring another sample after adding the chemicals. The Pink Treat container says it's 88.8% sodium bromide & 11.2% inert ingredients.
 
There is no need to use Omni chemicals. Suitable chemicals are available much less expensively, many of them from the grocery store.

Initiator contains borates. You want to add cyanuric acid/stabilizer/conditioner/CYA, many names for the same stuff. You can get it at pool stores or from the Internet (for example Amazon carries it).

Sodium bromide can be problematic. We never recommend using it. Make sure you follow their directions on how much chlorine to add and when or it may end up making things worse.

I recommend getting a test kit from TFTestKits. That will give you much better control over your pool, save you the drive to the pool store, and give you more reliable results than nearly any pool store.

I also recommend doing some reading in Pool School. There is lots of helpful background information there that will make taking care of your pool much simpler.
 
Stop using specialty products that won't do anything for you :-D

Spend some time reading this forum, starting with pool school. As Jason said, to get the job done right you will need a test kit from TFTestkits, the TF100 or Taylor K2006 (these are the only acceptable kits to use for accurate results).

Cyanuric acid and chlorine are the only two things you really NEED to start, after testing you might want to adjust other levels though.

Muriatic acid will lower your pH and TA, anything else is just extra $ wasted.

When you're buying a test kit, I suggest getting the SpeedStir, eventually you will end up buying it anyway. Might as well enjoy it from the start! :goodjob:


Note: Chlorine can be purchased as bleach (Clorox or generic - 6%) Products labeled Pool Shock (liquid) that are 10% sodium hypochlorite and 90% water (other ingredients). It's all the same chlorine.


This is the best place to learn how to properly manage your pool, Welcome!
 
Thanks everyone! I wish I would have known about this site before getting the pool. It seems like the pool supply stores just want to take your money. I spent so much on products for the algae problem last year that didn't work that they told me to use. I had to go back & buy more products they said to try. I decided to use Synergy because it's supposed to simplify maintenence, but it seems like it will cause problems. I have a lot of reading to do in pool school!
 
I too did everything the pool store told me to do. I bought all the potions & my water was always cloudy. I never got on the "perfect pool" board! Came to this site last year and boy oh boy did everything change. Last year I bought 2 items at the pool store--an o-ring and a skimmer net. So far this season I have bought a tube of Majic Lube from them. My water just SPARKLES! Grab a test kit. I bought the TF100XL & it was money well spent. Less than I would have spent on my FIRST trip to the PS let alone the whole season. I get on this site pretty much everyday & keep on learning. I learned WHY the pool store stuff doesn't work & why this does. So get a test kit, get excited & get your pool back. Get the Speedstir, too. It will make taking care of your water EASY BREEZY.
 
Kidsdogsandpool said:
Thanks everyone! I wish I would have known about this site before getting the pool. It seems like the pool supply stores just want to take your money. I spent so much on products for the algae problem last year that didn't work that they told me to use. I had to go back & buy more products they said to try. I decided to use Synergy because it's supposed to simplify maintenence, but it seems like it will cause problems. I have a lot of reading to do in pool school!
Click to expand...
If you are using Synergy, I will be glad to assist you. I have be using Synergy for 4 years and this will be my fifth. I pick a day after I get started and that is chem and test day, usually Wednesday. Once a week I test the water and add my small mixture as I have done for the past few years and ZERO problems!! I have the water computer tested every couple of weeks and everything hits dead on? I always say that I will switch to the BBB method when I start to have problems, but I just don't have problems.
 
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