Hey all,
Been lurking here since the middle-ish part of the season. Have had my pool for a few years and have luckily been doing well. I had what I'd consider a good PB, and also have a pretty good local pool store that doesn't feel the need to jam a bunch of products on me...just some pH down every now and again in addition to the startup alkalinity/CYA/caclium... Before finding TFP I actually had purchased a Taylor K2006 kit because I'm a bit of a nerd and wanted to do my own water testing. So obviously TFP is right up my alley and you can consider me a full convert from here on out. For the last couple months it's been nothing but muriatic acid once/week, and I added borates in about mid-June for the first time ever based on readings from the this site - thanks!
Anyways, I wondered if anyone could comment on something - the only issue I have, and it's not really a major issue - is that whenever we use our spillover spa, these funny, milky appearing bubbles form. A collection sort of forms around the perimeter. They're denser than just the aerated bubbles, for example I can skim them out and they'll sit on the skimmer for a few minutes before kind of going away. When you get rid of them or burst them, more form. Sometimes they appear cream/milky colored; sometimes they have a bit of a brown/orange tinge.
This only happens in the spa, when the booster pump is on. A few bubbles form if it's on low speed, and more form when it's on high. Nowhere else in the pool does this occur. It happens before the water temperature rises, so it's not a function of being heated.
I should mention that I do use one other additive, and it's a holdover from when my PB built the pool - a small weekly addition of PoolChem 'Stain and Scale Control'. They gave me a supply of it to use for my first season, and I just kept on buying it every year. I'm not quite sure what it is, I assume maybe EDTA or some other metal sequesterant, which is pretty funny when you also consider that they installed a Nature2 SWG. One thing adds the copper/silver, and another removes it? Would make perfect sense. Oh, and I know - the Nature2 is gone next as of next season, and the mystery additive along with it.
The bubbles have happened every year since we opened the pool, and across a spectrum of water chemistry, but here is my most recent set of testing:
Salt - 3300
pH - 7.7
FC - 5.2
CC - 0
TA - 100
CH - 250
CYA - 60
Borates - 45
Water - crystal clear
The bubbles aren't a huge deal but they just kind bug me, you know? If there was a way to prevent them I'd do it.
I'm not sure if it's a chemistry issue, something to do with the actual tub material, maybe related to the Nature2, the scale/stain additive, or just one of those things that happens and I'll never know. But I figured I'd throw it out there, and see if anyone has seen them before.
Anyways, nice to meet you all - and hope to become a part of the community from here on out!
matt
Been lurking here since the middle-ish part of the season. Have had my pool for a few years and have luckily been doing well. I had what I'd consider a good PB, and also have a pretty good local pool store that doesn't feel the need to jam a bunch of products on me...just some pH down every now and again in addition to the startup alkalinity/CYA/caclium... Before finding TFP I actually had purchased a Taylor K2006 kit because I'm a bit of a nerd and wanted to do my own water testing. So obviously TFP is right up my alley and you can consider me a full convert from here on out. For the last couple months it's been nothing but muriatic acid once/week, and I added borates in about mid-June for the first time ever based on readings from the this site - thanks!
Anyways, I wondered if anyone could comment on something - the only issue I have, and it's not really a major issue - is that whenever we use our spillover spa, these funny, milky appearing bubbles form. A collection sort of forms around the perimeter. They're denser than just the aerated bubbles, for example I can skim them out and they'll sit on the skimmer for a few minutes before kind of going away. When you get rid of them or burst them, more form. Sometimes they appear cream/milky colored; sometimes they have a bit of a brown/orange tinge.
This only happens in the spa, when the booster pump is on. A few bubbles form if it's on low speed, and more form when it's on high. Nowhere else in the pool does this occur. It happens before the water temperature rises, so it's not a function of being heated.
I should mention that I do use one other additive, and it's a holdover from when my PB built the pool - a small weekly addition of PoolChem 'Stain and Scale Control'. They gave me a supply of it to use for my first season, and I just kept on buying it every year. I'm not quite sure what it is, I assume maybe EDTA or some other metal sequesterant, which is pretty funny when you also consider that they installed a Nature2 SWG. One thing adds the copper/silver, and another removes it? Would make perfect sense. Oh, and I know - the Nature2 is gone next as of next season, and the mystery additive along with it.
The bubbles have happened every year since we opened the pool, and across a spectrum of water chemistry, but here is my most recent set of testing:
Salt - 3300
pH - 7.7
FC - 5.2
CC - 0
TA - 100
CH - 250
CYA - 60
Borates - 45
Water - crystal clear
The bubbles aren't a huge deal but they just kind bug me, you know? If there was a way to prevent them I'd do it.
I'm not sure if it's a chemistry issue, something to do with the actual tub material, maybe related to the Nature2, the scale/stain additive, or just one of those things that happens and I'll never know. But I figured I'd throw it out there, and see if anyone has seen them before.
Anyways, nice to meet you all - and hope to become a part of the community from here on out!
matt
