Baquacil - New Pool, Different Response

[pooleman9]

I've used Baquacil / CDX system in two previous pools (~20K steel wall/vinyl liner) with (eventually) fair amount of success. Whenever it started looking hazy and the shock went to zero due to water mold I'd hit it with floc (Alum) and it would clear up within a day. Changing the sand in the filter yearly was also key.
Last fall we bought a house with a larger pool. It's a 30K Clayton-Lambert with stainless steel wall and plaster bottom, a midwestern thing as I understand. The previous owners used chlorine. I had it replastered and added an autocover. So I started with new water from the outdoor spigots (way cheaper than a truck) and did my normal treatment with Baquacil. A month later I'm seeing a small amount of floating pink slime which is annoying but the skimmer seems to catch it fine. The pool water is clear and the shock level has been rock solid which is surprising. Is this difference in response a vinyl vs. plaster phenomenon, pink slime vs water mold, or just new water (which I haven't experienced for 22 years)? Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Jeff Poole

 

[pookiesunshine]

not sure about what difference the wall material might be, but the autocover may have something to do with it if you leave it covered a lot. Pink slime and white mold seem to like dark places. When i experienced white mold, it always seemed to be in my return lines or the bottom of the weir door. Pink slime was usually found on the bottom of the ladder steps (in those hard to clean recessed areas) and in the pump basket/sand filter.

I never tried Alum that i know of, but i did always use the baqua floc (maybe the same thing) by adding it to the skimmer after each backwash. I used the Line Clean product and instructions when i noticed white mold/pink slime. I was off baqua before i heard of ahhsome or i probably would have tried that. Good riddance I say.

Good luck!

 

[jla]

Ahh-some was the only product that got our baquacil treated pool sparkly and clear this summer. It was short lived though because we ended up with algae bloom a few weeks later, so I can’t offer any great advice.

 

[jblizzle]

Best Baq related advice I can offer is to convert to chlorine

It is cheaper and easier to maintain perfect water all the time.

 

[pooleman9]

Thanks for the comments. The problem as it currently stands is just slightly annoying, I am hoping to head it off at the pass. The autocover is great after 27 years of pulling a solar roller, but I find I need to keep it open more to allow surface skimming to occur. I saw the water mold problem with the ladder early on in my last pool and just decided to remove the ladder altogether which really helped. I followed the discussion about Ahhsome on another thread and am going to try that in the next week or so.

 

[pooleman9]

Added the Ahhsome a week ago. The minor pink slime I was seeing in the skimmer each morning was gone the next day! Pool has remained clear; Baq and shock levels stable. Ahhsome is appropriately named!!

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Hello Pooleman9: Glad to hear that the product did help you out. It is very important that you use the “Pool” formula for Baquacil problem Pools and not the Hot Tub/Jetted Bath formula. Add the appropriate dose every 28-30 days and you should have a trouble free pool. Be sure to add the appropriate amount of sanitizer as usual. You mention that your pool is a Clayton Lambert. Great pool and super people. They started off building silos for farmers way back in the early days and then migrated to the pool industry. Enjoy your Summer season.