Calcium flakes

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C

Crunchy

0
Aug 17, 2015
62
Queensland Australia
Hello All

Couple of weeks ago started getting a lot of calcium flakes as per the attached pic, they are coming out of the inlet pipes and I have every reason to beleive the SWG is the 'culprit'. I am waiting (And waiting and waiting:() for my testing kit to come from NQPTK but in the meantime results from pool testing shop as at 12/10/15 are below. I would like to get onto resolving the issue - whats the most likley cause / solution please experienced peoples?

FC - 3.6
TC - 4
PH - 7.5
TA - 124 (Adjusted 115)
CH - 370
CYA - 31 (Have added more stabiliser since this measurement taken)
IMG_1755.jpg
 
Hey Crunchy, I hate to say it again mate its pretty hard to diagnose exactly what could be causing this without proper test results. I'm disappointed for you that NQ Pool test kits is basically not getting their act together as it sure must be frustrating. Have they given you a timeframe for when the said test kit will arrive (especially as you are in Queensland). I think you mentioned earlier that you had cleaned your cell of calcium using HCL, in which case it could be being caused by the imbalance of your other key parameters, namely your TA and or CH. The results above could be off so based on what you have provided How long are you running your SWG for and what percentage of run time is the chlorinator dialled in for? Have you also considered getting your money back and ordering a K2006 from the US.
 
With reagrd to NQPTK - they are not answering their phones or replying to e-mail or responding phone messages in my case....to their credit, a week ago they sent out a form letter saying they had stuffed up and would rectiy the situation but to their discredit they havent communicated since, all I want to know is after taking my money am I getting a kit or not! Not too much to ask is it???? If I havent heard by Monday I will put in a refund request with Visa.

The SWG is running 2 x 3 hrs per day at 50%. Yes when I started getting flakes I cleaned the cell using 10% diluted HCL, it came up nice and clean but what I did notice is the deposits onto the cell appeared very quickly again.

I'll come back once i get a kit and can table up accurate results.

Thanks
C
 
Crunchy said:
With reagrd to NQPTK - they are not answering their phones or replying to e-mail or responding phone messages in my case....to their credit, a week ago they sent out a form letter saying they had stuffed up and would rectiy the situation but to their discredit they havent communicated since, all I want to know is after taking my money am I getting a kit or not! Not too much to ask is it???? If I havent heard by Monday I will put in a refund request with Visa.

The SWG is running 2 x 3 hrs per day at 50%. Yes when I started getting flakes I cleaned the cell using 10% diluted HCL, it came up nice and clean but what I did notice is the deposits onto the cell appeared very quickly again.

I'll come back once i get a kit and can table up accurate results.

Thanks
C
Click to expand...

Sadly, this is not the first report that TFP has gotten about NQPTK not fulfilling orders. Hopefully it gets resolved to your satisfaction.

With regard to calcium flakes, it is not an unheard of phenomenon with SWCG's. Looking at you most current test results (pool store, so I hardly believe them) it is possible that your TA and CH are too high causing calcium carbonate to scale inside the cell. Once you are able to do your own testing and get reliable test results, we'll see where you are at.

When was the last time you cleaned your cell and what condition are the plates in?
 
That's disappointing, I'm wondering if you should cancel the order today and order from the US- just gives you an extra 5 days -doesn't seem like much. Poolvacparts.com usually deliver within the week, might cost an extra few dollars. Another member just ordered a K2006 on eBay for about $115 ( I think). From what your describing I think your flaking is being caused by your TA and CH possibly PH out of whack.
 
Probably got carried away :rolleyes:, just ordered from Poolvacparts

K-2006C + extra reagents R-0010&11, R-0013, R-0071C (Hope the FAS-DPD doesn't require R-0070?)
Salt drop test kit K1766 plus extra reagents
Taylor sure track 6-way strips (For checking when no time to run the reagent tests)

I'll be back:gone:

PS I don't need extra pH reagnets as I have TWO accurate pH testing probes at work.
 
Hi Crunchy, Good that you have ordered the K2006C, but you have ordered the wrong FAS DPD refills- you need the R-0870 and R-0871 not the R-0010 and R0011, These will only allow you to read FC up to 5 but you will need to read higher, especially if you have to conduct a SLAM where FC levels will need to be taken a lot higher. I also wouldn't worry about the Taylor test strips either to save a few bucks- IMO the time saving factor isn't that great for the sake of accuracy that you can get from your testing with reagents. Not sure what the R-0071C is for?? I would email Poolvacparts and get them to amend your order.
 

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I just reread your post Crunchy-sorry I misread. The 0001 and 0002 are for the FC (that extra zero at the front)!! Good move on getting the extra 0871. I'm so glad for you that you've ordered that kit- it should be there in the next week or so and then you can get that pool balanced.
 
This mornings results compared to 20 days ago

Now Previous
FC 6.5 3.6
TC Cannot measure with NQ-100
PH 7.6 7.5
TA 70 124
CH 370 360
CYA 75 30
Salt Unable to measure as wrong reagents sent in NQ-100 kit
CSI -0.34

So have been able to get the TA down, numbers looking good? Still some calcium flakes but will have a look tonight to see if improved. What is the best mechanism to keep the CSI at or around 0? Keeping pH slightly elevated?

Thanks
C
 
pH is the biggest driver of CSI. You can play with PoolMath to see the variations.

Thing to remember is that the pH inside you SWG cell is often A LOT higher than the pool pH because of the chlorine production and the intense aeration. So it's best to keep your CSI slightly negative like -0.1 to -0.2 range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Yes all tests done woth the NQ-100, I don't think it's a testing kit issue rather its either my testing skills or a sudden jump in TA, however I usually test several times which I think I did for the last TA test, I wouldn't have listed 70 unless I was very sure. I take the test water from the same part of the pool each time but not the same time of day. Pool water looks good. Still some flaking but not as much as previously. Not adding anything to the water for the past 6 weeks other than CYA but the pool has a history of adding all manner of pool shop chemicals, especially algaecides.
 
Maybe retest to confirm the result. Have you added any tap water or had much rainfall. Just wondering also whether the calcium dissolving in your water is leading to a rise in your TA as you have been operating more in the negative side of the CSI range but maybe someone with more knowledge than I can add more light to that theory notwithstanding your relatively steady pH.
 
Hi All

K2006C finally arrived this week, been doing lots of testing :)....

todays results

pH 7.8
FC 7.2
CC 0.2
TC 7.4
TA 100
CYA 65
CH 430
Salt 5200 (Target 4,200)
Temp 26 Deg C
CSI (Pool math) 0.14

Water looks nice and clear, only the odd calcium flake turning up now.

Have turned the pump down from 6 hrs per day to 5hrs to drop the FC slightly but I also upped the SWG output from 50% to 100% as I assume it is better to run less pump time and higher SWG output to save electricity, will keep an eye on it and try to balance out out FC at 5ppm by playing with pump time / output rato's.

Will drop some acid in tonight to try and bring that TA down again, seems to be all over the place.

Once I get the water balance steady for a while my next question will be about copper as there are green stains on the pool surface and lots of empty copper based algaecide bottles in the shed when I bought the house, and when I went to the same pool shop of course that was one of the first chemicals they suckered me into. Oh, I'm now 2 months without visiting the pool shop - thanks to the TFP community!

Cheers
Crunchy

PS, very hot and humid here right now so loving getting home from work and jumping into he pool, bit of a beacon for the neighbourhood kids, came home the other day to seven kids splashing around (Only 2 were mine), pleased its being used!
 

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