I understand. But for our purpose of pool water discussions a sequestrants job is to PREVENT precipitation....not cause it. That's why I question their wording....to me, that doesn't make sense.
Cloudy water after treatment
- Thread starter mikemass
- Start date
See this post for a possible explanation of what might be going on. An overdose of HEDP can cause cloudiness (and perhaps Sparkle Conquest intentionally overdoses). However, it's not a precipitate, so maybe the MSDS for the Sparkle Conquest is wrong. Perhaps it is indeed a polymeric anionic product to bind to metals and even precipitate them, BUT if that is the case, it will also bind to Polyquat creating a precipitated mess.
Borates are not a small metal and are far too large to bind to HEDP. It is mostly boric acid, B(OH)3 in water with some borate ion, B(OH)4- and it is not free boron ion. Why don't you measure your borate level as well as your calcium hardness (CH) to see if either has dropped significantly.
Borates are not a small metal and are far too large to bind to HEDP. It is mostly boric acid, B(OH)3 in water with some borate ion, B(OH)4- and it is not free boron ion. Why don't you measure your borate level as well as your calcium hardness (CH) to see if either has dropped significantly.
Yes. I said I will measure my borates when I get home. I did measure my Calcium last night and it was 400. Last I checked it was 320. So it certainly did not go down.
This paper describes some details about calcium phosphonate precipitates, but it's not clear that is what happened. I don't think you would see much of a calcium hardness reduction since there is far more calcium than HEDP.
Bringing back an old thread, because I just had this exact same issue. After following the directions precisely, my water is milky white, and there is a layer of white "powdery dust on the steps and floor that keeps coming back every time I brush. I spoke with the manufacturer, who was very friendly, knowledgable, and helpful. They are indicating this is a result of the product extracting calcium staining from the plaster. They indicate the powder is Calcium Carbonate.
Now the bad news. They said to run the filter and in a day or two it would clear. I did this and there is no difference. I called back. They said the calcium carbonate may be small enough that it is pass through the sand filter, and therefore not being removed. Uh-oh!
I am experimenting with some things I discussed with the rep. I am lower the RPM on the pump, I only have the floor drain open, and am brushing the powdery stuff towards the deep end (where the floor drain resides). The rep said I may need to add something like DE to create a finer particle filter layer in the sand filter, but I hate to do this just to fix this issue that the product caused.
Open to any knowledge or advice.
Now the bad news. They said to run the filter and in a day or two it would clear. I did this and there is no difference. I called back. They said the calcium carbonate may be small enough that it is pass through the sand filter, and therefore not being removed. Uh-oh!
I am experimenting with some things I discussed with the rep. I am lower the RPM on the pump, I only have the floor drain open, and am brushing the powdery stuff towards the deep end (where the floor drain resides). The rep said I may need to add something like DE to create a finer particle filter layer in the sand filter, but I hate to do this just to fix this issue that the product caused.
Open to any knowledge or advice.
- May 23, 2015
- 25,705
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
DE in the sand filter is a very common trick for clearing fine particulates. It will get flushed out when you backwash. See this thread -
Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter
The only other thing you could try is a polymeric clarifier like GLB Clear Blue BUT you can not use clarifiers and metal sequestrants together or else you will create an even cloudier mess. DE is very innocuous and easily gotten rid of; the only downside is that you really only need a small amount (like 1 to 2 cups) and what's available for purchase is usually 20 to 25lbs.
Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter
The only other thing you could try is a polymeric clarifier like GLB Clear Blue BUT you can not use clarifiers and metal sequestrants together or else you will create an even cloudier mess. DE is very innocuous and easily gotten rid of; the only downside is that you really only need a small amount (like 1 to 2 cups) and what's available for purchase is usually 20 to 25lbs.
Hey ramsfan. Thanks for alerting me that you posted on this topic. Yup. Exact same problem I had back then. I see all the links to my old photos have been broken in the earlier posts, but hopefully you watched the youtube video I posted, because that really showed what was going on.
I don't think the filter alone is going to do the job. This powder was super fine and the moment is was somewhat disturbed it would drift back up in the water. My suggestion is to vacuum it out to waste. Move the vacuum as slow as possible along the bottom as to not stir it up. Better yet, if you have access to a robot use that. (borrow from a fellow pool owner, see about renting one, etc)... Make sure you don't use a mesh bag. It needs to be a heavy duty fabric bag that doesn't allow fine particles to get through. The nice thing about the robot, is that you can run it for hours and hours to completely pick up all that powder crude. Just clean the bag often. You'll get there, it will just take time.
Let me know how you make out. Good luck. And oh. Ye, the call service at Sparkle Conquest is amazing. They are very helpful.
Yep, I saw your youtube video, and the problem I have is identical. It is amazing how much that powder feels and looks like something that would be easy to brush or remove, but you are right, the moment it is disturbed it is super fine and just goes back into the water. I have a Dolphin robot with two stage filter panels. It is working a bit, but only gets up a little each cycle. I actually don't have a manual pool filter vacuum, as I have relied on the robot without issue in the past. We are in an area with almost no leaves or such, so very little debri ever hits my pool.