Getting Tricked Somehow..........

[IguanaSwim]

My water looks blue, with a small amount of algae only .

I prefer to not to run the pump as much as our old pool guy told us to run it. He wanted us to run it from morning til night. I just do 5 hours during the day, from 11 AM to 4 PM, and then every evening and I turn it on, then brush the the small amount of algae that there is toward the main drain, and let the pump run for about an hour or two. I'm satisfied with the way it looks.

The reason for my post is, I'm not understanding why my FC test readings are as they are. It's been 2 months since I put any FC in the pool. I have used stabilized tablets only in the past 2 months. Specifically, Clorox Pool & Spa XtraBlue 3" Chlorinating Tablets. The water has looked good during this entire time.

I do have a test kit, but here are readings from the local pool store:

TC 5.0, FC, 5.0, CC 0.0, PH 7.6, TA 100, CH 200, CYA 45, TDS 3,000

My K-2006 TAYLOR TEST KIT is detecting much, much more FC than the store did. FC 18.0, with CC 0.0. I determined PH 7.7, TA 70, and CYA 50.

Can anyone explain to me, why is FC being detected if I'm not putting it in the pool? Why is CC coming up 0.0 if I'm only using stabilized tablets?

Since CYA is at the level it is, I plan on switching to liquid CH this week.

 

[Jimrahbe]

IS,

The only reason to use "Chlorinating" tablets is to add Chlorine (FC) to your pool...

What did you thing the tablets were supposed to do...

I don't think anyone is trying to trick you, the pool stores tests are most likely wrong..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ajw22]

I don't understand your question and confusion but a few comments on what you said:

- Pool store testing may only be able to test chlorine up to 5 or 10 ppm depending on the test system they use. The wide difference between the pool store test and your Taylor test is not surprising.
- It may help to check your FC testing method - what ML water sample did you use and how many drops did it take to clear?
- Clorox Pool & Spa XtraBlue 3" Chlorinating Tablets contain copper. You have been adding copper to your pool water. eventually it will get to a level where itc an cause staining in your pool. I suggest you stop using that product ASAP. Read Copper in Pool Water - Further Reading

I also suggest you read ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[IguanaSwim]

Thanks for replies Jimrable and ajw22

Regarding FC readings: Yesterday, I used the 10 ml level and needed 36 drops to clear. So .5 X 36 = 18.
I just repeated the test at the 25 ml level, and 95 drops were needed to clear: 2 X 95 = 19

Oy vey! I just read the ABCs and I completely did not understand what CC was.

Here's where I got off track I think: I had thought that as CYA went up, CC would go up. I seems I got the concept of Chlorine combining with stabilizer confused in my brain with the term Combined Chlorine. I guess Chlorine is just chlorine and registers as FC no matter what the CYA level is.

Am I understanding things correctly now?

 

[ajw22]

I guess Chlorine is just chlorine and registers as FC no matter what the CYA level is.

That is correct. Your FC measurement will not change with CYA level changing. CYA protects you from your FC being rapidly lost due to UV degradation from the sun.

Are you following this..

Basic Pool Care Schedule

This basic pool care schedule can guide you in creating your own pool care routine. Regular pool maintenance will keep your water sparkling!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[beautifulpool]

That is correct. Your FC measurement will not change with CYA level changing. CYA protects you from your FC being rapidly lost due to UV degradation from the sun.

Are you following this..

Basic Pool Care Schedule

This basic pool care schedule can guide you in creating your own pool care routine. Regular pool maintenance will keep your water sparkling!

www.troublefreepool.com

I agree with everything posted by jimrahbe & ajw22
I started not to add anything, cause they each have addressed the FC mis-understanding and I believe that was a lot of your issue.
But, in hopes others will not repeat my mistakes....
A couple of things I did wrong when I started testing my own water (can be small stuff) but can throw off test results.
Since you and i both use taylor reagents (i use the tf-100 which uses Taylor’s reagents) i recommend you try watching (for me it took watching & re-watching lol) “how -to-test” videos, from the folks who make the stuff we test our water with.
2) learn it-BUT LEARN it correctly
3) then believe in your results
4) then ACT on your results
Blessings

 

[IguanaSwim]

Thanks beautifulpool, I'm glad you chimed in. I now think I should get to the bottom of this disparity between my results ( FC 19, 18, 19.5 Sat, Sun, and just now, respectively) and that the pool store. FC 5.0 on Saturday. I bought 16 oz of R-0871 in June on ebay. I need to review how I'm testing and check out the possibility that my R-0871 or my R-0870 dpd powder has degenerated. I bought the J-size .25 lb off of Ebay in April of 2018.

My apologies to Jimrahbe who I see his handle is Jimrahbe and not Jimrable.

I just brushed the pool and it pool looks a little better than normal. I put in some new tablets on Thursday. I think I'm going to run the pump for two or three "marathon" sessions and then go back to my somewhat sparse schedule see if there's a lasting benefit. The six hours that I run it on most days may need to be upped. There is a constant (very low level) dusting of algae. I'm next to a golf course with several large trees near and most months there's many leaves blowing into the pool. There once was an enclosure over the pool, but it was knocked down in the 2006 hurricane.

My last question is a general question, does chlorine kill bacteria best if the TA and/or PH is in their recommended zones for swimmers? Or, can you tweak these levels and get better results?

This pool goes through phases where it isn't used at all. so, to restate my question, I'm wondering, if I were to keep the TA, for example at either 50 or 140, would that help the chlorine do its job better? Also, if I were to keep the PH "too high" or "too low" might that help? Last - is there some combination, such as TA too high, and PH too low, which would help the chlorine deliver nice blue water.

If it would be better to pose this question on a different forum I can do that no problem just tell me which one.

 

[ajw22]

My last question is a general question, does chlorine kill bacteria best if the TA and/or PH is in their recommended zones for swimmers? Or, can you tweak these levels and get better results?

This pool goes through phases where it isn't used at all. so, to restate my question, I'm wondering, if I were to keep the TA, for example at either 50 or 140, would that help the chlorine do its job better? Also, if I were to keep the PH "too high" or "too low" might that help? Last - is there some combination, such as TA too high, and PH too low, which would help the chlorine deliver nice blue water.

If it would be better to pose this question on a different forum I can do that no problem just tell me which one.

The simple answer is with CYA 50 pH or TA have no effect on chlorine effectiveness.

For more details you can read PH - Further Reading

 

[Jimrahbe]

My apologies to @Jimrahbe who I see his handle is Jimrahbe and not Jimrable.

I have been called much worse...

I have an unusual last name and almost no one gets it right.. Once, when I was working, I got a letter that had my name spelled 4 different ways in a one page letter... I still have it somewhere..

I agree with Allen... pH/TA has very little to do with how effective the chlorine is going to be.

If you have a "Dusting" of algae, you have algae and it will not go away unless you do a SLAM... You might be able to somewhat control it with an elevated FC level, but if you want to actually get rid of it, you need to do a SLAM.. Trees, leaves, rain, and the other endless list of reasons, do not cause algae... Once you get rid of algae, just keeping your FC in the proper relationship with your CYA will prevent algae from reoccurring.

See this chart... FC/CYA Levels

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[IguanaSwim]

The SLAM worked, but the pool was only algae free for three or four days.




I'm going to repeat the SLAM, but I may have found the real source of the problem........



I installed this filter in April of this year, and I do clean it regularly, but I did allow the crevices to become filled with particles from the pool. I have known about this problem, and I always spray in a manner trying to remove this stuff which is deep in the filter. I even made a little sprayer with three holes in it specifically to get the leaves and gunk in the crevices.


But because the SLAM only fixed the problem for a few days, I got the idea to examine the filter more closely. Some of the folds of the filter are pretty much clean, others are very dirty in places.



The pressure gauge runs at 13 always, since I clean the filter cartridge regularly. But just now, I spent a good 10-15 minutes spraying the filter with a little power-washer hose nozzle I have. I did not use the one I made, which obviously doesn't do as well as I thought it was doing. It's was pretty furstrating spraying just now because I know there's still debris in it. The stuff in the cartridge is hard to identify, but a good amount of it is leaf parts, 1 inch or less. Whatever it is, it is very stubborn stuff. I've known it was there and thought I was getting most of it. I wasn't!

I'm now wondering about additional types of screening, since leaves are getting from the pool into the folds of the cartridge. Are there screens you can buy which fit over the skimmer intake? Would such a screen harm the functioning of the pool?

After I add new screening, if I do, the next thing is to decide whether or not to junk this cartridge and start over with a new one.

 

[ajw22]

Consider getting one of these Cartridge Cleaning Tools

 

[gonfishin]

It looks like you've got small leaf debris that is getting past your skimmer basket. A skimmer sock or hair net on your skimmer basket may help you avoid it getting to your cartridge. It may also make it so you don't need to clean your cartridges as often.

 

[IguanaSwim]

Thanks for the advice, I have ordered a 100 pack of these 100 PCS--21", Disposable Bouffant Hair Net Caps, Spun-Bounded Poly, hair nets.

I decided against doing the SLAM again, and tried to fix the problem by cleaning the cartridge more. The stubborn (moderate to light) coating of green algae which accumulates every day at the bottom of the pool and on the stairs (never on the walls) has persisted despite three sessions devoted to cleaning the Pentair Clean & Clear Plus 100, Unicel C-9410, Pleatco PAP100, Cartridge last week.

I got into using the light of the sun to spot the debris in the cartridge looking down the center.



Everywhere I saw a shadow, there was leaf debris. I watched as spraying shifted the debris down, and a little would flow out. But mostly it just stayed in. I used a variety of nozzles on the cartridge, including one like the one you recommended. Of course, I flipped the cartridge and repeated spraying down quite a few times. A little would leave, most not. There are 4 plastic bands which encircle and support the folds of the cartridge, and the debris gets held up at each of these bands as it tries to slide down with the water. The cartridge would be much easier to clean if the bands could be taken off and put back on.



I put together this sprayer which I stuck down inside the cartridge to spray from the inside to the outside. It was completely ineffective, but I will give myself an E for effort.



The new cartridges I ordered arrived and I put a completely new one in just today. I will know within three or four days whether or not the problem has been the residual stuff in the cartridge.

This daily algae plague may not be related to that rotting gunk in the cartridge at all. It could be tied to my choice to run the pump only 5 hours per day, from 11 AM to 4.

 

[duraleigh]

Live algae is a chemistry issue....not a filtration problem.

 

[Leebo]

Live algae is a chemistry issue....not a filtration problem.

I totally agree here. While proper filtration is required right now you’re just delaying the inevitable. The algae will just get worse as you tinker with your filter. Address the chemistry issues first, then worry about the filter.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Think of a SLAM like taking a full round of antibiotics. You may start feeling better after a few pills, but if you dont finish the bottle of antibiotics your cold will come back.

With a CYA of 50, you need to get your FC up to 20 and keep it at 20 until you complete the 3 criteria to stop the SLAM. It likely will not be a just a few days but likely a week or more. That is why your algae came back so quickly.