Need Help with green algea

[Brentr]

Bama Rambler, I got a color change from red to clear after 20 drops however it never turned blue after 60 drops. If I continue I will run out of reagent

 

[no-mas]

Brentr, for all it's worth, I struggled with that stupid CH test until I bought myself a magnetic stirrer... I have nowhere near enough patience to do it right. While I don't take their advice, I'll have my water tested at Leslies / Ace Hardware / or some other pool place on occasion, and I once saw them do the CH test with a stirrer. The color change was clear and definite, and I said to myself "I need one of those."

Also for all it's worth, while shocking there's little sense in checking pH - it will be reading high. You'll want the FC below 10 before the pH test reliable. Once it's where you want it and you know what to expect from your pool, you can test CYA, TA, and CH much less frequently than you do FC/CC/TC and pH.

 

[Brentr]

Brentr, for all it's worth, I struggled with that stupid CH test until I bought myself a magnetic stirrer... I have nowhere near enough patience to do it right. While I don't take their advice, I'll have my water tested at Leslies / Ace Hardware / or some other pool place on occasion, and I once saw them do the CH test with a stirrer. The color change was clear and definite, and I said to myself "I need one of those."

Also for all it's worth, while shocking there's little sense in checking pH - it will be reading high. You'll want the FC below 10 before the pH test reliable. Once it's where you want it and you know what to expect from your pool, you can test CYA, TA, and CH much less frequently than you do FC/CC/TC and pH.

no-mas, I spent about 30mins doing the CH test. My water never turned blue, however it did turn from pink to clear
Where did you get your magnetic stirrer? Was it very expensive????

 

[Bama Rambler]

I got my stirrer from Apollo pools. It's not cheap but definitely worth it to me. It made all the tests much better and easier to distinguish the end points.

 

[PaulR]

I have seen the blue be fairly pale, but looking through the tube against a white background in decent light, the blue was still there. Normally the red progresses through a purply stage before turning true blue.

I looked at Taylor's page on CH and didn't see any suggestion of a colorless endpoint.

I can't claim to know anything about the underlying chemistry, but I suppose it's possible that the extremely high FC is causing a weird situation. If it were me, I'd try a couple of experiments. My first thought is try putting in a couple drops of R-0007, which is the chlorine neutralizer from the TA test. My second thought is to try the "fading endpoint" instructions, which is to put in 5-6 drops of R-0012 first, then the R-0010 and R-0011, and continuing with R-0012. (Count every drop of R-0012, including those you put in first.)

--paulr

 

[Beez]

Bama Rambler, I got a color change from red to clear after 20 drops however it never turned blue after 60 drops. If I continue I will run out of reagent

You may have magnesium in your water. See below:

"Endpoint goes from Red to Clear (I don't know if we've seen this reported here) Again caused by the presence of magnesium. It is corrected by redoing the test and adding 8 or so drops of R-0011L instead of the suggested 5 drops." (Copied from a previous post)

Also, I have the Apollo Pools magnetic stirrer as well. It cost me around $70 and worth every penny! If you are in this for the long haul it is indispensable. Bite the bullet and purchase one.

 

[no-mas]

I bought a used stirrer on ebay - wound up paying around $30 shipped. It's not fancy, but if you're patient, will find a deal if you're so inclined.

 

[Brentr]

No-mas and Beez, thanks for the info. I started searching ebay for a magnetic stirrer. Are you using the vials supplied with the tf-100 kit and if so what size magnet will fit in that small of a container? :-D

 

[Bama Rambler]

Those vials are about 1" dia. If you buy a stirrer from Apollo it comes with a 40 ml vial and a 13mm X 3mm bar (1/2" X 1/8". That's a good size for the vials. It doesn't cause too much agitation but does a good job of stirring. I lost mine of course, and ordered extras from Scientific Equipment of Houston. I ordered a package of 6.

 

[Brentr]

Bama Rama, how long have you had your stirrer? Have you had any trouble with it? How often do you change the battery? I may have to get one instead with messing around on ebay :-D

 

[Brentr]

Bama Rama, how long have you had your stirrer? Have you had any trouble with it? How often do you change the battery? I may have to get one instead with messing around on ebay :-D

Excuse the mispelling Bama Rambler :-D

 

[Bama Rambler]

No worries about the spelling. Most people shorten it to just Bama, and that's ok too.

I've had mine about 6 months and use it almost every day. It has the same battery in it that it came with. I have had no trouble with it.

There are several people on here that have them and I haven't heard of any complaints. I have no idea how good their warranty or service is because I've never had the need to contact them. I guess that says something in itself.

 

[Beez]

Bama Rama, how long have you had your stirrer? Have you had any trouble with it? How often do you change the battery? I may have to get one instead with messing around on ebay :-D

I did have to change the battery in mine immediately as it arrived very weak. And the plastic case must be taken apart to replace it. But other than that no problems here some 5-6 months later...