New house, old pool, yellow dust won't go away

[Ruined]

Ok thanks.

Today recorded an overnight drop of 2.5ppm (25ppm > 22.5ppm).

The big wildcard in this is going to be if they high chlorine level is enough to kill any algae that might be present in the light. I really can't do anything with it until the whole thing is fixed (and breaker identified) by the electrician or I probably risk electrocution. I hope that this gets it all, I guess one thing in my favor is that the wall with the pool light is one of the first walls to receive sun, and it receives sun throughout the day. Still probably darker back there, but not as dark as it could be.

Since i get so many organics with the constant leaf dumping I think I am going to add a polyquat weekly. What is the best level to do this at while its coming down that won't break down the polyquat, 10ppm or less?

 

[march2012]

Ok thanks.

Today recorded an overnight drop of 2.5ppm (25ppm > 22.5ppm).

The big wildcard in this is going to be if they high chlorine level is enough to kill any algae that might be present in the light. I really can't do anything with it until the whole thing is fixed (and breaker identified) by the electrician or I probably risk electrocution. I hope that this gets it all, I guess one thing in my favor is that the wall with the pool light is one of the first walls to receive sun, and it receives sun throughout the day. Still probably darker back there, but not as dark as it could be.

Since i get so many organics with the constant leaf dumping I think I am going to add a polyquat weekly. What is the best level to do this at while its coming down that won't break down the polyquat, 10ppm or less?

I suspect the common answer here is that doesnt really fit into the BBB model and so most here wont have any experience with what you are wanting to do. It frankly is not necessary and the specific quantities are pretty much voodoo. For example what have you read that would indicate that polyquat will do anything for your specific problem and at what levels? What is the interaction of polyquat with other chemicals? etc

BBB=science
polyquat = art/voodoo

 

[Ruined]

Ok thanks.

Today recorded an overnight drop of 2.5ppm (25ppm > 22.5ppm).

The big wildcard in this is going to be if they high chlorine level is enough to kill any algae that might be present in the light. I really can't do anything with it until the whole thing is fixed (and breaker identified) by the electrician or I probably risk electrocution. I hope that this gets it all, I guess one thing in my favor is that the wall with the pool light is one of the first walls to receive sun, and it receives sun throughout the day. Still probably darker back there, but not as dark as it could be.

Since i get so many organics with the constant leaf dumping I think I am going to add a polyquat weekly. What is the best level to do this at while its coming down that won't break down the polyquat, 10ppm or less?

I suspect the common answer here is that doesnt really fit into the BBB model and so most here wont have any experience with what you are wanting to do. It frankly is not necessary and the specific quantities are pretty much voodoo. For example what have you read that would indicate that polyquat will do anything for your specific problem and at what levels? What is the interaction of polyquat with other chemicals? etc

BBB=science
polyquat = art/voodoo

I dunno, I saw some people on this board recommending polyquat at times for inhibiting algae growth in the future. I know BBB is the standard here, but I was wondering if my situation was unique with the constant leafdropping and hence organic material.

I am probably going to try to scrape the cash together for a poolskim, though it appears for that to truly work 100% effective I'd have to run the pump most of the day.

 

[Swampwoman]

Polyquat is not voodoo; it's a copper free algaecide known to be effective. It's just usually not needed as anything other than insurance -- eg. when closing for the winter, when doing a stain (ascorbic acid) treatment that requires FC to be low or at zero, when one is going away on vaca, etc. It's totally a personal choice. Usually, "less is more" and "first do no harm" are the BBB ways, so to speak. But polyquat is a bonafide tool that is sometimes recommended on these threads depending on the specific situation.

That said, ruined, I used polyquat during a stain treatment. It increases chlorine demand a little. I also have borates in the water, so I don't use it at maintenance doses, and won't likely use it til close. The borates at 50 ppm have a similar effect with respect to inhibiting future aglae, plus other fringe benefits.

 

[Ruined]

ok so reading tonight was a bit high after adding bleach (around 25.5ppm).

i noticed today when brushing that near my light there is a few significant patches of what appears to be the surface coating chipped off near the light. I think I may have done this with the new wire brush I got :/ I thought it was safe to use a wire brush in a concrete pool, that vinyl is where it should be avoided? The pool guy who fixed my tiles said the previous owner used waterproof basement sealant or something for the surface, which caused a much rougher than usual finish.

Any easy way to patch this (surface is white) after shock process is over? I assume no, eh? Would I then have to drain to area, paint, wait to dry, etc?

Oh well. I kept seeing wire brush everywhere when dealing with algae. Guess I should have thought more before just doing it... I thought the pool surface was stronger than a normal paint. seems like i just can't win! need to use more common sense.

 

[Ruined]

So latest update, re-examined area around light, i think it was just painted poorly as there are globs of stuff all around it. So I'm over that.

REGARDING the water, it now looks as clear as it ever did. I was away for one day (but had my dad drop in 182oz of bleach on Sat eve), came back as of 1pm today level is 14ppm.

I am running out of reagents, though I have some of the larger quantity size coming in on Tuesday.

I dumped in another 547oz of bleach, which should bring the level up to a bit over 20. Will re-measure this evening and see how things go.

When sweeping today I did notice a signifcant amount of what appears to be dirt on the pool floor despite my vaccumming it thoroughly on Friday. I am not suprised though, because as stated earlier the pool is a leaf dumping ground. I checked out the returns and it looks like POOLSKIM should be compatible so I ordered one. Hopefully all will go well and this mustard algae is dead.

If I drop back to normal levels and it returns, I can only imagine it is lurking in the light niche, and unfortunately I need an electrician or pool repair guy if I need to take that apart as it is a big question mark right now since it does not work at all nor do I even know where the breaker for it is.

Will hope for the best, quick question:
If I measure at 10pm in the evening and again at 9am in the morning, what is considered "no drop" in level? 0ppm, or is there some margin like 1-1.5ppm? Thanx. I didn't measure last night but previous 2 nights the drop was 1.5ppm and 1ppm respectively. The strong odor also has subsided which is good.

 

[linen]

If I measure at 10pm in the evening and again at 9am in the morning, what is considered "no drop" in level? 0ppm, or is there some margin like 1-1.5ppm? Thanx. I didn't measure last night but previous 2 nights the drop was 1.5ppm and 1ppm respectively. The strong odor also has subsided which is good.

Less than 1 ppm FC drop overnight (sun off pool). See: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/overnight_fc_test

 

[march2012]

Polyquat is not voodoo; it's a copper free algaecide known to be effective. It's just usually not needed as anything other than insurance -- eg. when closing for the winter, when doing a stain (ascorbic acid) treatment that requires FC to be low or at zero, when one is going away on vaca, etc. It's totally a personal choice. Usually, "less is more" and "first do no harm" are the BBB ways, so to speak. But polyquat is a bonafide tool that is sometimes recommended on these threads depending on the specific situation.

That said, ruined, I used polyquat during a stain treatment. It increases chlorine demand a little. I also have borates in the water, so I don't use it at maintenance doses, and won't likely use it til close. The borates at 50 ppm have a similar effect with respect to inhibiting future aglae, plus other fringe benefits.

It is voo doo in the sense that it "may" help under "some situations". Are the specific situations concretely defined? Are the interactions with chlorine actually known? Are the quantities known based on pool volume or levels of other chemicals? If you just pour it in and hope, then it is "voo doo"

The relationship between FC, CYA is well defined and tested, TA, pH and acid/baking soda/soda ash are well defined and described by chemical formulas.

 

[Swampwoman]

While it's true one should not indescriminately throw "anything" into their pools, it's also not exactly scientific to dismiss or suggest that a product is bogus just because it may not be the most cost-effective treatment.

So for the sake of being specific about what Polyquat is, for those who care, here's what the Canadian government thinks about the component in Polyquat after extensive review whereby it evaluated the efficacy versus environmental risks (meaning it's value outweighed its potential for harm):

Polyquat is: Poly [oxyethylene (dimethyliminio)ethylen e(dimethyliminio) ethylene dichloride] otherwise know as POD:

POD is an antimicrobial active ingredient used for control of algae in swimming pools, spas, hot tubs and decorative fountains. It is also registered for control of algae, bacteria and fungi in cooling towers, industrial air washing systems, metal working fluids, and starch solutions used in the production of paper, paperboard, and adhesives. Commercial products containing POD are applied by workers by open pour or liquid pump. Domestic products containing POD can be applied by homeowners by open pour.

Now, it's expensive, and people with properly maintained pools who know what they are doing NORMALLY DO NO NEED IT.
When might they need it? Well, if they need to zero out chlorine to do an AA treatment and they have, say 25,000 ppb of phosphate -- which really does serve as an algae nutrient -- like I do, then it is probably a good time to use it.

But it's not exactly accurate to label a reasonably effective prophylactic measure that is based on bonafide science as VOODOO. Unnecessary, perhaps, but not voodoo.

 

[Ruined]

So, I have passed the overnight test. Time to take it down and start swimming again!

 

[Swampwoman]

Congrats!