Phosphates - are they really irrelevant?

[LagunaSwana]

I read in pool school that phosphate levels are not important. I recently had algae and took care of it and took a sample to Leslie's and found that the phosphates were 882 PPB. I know they're in the business of selling me chemicals, but I bought Orenda and it dropped the levels down below 100 PPB. As I understand it:

Phosphates can inhibit chlorine effectiveness
Algae thrives in a high phosphate environment

So high phosphates seem to work against keeping the pool algae free. I have a saltwater pool, so is it just a matter of keeping the salt cell clean, maintaining salt levels at 3600+, and keeping Cyanuric acid at an appropriate level? Does doing this render the amount of phosphates in the pool irrelevant?

 

[PoolStored]

Phosphates can inhibit chlorine effectiveness

Not true.

Algae thrives in a high phosphate environment

You can have high levels of phosphates and never have algae.

So high phosphates seem to work against keeping the pool algae free. I have a saltwater pool, so is it just a matter of keeping the salt cell clean, maintaining salt levels at 3600+, and keeping Cyanuric acid at an appropriate level? Does doing this render the amount of phosphates in the pool irrelevant?

It is a matter of keeping your FC in range for your CYA. If you maintain your FC, phosphates are irrelevant. Link-->FC/CYA Levels

 

[ajw22]

Orenda does their marketing well.

Did you notice that phosphates are measuring PPB. That is Parts Per BILLION versus other chemicals that are measured in PPM, parts per million.

882ppb is a minuscule amount of phosphates that Otenda got you to spend money on.

If your phosphates were over 10,000ppb we would have a different discussion.

Phosphate Removers - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Newdude]

If you set up a buffet in the middle of the Sahara dessert, would you worry about all the people coming to nosh on it ? But it's PEOPLE FOOD !!!!!

Make the environment inhospitable to algae by never sniffing minimum FC per your CYA level, then the algae food you leave out is irrelevant.

Life eventually gets in the way for all of us, and once phosphates climb into the thousands, an algae outbreak would explode if the pool had to take a backseat for a spell. We are all just one family emergency from walking away from poolcare. So in the thousands (plural), not the hundreds, it wouldn't hurt to lower the phosphates at that point.

 

[JJ_Tex]

With phosphates, I always like to make an analogy of a pool store vs an exterminator. If you had an insect infestation you would hire an exterminator. Would you be happy if the exterminator just walked into your house and did nothing but throw away all the food in your pantry? What if the exterminator tried to convince you that you needed to hire him every month to come in and remove all of your food? Sure, it might help with the insects some, but would it treat the problem and would you ultimately be happy with that? No. The main thing it would do is move money from your pocket to the exterminator.

The same is true with phosphates. Yes, at very high levels they can serve as food/fertilizer for algae, but the focus should be on preventing algae not focusing on a normal amount of food in your pool/pantry. And if you have algae in your pool, removing the phosphates doesn't remove the algae and you still have a problem.

 

[LagunaSwana]

Thanks for your responses - they were very helpful. I am obviously disappointed that we had an algae bloom under the "watchful" care of my pool service. They claimed that it was because my salt cell wasn't working properly and I didn't have enough salt in the pool (I had 3300 at the time). But here's my concern: the salt chlorinator is but ONE way of maintaining the proper FC/CYA levels. If he came out and FC was way low, then he does have the option of putting chlorine in the pool to prevent the algae, does he not? When I tested the pool on my own (after getting back from a trip), the FC was basically zero (according to simple test strips). So he didn't address the problem, but rather left a door hangar about the salt cell.

Since then, I shocked the pool, brushed it several times, used Orenda for the phosphates (which I now understand was unnecessary), ran the filter continuously for 48 hours, cleaned the filter, cleaned the salt cell and put a bag of salt in the pool. FC has been maintaining well since then.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

You're right, the pool guy should have been more attentive. But, only visiting once a week, he doesn't really have an opportunity to maintain daily FC levels. That's the job of your SWG. Your pool cannot be properly maintained with once a week visits. You need a reliable test kit and a few minutes every couple days to properly maintain your pool.

To rule out any lingering issues with algae, you should complete an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test and follow up with the SLAM Process if necessary. Lots of us here have been through the same frustrations. We're here to help.

 

[JJ_Tex]

If he came out and FC was way low, then he does have the option of putting chlorine in the pool to prevent the algae, does he not? When I tested the pool on my own (after getting back from a trip), the FC was basically zero (according to simple test strips).

Yes, you can add chlorine to your pool just like any other pool. Unfortunately he took the lazy approach and just left a door hanger. He probably saw $ signs when doing it in hopes that he could charge you to "fix" your salt cell and/or algae problem.

 

[ajw22]

Many Pool Services do not carry Liquid Chlorine on their trucks unless specifically requested by a customer.

Taking initiative is not in many Pool Services vocabulary.