Phosphates are 700. 2 to 3 weeks ago they were 400. Someone said Phosfree. Is this what y'all recommend? I am just this weekend adding my skimmer
Christi
Christi
Phosphates
- Thread starter Reddcurrlz
- Start date
Someone was talking to their pool store!
There is no reason to consider phosphates in a properly maintained pool.
There is no reason to consider phosphates in a properly maintained pool.
Algae does like phosphates, but In a properly chlorinated pool algae can't exist so phosphates are something a lot of TFP people never pay attention to.
More than "a lot". I'd say over 99.95% of TFP members pay no attention to phosphates
Just maintain adequate FC for your CYA level and they don't matter.
Hmmm but they almost doubled in 3 weeks. But FC is 4 so is it ok to skip the $35 treatment
Christi
Christi
Well, it's cheaper for me to talk to them and use their testing as it tests for the same things as the recommended kit...and it's free. I assume just because i talk to the pool store it's still ok for me to post here
Christi
Free pool store testing is not really free if you are being convinced to spend $$$ on junk you don't need, now is it?
Not only not free but their testing is not accurate at all either, it's proven here time and again. Take your sample to a few places and watch the results of the same water change. Your sample gets quickly run through just like anyone else, they aren't spending any time to make sure it's accurate, making sure that everything is nice and clean and is not cross contaminated with the last customers sample. They don't care about your pool, they care that you buy something. Often the employees are just temp or summer help that has no clue. Many use electronic equipment that is improperly or rarely calibrated.
You really can't mix TFP advice with pool store advice, they will continue to sell you junk you don't need and even create you problems you don't have to make a sale. Take that $35 and put it toward a quality test kit, take control of your pool and stay out of the pool store. They really do not have your best interests in mind.
My pool and hot tub has remained perfectly balanced for 2 summers using bleach, muriatic acid and stabilizer, that's it, nothing else has gone in my water.
Not only not free but their testing is not accurate at all either, it's proven here time and again. Take your sample to a few places and watch the results of the same water change. Your sample gets quickly run through just like anyone else, they aren't spending any time to make sure it's accurate, making sure that everything is nice and clean and is not cross contaminated with the last customers sample. They don't care about your pool, they care that you buy something. Often the employees are just temp or summer help that has no clue. Many use electronic equipment that is improperly or rarely calibrated.
You really can't mix TFP advice with pool store advice, they will continue to sell you junk you don't need and even create you problems you don't have to make a sale. Take that $35 and put it toward a quality test kit, take control of your pool and stay out of the pool store. They really do not have your best interests in mind.
My pool and hot tub has remained perfectly balanced for 2 summers using bleach, muriatic acid and stabilizer, that's it, nothing else has gone in my water.
Foxy
0
Absolutely, you can still post here, because if you continue to follow pool $tore testing and advice you are going to need information on how to fix your pool water in the future and then it won't be cheaper to have relied on a pool $tore. Just browse around for a bit and you'll see for yourself. You are right, their tests do check for the same things and also for unnecessary things like phosphates, problem is that their testing is unreliable as is their advice. That $35 for unnecessary potions isn't cheap IMO and they will tell you to use it regularly, so that keeps adding up and 2 of those treatments would have bought you an appropriate test kit.
Phosphates in a pool is like a 5-star buffet in a room filled with chlorine gas. Sure, there is a lot of great food in there, but nobody will survive long enough to eat it.
Stop going to the pool $tore, they will take your money and mess up your pool. We have seen it time and time again.
Get a proper test kit and take control of the safety and comfort of your own pool as nobody will take better care of the pool than you.
Stop going to the pool $tore, they will take your money and mess up your pool. We have seen it time and time again.
Get a proper test kit and take control of the safety and comfort of your own pool as nobody will take better care of the pool than you.
cfherrman
TFP Guide
Everything in the pool store is designed for you to spend more money, from the chemicals to the testing, and to the advice.
How much have you spent on your pool so far? I'm over two months on my pool, $70 for the test kit, and $50 on chems (half bleach half ma).
How much have you spent on your pool so far? I'm over two months on my pool, $70 for the test kit, and $50 on chems (half bleach half ma).
You can absolutely post here. Questions about chemistry specific to your pool will be difficult for us to answer should they come up, but any other questions about pool care and ownership are welcomed and encouraged.
Some chemistry items to keep in mind: Keep an eye on your CYA levels from the pool store. CYA only goes up if you add it to the pool either by adding stabilizer, conditioner, and dry chlorine products containing dichlor/trichlor. It does not occur naturally in the water. It only goes down if you drain water from your pool, except in rare cases of bacterial conversion (which will not happen in a properly chlorinated pool).
Since your pool is a vinyl liner pool you only need about 50 ppm of calcium, and it should be kept below 350ppm if possible. Some areas have very high calcium levels in the source water so sometimes high calcium is unavoidable. If you have at least 50 ppm in the pool you do not need to raise it, no matter what they tell you.
Alkalinity on needs to be adjusted if the pH is unstable. If your pH is consistently between 7.2-7.5 then the TA is fine no matter what its value is on the report.
Nitrates are also something the pool stores like to adjust that you don't need to worry about in a properly chlorinated pool.
Some pools stores will try and tell you bleach is bad for your pool. Some will even bad mouth the liquid chlorine they sell in favor of dry chlorine. Once it is in the pool chlorine is chlorine and the only difference is dry chlorines add either stabilizer or calcium to the water along with the small amounts of salt all chlorines leave behind. Stabilizer and calcium levels can get too high and cause problems in your pool which require draining and refilling to fix, so keep an eye on those levels.
Our purpose here is to educate and not to scold. If you do develop any chemistry problems over time, you will find that acquiring a FAS/DPD test kit will be less expensive and easier than relying on pool store testing to resolve the problem. If you follow TFP guideline for chemistry, you should not develop any chemistry problems.
Thank you all. The only thing I've ever added was chlorine and in the beginning, some baking soda. Nothing more. Oh and tablets in the floAter. Here are my test results. CYA is 4
Christi
Christi
Welcome to the board! It is just funny you can know who talks to their pool store by when they post about phosphates, TDS, or nitrates. In most cases they want you to buy something and usually don't tell you the rest of the story about consequences of using a product to help your pool.
Floater tablets contain FC and CYA in about equal amounts. CYA protects your FC from the sun BUT it can also inhibit your FC from working and can only be diminished by draining your water. You need to obtain a FC of at least 10% of your CYA. Right now you are borderline. With being in FL you might get enough rain and draining the pool to inhibit CYA from growing to fast. That is why TFP recommends liquid chlorine aka bleach. It adds chlorine, water, and a very little bit of salt. None which will cause any adverse problems over time like tablets.
Phosphate might have risen from rain or drainage into the pool. There is some talk phosphates might affect a salt water generator if at levels way higher than what you have but that hasn't been proven. Algae will eat phosphates down to .25ppb. (Anyone with a salt water aquarium knows phosphates!) In a pool, chlorine keeps the algae and germs away so no need to worry about it. And those phosphate treatments are expensive and will just rise again.
Floater tablets contain FC and CYA in about equal amounts. CYA protects your FC from the sun BUT it can also inhibit your FC from working and can only be diminished by draining your water. You need to obtain a FC of at least 10% of your CYA. Right now you are borderline. With being in FL you might get enough rain and draining the pool to inhibit CYA from growing to fast. That is why TFP recommends liquid chlorine aka bleach. It adds chlorine, water, and a very little bit of salt. None which will cause any adverse problems over time like tablets.
Phosphate might have risen from rain or drainage into the pool. There is some talk phosphates might affect a salt water generator if at levels way higher than what you have but that hasn't been proven. Algae will eat phosphates down to .25ppb. (Anyone with a salt water aquarium knows phosphates!) In a pool, chlorine keeps the algae and germs away so no need to worry about it. And those phosphate treatments are expensive and will just rise again.
Again, we do not trust Pool Store testing. Period. As such we are reluctant to give advice based on it.
Manual says not to use bleach. It also says not to swim with pump on. I run it 24/7 so we just don't rough house when it's on or we turn it off. There has been rain for 2 days and pool guy said rain increases it...so there ya go. Lol I will get a text kit for sure, but might wait till next year now.
Christi
For your Intex pool, you calcium is just fine. Do NOT increase it. Only need more in a plaster pool.
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