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igneous

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  1. Ted prolly has a handle on this...if you use dichlor or trichlor pucks for a full season, your CYA-cyuranic acid level will be way too hi. That causes problems for your chlorine to sanitize and soon all your levels are way out of range as you try to balance water. Once your CYA level ranges from 30-50 ppm, change to liquid chlorine (I call it bleach). You can also get liquid chlorine at home depot and pool stores and it may even be the 12% type. This is usually a good deal since 'ultra' bleach at walmart is only 6%. Still, this route is much cheaper and more readily available.
  2. Chell, don't use super shock or shock products that have calcium. Sally was right, just use ultra, unscented bleach and pour it right in while pump is on. It is sodium hypochlorite, not calcium, so it raises the pH somewhat. A good clarifier may speed up the process, but you don't need it. Just keep the pump ON and soon you'll be polar bear skinny dippin' in cold crystal clear water ;^)
  3. It is just another snake oil product that chemical companies use to prey on the ignorant. Don't be deceived. Read my post in the water chemistry forum.
  4. Roger and Tony are right. Chlorine is the best choice to totally sanitize pool/spa water. Sure, you could use bromine or baquacrap, but why throw $$ down the drain. My advice to you...don't go to the pool store any more. Go to the grocery store and buy bleach (ultra unscented), baking soda, and borax. Muratic acid from HDepot is useful too but be careful using it to lower pH. All these products contain the same active ingredients as those from a pool store at about 1/5 the price. Only difference is that bleach chlorination does not add CYA, or cyuranic acid to the water. You have to buy a container of stabilizer/conditioner every year or two.
  5. I definitely agree w/Tony. Test strips are way too unreliable. If they get old or wet it's even worse. You can get a cheap 5 way kit at walmart.
  6. Shock pool with chlorine and run pump continuously...it'll clear up. Keep shock level up!!
  7. What is eco one and how does it chlorinate the pool? Did they tell you exactly how it works when you got it?
  8. I just saw your post, but yes you're right. DE filters are a pain to clean, but they filter the best. I just turn my 6 way valve to backwash (until water's clear), rinse for 30 sec, and back to filter and I'm good to go. Takes about 5 minutes.
  9. Kristen, here's a good pool calculator page.... http://www.ohio-pool.com/PoolCalculator.htm You definitely need some stabilizer/conditioner in your pool (also called cyuranic acid or CYA). It keeps chlorine in your pool by stabilizing it from UV rays. You can get it at walmart or hdepot in a big and little size. Go to the pool calculator page and find out how much you need for the small pool you have...I'd guess about 12 oz. would do. You can either put it in the skimmer and it will go into the filter and dissolve, or you can put it in a heavy panty hose or sock and let it dissolve directly into pool water. Do not let it come in contact with the liner...it is an ACID and not good for a liner. There are many other pool calc's on the net, just plug in the numbers and add to pool while pump is ON. If you don't have a test kit, walmart has a 5 way kit for about $15. Once the CYA has dissolved into water completely (usually takes a week), get the kit and do the CYA test. This late in the season, I prolly wouldn't test just yet, just add the amount of CYA and forget it until next season when you open pool. I say this because you may lose some CYA over the winter and you only get enough chems to do the CYA test twice.
  10. What kind of inground? liner or gunite? I've never heard of 02 shock, and frankly wouldn't trust any product to chlorinate a pool except chlorine. You really only need to go to about 15-20 ppm, depending on what your CYA level is....the higher your CYA, the more chlorine you need. The colder weather will inhibit algae growth quite a bit. It really depends on how much sunlight is directly on pool during the day. You may need to chlorinate more if in a sunny climate.
  11. FYI I need to add; Use algaecides ONLY to prevent blooms because once it starts only chlorine will remove it. Personally, I've never used algaecide except bleach. (I think algaecide is a scam anyway, if you keep enough Cl residual in water you don't need it.) Polyquat-something, 60% (doesn't matter as long as is says that.) Polyquat is good for keeping algae at bay when Cl levels are low. One thing you can ignore when you have a liner pool is the calcium levels... this only comes into play when you have a gunite pool. Only a problem if over 500 ppm, as it will throw off other readings. If you have a liner in your pool, RUN if you get advice from the pool store kid testing your water to add calcium!! It's flushing $$$!
  12. Pool chemistry is really not difficult. First off, in a new filling pool or other 'older' water, make sure you add CYA (cyuranic acid) for your chlorine to be stable. A ppm or 40-60 is sufficient, but retest every year especially if adding water frequently or heavy rain season. YOU MUST HAVE CYA in pool or you'll notice how quickly your CL levels go to zero. I use Stabilizer/Conditioner and put in a sock or panty hose and hang it off the ladder railing, so it don't sit on the liner. This way I can see when it is gone wait few days, then test. Secondly, DO NOT use Trichlor or Dichlor tabs after you've attained proper CYA level. Use unscented bleach or Cal Hypo tabs, since neither has CYA. I prefer bleach since it's cheaper and I don't autochlorinate or do the floating chlorinator. Too much CYA forces you to double or triple chlorine usage to properly sanitize pool. Third, if you have cloudy water, use a flocculant or clarifier. Many products on the market now to help with this, some are cheap (HTH Clarifier) and some are not. Then shock to 15-20 ppm for 2-3 days and KEEP CL LEVELS IN THIS RANGE! Do not let Cl levels yo-yo up and down....will not kill algae bloom totally and it will come back, forcing another round of shocking, pumping and vaccing. Clarifiers are optional really, more chlorine and filtering will be more beneficial. Fourth, when in doubt....Remember, SHOCK, FLOC, PUMP AND VAC. Do not forget to test water daily. Do not forget to vac....WALLS and bottom. Fifth, Bleach is bleach is bleach. Liquid shock (more concentrated) may be the most economical in your area. I use sodium hypochlorite, or ULTRA unscented bleach which is 6%. Trichlor, dichor and calcium hypochlorite (Cal Hypo) are also bleach, but cal hypo has no CYA added. Read your labels, it ain't rocket science! Another tip: bleach (in any form) is alkaline, so it raises Ph. I use muratic acid....BE CAREFUL WITH THIS STUFF. SLOWLY POUR SMALL AMOUNT INTO A LARGE BUCKET AT LEAST HALF FULL OF WATER, THEN DISTRIBUTE AROUND POOL WITH PUMP RUNNING! DO NOT USE TOO MUCH. Add a cup/pint/quart depending on pool size, run pump for a couple hours, retest, then add more if needed. Do not let the Ph go below 6.8 Shoot for 7.3 - 7.6, which is ideal. Up to 8 is ok, but ideal numbers allow chlorine to do it's job much better. Email me if you have any questions.
  13. Water don't really 'wear out'. It gets dirty, sanitized, evaporates, condensates, etc. Then of course when the pool skimmer hole is getting close to water level, you have to add water, which dilutes your chemicals. Just be sure to test every day (or at least every 3 days), keep CL levels up/Ph in check, and run pump approx. 6-8 hrs. per 24 hr. period. Bob, sounds like you have no CYA (stabilizer/conditioner) in your pool--why you can't maintain a CL residual. CYA does dissipate over time, and gets diluted by rain or addition of water. Check CYA and add specified amount directly to skimmer or put in a sock or panty hose and hang somewhere away from liner. It is very slow dissolving, so wait a week before retesting.
  14. The cloudy water you're seeing is the stuff that will filter out when you run your pump for awhile...maybe a full day or 3. Did you do a test for CYA (cyuranic acid)? If not, what are you using to chlorinate pool? You said "Br" in your numbers, but I don't think your using bromine to sanitize pool, you're using chlorine. Here's where it gets tricky...first off, bleach is chlorine just the same as the tabs you buy at the pool store or home depot or walmart. The problem is that the 'dichlor' and 'trichlor' tabs have stabilizer/conditioner or CYA in them, and when you keep adding CYA into the water, it takes more and more chlorine to sanitize pool. Ultraviolet rays from the sun burn up your chlorine, and the remainder is all you have to kill off germs, algae, etc. in the water. Basically, the longer you use these tabs, the harder it is to balance water. My advice if you have to use tabs, use trichlor for a month or two and keep checking CYA levels. You can get a cheap test kit at walmart ($15) that lets you do the CYA test twice (or you can take it to the pool store and have them test if for you). Just DON'T buy anything from the pool store! Isn't it funny that the same guys that sell you $$$ worth of chemicals are the same guys doing the testing?? Something wrong with that.... anyway, once your CYA level is at least 40 ppm (40-60 is fine), the chlorine will be "stabilized" and will stay in your water longer. I use Ultra unscented bleach to chlorinate my pool and it works great. I use stabilizer (CYA) separately. The particular problem you have is that you just need to add a flocculant or 'Clarifier'. You can get it at home depot or walmart in the pool section (it's blue). Read directions and don't use too much. A flocculant just binds all the small particles suspended in solution and then they drop to the bottom of the pool where they can be vaccumed up. Add floc, run pump continuously and vac......that will cure your problem. If you have anymore problems, just send an email.
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