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carib swim

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  1. Hi guys and gals, Haven't been here for quite a while because my pool has had no problems. But now im back. My pool chem parameters are all perfect. My water is cristal clear. But there is a recurring algae problem. After a few days, on the bottom of the pool there appears a thin film of powdery algae. I then vacuum the algae to waste and after a few days the thin film reappears. I even upped the chlorine FC levels to 10 ppm. As is said my pH level is 7.5 so this is a good range for my chlorine to work. TA is 120. Every pool chem parameter is also perfect. Ch is 100. Please help meeeeee!!!!! I don't like this green stuff!
  2. So I'm back. First of all i wanted to thank everybody at this forum for their help and info. My pool is now perfectly balanced, clear, clean and a pleasure to swim in! So...Cloudiness... My sister decided to buy a small "pool" for her son. The 8 foot x 2.5 foot small thingies he can splash and have fun in. She filled it up with well water. The well water has a very high TA. Larger than 250. And it contains a lot of calcium. At first she had no problems. Clear water. Then she neglected the pool for a few days and the algae attacked. So i told her to shock the pool which she did. After a few days of adding bleach, the green algae disappeared. However, the pool is cloudy now. Not green, just white cloudiness. Did a chem test yesterday. pH was high, at around 9. Added hydrochloric to bring it down to 7.2 TA was larger than 250. Is the cloudiness due to dead, bleached algae corpses? Or is it some kind of Calcium precipitate? If it were due to dead algae, would the chlorine take care of that problem? The TA is also very high. But lowering the TA by adding acid/ aerating stays the only option right? Draining the pool is not an option for her because tap water is VERY expensive here, because its made by distilling seawater. Thanks!
  3. To get rid of the dust, i'd say let the dust settle (pump/ filter off). Then vacuum to waste (vacuum the dust out of the pool, bypassing the filter). Maybe use some flocculant if the dust is very fine. The dust will react with the muriatic acid (break it down). To get rid of the dust using muriatic acid will cost you gallons and gallons of acid, and leave you with a pool filled with high total alkalinity water. That's all i can say. I am no pool expert (yet). Just using my chemistry knowledge.
  4. But i did notice that using NaOH to raise pH, does not raise TA as much as soda would. So raising pH with NaOH when TA is already at recommended level would be better?
  5. Total alkalinity should be between 60-80. You can use baking soda to raise it. Calculate the necessary amount with the pool calculator: http://www.poolcalculator.com/ Cyanuric acid is also low. Should be 70-80. This will let your pool hold on to your chlorine. Too much will decrease the sanitising power of your pool's chlorine, and the only way to lower it is to get rid of a portion of your pool's (expensive) water. So calculate the necessary amounts thoroughly. pH is a bit low, but adding the baking soda will increase it. The recommended free chlorine levels seem a bit low. Should be between 3-5, depending on your Cyanuric acid level, maybe someone else on this forum can confirm this?
  6. Hi, I've been wondering, does increasing pH with NaOH also increase TA? Thank you [Edit] Already found my answer in pool calculator. Yes it does raise the TA.
  7. Yes, I would stop adding granular shock. Your CYA is already very high. Just use regular bleach, otherwise you CYA will go even higher. The only way to lower CYA is to empty your pool a bit and then add new water.
  8. Okay, okay. I will follow your advice and buy the K-2006. Crystal clear sparkling shiny pool here i come!
  9. If only i could find a custom test kit with only these 4 tests and save some $$$. Not being a cheapskate, prices where i live are extremely high!
  10. Thank you Waterbear, Yes i forgot to mention that my pool is filled with tap water. The tap water here is made by distilling sea water. While they do add some calcium to enhance taste, our tap water is very soft.
  11. Hi, Been reading the forum a bit more now. The following question rose to my mind. Wouldn't testing these 4 parameters suffice (for my pool). My pool being plastic above ground, outdoors and no splashing, pH elevating fountains or such. CYA: test CYA to reach optimum level. pH: test the pH and correct pH with hydrochloric acid or sodium bicarbonate when necessary. FC: test FC and correct with bleach. TA: test and correct with sodium bicarbonate. The amounts of HCl, NaCO3, trichlor and bleach needed will be calculated with pool calculator. 'Correct' me if i'm wrong, Tim
  12. Sorry waterbear, Will be calling you waterbear from now on. I hope i can get a good quality test kit. I live on a small island in the caribbean where i am at the mercy of the local pool stores. And ordering online is a real pain. A lot of folks do have pools here so i might just get lucky. Anyway, i will keep on reading the forum and absorbing the good info. Thank you.
  13. Thank you mr. Bear! Will drop by the pool store this weekend to buy me some nice test kit. I heard they are expensive though. How long does one go with a test kit?
  14. Hi all, New to this forum. First post. I installed a 6000 gallon pool in my garden a few weeks ago. So im new to the world of pools also. Have been reading a lot of forums on pool chemistry. I think i understand the pool chemistry now. So i will tell a story and please correct me when im wrong, or feel free to add things if i left them out. So... Istalled 6000 gallon above-ground pool couple of weeks ago. Filled with tap water. Bought shock (unknown white powder ) from local pool guy and added to pool. Adding 2 tabs of stabilised chlorine and replacing when dissolved (about once a week). At first pH, chlorine and total alkalinity were fine. Then after a few weeks, the pH and TA were dropping, so I added sodium bicarbonate to pool until pH was around 7.5 and the TA was in the right zone (on the test strips). So i guess the chlorine tabs were dropping the pH of my unbuffered pool. Now I will keep using the chlorine tabs until the optimal level of stabiliser is reached in the pool. Now that my pool is buffered with the sodium bicarbonate, the pH should stay more or less level when using chlorine tablets. When the optimal level of stabiliser is reached, i will stop using the stabilised chlorine tablets and switch over to household bleach (without additives). This will increase my pH over time so will need to adjust with hydrochloric acid once in a while. Will the stabiliser in my pool (from the tabs) still be stabilising the chlorine (from the household bleach ) im now adding ? After a while, due to water loss (kids splashing etc), the stabiliser levels will be sub-optimal again, and i will need to use stabilised chlorine tabs again until stabiliser levels are ok, then switch over to household bleach again, etc, etc. The only thing that would be accumulating in my pool (besides mierals from dust) would be sodium ions. Is this a problem? Did i learn well from the pool forums? Thanks in advance, Tim
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