rbdeli

Great spreadsheet, Richard. Thanks for sharing. Rob You are right that at a high TA level it takes more acid to lower the pH, but there's no problem doing that. If you have an acid demand test in your test kit (as is found in the Taylor K-2006) you can use that to accurately determine how much acid it would take to get to any pH, such as 7.0. The Pool Calculator has been enhanced to be more accurate for these calculations, though is still an approximation. My spreadsheet will do the accurate calculations, but it's not for novice users (you enter the starting data and the target pH you want and click on the "Calculate Acid/Base/TA" button). A lower TA does make the pH go up or down from addition of base or acid, respectively, more easily (i.e. using less quantity).

Is it true that if my total alkalinity was really high it would make it much more difficult to make drastic changes in the PH? In my case, I was afraid to get the PH too low all at once because I had such a difficult time raising it. Aereation was a slow process, but it worked. I was pretty cautious about it. Will a lower Total alkalinity make changes in PH up or down occur more quickly?

Last year, I was having this problem. Even though my water was clear, my free chlorine readings were 0. One day, the water became cloudy and green overnight. It ended up being an ammonia problem. Those ammonia test kits are so cheap and easy to use, it wouldn't hurt to have one and try it whenever a peculiar FC problem exists. Just my two cents based on my own experience last year. Rob

I followed Richard's advise a year ago. My CYA was very high, causing me to need unreasonably high chlorine levels. The Puck chlorinator is now turned off permanently. I use liquid bleach exclusively. The pool store lady told me the same thing, "Liquid bleach is too messy. It will raise your TDS levels" But she said nothing about the way her store products raised my CYA out of control. Last year, I drained about 6 inches of my pool and refilled every 2 days for the entire last 2 months of the summer. The CYA is at a fairly reasonable amount now and I plan to lower it more this summer with more frequent drainings and refills. Rob

As I become more experiened with different test kits, I like to have both test strips (for convenience) and liquid test kits. The aquachem are my lest favorite. The colors are more faded and harder to analyze. I prefer Aquachek. Does anyone have any experience with test strips that they like the best? I'd like to know before I buy my next round. I agree with you there Waterbear...... they are the only company i know that can sell the same product in 5 different bags all with different names, and that great Alex program will tell yo uthat you need to add all of them together it is however a great profit making program for dealers til the customers find out

If you find an effective solution, I'd like to know if it would work on my driveway. I patched up a driveway that was badly chipped from salt. Then I painted it with Behr Cement stain. It seemed great at first, but it's now peeling away. I was actually thinking of using this on my pool deck too, in a different color, but now I'm not going to. There must have been something I did wrong in preparing the driveway surface.

You know, whenever I think about replying, Richard has already beat me to it and with a better response. Much thanks to Chemgeek!

Does your pump have a little valve somewhere near the top that unscrews? This is how you release air from the pump. It would be worth a try getting air out and see if it helps. Good luck.

Ascorbic Acid is the magic ingredient and it DOES work like magic. These stains are simple to remove from a swimming pool, though I don't know if the same applies for a spa. The problem for me last summer was keeping them away once I removed them. I had a broken exchange heater which put copper in my water and pump system, so even after the stains were removed they kept coming back. Powdered vitamin C works like magic. It's very expensive at the pool stores (About $30 for a quart).. I was able to find it cheaper at my local Vitamin Cottage Store. It's litereally nothing more than Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C in powdered Form) You will want to lower your chlorine level before starting treatment, as the chlorine will eliminate some of the effectiveness of the ascorbic acid. When the stains are gone, there are other products that work to keep them away. One is called "Metal Free" There is more detail on this somewhere else in this forum. Do a search and you will find a very good description of the process. Make sure it's safe to use with Spas, though I don't see why not.

For what it's worth, I took over a swimming pool from a home I purchased last May. Last year, being so busy and all with the move, I just used the pool guy from the previous home owner. As a result, I've had a myriad of troubles, including busted heat exchanger, high copper, High stabilizer and High Total Alkalinity. I had Stabilizer readings close to 200. I was told that it would ruin a fiberglass pool to have it completely drained, so I have been draining about 6" and refilling 3 or 4 times a week for about a month. My stabilizer is still around 115, but getting there. Also, I had a problem with ammonia which is the one thing that eats CYA, so it's hard for me to say how much of the reduction is accounted for by the frequent, partial pool drainings. I have completely stopped using the chlorinator. It is turned off and empty. I put in about 40oz of unscented liquid bleach, daily, and try to keep the FC at around 7PPM. It's Kind of a nuisance, but the pool is much happier. I'm a little nervous to see my next water bill. My pool, though, is roughly 40% the size of yours! Good luck.

I'll be jealous once you get it done!

Seems like a very good price.

That's a great question, and I'm sure it varies on home size and location. For my 4,000 Square Foot him in Denver, my June bill was $351.00 with my pump running 24 hours a day, and despite relatively cool early summer weather. This also includes some useage of the pool heater. At any rate, this bill made my jaw drop because June's are relatively cool in Colorado. So, I decided to cut my pool pump time in half. I now run it 12 hours a day, and My July bill was $335.00, despite much hotter weather. The guy that opened my pool said that running the pump 24 hours a day would only make a $20 - $30 difference in my monthly bill. I don't believe him, especially after the energy rate increases. I would sure like to know exactly how much it does affect my bill. Anyone have any idea?

I have this problem occassionally with my own pump and pool. In my case, the pool is several feet lower than my pump, and a good 30 yards distance between them. To prime mine, I have to turn off pump, unscrew the lid on the pump basket, fill with water from hose. Screw back on Pump lid, turn on and try. Then repeat process. It aslo might help to repeat the process each time by turning the pump back and forth from skimmer to vacuum, each time you fill pump with water. The priming problem more than likely is air in the pump line and can be casued by vacuuming the pool and having air in your vacuum hose. I try to avoid this by filling my vaccum hose with water before plugging into the simmer or vac line.

My guess is that you simply need to super shock the pool with higher levels of chlorine then you currently have tried. We would need to see your specific chemical readings, PH, TA, FC, TC, CYA, etc., before knowing for sure. I had a somewhat similar problem and solved it with the help of Richard (Chem Geek). Lots of things I didn't know before talking to Richard, such as the value in using regular, non-scented liquid bleach rather than the other stuff which puts unwanted stabilizer or calcium in your pool. Also, the importance of a good test kit which Richard links in my thread with him. See here: Free Chlorine Problem

Does anyone know: Is it possible to have mustard algae stains that do NOT brush off? I have stains that look as those you describe, but they do not come off with a brush. I have treated my pool twice with metal stain remover and though it works the stains keep reappearing after a couple of weeks. I'm wondering if it's not metal after all. They are beginning to look a bit greenish-yellow, rather than brownish yellow.