Seaklear Phosphate Removal

[Kona]

I was wondering if anyone has a favorite phosphate removal product.

I've been looking at:

Natural Chemistry Phosfree

and

SeaKlear Phosphate Remover

SeaKlear claims to do a much better job, but I don't know if that is just a claim or not.

Anyone ever used this?

Thanks,

Jeff

[bk406]

I have used most phosphate removers on the market and they all have their pros and cons. The seaklear is great for high level phosphates 1000-3000 ppb but when you use it your water will turn milky white for a few days and needs to be vacuumed to waste after (not good if phosphates are in your fill water). Phosfree is a nice product but it only works for low level phosphates 0-500 ppb. The best product in my opinion is Commercial Strength Phosfree, it removes high level phosphates by trapping them in your filter, meaning your pool won't turn a milky color and is easier to clean and get on to swimming.

you dont need a phoshate remover. they are irrelevent. keep your pool properly chlorinated based on your CYA level and you will not get algea.

[chem geek]

You may not be aware of the relationship between Free Chlorine (FC) and Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in terms of rates of sanitation, oxidation and prevention of algae. I have had 2000-3000 ppb phosphates in my pool during most of the last 7 years (this year it's down to around 1000-2000 ppb) and have had blown-in fertilizer and also have 400 ppb phosphates in the fill water. Yet my pool does not get algae (it is shown here and here) and it isn't just my pool but over 20,000 members at The PoolForum and over 10,000 members at Trouble Free Pool some of whom have 7000 ppb phosphates and manage their pools with chlorine alone and don't get algae because they follow the Chlorine / CYA Chart which is based on the original experience of Ben Powell of The PoolForum (who serviced commercial pools and then started The PoolForum and PoolSolutions) combined with the known chemical equilibrium relationship of chlorine and CYA from 1974 in this paper further validated by many scientific studies on kill rates and oxidation rates.

There is no question that if your FC level is too low relative to your CYA level, then nascent algae can grow just somewhat slower than chlorine can kill it in which case phosphates accelerate that algae growth requiring higher chlorine usage. However, maintaining the proper FC level kills the algae faster than it can grow even under ideal conditions with plenty of phosphates and nitrates in the water.

So phosphate removers can be seen in the same vein as algaecide products. They can be used if you want to maintain lower FC/CYA ratios, but they are not necessary if you are simply willing to use the appropriate FC for the CYA level to kill algae faster than it can reproduce.

Also, if you are using Trichlor as your primary source of chlorine, then the CYA will build up over time so use of some sort of supplemental algaecide or phosphate remover becomes necessary, but if you manage the FC and CYA levels properly, such as using chlorinating liquid or bleach, then the use of supplements is not needed. The following are chemical facts that are independent of concentration of product or of pool size:

For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.

For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.

For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm.

Even with a very low 1 ppm FC per day chlorine usage, continued use of Trichlor would add over 100 ppm CYA in 6 months if there were no water dilution (such as from backwashing and rain overflow). I have a cartridge filter and first started out with my new pool 7 years ago using a pool cover pump emptying winter rains down the storm drain and have dry summers so my pool dilution was nil. I used Trichlor pucks in a floating feeder and even with a low 0.7 ppm FC per day chlorine usage, I went from 30 ppm CYA to over 150 ppm CYA in just 1-1/2 seasons (around 10 months) and had problems with increasing chlorine demand and water turning dull to cloudy in spite of using an algaecide (but only every other week, which was a mistake). I had algae and decided to figure out why since the pool store was of no help other than to want to sell all kinds of products to "fix" the problem. That's when I learned pool water chemistry and found out the truth. I now use 12.5% chlorinating liquid plus a small amount of acid every month or two. In my 16,000 gallon pool with a higher 1 ppm FC per day chlorine usage due to higher pool use 1-2 hours every weekday and longer on weekends, this costs me around $15 per month in chemical costs and I have no need for algaecides, phosphate removers, clarifiers, or any shocking. It's science applied to pools to make it easy; not products sold to maximize profit. Nevertheless, I buy the chlorinating liquid from my local pool store because they have a decent price and they reuse the bottles which is better than recycling.

[chem geek]

I agree that if one is going to use Trichlor pucks and therefore get to higher CYA levels and not maintain higher FC levels, then they need a supplemental algaecide to prevent algae growth. So they can either use PolyQuat 60 weekly or use a phosphate remover or use copper ions (if they carefully maintain pH lower and don't have a plaster pool) or use 50 ppm Borates. Except for the copper, none of these completely stops algae growth, though they do inhibit it enough to allow for lower FC/CYA ratios from the growing CYA level from Trichlor use. The phosphate remover can sometimes be a hit-and-miss, though, if there are a lot of organic phosphates in the water (which such products do not remove -- they only remove inorganic orthophosphate), but it will still take the edge off of algae growth.