Swimming Pool Woes

[JimmyGreaves]

TDS meters here:

http://www.emwc.co.uk/Details.asp?ProductID=659

[MrPlum]

SJ. The chlorinator has a light to indicate low salt levels. It reads okay but still insufficient chlorine in the pool.

You could be right. The chlorinator spec doesn't look man enough for the pool, although they do say, with heavy use and rain dilution, the chlorine needs topping up anyway with powder. Since the pool has been used for 3 years before I came along, it must be good enough.

The green (and now black) algae are due to no-one putting in algaecide for possibly 3 months. Chlorine alone won't prevent this. I've now added the chemicals. The pool company, when they used flocullant to vacuum the algae away, didn't clean the sides of the pool, so I've done so. Good exercise!

One other problem is the system is sucking in air through a crack in the sand filter perspex lid. I've ordered a replacement.

Thanks again, everyone. Getting there slowly.

[bozzman101]

time to dive bomb the pool 1 kg of chlorine powder
cover the whole bottom of the pool

then sang som not the drinking type get in pool shop like small rocks this is what the local thais use to clear the water leave in for 24 hours then hover out

as for clorinators wash out the thitaniam plates with acid 10- 15% mix
can also reverse the terminal wires on some models to detach calcium deposits particulary around the terminals on the inside as they can get very corroded
anyone know where you can get irrodium replacment plates???
as the replacment clorinaator price is phrobitive?????

[David Nears]

This statement may be nuts, but I had times when chlorine readings during manual testing (tube/5 drops) were very low to nonexistent. My pH was also showing to add acid. I added the acid and no chlorine but the chlorine readings came back to normal after adding the acid.

This is a good point here for Mr Plum. At high ph levels the chlorine is less effective. At lower ph levels the ph is more effective.

If the ph is high then the chlorine is not as effective despite the quantity of chlorine in the water

[Super Joe]

It's not nuts David, as I said before the water chemisty, ie: pH levels are no. 1 priority. I could never get mine right, the pool company I use rarely can themselves. pH will always naturally drift high (Alkaline) in Thailand I think due to tropical climate, detegents in clothes, oils from suntan lotions also adds to this.
Chlorine is less effective when pH levels are right, as in the extract below.
Something else that is important is the Total Alkilinity, it needs testing every so often, if that's not right it affects the pH levels being stable.

Extract:
pH Level
The water's pH is a measure of its total acid-alkalinity balance - the relative proportion of acids and alkalis in the water. Simply put, water that is either too acidic or too alkaline will cause undesirable chemical reactions. If the water is too acidic, it will corrode metal equipment, cause etching on the surface materials and cause skin irritation. If the water is too alkaline, it can cause scaling on the pool surface and plumbing equipment and can cloud the water. Additionally, both high acidity and high alkalinity alters the effectiveness of the chlorine. The chlorine won't destroy pathogens as well if the water is too alkaline, and it will dissipate much more quickly if the water is too acidic.

On the pH scale, zero indicates extreme acidity, 14 indicates extreme alkalinity and 7 indicates a neutral state. Most pool experts recommend a pool pH between 7.2 and 7.8. To raise or lower pH, a pool custodian simply adds acids or alkalis into the water. For example, adding sodium carbonate (soda ash) or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) will generally raise the pH, and adding muriatic acid or sodium bisulfate will lower the pH.
Maintaining the proper balance of chemicals in the pool is a continual process, because any new element - oils from a swimmer's body, a shot of chlorine, stuff that falls in the water -- shifts the water's total chemical makeup. In addition to pH, pool custodians also monitor total alkalinity, calcium hardness and total dissolved solids.

SJ

[PeteC]

Found a real good link everyone with a pool should keep on file or print out. Pete

http://www.deh.enr.state.nc.us/ehs/quality/wph.htm

[MrPlum]

Just to bring you up to date on my efforts.

Chlorine levels are just under ideal but wouldn't come up, despite adding Hydrochloric Acid and getting the PH down and running the pump for 4 days non-stop. There's plenty of salt in the water, you can taste it, so I figure the chlorinator Salt Cell may be the culprit. My guestimate is chlorine levels are 80% of what they should be.

IF the system is only operating at 80% (for reasons which are still unclear)... maybe total alkalinity is still too high... then it shouldn't be too much of problem to increase it. I can add a smidgen of chlorine powder every 4 or 5 days to provide the other 20%.

I paid 2000 thb for 2kg of Cyanuric acid powder from GDL Pools to give the pool a base level and stop the chlorine burning off too quickly. I also bought a 50kg drum of chlorine powder with Cyanuric acid included for 4500 thb for topping up. This should last me a year or two!

I had to put in a lot of Algaecide to commission the pool and bought a product called Pool Clear which I believe is a flocculant. I probably put in too much but needed to kill all the Algae.

For safety's sake, I just want to check that if I put in too much algaecide, whether the pool is still safe to swim in? Basically I put in 4 mugs EACH of the black algecide, the green algecide and the Pool Clear. Not all at once but over 48 hr period.

I swam briefly last night and could taste the chemicals but slept okay and wasn't glowing in the dark.

At least the pool is now looking great.

[PeteC]

I had to put in a lot of Algaecide to commission the pool and bought a product called Pool Clear which I believe is a flocculant. I probably put in too much but needed to kill all the Algae.

For safety's sake, I just want to check that if I put in too much algaecide, whether the pool is still safe to swim in? Basically I put in 4 mugs EACH of the black algecide, the green algecide and the Pool Clear. Not all at once but over 48 hr period.

The stuff I use from time to time is named 'Clear Pool', perhaps the same thing. That takes care of any black, green or any other algae. I've never had to use a combination. What you may see over the span of a week is the dead algae sitting on the bottom in colorless whispy looking clumps, or as a fine powder in your tile grout lines. That's normal and simply needs to be vacuumed out. I've never known any of the chemicals to be a danger to a swimmers skin/eyes, except too much acid or powder chlorine. Pete

[MrPlum]

Thanks. If I only need the 'Clear Pool' I'll save a few bob right there. Can anyone else confirm?

I've heard you can pick up 50kg of pool-grade salt from the salt flats, on the way from Bangkok, for 170 thb.

[PeteC]

I've heard you can pick up 50kg of pool-grade salt from the salt flats, on the way from Bangkok, for 170 thb.

I was thinking about suggesting looking there as it all comes from there or close by. If I go to the distributor near Pattaya it costs about 450 for 50KG. If I have the pool shop deliver the 80KM round trip to my house, it's 680 per 50 kg. 170 is a great price. Pete

PS: The 'Clear Pool' I use costs 1,300 for 3.9 liters. It's potent stuff.

[MrPlum]

I was under the impression the 'Clear Pool' was a flocculant and not an algecide. It's good for clearing away algae and dust once you have it but for the initial protection you need the algecides. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Bozzman
Is the 'Sarn Som' cheaper than the flocculant? Sounds like, if I have that, I don't need the flocculant.

It doesn't help when the instructions are all in Thai!

[PeteC]

I was under the impression the 'Clear Pool' was a flocculant and not an algecide. It's good for clearing away algae and dust once you have it but for the initial protection you need the algecides. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Bozzman
Is the 'Sarn Som' cheaper than the flocculant? Sounds like, if I have that, I don't need the flocculant.

It doesn't help when the instructions are all in Thai!

All my instructions on the bottle are in Thai also. Later today I'll try to get a basic translation. I just use a bit monthly when the water is clear, just as a preventative. I still get some dead algae residue on the bottom each time I do that, so it is killing something that was previously invisible. Pete

[PeteC]

Got a bit further on this. There is no Thai for the exact chemical the 'Clear Pool' is, at least on my bottle. At the bottom it does say in English: "Clear pool is a precipiate agent and designed for control Chtorella pryenoidosa (green algae) Phormidium retzii, Phormidium inundatum (black), Lyngba Versicolor (blue-green) and other algae in swimming pools."

It then goes on to say in Thai (approximately) something like 32 capfuls for a 50,000 gallon pool. Then a chart saying 100 cubic meters of water 2 liters, 500-4, 1000-6, 2500-8. Pete

[MrPlum]

At the bottom it does say in English: "Clear pool is a precipiate agent and designed for control Chtorella pryenoidosa (green algae) Phormidium retzii, Phormidium inundatum (black), Lyngba Versicolor (blue-green) and other algae in swimming pools."

I'll bet you had a job typing that lot without errors.

Thanks for taking the time. It does sound, then, that I can dispense with the other algecides.

[Nereus]

Chtorella pryenoidosa (green algae) Phormidium retzii, Phormidium inundatum (black), Lyngba Versicolor (blue-green) and other algae in swimming pools."

Pete

Better you just stop peeing in the pool, Pete!