Fixing alkalinity with the BBB method in Texas

[PoolDoc]

You don't need to drain; you just need to adjust your chlorine levels to compensate. Use this chart as a guide:

Ben's Best Guess Chlorine Chart

But, you will need a DPD-FAS chlorine test kit (drops based DPD test) in order to stay on top of things. As far as I know, you can either order a Taylor K-2006 (what my kit was based on) or the TFP approximate copy of my PS234 (defunct) kit.

Ben / PoolDoc

[RossM]

Ordered a K-2006 yesterday, via your link.

On 4-6, I added 2 lbs of Borax, later that evening the ph was 7.5 so I added 2 cups of MA and 3 cups of clorine. Since then everything has stablized. no more chemicals, YEA!!!

PH - 7.2
TA - 100
CH - 100
Chlorine - 5.0 + Won't get my new kit until mid April, so will try to maintain between 3.0-5.0.

P.S. I'm a industrial mechanic by trade and another good use for Borax is as a hand cleaner. Take a dap of any reagular dishwashing detergent and barely a few sprinkles of boarx (very very little) and it will work better than GO-JOE. I carry a water bottle of it in truck and my wife keeps a bottle of it in the shower for me on those really nasty days.

It also works great in the laundry (it's intended purpose) on my nasty clothes, though me wife does wash them a second time with just water to get all the soap out.

[aylad]

If you maintain chlorine at 3-5 ppm with a CYA of 120-130, you're going to end up with a pool full of algae. For a CYA that high, you need to target 8-15 ppm, and never go lower than 8!! In fact, the closer you can keep it to the 15 end of the range, the better.

Janet

[Watermom]

Since you'll need to run higher chlorine levels than your test kit can test to compensate for your high cya, the method described at the following link will be helpful to you. It is not recommended as a permanent testing method, but only a temporary way until you can get the better kit.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...5545#post65545

[madwil]

Borax is also used as a flux in soldering and brazing- while we're sharing multi uses for items!
cleans copper up, then allows the soder to "flow" properly...

[RossM]

Thanks watermom, I'll give it a shot.

[RossM]

During a bright sunny day water looks great but not that deep crystal, sparkling blue. At night with the pool light you can really see how cloudy the water is. Any suggestions??

TA-120
PH-7.4
CH-10 +

Still waiting on the new test kit.

[PoolDoc]

If your water is blue and clear, that's usually as far as you can go with chemistry.

Really sparkling water is a filter function (at least, it is once the chemistry is right). DE is best for that, hands down. However a good sand filter that is (a) not over driven and (b) not under filled with sand can come fairly close.

Unfortunately, many pool owners are sold big pumps and small filters, when what they need is a smaller pump and a bigger filter. When you over-drive a sand filter (too much pressure differential across the sand bed) small particles penetrate the filter.

The best results on sand filter come at 10 - 12 GPM per sft of sand bed surface area. When you get up to AG filter rates of 25 GPM per sft, water quality sucks. Plus, you tend to blow sand out every time you backwash.

Ben

[CarlD]

What kind of filter are you using? Are you running 24/7 (until the algae bloom is cleared) If you are using a sand filter you may need:
1) to back wash
2) to check your sand level
3) to check if your pump is too strong for the filter


Those of us with sand filters will add a little DE powder through the skimmer, anywhere from a 1/4 to 1 cup, as much as it takes to raise pressure 1 lb.

A cheap, but effective tool is called a "Skimmer Sock" (actually that's a brand name, but they are all the same). This goes in your skimmer and greatly enhances the filtering at that point, picking up much that's suspended.