400 cya

[atkinson40]

Where do I get a PH meter?

A little more history.

The pool went green a couple of months ago and I've been fighting it ever since. I've added about 60 lbs of the granular chlorine and about 6 quarts of copper algaecide (%6). Pool went cloudy for about 2 weeks.

Now is clear but I have some algae growing along the walls again. I tried to upload a picture, but couldn't figure it out. The bottom of the pool is now covered with a fine white silt.

Dealer said chlorine level was off the chart. I'll get algaecide and kit ordered tomorrow. Also try to find liquid bleach. Thanks Kevin

[PoolDoc]

I've been working on a meter page, but hadn't finished.

Here's the best choice I've been able to find:

Milwaukee Instruments PH55 Waterproof Ph Dual Level LCD Tester
Milwaukee Instruments, Inc. pH 55 Specifications (mfg page)

and

Atlas Scientific pH Calibration Solution Kit 4, 7, and 10 - 4 Oz Bottles

That's a fairly new meter on Amazon, for a really, really good price. Stay away from the Hanna Instruments -- I bought a boatload of those years ago for cheep, and they were cheep, cheep, cheep!

I would strongly recommend reading the manual before you buy -- testing with phenol red drops is pretty goof proof (unless you have problems with color perception). Testing with pH meters is NOT goof proof. Even a $2,000 lab meter that's capable of accuracy to 0.001 pH units can and WILL read ANY weird value under the sun, if it's not calibrated properly.

Here are the basics:
+ pH meters break when you drop them -- this is a characteristic, not a defect!
(They have super fragile glass bulbs on the wet end, unless you get some REALLY expensive industrial electrodes.)

+ pH meter sensors must NOT be allowed to dry out.
(Sometimes, you can restore them. Often, you have to trash the electrode, which means the entire unit, with an inexpensive meter like this)

+ pH meters MUST be calibrated regularly! Do NOT order a meter without calibration solutions!
(You might as well try to measure pH with a ruler -- you'd be about as accurate.)

In reading through some of the negative reviews on various meters, I noticed that frequently the complaints were from people who never understood what they were buying, and never bothered to learn. There are bad cheap meters out there (Hanna) and bad expensive ones. But even GOOD meters will NOT work, if you don't learn to use them.

They are not a 'dip, read, forget' tool. The one above appears to be about as easy as they come. It's not difficult or time consuming, if you just treat the meter right. If you do get one, please let me know how it works for you. I'm planning to get one shortly, but it's hard for me to evaluate things like that through a pool owner's eyes.

[atkinson40]

I'll hold off on the PH meter until you think I need it. My phenol red drop test indicates my PH is OK. Can this be correct?

Is liquid household bleach OK? I can get it for 99 cents a gallon. Do I need to add any immediately or wait until the level goes down from adding so much granular?

Is there a way to upload images after the thread is started. In reading the FAQ I understood it could only be done when starting a new thread.

Is it possible that my CYA is reading off the chart because I added a ton of granular and will go down if I stop adding stabilized chlorine?

Thank Kevin

[aylad]

Household bleach is okay. Keep in mind that the doses that Pooldoc advises are with 6% concentration--check the label on your bleach to make sure it's 6%, because it's also sold as 3%, in which case you'll need double the amount. Most of us around the forum do use bleach--just make sure it's plain, unscented...no additives, boosters, scents, etc.

You can send pics to poolforum@gmail.com and Ben can post them--just make sure you reference the URL so he'll know which thread they belong to.

If the "granular" you're talking about is dichlor, then yes, that's probably why your CYA reading is off the chart. CYA has to be added to your pool water--it's not a part of any fill water source that I know of. You shouldn't be using anymore stabilized chlorine at this point. That includes dichlor powder and trichlor tabs. The CYA will not go down just because you stop using the granular chlorine--once it's in the pool, there are only a couple of ways to remove it: 1)replacement of water (splashout, backwashing, drain/refill, etc), or 2) let the pool go slime green and the bacteria will break it down. Unfortunately, one of the byproducts that is created when you do this is ammonia, which consumes gimongous amounts of chlorine to break down--and with CYA as high as yours, I'm not sure that there's enough bleach in the state to do that. So...you'll either have to run the higher chlorine pool per Pooldoc's suggestions, or drain/refill some water.

[atkinson40]

Thanks Janet

I understood from Ben's post that the CYA would go down if I used unstabilized chlorine for a couple of years. Maybe I misunderstood. Regardless, I think I could figure out a way to void the water from the pool when I vacuum instead of returning it to the pool. Over time this would reduce it?? Correct?

I've ordered the algaecide and test kit from Ben's post. What should I test when I get it. Will I be able to redo the CYA test with the kit Ben suggested?

Thanks Kevin

[PoolDoc]

@Atkinson40: Regarding the pH meter, take a look at this page:
Do-I-Need-a-pH-Meter (Am-I-Color-Blind?)


@Aylad: "gimongous"????

[atkinson40]

@Atkinson40: Regarding the pH meter, take a look at this page:
Do-I-Need-a-pH-Meter (Am-I-Color-Blind?)


@Aylad: "gimongous"????

Thanks Ben,

I passed the color blind tests. So I'll hold off on the PH meter. I thought maybe the taylor kit wouldn't work testing PH with my cya so high.

I have a non-taylor kit and tested the PH and chlorine. PH is ideal and chlorine is darker than 5.

===========================================

One more question. I'm going to vent the pool water into my backyard. I have an orchard of over 100 fruit trees. Will any of the chemicals I've put in the pool hurt the trees? I use a copper funguscide on the trees during the dormant season. Will the copper algaecide I've been been putting in the pool hurt the trees

Thanks kevin

[PoolDoc]

OK.

1. CYA will drop over time -- like a couple of seasons. It will be VERY important to not let the pool get slimy over the winter; if you do, you'll probably have to drain and refill.

2. High chlorine can interfere with pH test results; high CYA does not. You may yet have to get a pH meter, but let me check.

3. Some of the questions you've asked can be answered better, if we know your equipment: pump / filter make & model.

4. I got the pool photo you sent -- does the pool look like that right now? What color / location / texture is the algae you have. Regardless, if you have algae, go ahead and add a quart of the poly quat (36K gallons, right?).

5. When are you going to be "venting" pool water? Why? How much?

6. Do you have any copper staining, from the algaecides? When did you add those? Exactly how much did you add, and what was the exact product name? How important is it to you to NOT have blue-green stains?


If you've got some algae now, you'll probably need some sodium bromide, to create a free halogen residual. But, we can wait a bit longer on that.

[atkinson40]

3. pump / filter make & model.

4. I got the pool photo you sent -- does the pool look like that right now?

5. When are you going to be "venting" pool water? Why? How much?

6. How important is it to you to NOT have blue-green stains?

3. Pool Pump is Is Hayward. Filter is DE cartridge filter. I don't have a backwash valve so I need to take of the top of the filter canister and clean the cartridges by hand. I sent an image to your email.

4. I took that image yesterday. Algae is green, along the sides of the pool. I can't tell the texture because it is a very thin film in the roughness of the pool surface.

5. I'm going to be venting pool water when I vacuum. Right now the bottom is covered with a fine silt from all the additions of the algaecide. The silt has a blue tint to it. Cleaning the filter is a pain in the pompous and I thought I'd kill 2 birds with one stone. Every time I vacuum, I'll be reducing the CYA by venting some water and at the same time not plugging up my filter.

Draining my pool will cost $500-$600 in water here in this desert of San Diego. If I do it a little at a time, over time, my water bill won't be so big. Also if the water vent won't hurt my trees, they need the water. During the summer my H20 bill is about $200 a month to keep them happy.

6. No copper stains that I can see. I don't care if I get some. The only thing I care about is no algae. The county of San Diego flies over in helicopters and takes pictures of pools that are green and then comes knocking on your door demanding a fix or a fine and they will add some pesticide to your pool for mosquitoes if you don't act. Don't want that.

I've added about 6 quarts of this product over the last 2 months. Its the only thing that's been effective against the algae.

http://www.lesliespool.com/Home/Pool...rol/14018.html

Thanks Kevin

[aylad]

@Aylad:[/B] "gimongous"????

My youngest daughter's favorite descriptive non-word....