Will this work?

[PoolDoc]

A lot of people get replacement from Amato Industries. Their website is rather confusing, so you need to be sure of what you want, before you start. If you just need a single item, you can order from Amazon (and you may actually be buying from Amato) but you have to pay shipping separately for each item, buying that way. My test kit info page has a link to a 1 pint bottle of R-0013 CYA reagent, one of the most commonly replaced items. You can buy any of them in large sizes, pop the tip off your dropper bottle, refill, and then pop the tip back in. Use clean hands, if you do this!

And do NOT try to get the large size of DPD powder; the Taylor DPD bottle has a desiccant coating that protects the DPD powder, but has limited life.

[HOF-City]

I ran out of Borax, and my local Wal-Mart is out as well. What other options do I have?

[PoolDoc]

If your pH is too low, you can use Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, at 1/2 the rate of borax -- but it will also increase your carbonate alkalinity.

[HOF-City]

I actually found some Borax the other day and have been using that routinely. I have been keeping tabs of every test and addition in PF Pool History. Water seems to be getting clearer at a very slow pace, which is cool with me as long as my stains don't come back. I've been dosing with Borax to raise PH, but it keeps wanting to come back down to around 7. Everything else seems to stay pretty consistent. I ordered more KemTek HEDP to do a maintenance dose every couple weeks, and keep metals sequestered. The first round of ascorbic acid treatment I did worked for about one week until the stains started to come back. I am now approaching one week since my last round and I'm getting nervous that I will come home from work to a stained pool like last time. Should I just trust the KemTek will keep metals sequestered longer than the metal free and do nothing, or would it be wise to do a very small maintenance dose when it arrives. And would dosing cloudy water make it worse? I'm trying to fix two separate issues (cloudy water, stains) at the same time, and not sure how managing one may affect the other. Thanks.

[PoolDoc]

As long as you don't overdose, but DO dose as frequently as the label states, the HEDP should hang onto the metals. Keep in mind that it does NOT remove the metals; it just keeps them in the water.

To remove them, you have to use the CuLator; OR precipitate them with alum or polyaluminum chloride, and then vacuum them out, OR use calcium + high pH + high chlorine to get them to filter out -- and then backwash them off the filter.

The HEDP is buying time, but you need time, right now.

[HOF-City]

My pool is making slow progress i guess, but I'm down to my last couple doses of Cal Hypo. I will need to buy something to keep my pool chlorinated. At this rate I'm adding some type of chlorine 3-5 times a day just to have a readable level throughout. While the cloudiness has dissipated over the past couple weeks, I can't tell if it's the Cal Hypo helping or the constant filtering, or both. I guess I just figured it would have cleared by now. I would love to go a cheaper route with the constant chlorinating, but only if you guys would. Any Thoughts?

[PoolDoc]

If you would, fill out the Pool Chart form; it will take about 30s, but make it much easier for us to help you:

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results