CYA over 100 with yellow/mustard algae

[FormerBromineUser]

Did you get it?

[MikeM]

Did you get it?

No. That store in McKinney has none in stock. In fact, no pool store within reasonable driving distance stocks the Orenda PR-10000. I've checked them all. I've not been able to find a reasonable online source either. All the online sellers fall into one or more of these categories:

1. Only sell the larger sizes.
2. Want to charge $15-25 to ship one pint.
3. Look really sketchy, like a 12-year-old built the website.

I don't understand why Amazon only sells the industrial size containers. Anyway, is there another product that you guys recommend, which I can actually get my hands on, preferably via Amazon? I was thinking about Kem-Tek. But PoolDoc had indicated that the Clorox product (which didn't work for me) is a re-labeled version of Kem-Tek. So I'm not sure that's a good option. There is a SeaKlear commercial phosphate remover which claims to remove 9000ppb per 10kgal for $43 and free shipping (1 qt). I think that makes it a better value than Orenda anyway, especially with free shipping, and almost same effectiveness. Any experience with this product?

Thanks!

[BigDave]

I'm working on the third quart of Kem-Tek this summer and from my somewhat casual observation it removes less phosphate than the label indicates - very close to the label of the chlorox product. On the positive side, My's pool's phosphate level has been below 125ppb since early August and the mustard algae has not returned. It did reappear in late July when the phosphate level was about 250ppb.

[FormerBromineUser]

PoolDoc is sold on using Orenda. I found 9.99 shipping but am out of town now and can't check where I found it. It was 33.90 with shipping and the store had good ratings. I think I used yahoo shopping.

[MikeM]

I found 9.99 shipping but am out of town now and can't check where I found it. It was 33.90 with shipping and the store had good ratings. I think I used yahoo shopping.

OK, I finally found the site you are referring to using Google Shopping. Very sketchy. The site has at least 4 or 5 different variants with slightly different content and pricing, which makes me distrustful right from the start. But also, they add $4.50 handling fee at checkout, so the total delivered price is right at ~$40 for one pint. Shipping and handling is almost as much as the product itself.

Not trying to be cheap here. I just don't trust internet retailers that set up multiple websites with similar content but slightly different pricing. Then advertise a low-ball price to appear competitive on Google Shopping, and pile on bogus charges at checkout. I won't buy from them on principle alone, assuming they even exist. I went to scamadviser.com, and got the following for all the site variants: "The website has been newly registered with a short life expectancy, which follows the pattern used by many fraudulent and fake selling websites. Please be vigilant and take extra care before providing any payment information."

Here are some of the variants, 4 of which appear in the top 5 on Google Shopping for the Orenda product, but have no seller ratings:

http://www.poolandspapartsnow.com/
http://www.allpoolandspaparts.com/
http://www.poolandspapartsmart.com/
http://www.poolandspapartstoday.com/
http://www.poolandspapartssuperstore.com/

So, I'm still looking for a legitimate source for this Orenda product, or a more cost-effective alternative.

I keep coming back to the SeaKlear commercial product which has nearly same effectiveness (per the label) as Orenda, but I can get twice as much for my $40, and use Amazon instead of all these sketchy online pool sites.

[PoolDoc]

Good catch on the SeaKlear Commercial at Amazon; $44/quart with free shipping and 9,000 ppb/10k gallons is a good deal.

SeaKlear Commercial Phosphate Remover Quart
GLB Clear Blue Clarifier

We do need to confirm efficacy.

[MikeM]

OP here with a quick update. I was able to procure a pint of Orenda PR10000 for a reasonable price online, $24 plus $6 shipping. I've been dosing over the last several weeks. In theory, I should have only needed 5.7oz to reduce my 18kgal pool by 1000ppb. After two quarts of the Clorox product, plus 12oz of the PR10000, I'm still at ~300-400ppb phosphates. I just added the last 4oz of the Orenda product to see if I can get a little closer to 125ppb. Either my water was a lot higher than 1000ppb or these products remove far less phosphate than indicated on the label. I've had very minor clouding for about an hour after each dosing, then it clears up by itself. I used no clarifier. The pressure on my cartridge filter has gone up *maybe* 2psi. Anyway, I've been at this since mid July, and still don't have the phosphates down where I want them. I still have the yellow algae although it's less noticable... could be the lower phosphates or the lower water temps. CYA is 37 and I've been keeping FC in the 6-10 range.

[MikeM]

Just another quick update... It's been one week since I added the last 4 oz of PR10000. The phosphates are right at 200 ppb. The effectiveness of this Orenda product is no where close to what's indicated on the label. Anyway, I'm done for this year. The water temps are down in the mid 70s and the yellow algae still returns, but much more slowly than before. After brushing, it takes about 3-4 days to notice the algae (vs 1-2 days previously), and it's a much smaller growth than before... probably some combination of lower phosphates and lower temperatures. FC consumption is steady at 2.5 ppm per day. My cartridge filter pressure is at 19 psi, up from 12 psi after the last cleaning in May, which is maybe 2-3 psi higher than it would normally be, absent any phosphate removal process.

[JimK]

Thanks for the update.

That's disappointing that the PR10000 isn't near as effective as advertised. I've been keeping an eye on this thread should I ever decide to lower phosphates.

Edit: I just noticed I've been upgrade to "Verb Herder". Hmmm...is that a complement or an insult...lol.

[FormerBromineUser]

I am disappointed too. Congrats on the Verb Herder! You're in the Big Time now, buddy!