Bromine Chemistry Question

[PoolDoc]

Do *NOT* dump 25# of chlorine in there -- it will 'break' some, if not all of the HEDP, and could drop any metals out on your liner. Do *NOT* raise the pH (add borates) yet.

Have you used the polyquat? Can you get more? Can you get DE locally? Can you easily get calcium hypochlorite locally for a reasonable price (< $4/lb)?

(By the way, thanks for the comparison test results -- that's very helpful info for us. If you can, once you begin adding CYA, and do CYA testing, I'd love to see a comparison on those test results.)

[FormerBromineUser]

Thanks, Ben.
I used 32 oz of polyquat last Friday that I paid $30 for at Leslie's. In-The-Swim is about 25 minutes away in West Chicago, IL and they sell quarts of polyquat for $23.00. So yes, I can get more polyquat locally that is cheaper than Leslie's.
Home Depot has 25# bags of DE for $20.00. Should I get some and add 2 cups per day?
Calcium hypochlorite appears in lots of "bag-o'-shock" products. Is that what you mean? If so, I wouldn't know how to chose from one bag to the next. Is there a specific chemical composition that I should look for?
All I have on hand in terms of chemicals are a 50# bucket of 99% dichlor from Sam's Club and a few gallons of 12.5% bleach. I don't plan on adding CYA, borates, or anything else until you tell me to!
Randy

[PoolDoc]

I included links to all three products, but it looks like the polyquat might be the only one you want to buy from Amazon.

Kem-Tek 60% polyquat @ Amazon
Nava 60% polyquat @ Amazon

In the Swim 12 x 1# cal hypo

Diatomaceous Earth (DE) pool filter powder, 25lbs

[PoolDoc]

Yes, get some polyquat -- maybe 4 quarts -- and the DE. You may not need all the polyquat, but it will keep indefinitely, so long as sunlight doesn't damage the bottles. And it's safe and non-corrosive.

Add the DE and let it run overnight. Then begin dosing with small amounts of dichlor -- 2 ppm on your pool would be just under 1 pound, or about 1 pint dry measure each evening. Make SURE there are no other chemicals in the system -- tabs, feeders, injectors, etc -- and then add the dichlor directly to the skimmer, while the pump is running.

Test chlorine levels the following AM and in the PM, before adding another dose. Report your results. Also, notice the COLOR of the backwash water the first time you backwash.

[FormerBromineUser]

Thanks! I bought 4 quarts of polyquat on Amazon. I hope the link you gave me went through the forum!
I vacuumed the pool to get rid of the auto-cover installation crud and backwashed before putting in DE. The backwash water was dark burnt-orange. Yuck.
Should I add more DE tomorrow night? How do I know when to stop adding it daily?
I will report chlorine results Friday morning.
BTW, thanks for cleaning up my signature. Much better!

[PoolDoc]

Orange backwash = iron in the water

Wonder how that got there? Am I forgetting something from earlier: are you using well water or other iron contaminated fill water?

DE + polyquat + continuous filtration + backwash as needed + gradually chlorination = probably the best way to remove the iron.

[FormerBromineUser]

We used our well water for part of it; 1 tanker load of Chicago water and 3 tanker loads of municipal well water from a local water tower. You could see the brown tinge in the water as it was filling. Sent a video of the steps and pool on page 3 of thread. The white steps in the beginning showed the color. 4 quarts of HEDP probably didn't hurt.....