Quote Originally Posted by Electralily View Post
I was advised to use Phos-Free, and did so - following instructions on the bottle & on their website to the letter. . . . Instantly the water turned milky blue, and has stayed that way for more than 24 hours.

If you've not had any green . . . it's not algae, and the pool store knows that.

I'm not sure on the time line of the events you describe. If it turned after you added the PhosFree, then that's the problem. It's pretty standard for phosphate removal products to cloud a pool; it doesn't always happen, but it happens often enough that either (a) your pool store is filled with ignoramuses or (b) they knew and lied to you.

Chem_Geek has played around with this some, and has found that there at 2 clarifiers that seem to help:
GLB Clear Blue
BioGuard Polysheen
Other products may work, too. But without testing we don't know, since all clarifier ingredients are 'secret'.

This phosphate remover is cheaper and more effective than PhosFree, and seems not to cloud pools as much:
Clorox Phosphate Remover
I've used it, and seems to be slower acting than others -- you may not see a reduction in phosphates for a week. That may be why it seems not to cloud pools as much.

BUT, keep in mind that low phosphates do NOT kill algae. Low phosphates make it EASIER to kill algae with chlorine, but if you don't maintain your pool chemistry you will STILL have algae.

I'm also seeing some evidence that the phosphate test kit that Natural Chemistry supplies is inaccurate. I'd recommend getting the Taylor kit => http://pool9.net/tk/


Anyhow . . . membership upgraded.