Re-occurring ZOMBIE Algae...

[Waldog]

Dang it! I should have check this thread yesterday while I was at home depot! They actually had ONE bottle of KEM-TECH phosphate remover, and it was DUSTY. I imagine it was just what I was looking for. They also had POOL-TIME brand but the packaging boasted about "water clarity" and I was like mmmmmhmmmm you've got something else in you... But, this bottle of KEM-TECH looked very good. It had the amount chart on the back, and did not boast that it contained other additives. I might swing back by there and see if they still have it. It was off on it's own away from all the flashy products. Oh and it was $12, I will check amazon for comparison.

1. I'd be glad to have the help, BUT I don't want anyone to do it for that reason. If you want to try it, I'll help and collect info. If not, that's fine too. It was only an offer. Once I have a few more "ducks lined up", I'll probably invite participation, but I'm not at that point yet.

2. Go ahead with borates: it's fairly easy, and fairly cheap for a 5,000 gallon pool (5 boxes of borax + 1 1/4 gallons of 31% muriatic acid). That would be a useful experiment, too. The best info I have at present is that borates help with winterization and green algae, but not so much with mustard algae.

3. The kits you need are ALL linked from the testkit page: http://pool9.net/tk/

4. Phosphate remover is problematic. Most of the phosphate removers available are highly diluted and over-priced. The Kem-Tek brand I've recommended on Amazon has morphed into the Clorox brand and is now EXTREMELY diluted. The only desirable product is the Orenda PR-10000, which is not widely available except in large commercial quantities. For now, you'll have to search for it yourself. But I'm looking at some other options.

[Waldog]

It was this exact bottle for $12 http://www.amazon.com/Kem-Tek-KTK-50...remover&dpPl=1

Should I have picked this up???

[chem geek]

Yes, that's the right stuff.

[BigDave]

The bottle of Kem-Tek phophate remover I just bought from Amazon is labelled the same as the two I bought in June.

[PoolDoc]

OK, good.

If you have a PO4 test kit, I'd be interested to see how much removal you see for a given dose.

[BigDave]

The data I have so far is uncomfortably soft. I have the Taylor phosphate kit.

From the initial supply bought from Amazon in June, I used about (not measured, guessed) one and a half quarts to get from > 1000ppb to 500ppb. At this point, I added 5 days worth of bleach, covered the pool and went on vacation.

Ten days later I uncovered the pool, FC 12ppm (CYA 60), some appearance of what might be dirt or might be mustard algae in the seams and corners where it usually grows. Allowed FC to come down and maintained 5.5ppm-7.5ppm FC. Added about 1/2 the remainder of the second quart.

Another ten days or so go by with several thunderstorms bringing tree debris into the pool. Definite return of mustard algae. Brush, vacuum, backflush. PO4 now at 250ppb. No makeup water for the three weeks since PO4 measured 500ppb. Added the remainder of the second quart.

So, about 8oz of the (June) Kem-Tek phosphate remover took about 250ppb out of my 7700gal pool. If my math is right, that's a whole lot more like 0.75ppm/10,000gal than 2.0ppm/10,000gal as described on the label. This is of course confounded by the storms, debris, high chlorine and time.

[PoolDoc]

OK. If you can, keep track of it.

I'm beginning to think that the ratings are 'ideal', not real. Adding lanthanum chloride to a pool can form lanthanum carbonate -- which is ALSO rather insoluble.

I believe that, over time, if the lanthanum carbonate remains IN the pool (pool floor or on filter media), it will be converted to lanthanum phosphate. But if you clean the filter before that happens, you'll end up having used a portion of your PO4 remover as an expensive and inefficient way to lower carbonate alkalinity!

[BigDave]

I let it sit on the filter for a long time (3 weeks) before backwash. I'd think that it should have finished.

A couple observations:
It took about three days to clear the cloud with each addition of phosphate remover. That's with the 27" sand filter and moving 40gpm in the sun and 10 gpm all the rest of the time. The cloud was minor, more of a dulling of the pool than a cloud. At night, I could see the beam of a bright, focused flashlight in the water.

When I added the first and second half-quart doses, the pool water smelled strongly like laundry.

After every dose the surface tension appeared to change dramatically - the water looked thick and the roil on the surface near the return was far more pronounced.

I hope to provide better info in August - the beginning of the summer has been crazy for us.

@PoolDoc: I realize this is now prety for off-topic from the original thread. Sorry. It might be a good idea to move it to the previous PO4 remover thread or make a new one to collect observations.

[PoolDoc]

3 weeks should be long enough, if anything is!

[Waldog]

HEY!!! You guys hi-jacking my thread!!!? LOL Just kidding, it's ok!!!

Well... that's a deep subject... LOL... seriously though... my ZOMBIE MUSTARD ALGAE is BAAAAAAAACK.... with a vengeance!!!

I've been keeping my FC level at 18, and brushing, but I missed brushing night before last and it was BACK BIG TIME!!!

So I went to Wal-Mart last night and I'm going to keep the FC high... got 9 gallons of bleach...

Any recommendations since my CYA is 40???

According to my calculations 16-18 is shock level, so what should be mustard level? I think i need to kick it up to like 25? and maintain that for 3-4 days maybe longer if possible?

I have not had a chance to hit Home Depot to pickup the chem-tek phosphate remover... it's the other way opposite of my house and Wal-Mart... but no matter, because I still don't have a test... dang test is so expensive...

I still have not added the borates... need more MA.... I need to get with the program! I was hoping the algae would have been at bay long enough for me to do so.

I'm going to hit this hard starting Friday!!! One way or another the borates are going in!!! LOL

Any advice for the rantings of a mad man?