Re-occurring ZOMBIE Algae...

[Watermom]

5K pool? I'd drain. Just my $0.02.

[Waldog]

5K pool? I'd drain. Just my $0.02.

I can't drain... We are on a well... with high iron content... in the country. We just had the well replaced two years ago (re-drilled). I was worried about causing issues with the well again so we used a water truck and it was $300.00 in water. It wound up costing more than the pool.

I'm willing to try the phosphate remover as an experiment if it will help PoolDoc.

What else will be required? Will I need to shock the pool. Can I still borate?

I have not filled the pool with any other water other than RAIN water that has been filling the pool over the past two months. Is it possible rain water is high in phosphates?

If this was a "regular" Florida summer, and I had to deal with evaporation, I would have used the well but only for a few inches of water at a time, and ran it through a pre-filter.

PoolDoc, is there a link to where I can get the phosphate remover and kit?

[Watermom]

I agree with you. On a well with iron, don't drain.

[PoolDoc]

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.

[BigDave]

I bought Kem-Tek phosphate remover yesterday on Amazon. Still in stock now. Maybe I should stock up.

[PoolDoc]

Make sure it's still the 2 ppm PO4 per 10,000 gallon, rather than the diluted 0.75 ppm/10k gal stuff. The original is a better value than all other products EXCEPT the hard to find Orenda product. The new diluted 'Clorox' blend is a very POOR value.

[BigDave]

I'll check in when it arrives tomorrow.

[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.