Water clarity problem

[keastman]

Well, finally the leaves, pollen, and tree flower debris has let up and my efforts have resulted in a clear pool. At least as clear as I think I'll get it considering the overhanging trees.

Thanks for the help. A new cartridge, mucho chlorine, along with daily vacuuming and cartridge cleaning have done the trick. Now my salt cell has crapped out so it looks like it will be liquid Cl until I decide if I'm going with a new unit or just replacing the cell.

Kevin

[duraleigh]

Hi, Kevin,

Thanks for the follow-up. It's always nice to hear things work.....not perfectly, but it sounds like your pool is satisfactory, at least.

Dave S.

[keastman]

Well, a few weeks of bliss and a clear pool, now the green haze is sneaking up again. I thought with the oak tree crap almost done, I had it made in the shade so to speak. My SWG sys is down and I've been maintaining Cl of 3-5 with a daily shot of liquid chlorine and also cut the run time on the pump back to 10 hours. I'm surprised it retruned with those levels of Cl.

I've got a question. The times I take my water in to be tested, it always tests high for phosphates. They told me it's because of all of the organic debris. I'm wondering if this is making it tough on keeping the pool clear of algae, perhaps it's time to bite the bullet and buy their stuff to treat it. Any comment on it from you folks?

So, it's back to lots of chlorine and 24/7 on the pump for a few days. Hopefully when I get all the parts for my SWG set up, that will help keep things on a more even keel.

Thanks, for your suggestions.

Kevin

[waterbear]

As far as I know the only way to deal with high nitrate levels is to dilute (drain and refill). Your undedited post said nitrates, not phosphates. Either one can be a 'limiting factor' in algae blooms. Phospates are treatable. If both are present then treating for phospahtes might not help as the remaining nitrates will supply food for the algae. If there are no nitrates and only phosphates then it might be useful. Phospate treatments are a bit of a pain, however.

[keastman]

WB, it was phosphates, not nitrates I made a mistake in the first posting of it. . How much of a pain is dealing with phosphates and any way of telling if it is a factor in my problem other than treating and seeing what happens. Kevin

[waterbear]

I can tell you of my own experience with the NaturalChemistry line of products. I had to use them when my pool was first built. They work well but did cloud the pool for about a week (with a cartridge they recommend putting it in the pool and not in the skimmer since it will cause the pressure to shoot up) and then I had to do a filter cleaning after to remove the phosphates that precipitated out. I only needed one treatment to get to 0 ppm. I was adding the weekly maintenance dose until I ran out and haven't put any in lately but I am still at 0 ppm phosphate. I suspect that my phosphate problem came from something in the construction phase. IF you have high phosphates and an algae problem that doesn't respond to other treatments (chlorine and polyquat). then IMHO, it is worth a shot. If it works then you have your answer. If it doesn't then you only have to spend money on it once.

edit: my face is red from the typos and spelling errors in the original post. My only defense is I was at work (NOT the Pool Store) when I posted and got called away and just saved it before I had a chance to reread it and correct it. I admint that I am a trrible typist!