Aquapure dead, numbers slightly off and what stabilizer?

[chris_r11]

Thanks Janet,

I wish there was a WalMart near me - only Home Depot, Target and things like that. Since I only really have tomorrow to deal with this, I may have to suck it up and go to Leslies I will see if they have anything other than the $30 a gallon stuff.

Do my other numbers seem far out of line? (other than my lack of Chlorine?)

The Pool Co, did not call back after they got there and he said he had another board for it with him, so I am going to assume, the chlorinator is working again - so, (dumb question) I have to shock to get rid of the algae?

Thanks, Chris

[chris_r11]

Waste,
I really have not added any salt this year so I will keep your recommendation in my mind. It seems to have been pretty stable so far. I will probably swing by Home Depot and see if they have any stabilizer. Worth a shot as 4lbs of stabilizer at Leslies is listed as $20.

Chris

[waterbear]

One thing jumps out at me that might explain your problem. You have a calcium hardness of 600 ppm. Have you ever inspected your cell for scaling or cleaned the cell? With the calcium that high I would inspect and possibly clean the cell every few months to avoid problems. Also, keep your salt level at the HIGH end of the recommended range. It will help extend the life of your cell. Ditto for the CYA. It's a good idea to check both montly.

Also, if you keep your pH at 7.6 and when it climbs to 7.8 lower it back to 7.6 but not lower you will actually minimize your acid usage.

[aylad]

Thanks Janet,

I wish there was a WalMart near me - only Home Depot, Target and things like that. Since I only really have tomorrow to deal with this, I may have to suck it up and go to Leslies I will see if they have anything other than the $30 a gallon stuff.

Do my other numbers seem far out of line? (other than my lack of Chlorine?)

The Pool Co, did not call back after they got there and he said he had another board for it with him, so I am going to assume, the chlorinator is working again - so, (dumb question) I have to shock to get rid of the algae?

Thanks, Chris

Chris,

The Home Depot and Lowe's in my area also sell stabilizer--it's labeled the same way as the WalMart stuff, but it's the same thing--just check the ingredient label.

Even if you do get the SWG back working again, you're still going to need to shock to eliminate the algae. I still recommend that you do it with bleach. I know most SWGs have a "superchlorinate" setting, but to maintain the level of chlorine that you're going to need, you're going to substantially reduce your cell life. It'll be easier on the SWG if you just run it at its normal setting and use bleach to do the shocking.

Other than your chlorine and CYA levels being off, as waterbear mentioned I would check your cell to make sure you don't have scaling going on--CH of 600 is pretty high. Is it that high in your fill water?

Janet

[chris_r11]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I actually got away from leslies for not too much with the coupon they sent out and I bought some stabilizer at home depot. - $17 for 5#. Leslies was 20 for 4#. The also had a bag of shock for $4, so, hopefully I am back on track.

The one thing I learned (that will stick with me) is that since I have an infloor system, my skimmer does not go to my filter so all the CYA I put in just blew back into the pool. The infloor blew it around and disolved it pretty quickly (and I brushed it around as well so it would not bleach the plaster).

Wondering if you can explain to me why adding acid at 7.6 will use less. I am just trying to understand that. I know my habits are not the best. I sort of have it down to adding a half gallon once per week. Lazyness set it, I guess.

Again, thanks for all the advice.

Chris

[waterbear]

The one thing I learned (that will stick with me) is that since I have an infloor system, my skimmer does not go to my filter so all the CYA I put in just blew back into the pool. The infloor blew it around and disolved it pretty quickly (and I brushed it around as well so it would not bleach the plaster).

CYA will not bleach plaster.

Wondering if you can explain to me why adding acid at 7.6 will use less. I am just trying to understand that.

Chris

If you keep your TA on the low end, which yours is at 70 ppm (and is probably ideal for a SWG system) then by keeping the pH at 7.6 and not lower will result in less outgassing of carbon dioxide. It's the outgassing of CO2 that causes pH rise in a salt system (or any pool, for that matter). This is why we can raise pH by just aeration of the water and is why we use aeration as part of the process in lowering TA. If you have less outgassing of CO2 you will have less of a pH rise or a slower pH rise and therefore need less or less freqent acid additions to maintain the pH at 7.6. I won't go into the actual chemistry here but if you are interested check out this thread.
I have found that adding acid when the pH hits 7.8 and then lowering it to 7.6 is a workable plan. Adding borates to the water in a 30-50 ppm concentration can further help stabilize pH and lower acid consumption with a SWG.

[chris_r11]

Evan,

Thanks for the advice. One more question though. I thought I did not want to put borates into my pool if I was using chlorine. Am I confusing that with something else?

I do get tired of adding acid all the time to the pool so anything I can do to keep it down would be great.

Chris

[chris_r11]

Oh yeah, I know I have a high calcium hardness, but the person that changed the board in the aquapure said he took a look at the cell and it actually did not have much scaling, but it is something that I will keep an eye on.

Chris

[waterbear]

One more question though. I thought I did not want to put borates into my pool if I was using chlorine. Am I confusing that with something else?


Chris

Yes, you are probably confusing borates with either bromine or biguanide, bromine will convert a chlorine pool into a bromine pool and biguanide is NOT compatible with either chlorine or bromine. Borates are an excellent addition, IMHO. You can spend the money on a commercial borate product such as Proteam Supreme or Bioguard Optimizer or you can use 20 mule team borax. Check out this thread and this thread.

[chris_r11]

OK, well that brings up another question

So, if I have an 18k gallon pool, I would need about 18 boxes of 20 mule team and about 5 gallons of acid? I know not to put them in at the same time, but just trying to figure out the numbers.

Do borates disappear from the water?

is the 20 mule team the best way to put them in?

Since I can't do it with my skimmer, should I put them in a mesh bag and put that in the skimmer?

Thanks,

Chris