pool care

karmapolice · Post by **karmapolice** » October 31, 2005, 3:32 pm

Debate: is it better for me to call in pool care specialists or to pour 3 buckets of chlorine into the pool?

I have spent over R600 trying to fix my pool.

i have corrected the PH.
i have corrected the total alkalinity
i have killed all the alge using algacide and shock treatments
i have attempted to up the chlorine levels by using hth

the pool remains cloudy and slightly green despite my using the following:

floculant - supposedly makes all the particles in the pool sink to the bottom of the pool making it easy to vacum them out (since the water will be come clear - all lies lies lies... does not fucking do anything

hth sparkle it : supposedly does the same thing as the floculant but also adds "sparkle" to your pool... once again a bunch of lies.

Today i put 10 cups of chlorine in the pool. doing so caused a whole lot of weird green and sticky gunk to rise to the top of the pool which i can not get out becuase it breaks apart as soon as you touch it.

so the question remains - do i call in professionals to do the job (which will definately cost about R500 or even more or do i do what my grandfather does which is to pour in 5 litres of acid and 5kg of chlorine... it always used to work when he did it... granted you couldn't swim for a couple of days but hey... that method certainly added "sparkle"

taking the latter option will certainly be cheaper... but what of its effectivity?

MacDaddy · Post by **MacDaddy** » October 31, 2005, 3:39 pm

I dunno anything about pools, but I don't think you'll ever crack it. You've been working at the pool for years now.

Maybe the pool profesionals are the way to go...?

Ceek · Post by **Ceek** » October 31, 2005, 3:51 pm

I believe that if you take a sample of your water to one of these pool specialist places that they recommend a course of action. This may be a cheap way of getting experts to look at your pool....

With regards to my parents pool the best thing they ever did was put in a salt chlorinator. Not a days hassle since then. I mean this doesn't help you but is useful knowledge in the right context.

Stiff Cliff · Post by **Stiff Cliff** » October 31, 2005, 4:04 pm

i would call for regualr HTH treatment with some acid.

a good Kreepy-Krauly is also adviseable.

Ceek · Post by **Ceek** » October 31, 2005, 4:15 pm

I would love to take some acid right now!

Post by **Tenacious B** » October 31, 2005, 4:32 pm

i'm with chris on this one.

as far as your pool is concerned, i think a sample is the best idea. you obviously have something in there which resists all modern types of cleaning.

LEXY!!! · Post by **LEXY!!!** » October 31, 2005, 7:47 pm

i think you should drain it and skateboard in there

girltron · Post by **girltron** » November 1, 2005, 12:16 am

lexylexylexy wrote:i think you should drain it and skateboard in there

+1

Zboy style!

Ceek · Post by **Ceek** » November 1, 2005, 9:30 am

That is not a bad idea at all lexy!

Mojo · Post by **Mojo** » November 1, 2005, 5:00 pm

ok what you really want to do is the following:

1. scrub the walls and bottom with an algacide
2. give the pool shock treatment
3. after a couple of days, place pump on backwash as follows:
-Turn filter off, switch to backwash and run. There should be a little window showing the water in the filter clearing. If it doesn't clear after 5 minutes max, chances are the filter needs its sand replaced
4. clean out any pool debris
5. fill pool with fresh water and apply 3 cups of chlorine
6. wait 24 hours
7. clean out filter pump and put back on the filter setting
8. go back to regular pool mainatainance

this should work

Post by **Tenacious B** » November 2, 2005, 8:42 am

Mojo wrote: 5. fill pool with fresh water and apply 3 cups of chlorine

i think nickle's trying to avoid the expense associated with filling an entire pool with water. although what you say makes a crazy kind of sense.

Mojo · Post by **Mojo** » November 2, 2005, 12:57 pm

when i say fill i really mean top up. backwashing shouldn't drain all that much water unless you really overdo it.

masterb · Post by **masterb** » November 2, 2005, 1:00 pm

i too think the sand needs to be replaced ...

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » November 2, 2005, 1:20 pm

Wait a minute Mojo.... those were my tips, you sneaky scaly theiving bastard $:\$

Nickle, we have seen the light after the same issues and the above worked (also after much expense and frustration though). I did hear the other day that climate conditions at the moment are leading to increased pool temp and hence increased algae build up, so make sure you get all that out first.

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » November 2, 2005, 1:22 pm

Also remember that tap water is GREEN, so filling up the pool with tap water won't have immediate effect, you would still have to fix the pH and add chlorine afterwards

TREBOR · Post by **TREBOR** » November 2, 2005, 1:32 pm

I have been through this a few months back. I Drained all the water in the pool. Acid washed where Algae still exists. Refilled Pool. Take water sample to pool shop and did exactly as they said --> my pool is still blue today. In my experience with pools it takes a lot of work to keep it blue. I get my water tested every 2nd week at most. I don<b>[I AM TOO STUPID TO USE AN APOSTROPHE]</b>t want to go through the draining and acid wash again.

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » November 2, 2005, 2:57 pm

So Mojo has lambasted me for false acupuncture, so I'll graciously and humbly retract my before unwarranted and false statement and submit myself before him for judgement (i.e. I'll buy you a beer Rob)

I apologise for any psychological harm that might have befallen Mojo.

I am truly sorry buddy

karmapolice · Post by **karmapolice** » November 2, 2005, 7:43 pm

right.

the sand is fine neil...

ph fine, no alge so no need to do acid (hmmm...) scrub thing.

two days ago i put 10 cups of chlorine in the pool. today i test the chlorine levels and the result is 0% chlorine.... hmmm.

also, draining the pool is no go. old pools often crack under the reverse pressure of drining the water (i.e. they implode) and my pool was probably built some time in the 60's. i could drain some of the water out (eg a third or so) but what good will that do? ill just have to recheck and recorrect the ph again...(as mitch points out)

the primary problems are as follows:

pool does not respond to chlorine increases of the normal kind
pool remains cloudy despite millions of rands of chemicals.

anyone in mechshrub a chemist?

Stiff Cliff · Post by **Stiff Cliff** » November 2, 2005, 11:16 pm

i can be your poolman if you want nickle?

Post by **Tenacious B** » November 3, 2005, 9:09 am

i found this forum - you might get a better answer from these guys, nick.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf/dcboard.php ... &forum=246

Ceek · Post by **Ceek** » November 3, 2005, 9:16 am

TAKE A SAMPLE OF WATER TO THE POOL SHOP!! DO IT NOW!!!

tetrahc · Post by **tetrahc** » November 3, 2005, 10:25 am

i say shock the shit out of the pool, and chuck in one of those chlorine floaters, they do a gr8 job of keeping chlorine levels up. also backwash the fucker at least once a week...

Post by **Tenacious B** » November 3, 2005, 10:38 am

nuke the site from orbit, it's the only way to be sure

BadBoy · Post by **BadBoy** » November 3, 2005, 11:25 am

i must agree with chris take a sample to a pool shop

also what test kit are you using? if it is the one with drops throw it away and go and buy the one with the strips it is easy and accurate and tests for stabaliser

phone the hth help line the number is on all those empty hth cans lying round your pool

also we have found that with hth it is better to regularly put in small amounts instead of large amounts once a week

Post by **Tenacious B** » November 3, 2005, 11:29 am

and i'll vouch that reg's pool is fucking <i>sparkling</i>.

karmapolice · Post by **karmapolice** » November 5, 2005, 9:57 am

your mother...

i have taken the pool water to the pool shop and they couldn't even tell me the ph... so fuck them. i wont do it.

i phoned the stupid number on the hth pool stuff and they can't help me. they suck balls and don't know what the fuck is up. seriously, all they do is tell you to check the ph... WHICH IS CORRECT MOTHERFUCKERS....

all your advice is useless! i do all those things on a regular basis or have already done them...

although i must admit reg that i do use the drop type test kit... but i think the other one is useless too. all of them are useless...

MOTHER FUCKER!

Sadly i have to finally concede that neil may be right. the sand is not too old, but may have become all solidified. so i am going to open the filter and mix it up whilst backwashing.

ill keep all you useless fools posted.

And NO. you can't be my pool man "stiff cliff"

Post by **Tenacious B** » November 7, 2005, 8:21 am

karmapolice · Post by **karmapolice** » November 11, 2005, 3:23 pm

well that fucking killed it matt!

Post by **Tenacious B** » November 11, 2005, 3:35 pm

i dunno man i think that the thousands of

smileys may have killed it

karmapolice · Post by **karmapolice** » November 25, 2005, 11:30 pm