Extremely High Phosphate count

Problems relating to pH and total alkalinity.
Increase ph, increase TA. Reduce pH, reduce TA.
pH chemistry advice and techniques for the pool.
chem geek
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Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby chem geek » Wed 22 Feb, 2012 17:51

If your fill water does not have phosphates, then they might have been introduced by using a metal sequestrant that is HEDP or phosphanate based. When they break down, they can release phosphates into the water. Either that or someone dumped some fertilizer into your pool :lol:


John75

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby John75 » Sat 10 Mar, 2012 19:19

Hi brodie! Have you read this guide about water filtration at www.indoorpoolguide.com/filtration-systems and pool water chemicals www.indoorpoolguide.com/water-chemicals
janandjer

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby janandjer » Fri 25 May, 2012 17:57

I have a chlorine pool. I can not get the chlorine to register at all. The store told me that the high phosphate level was killing my chlorine.Is that not true? If so, I do not see how I can get the chlorine level up enough for the phosphate count to not matter. What do I do now? I am trying a phosphate remover but I dont know yet how this is going to work.
chem geek
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Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby chem geek » Fri 25 May, 2012 20:56

Phosphates (and nitrates) are food for algae, but algae can be controlled with chlorine alone. Chlorine and phosphates do not react with each other. You can Shock Your Pool, though if your Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level is very high (especially above 80 ppm) then a partial drain/refill would be needed anyway. Or you can just use the very expensive phosphate remover since I'm sure the pool store will appreciate that ($).
denettim

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby denettim » Sat 16 Jun, 2012 06:21

On Sunday my pool water was crystal clear. I took a sample to my local pool store to be tested. They said it had low chlorine reading and a really high phosphate reading so she said to put 2 ounces of phosphate remover in when i got home then my kids would be able to go swimming then in the evening put a bag shock in. So thats exactly what i did and on Monday morning my water was like a milky cloud. It wount hold chlorine and i have shocked it with 5 bags of shock all week and still no chlorine reading.This is Saterday and my water is still really cloudy. 6 days now. Anyone know what i should do.
chem geek
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Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby chem geek » Sat 16 Jun, 2012 16:30

What brand of phosphate remover did you use? Apparently it did not contain a clarifier. Phosphate removers work by precipitating lanthanum phosphate which would turn your water milky/cloudy unless the product also contained a clarifier. To clear your water, I suggest you get a good clarifier such as GLB Clear Blue. Normally one wouldn't want to use a clarifier, but lanthanum phosphate is very hard to clear out of the water any other way as it doesn't get caught in a filter on its own very quickly except perhaps in DE filters -- what kind of filter do you have (sand, cartridge, DE)?

Also, what kind of shock are you using? Is it Cal-Hypo or is it Dichlor or something else? I'm not sure why you aren't getting any chlorine reading -- a phosphate remover shouldn't change that. If you are using a DPD chlorine test (the kind that turns pink/red and you compare against a standard), then you could have too high a chlorine level that it is bleaching out the test. You can use an inexpensive OTO chlorine test (the kind that turns yellow though with high chlorine can become orange or even red) to verify if you've got chlorine.

In the future, follow the advice from good pool forums and not from pool stores. There was no need for you to reduce your phosphate level and you can prevent algae growth by maintaining a Free Chlorine (FC) level that is at least 7.5% of the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level. Read Pool School for more details.
lbiarch

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby lbiarch » Tue 19 Jun, 2012 07:42

I seem to have the same problem as others, I have a SWG and when I get my chlorine level tested at the local pool store my chlorine reading is a .14 and my CY is a 51ppm. (This is a computerized test) I have been running my pool now for about a month. The water is crystal clear. My PH is 7.9. I finally got a phosphate test and I was at 500ppb. He sold me phosphate remover. I added it to the pool and now the water is cloudy. The pool is 30,000 gallons and I added 24oz of phosphate remover based on the instructions, 16 oz per 20,000 gallons of water. The pool store said to watch to see if my chlorine level rises over the next couple of days. After adding the phosphate remover my de filter and pump was being very lathargic. Not much flow, I had to backwash the filter. Is this normal? Should I start to see a chlorine reading now that i killed the phosphates with the remover? (I Hope) Should I shock the pool? I just want the pool to have a chlorine reading and not .14. What else should I do? Will the cloudyness go away on its own. I don't recall if the phosphate remover had a clarifier? The SWG is not producing clorine. The salt content reads 3900ppm. What should I do?

Thank You

Very Frustrated
lbiarch

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby lbiarch » Tue 19 Jun, 2012 08:01

Also I wanted to add that my saltwater generator has been running at 100 percent for the past week with no chlorine results. I did take apart the generator to see if it has scaling on it and it does not. It is only 2 years old. Perfectly clean. I am also getting no code readings, so I am assured it is working fine and that the phosphates were eating the chlorine. Your advice please on the the next steps I should take.
chem geek
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Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby chem geek » Wed 20 Jun, 2012 01:13

The filter got clogged because the phosphate remover was precipitating the phosphate in the pool so yes, that's normal and you backwash/clean the filter to remove the phosphate. However, you are still reading low chlorine because there is still algae in the pool and you need to shock with chlorinating liquid or bleach to get rid of it. See Defeating Algae and then after you start getting a chlorine reading read Water Balance for SWGs.
walton47
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Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby walton47 » Sat 06 Apr, 2013 14:51

I am a regualar guy with a salt pool. Believe me - high phosphates will cause you problems! Get rid of them! I guess the little phosphate critters prevent the clorine from doing its job. DANGER! I could not figure out how those little phosphate critters kept getting back in my pool. Here is the answer - Most stain removers have phosphate in them. Find some phosphate free stain remover.
chem geek
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Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby chem geek » Mon 08 Apr, 2013 10:58

If one properly maintains their Free Chlorine (FC) level relative to the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level and is already ahead of algae growth, then the phosphate level is irrelevant. Unfortunately, the 1-3 ppm FC with 60-80 ppm CYA recommendations from most SWG manufacturers is not sufficient. The FC needs to be at least 5% of the CYA level at all times in an SWG pool.

There are many pools with thousands (some even tens of thousands) ppb of phosphate in the pool and do not get algae nor unusual chlorine demand and the SWG is able to keep up because the proper FC/CYA ratio is maintained. So you need to think of phosphate removers in the same vein as algaecides. They aren't necessary unless you are unwilling to properly maintain the FC/CYA level, but lowering the phosphate level significantly will make the pool less "reactive" so algae will grow much more slowly if the FC/CYA gets too low.

Now if you have a very high phosphate level in an SWG pool and also have a high Calcium Hardness (CH) level, then you can get calcium phosphate scaling in the SWG cell and that can reduce its output. So if one can't get the CH level lowered, then lowering the phosphate level is an option.
visitor

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby visitor » Wed 10 Apr, 2013 12:33

Chem geek,
I'm reading you on the fc / cya balance.
However, My Jandy swg flow sensor has gone out 3 times in 7 years. SWG system has never performed properly. Spoke to Jandy/Zodiac Customer service yesterday. They say the high phosphates will ruin their flow sensors & told me I need to get phosphates down to zero to prevent damage before i install another sensor. Have you ever heard of that? Are they making excuses or does their recommendation have merit? I have never checked phosphate level and intend to get some readings.
chem geek
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Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby chem geek » Thu 11 Apr, 2013 23:57

Well why don't you try that and let us know if it makes a difference in the life of the flow sensor. Also let us know the phosphate and calcium levels before you use the phosphate remover.
Anna

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby Anna » Wed 15 May, 2013 15:45

Did you ever get an answer to your high phosphates issue. I also have a customer with SW indoor pool and and can't figure out where the phosphates are coming from. We have tried various removers and the level doesn't budge.

Be interested in finding out how you remedied the situation.
Blah blah balh

Extremely High Phosphate count

Postby Blah blah balh » Fri 17 May, 2013 21:23

Check the fill water its there.

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