Bleach

Algae problems in swimming pool water.
Green (cloudy) water or slimy pool walls.
Black algae. Mustard algae. Pink or white pool mold.
thinkpool

Algae

Postby thinkpool » Fri 22 Aug, 2008 15:33

I added 8 bags of Pool Brand Quick dissolve Shock 2 nights ago and 3 bags more next morning.
Today, 2 days since 8 bags, I am testing Cl level using HTH OTO. The color in test tube turned ORANGE. pH side indicates 7.2 level. TA color is light yellow (like 1ppm Cl level) and TH is 330ppm.
Now, I also test with HTH test strip and results showede TH=400 / FC= 10+ / pH=8.4 / TA=120 / CYA=30-50
Color in white buck showed clear from middle of pool and seems there is a layer of green close to the bottom of pool. Please advise what is going on.


chem geek
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Algae

Postby chem geek » Fri 22 Aug, 2008 20:23

So I guess you aren't going to get an accurate test kit, the Taylor K-2006 or the TF100. So I really don't know if I can trust the numbers, especially the CYA test that is iffy in some test kits.

Having a layer of green on the bottom sounds like you've partly killed the algae and its settled to the bottom. The circulation could be poor, but more likely is that the CYA is higher than you think and so the chlorine is much less effective. If you were using a sufficient level of chlorine relative to CYA and if the circulation were decent, then the pool would go through a sequence somewhat like the one shown here.

What you describe is a little like the second picture in that sequence, is that correct?
thinkpool

Algae

Postby thinkpool » Sat 23 Aug, 2008 09:35

Richard, thanks, your very knowledgeable. you are right about poor circulation because after I vacuumed and since the water level was low, I accidentally pulled the intake hose prematurely and ever since the pump wasn't working right; I believe it is sucking air somewhere. It is circulating but with air bubbles on and off. I have been using HTH test kit. Is Taylor that different than HTH test kit?
chem geek
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Algae

Postby chem geek » Sat 23 Aug, 2008 12:18

The Taylor K-2006 kit and the similar TF100 kit use a FAS-DPD chlorine test which is accurate to within 0.2 ppm and can measure up to 50 ppm FC. You simply count the drops so there is no guesswork. You can read more about it and see a demo here.

If you had drop-based tests for pH, TA, CH and a turbidity test for CYA and not test strips, then you could get just the FAS-DPD chlorine Taylor K-1515-A or the equivalent test from tftestkits(dot)com here.

If your CYA test has instructions similar to that in the Taylor test as described here where you mix half pool water with half reagent, mix for 30 seconds, then add to a tube as I showed in an earlier post, then that's a decent test. Again, test strips are not always reliable -- they are OK for some tests, but not for others, and it varies by test manufacturer.
Karen

oops---used bleach instead of chlorine

Postby Karen » Wed 08 Jul, 2009 10:56

This morning, I mistakingly poured 3/4 cup of bleach into our 200 gallon inftabale pool instead of the chlorine that was also still wrapped in the bag---I am reading about bleach being used as an alternative for chlorine, however, I am concerned that I might have used too much to allow my children to use the pool today. Is it safe for them to swim, or should I empty and re-fill it? Any advice/information would be appreciated! Thank you
chem geek
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Bleach

Postby chem geek » Wed 08 Jul, 2009 14:44

You increased the Free Chlorine (FC) level by around 15 ppm. If you had Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in the water (at least 30 ppm), then this is a high, but not unsafe, chlorine level. If you don't have any CYA in the water, then it's too high, but will also drop quickly in direct sunlight losing about half the FC every half hour or so in direct noontime sun.

Generally speaking in an inflatable pool, the easiest chlorine to use is Dichlor since it adds both chlorine and CYA and it dissolve quickly. Since it's only 200 gallons, you might just dump the water and start over with the Dichlor if you don't want to wait.
danmac50

Bleach

Postby danmac50 » Wed 26 Aug, 2009 19:35

GottiJr wrote:Is clorox bleach the same as chlorine. A neighbor told me to just add that to my 13x30 pop up pool to save money. Im not sure about this, is it really the same thing as chlorine tablets? Thanks

P.S. I posted this under a different section (chlorine alt.) but since no one visits that really and I needed a answer i posted it here. Sorry.
superdoopie
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Bleach

Postby superdoopie » Thu 27 Aug, 2009 20:17

danmac50 wrote:
GottiJr wrote:Is clorox bleach the same as chlorine. A neighbor told me to just add that to my 13x30 pop up pool to save money. Im not sure about this, is it really the same thing as chlorine tablets? Thanks

P.S. I posted this under a different section (chlorine alt.) but since no one visits that really and I needed a answer i posted it here. Sorry.


No. clorox bleach is 6% chlorine and is not stabilized meaning it has no protection from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. It will be depleted almost as soon as you add it to the pool. For this reason you'll need to add cyanuric acid to the water which protects the chlorine from the sun. Liquid chlorine that is obtainable at a pool store is usually 12% chlorine and is also not stabilized.

Granular and Tablet forms of chlorine usually already contain cyanuric acid but pools that have not been treated before usually need a pound or two of the acid to get the level up high enough to work with a fresh fill (30-50 ppm is the standard). There are many discussions about cyanuric acid and chlorine on these forums. like these:

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=7215

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=5237

Any post by chem geek is worth reading.
AnneM

Bleach

Postby AnneM » Sun 04 Oct, 2009 20:41

I used it this past summer instead of chlorine. My pool is 33,000 gals and I put in one gallon every other night. The water was crystal clear all summer. Once we got a pretty green color going after rain and cold and 3 days without treatment. I just put in 2 gallons and the next morning all was great. Just FYI - the blue cap bleach is food grade and is the one that is safest to use. I put four gallons in the pool before covering for the winter - and one quart of 90-day algecide.

I also soak vegetables and fruit in a solution of approx 2 Tbsps. bleach to a sinkful of cold water, for about ten minutes. This dissolves pesticides, germs and the like.
CHAR

Bleach

Postby CHAR » Tue 15 Jun, 2010 14:07

DID YOU SET YOUR MULTIPORT ON FILTER OR RECIRC ? IF SO HOW LONG ON RECIRC ?

HABS_SD wrote:
GottiJr wrote:Hi, oh ok cool. I just wanted to make sure they didnt say anything about it being harmful to swimmers if you used just bleach instead of chlorine.


Well keep in mind not to swim while you are shocking. Wait until chlorine levels are back to normal.

GottiJr wrote:Cool. please let us know how it worked. Im curious did anyone tell you why you shouldnt use bleach as an alternative to chlorine? Thanks in advance.


And now to answer the big question. I got home last night and checked the pool (at this point it had been 24hrs since I put a little over 1gal of bleach per 1000 gal of water).

Behold blue water! I was amazed at how much it had changed since the morning. All the dead algae had sedimented to the bottom. I immediately back-washed the filter and rinsed. I did this before vacuuming the bottom, because I wanted the filter to be clean to catch all the dead algae which would stir in to the pool while vacuuming.

When I finished vacuuming, I checked the chemistry of the water. Had good alkalinity, stabilizer and ph, and the chlorine was just above the acceptable range (which was great because I knew I still had free chlorine in the pool to work with to get the straggler algae!).

There was so much dead algae in the pool that when I vacuumed the bottom, a lot of it stirred back in to the pool and the water became a lagoon shade of blue. Knowing I was close to perfection, I didn’t want to chance it and gave it another dose of shock (but kept it to a lower amount since I already had significant free chlorine in the pool).

Pump ran all night and I woke up this morning to crystal clear water. Before I left for work I back-washed and rinsed the filter again, and tested the water. Chlorine levels were at same level as before the shock, which means there was still some algae left to combat (good call about the shock the night before!). By the time I get home tonight all should settle down, and pending a chemical test, I am looking forward to enjoying my beautiful and inviting pool, which I have not done in 5 days.

Hope my story helps. If you have any other questions about bleach or algae problems, just let me know.

This is one happy pool owner signing off :D
CHAR

Bleach

Postby CHAR » Wed 16 Jun, 2010 08:11

HEY, WHEN SHOCKING YOUR POOL WITH THE BLEACH DO YOU RECIRC OR FILTER ?
chem geek
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Bleach

Postby chem geek » Wed 16 Jun, 2010 12:50

You keep it on filter. You don't normally need to shock the pool (i.e. non weekly shocking) unless there is a problem. If you are shocking due to algae, then you want the dead algae to get caught in the filter. Please read the Pool School for more info on Defeating Algae and on how to Shock Your Pool. Shocking is not a one time event but a sustained and maintained higher level of chlorine.
kgiron

Bleach

Postby kgiron » Sun 29 May, 2011 21:58

I have been using bleach, borax and acid in my pool for several years and I have less problems than when I used the regular pool chemicals. The pool companies make more money off of the pool chemicals so they want you to buy these products and keep buying these products and more products. Regular household bleach works great!
pool owner 2

Bleach

Postby pool owner 2 » Mon 01 Aug, 2011 17:47

I am womdering if the regular bleach is harmful to a vinyl pool? I keep hearing it is ok to use but am not sure.
chem geek
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Bleach

Postby chem geek » Tue 02 Aug, 2011 12:34

You need to be careful adding any concentrated chemical to any pool, but particularly acid and chlorine to a vinyl pool. You should add the bleach slowly over a return flow (in the deep end, if there is one) with the pump running and when you are done lightly brush the side and bottom of the pool to ensure thorough mixing. Once mixed, ALL sources of chlorine produce IDENTICAL chlorine in the pool. The only differences are in what else they add to the pool.

There was a time years ago where we heard from a couple of service people who swore that bleach thinned liners or bleached them or made them wear out, etc. Though improper dosing that would let bleach pool near the bottom would obviously be a problem (that can easily be mitigated as described above), they nevertheless claimed that bleach was somehow different. So we've been carefully tracking the thousands of vinyl pool owners on multiple pool forums and not seen any problems with the bleach users and now it's been over 10 years that quite a few of these owners have used the BBB method (started with Ben Powell of The PoolForum and PoolSolutions).

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