I lost the battle time for an Acid wash


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Old 04-26-06, 09:09 PM
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I lost the battle time for an Acid wash

as many of you guys that visit this forum a lot remember all my questions in my battle with a Black Algie nightmare infestation that has only worstened with the rise of water temp....

I throw in the towel and decide to drain and acid wash, I have researched the safety and everything else, I do not have a hydro valve, and the water table now ( low ) is not really a concern....what little secrets am I missing ??

also I plan to fix some of the coping while its drained. What kind of mortar would I use to secure 2 sections of coping ?

as for the cracks under and between the coping what would I use there ??....what about expansion and contraction the coping backs up to a concrete walkway ( pool deck ) about 3 foot back from the pool

I read the other thread, but what about tile mortar for laying ceramic tiles, I did not think that would be for a constant wet type application, what do the pro's use for setting pool coping ?

thanks
 

Last edited by rentprop1; 04-26-06 at 09:30 PM.
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Old 04-28-06, 02:19 PM
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i always advise againt draining any type pool, and if you have gunite or fibergalss you risk a pop out / blow out. you are having a prob with algae , this is nothing you can fix by shopping at walmart. bite the bullet and go to a professional pool supply , prefferably one that has had a tech for several years, you can benifit from thier experience. but if it proves to be to much for them they can always request a chemical rep come and look. give them a chance . if you can't wait , PM me with some Pics and the capacity and pump type and i can give you some pointers. i'm working on a vinyl lined pool now and its been 5 days and i got it from jet black to cloudy blue. these things take time to remedy.
 
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Old 04-28-06, 07:37 PM
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VC I posted for about the last 5 months all the while fighting a huge case of Black algie, spent $$$ from pool store on their brand of copper based Black algie stuff, went to another pool store and got theirs, had a guy ( pool guy ) work with it for about 1 month no change....hence the title I lost the battle , you could prob drink the chlor at walmart since it sits on the shelf soo long ( kids dont try try this at home ) I would send you a pic, but you really cant tell unless your standing on the edge looking in to the black abyss
 
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Old 04-29-06, 05:15 AM
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trust me i've seen some bad pools . i've been doing this for the past 15 years, out of those i worked for a pool supply for 3 years . i met some very knowledgeable reps during that time. i left because i got a better offer to do somtheing different , but i still do on the average about 6 pools a year( open , clean and instruct on proper maintence) and do a follow up (a lil look to see if things are going well) every month for the pool season . i do aprox. 4 prolbem pools every year ( people that let things get out of hand before they solicite help) i haven't seen 1 pool yet i haven't been able to treat. the one i'm doing now had been uncovered for a entire year it had truck load of leaves in the bottom , but in 5 days of treatment it has gone from black to cloudy blue. it normally takes me aprox 2 - 3 weeks in a worse case scenerio to clear a prolbem if everything is running like it should .

are you sure its black algea?? is the water alll black or can you see the bottom with small spots of black algea ? what i think it may be is just a case of black water. they may not be treating the prolbem. what size is this pool ( LxWx average D ), type of filter and pump, let me try one thing before you do the drain , its not expensive and it is a last resort i do before ever thinking about draining. its worked for me everytime.
 
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Old 04-29-06, 10:52 PM
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pool is approx 18,000 gals, it is defnately black Alg, I have kept chlor levels about 15 ppm and scrubed twice a day with a stainess brush, its so bad its in the pores of the finish, it starts at the waterline and hit or miss drops to about 3-4 feet in depth for about 70 % of the walls of the pool, you can see bottom fine durring super chlor, and I can see about a million algie spores when I clean the cart filter....I can tell that the pool was partially drained before there is a black ring where the water was about 3 foot hight from the floor drain, that part of the pool is about 7 foot deep and makes it very hard to brush that part wit hany force on the ss brush...what do you have for a suggestion e-mail me rentprop1@tampabay.rr.com
then I might be able to e-mail you a pic first...thanks
 
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Old 04-29-06, 10:53 PM
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Originally Posted by VC-Racing

are you sure its black algea?? is the water alll black or can you see the bottom with small spots of black algea ? .
small spots of black algie ???.....dude I am talking patches 4 foot deep by the length of the pool and a circle 4 foor in diameter from the floor drain
 
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Old 04-30-06, 07:33 AM
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one of you main prolbems is the filtration, cartridges filters are fine for spas and hot tubs not for large pools . i would really consider converting to a sand filter, they do a better job and are a lot less hasslesome. you do have a major infestation, iv'e never seen one like you are describing on that scale . i called a friend of mine yesterday who has been in the pool business for 25 years and discussed you prolbem, he said that you may be correct to do the acid wash , but that due to the chance of a blow out his recommendadation was to treat. this is a white gunite pool? if yes, then you are brushing the spots with a stiff brush? using the bag net drop in a couple chlor. tab or stick and place directly over the spots, these need to be done with the water NOT circulating , are you using a good algeacide ? not this crap at walmat, you need a strong ( at least 60%) polyquat algeacide. pour this directly over the spots , let sit overnight , brush again , and vac to waste. black algea is very resilent , once you get it, it may take several weeks of brushing and vacumming to rid it. i saw your question on your return inlet , with the pump off , you should be able to remove the ball socket first by removing the threaded cover, then you can reach inside and hold the return and remove the screws, while doing this i would excersice some caution , however there are many types of returns i'm shooting in the dark.

i found you old post , if the surface is pitted, you really need to keep a eye on the calcium hardness level in a gunite pool, when the water hardness get low it will TAKE the calcium from the pool walls , this is why most gunite pools have rough/ pitted sides and bottoms .
 
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Old 04-30-06, 10:09 AM
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VC I do appreciate the help, pool care condition was unknown to me , we just bought the house 5 months, not even sure if it has been resurfaced, we are going to drain, power wash lightly, then acid wash, and maybe a few other suggestions and get the water back in there as quickly as possible, before I knew about pop outs I drained and painted 2 pools at both of my last 2 homes, here in Floriad just keep an eye on the water table, if it hasn't rained for a while like here almost 2 months, I think its safe to drain

thanks for the help I appreciate you going back for more info

the pumps is in the pool, will let you all know how it turns out

will need some help with starting from scratch when opening it back up as they say
 
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Old 05-01-06, 05:09 PM
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well the best of luck, do make sure you are careful when using the PW , if the walls are pitted(rough) they may be prone to peeling/ popping the surface.
 
 

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