Cheaper Algaecides Than Pooltrine?

[jaideeguy]

We pool owners all know that all the expensive chemicals our pools require to stay in decent condition are simply chemicals repackaged and with fancy lables and names like 'pooltrine' 'swimtrine' etc and prices increased by 500%.

What I'm lookinng for is an alternative to 'pooltrine', which is an algaecide and clearifier. Is anyone out there using the basic chemicals and can recomend cheaper alternatives for 'pooltrine' and other pool chemicals??

pooltrine is 1,700THB/gal and requirements for treatments and maintenance can be quite pricey.

Any feedback or recomendations would be appreciated.........

[Chaichara]

You're lucky to get it for that!

Pools and ALL pool periferrals traditionally carry a luxury good label. Fortunately there is now one firm in Thailand that pledges to combat this endemic practice.

Copper Sulphate - CuSo4 is one of the best known algicides. It is available in crystal form - beautiful blue crystals - and is harmless to bathers, but care must be taken not to use too much to avoid discolouring the water, and eventually the tiles or grouting. There are several excellent websites on the use of generic chemicals for pool maintenance,and a Google search will find them. The next step is to find the Thai translation for what you need, and a chemical supplier near you.

It's that time of the year - hot and humid, and spores scattered by wind and rain. If your pool is being regularly and correctly maintained, you should not be having any problems, but to judge by the number of PMs I've had recently on the subject, not everyone is so lucky.

Good, regular pool hygiene will however largely prevent the onset of algae growth. persistent algae problems can often be due to insufficient - typically when you have contracted one of those pool maintenance companies where the guy comes when you are out, sits in the gaeebo and smokes one cigarette, and clears off with out doing anything.

Algae blooms are a problem best avoided and maintaining proper water quality and frequent brushing of pool walls will deprive algae of the opportunity to get started. If your pool has been empty for quite a while, or if you are starting a new pool for the first time, thorough cleaning of the tiles and grout, and algae pre-treatment are good preventatives. Using a pressure washer is a good idea, but don't use it so hard that you drive the grout out from between the tiles.

Algae can grow in swimming pools if nutrients are present and a sufficient level of free chlorine is not maintained. In addition to properly dosing your water, it is recommended that the algaecide be added in the morning on a bright sunny day for best results. Algae are plants and grow in the presence of sunlight. Adding algaecide during algae's best growth time will increase intake of the algaecide and make it more effective.

Below are descriptions of the three most common algae problems in swimming pools.

Green Algae The most common algae floats in the water and on the surface. Left unchecked, green algae will propagate extremely quickly. This is less frequent in Thailand, but one direct hit from a flash of lightning can turn your pool into pea soup overnight.

Mustard Algae settles on pool walls and causes a slimy yellow film. Again, this this is less frequent in Thailand, but for some off reason it seems to appear more often in highly built up city areas and heavily used commercial pools.

BLACK ALGAE appears in furry "buds" or clumps attached to tile grout, corners, steps and pool surfaces. It looks a bit like some forms of mould. It is the main problem here in Thailand, and sod's law willhave it that it is also the most difficult one to get rid of.

Solutions:

Remember that shock, or super chlorination can never do much harm, but the bathing experience will be unpleasant until the chlorine drops to its normal level. Under normal conditions, there should be NO apparent odour of chlorine; if your pool smells of chlorine, this is due to the chlorine that is combined with other stuff and cannot escape - it actually means that there is not enough free chlorine in the pool.

Green Algae - is very susceptible to chemical treatment. Superchlorinate with 10 to 20 ppm chlorine in the evening. Keep the filter running and brush the pool walls and bottom. Periodically check chlorine and maintain above 3 ppm until water clears. Using an algeicide containing quaternary ammonia the next morning will help prevent the return of green algae.

Mustard Algae - is much more resistant to chemical treatment and clings more tightly to pool walls than green algae. Adjust pH and superchlorinate as for green algae then brush carefully. Later vacuum the pool, check chlorine and superchorinate again if necessary. Mustard algae will generally return unless treated with a special mustard algicide or a copper based (CuSo4) algicide. Algicide should be added in the morning to treat algae in daylight - its most active period.

BLACK ALGAE - can be controlled to some extent by frequent superchlorination and careful brushing with a stiff brush. (You should have a wire-brush attachment for your telescopic pole). Spot treatments can be made by turning off the recirculation pumps and pouring granular chlorine directly on recently brushed spots. Trichlor tablets can also be rubbed on recently brushed areas to spot treat. You need to usef strong algicides and maintenance of relatively high free-chlorine residual, but complete removal of black algae may require draining and cleaning the pool.

The proprietary products such as Swimtrine®, and Pooltrine® available in most pool shops in Bangkok, Pattaya, and Phuket, but they are horrendously expensive (luxury goods price tag for pool owners) at nearly 2,000 baht a bottle. Although it is highly concentrated, the tendency is always to overdose, and your money is quickly used up. As mentioned before, good pool hygiene ids the best remedy, but you can always try first by using plain Copper Sulphate (CuSo4) crystals dissolved in water. You can obtain this from a chemicals supplier quite cheaply. *

Potassium Tetraborate:

This chemical, when added to the pool water in proper dosage, prevents algae from converting carbon dioxide into the fuel it needs for growth. It"s quite effective.

Another item to look at is the method of sanitation and the type of filtering you have. Far too many pools out there were sold with marginal filter systems, meant to run 24 hrs per day. Well, these systems get old and tired, or the new owners only run it 12 hrs per day (or less). For good algae prevention, you need a combination of good filtration, sanitation and circulation. Not many of us here in n Thailand have had pools long enough to justify changing the equipment, but I have known failures of cheap or underpowered pumps and filters after as little as two years. It may be time to consider changing the old pump and filter. It's cheaper and easier to pay a little up front for more chemicals, electricity or better equipment than all the money and aggravation spent on fighting algae blooms

You'll notice from my other posts that I am a strong protagonist for salt water chlorinators. The ROI is rapid, and you will have fully automatic, optimal chlorination, and you will rarely need to purchase anty additional chemicals; by-products of the eletroysis are also those that work well as algaecides.

Good luck! And don't hesitate to post your experience here.

[jaideeguy]

Thanks Chaichara for your detailed and informative reply......

I've had my pool for 4 yrs and have been lucky in that I haven't had algae blooms for the first three, but this year, it's been out of controll and I've had to flocculate and vacume to waste several times...getting more frequient lately, only holding back the algae for a couple of weeks.

I did use pooltrine for the first several months and didn't need it or see any algae, so discontinued it with no problems until this year.

re: your discriptions of algae, mine seems like ''green algae", except that it doesn't float. it mostly settles on the bottom or lower walls...if left undisturbed and when it gets disturbed, it becomes a nasty green cloud. The color is definately green, but if you look hard, you could say it has some black and/or yellow.

I just flocked and vacumed and am refilling my pool with fairly clean klong water that usually filters out in a few hours. My ph is around 7 by the test paper strips and my method of cholorine shock is to add a kilo of 90% trichlor into my overflow pool and let it disolve, then flush it into the main pool.

Pool size is approx 80 cu mtrs. and I have a sand and manganese zeolite filter with a 2 hp pump.

I do have a couple of questions.......

Is there any way to positively identify my strain of algae??

What is the dosage rate with the Copper Sulphate and Potassium Tetraborate??

and, I wonder what the 'clearifier' is that pooltrine is supposed to have in it??

I am googling, but haven't found answers yet to the above questions.

again, thanks for your input...........

[Naam]

how often and how many hours daily do you run your pump Jaideeguy?

[jaideeguy]

4-5 hrs/day with a 2 hp pump turning over 80 cu mtrs...enough??

[Chaichara]

4-5 hrs/day with a 2 hp pump turning over 80 cu mtrs...enough??

Your pumping capacity seems to be more than adequate - the general rule is that your pump/filter installation should be able to turnover the volume of the pool within 8hours total pumping every 24 hours, or within 6 hours if the pool is used regularly.

Of course, if you Google for information, the answers will be as varied as those you get here on this or the main Thai farang pool forum. Also every manufacturer will tell you something different as they are just hoping to sell more of their wickedly overpriced products.

the full range of '-trine' products are:

Swimtrine

Effectively and 'economically' kills algae and prevents regrowth without pool closure. Supposed to be good against green algae and mustard algae.

Pooltrine

This is a combined algaecide for green algae, and clarifier, that is supposed to be suitable for diatomaceous earth filters.

Black Algaetrine

This i for combating the black algae (see my previous post on algae types). Black algae is howver very tenacious.

Cleartrine

basically used as one of the most common flocculets here ion Thailand. it is supposed to combine some algaecide. Suitable for use with all kinds of filter media but like all clarifiers, it could lead to some clogging or reduction of the efficiency of the sand. best used IMHO with filters filled with crushed amorphous silicone diioxide which is 30 times more performant that sand.

Staintrine

is a scale and stain remover.

You may be able to get these products at a trade discount from AB applied biochemicals Ltd

Head office

910 srinakarin Rd Suanluang

02 362 5142-58 fax 02 362 5159

Showroom

937-9 Corner Sukumvit 51, Bangkok.

tel 02 259 6248-9 Fax: 02 258 4733

before dosing with bulk purchased chemicals such as CUSO4 (copper sulphate) you will need to know how you are buying it - in crystal form, or already in liquid form.

[jaideeguy]

An update on my algae problem. Did a shock cholrine and that really knocked it back a week ago, but I now see it creaping back. Don't want to get my pool addicted to shock chlorine as I've heard that it can upset pool chemestry and it means that the pool is unswimmable for a few days after. was geting readings of over 3ppm on the 4th day.

I did purchase some copper sulfate [chrystals], but the boss wasn't in and I didn't trust the sales girls calculations for dosage.

Does anyone know the 'exact' dosage for kill off and maintenance and possible health hazards of copper sulfate?? google wasn't much help.

Don't wanna to use those 'trines' unless I have to.

[gilbreth]

My first thought - you used Klong water to fill the pool? When an algae bloom happens, it is important to try identify the source - could this be your source. Make sure to keep pH in the proper range of 7.2 - 7.8. High pH can reduce the ORP of chlorine by 80%. Check the net if you do not understant what is ORP. Finally, I would run the pump and filter continously until the bloom clears. Many people think that there pump consumes high amounts of electrical - not necessarily true. 4-5 hours a day is usually not enough, we run our pumps 7am to 7pm usually, about 280 pools. Finally, check your levels of cyuranic acid - this is a sunscreen for chlorine, which is easily broken down by direct sunlight. A very good "shock" for an algae bloom is liquid chlorine - it is cheaps, works quickly, will not harm the pool surface. It also breaks down into plain water in 1-2 days, leaving no residuals. Be sure to also algea brush your pool daily to eliminate spores on the pool wall (which chlorine cannot invade).

Best,

Gil