Weird crystals in pool - what to do?

[jennz4b]

Thanks to this forum I fired my pool are company because my pool was developing algae and they told me “This pool is prone to algae.” LOL. I took out all the pucks, ordered the Taylor 2006 c test kit and have just passed a SLAM two days ago and am letting my FC drift back down to maintenance level.

Latest test results:
FC 22
CC 0
CYA 60
Salt 3700
CH 370
TA/Ph - did not do because if I understand correctly the results would not be accurate with FC above 10.

I put a drop of Muriatic acid on the crystals and didn’t see bubbling. Same thing when I let this dry to a white flakey powder.

When I squeeze this mess it sort of disappears or shrinks. Test results below. 17000 gallon SWG pool- newly replastered 4 months ago. Tucson, AZ.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Jimrahbe]

“This pool is prone to algae.”

Jen,

I can't help with identifying the crystals, but I got tickled about the pool guy telling you the algae problem was the pools fault... and not his..

Show us a pic or two of the crystals.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jennz4b]

 

[jennz4b]

 

[mknauss]

Looks like aggregate from the plaster.

 

[jennz4b]

Looks like aggregate from the plaster.

Thank you! Does this mean my ph is likely off the charts high?

 

[mknauss]

No, not likely. After re reading the first post, may not be aggregate as you say it dries to a white, flaky appearance?

 

[jennz4b]

Thanks for your reply! Here is some of the dry material

 

[mknauss]

If it does not react to acid, then it is not from the plaster or scale. Do you know what aggregrate/additives they put in the plaster? Most of those are non reactive.

 

[jennz4b]

Thanks for asking. I don’t know beyond basic white plaster. One revision to my statements above. When I put one drop of Muriatic acid in the DRY flakes, it does bubble a bit- but it doesn’t “bubble like crazy” as I have seen described in other threads. More like 4-5 bubbles.

 

[mknauss]

Calcium Sulfate acts like that. Very minor reaction. But I cannot see why you would have that.

@JoyfulNoise is in Tucson. Let's see if he has some ideas.

 

[Jimrahbe]

Has the robot suddenly started picking this up, or has it always picked these crystals up? Is the robot new or have you been using it a while?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[jennz4b]

Thanks again! In case it helps to know this additional information. I only started getting this in the robot in the last 2 weeks. Another reason I fired the pool company (that the pool plaster firm recommended I use following the replaster) is that these people hadn’t even added salt to the pool or turned on the salt generator. They had only been using pucks. The algae started, I found this site, added salt, and turned on the SW generator about 2 weeks ago. This is my first pool. I had the replaster done when I moved into this house about 4 months ago. For the first month after the replaster I didn’t use the robot because the replastering company told me to wait that length of time. I have used it about 3 times a week since then.

 

[jennz4b]

Thanks for asking. I don’t know beyond basic white plaster. One revision to my statements above. When I put one drop of Muriatic acid in the DRY flakes, it does bubble a bit- but it doesn’t “bubble like crazy” as I have seen described in other threads. More like 4-5 bubbles.

I hope I am just paranoid, but my worst fear is that I got some kind of bad plaster job. They told my not to use the salt cell for 30 days- I waited 90 days (inadvertently- because the pool care company they recommended didn’t ever put in salt or turn on the generator.) I have read on this forum that some plaster companies do a poor job and that causes the surface to start pitting and breaking off.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

That looks pretty typical to me for a desert pool. We get A LOT of sand, silt, and dust blown into our pools. Also, since this is a replaster, some “shedding” is to be expected.

When was the last time the cartridge filter was cleaned?

Please post a complete set of test results when you can. If your FC is still high then simply dilute the pool water sample 1:1 with distilled water and do the pH test. The TA test can be done with high FC, just add two drops of the R-0007. It will neutralize the high FC.

Please post your CSI value as that is critical.

 

[jennz4b]

That looks pretty typical to me for a desert pool. We get A LOT of sand, silt, and dust blown into our pools. Also, since this is a replaster, some “shedding” is to be expected.

When was the last time the cartridge filter was cleaned?

Please post a complete set of test results when you can. If your FC is still high then simply dilute the pool water sample 1:1 with distilled water and do the pH test. The TA test can be done with high FC, just add two drops of the R-0007. It will neutralize the high FC.

Please post your CSI value as that is critical.

Thanks for the tip about testing for TA and PH. I will do these tests and post results. Filter was cleaned 1 week ago.

 

[JamesW]

Possibly calcium sulfate.

The Mystery of the Pointed Crystals

Seemingly overnight, this pool was covered in sharp crystals. Where did they come from?

www.aquamagazine.com

 

[JamesW]

 

[jennz4b]

Thanks for the tip about testing for TA and PH. I will do these tests and post results. Filter was cleaned 1 week ago.

FC 22
CYA 60
PH 30?? sample diluted with half distilled water) yellow- below the lowest level in my test kit- see photo below. (3 drops in diluted solution turned it from green to orange- should I double this? Half it?)
CH 370
salt 3700
CSI -1.38 (this seems bad)

 

[jennz4b]

FC 22
CYA 60
PH 30?? sample diluted with half distilled water) yellow- below the lowest level in my test kit- see photo below. (3 drops in diluted solution turned it from green to orange- should I double this? Half it?)
CH 370
salt 3700
CSI -1.38 (this seems bad)
View attachment 522155

Pool math is telling me to add 10 pounds of baking soda- any reason not to follow this wisdom? Thank you so much!