How can I buy the Pool Wizard???

[mgrande]

How can i buy the Pool Wizard? I live in NYC and have expereinced many of the problems that Pool Wizard seems to solve regarding Algae. The site specifies sales are pending due to the EPA regulations.
This has been like this since last year!
Does anyone know how to get a Pool Wizard (in the USA)? If not, is there a comparable product?
I am specifically experiencing black spots/stains in my pool due to high levels of metal caused by my heater.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks
Mike

[chem geek]

If you are experiencing metal stains from your heater, it sounds like you may be using Trichlor pucks/tabs and either let the pH in the pool get too low or you used such pucks in the skimmer which is a no-no. Also, continued use of Trichlor pucks will increase the Cyanuric Acid (CYA) of the pool making the chlorine less effective and allowing algae to grow unless you dilute the water to keep the CYA lower or increase the Free Chlorine (FC) level to keep the FC/CYA ratio constant.

Though you could use the Pool Wizard or other copper ion system to prevent algae growth, it also increases your risk of staining your pool if the pH rises. You've already got a staining problem (are you sure it's not black algae?) so adding more metal ions to your pool doesn't sound like the right approach.

You should get yourself a good test kit, such as the Taylor K-2006 you can get at a good online price here or the TF100 kit from tftestkits.com here with the latter kit having 36% more volume of reagents so is less expensive "per test". You can read more about how to manage your pool at the Pool School.

Richard

[mgrande]

Thanks Richard.
I originally thought it was black algae. I noticed the black stains went away when I put a new heating unit in. My next door neighboor had what appeard to be the same problem...black algae. His pool company suggested taking the heater out. He did and his stains went away. A few weeks later, after using the new pool heater, my stains reappeared. I went to a local pool store and they gave me something to try. They told me to use the chemical (for the life of me I cannot remember what it was). They said if the spot doesn't go away, it is high metal that is causing the problem. It didn't go away.
So now I want to at least try to see if I can treat the high metal in the water and see what happens. This is the 3rd year I am dealing with this and I have seen no results from maintaining perfect PH/levels.
I was hoping the pool wizard would do the trick.
As far as chlorine goes, nothing is put in the skimmer. I drop the chlorine in a tube next to the filter. I am unsure what you mean by Tuck chlorine. If you can recommend a good chlorine tablet I will get it a try.

Thanks
Mike

[chem geek]

Mike,

Trichlor pucks (like hockey pucks) or tablets look like those in the pictures in this link. The 3" tablets/pucks are very typical. Continued use of Trichlor builds up Cyanuric Acid (CYA) that reduces chlorine's effectiveness and can lead to algae growth.

You say you drop the chlorine in a tube next to the filter. That sounds like this could be an in-line chlorinator. What exactly do you drop into the tube? Are they solid tablets such as those shown in the link above? So they say "stabilized chlorine"? Is your heater before or after where you drop your chlorine? Trichlor tablets/pucks are very acidic so if the pump is off and there isn't a one-way valve preventing water from the inline chlorinator from migrating back to the heater, then the heater could get stripped of its copper and that can lead to copper staining (and a failed heater).

You can read more about removing metal stains here.

Pool Wizard won't do anything to get rid of your metal stains. If the source of your problem is the Trichlor, then you can stop using Trichlor and use a different source of chlorine. The Pool Wizard would just supplement chlorine to prevent algae growth, but you could also do that with an algaecide or phosphate remover or with nothing at all if you maintain a Free Chlorine (FC) level appropriate to your pool's Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level.

Was the pool store more specific with what they meant by "high metal"? When you say that the problem only started to occur when you started using your heater, do you have some sort of bypass to direct flow around your heater? Or when you say you used the heater, do you mean you just turned it on and then the stains started to show up?

You really need to get the good test kit I referred to so you can take charge of your pool and really know what is going on. Simply looking at pH alone isn't enough. You want to test for Free Chlorine (FC), Combined Chlorine (CC), pH, Total Alkalinity (TA), Calcium Hardness (CH) and Cyanuric Acid (CYA).

Richard

[mgrande]

Thanks Richard, I use these http://www.intheswim.com/shopping/product.aspx?productid=28chlorine tablets. They are placed in the chlorinator before the heater. Yes, I do have a one way valve preventing the chlorine from going into the heater when turned off.
I do not have any way to bypass the heater. It seemed that once the new heater was installed, within 3 weeks the problem came back. I think it is too coincidental that my neighbor had the exact same problem, got rid of his heater and all is solved. I replaced my heater and miraculously I was good for 3 weeks. I assume once I started to use the heater, the metal problem surfaced.

I will certainly buy a better test kit. If it is black algae I suppose I will need to be very critical of all of my levels.

Mike

[chem geek]

Having the inline chlorinator using Trichlor pucks before the heater might be the problem. Maybe the one-way valve is broken allowing highly acidic water to attack the heater.

If the stains were black algea, then rubbing or holding a Trichlor puck on them (for a plaster pool, which I assume you have) should make them fade. If they are a metal stain, then they won't be affected by the Trichlor puck. Instead, the ascorbic acid treatment referred to in the link I gave on how to remove metal stains would be appropriate.

Did the person who replaced your heater look at the old one and notice any problems with the heat exchanger being stripped or damaged? I would think that they could give you some sort of explanation.

I don't think you've got black algae since it takes a long time to develop and won't just go away after replacing a heater -- it takes exposure to high chlorine levels for an extended time to kill the black algae (along with regular vigorous brushing).

Richard

[Pico]

There is another system, similar to Pool Wizard, and available in the USA. We have been importing them to Europe for a while now and the results are excellent. Rather than use with a very small chlorine dosage, we have been using a new form of pure, stable Chlorine Dioxide as a 0.45% solution as a twice weekly addition at 0.3ppm. The results are exceptional in the hot "Med" countries. In Europe its called the AquaSmarter, and in the Americas, Chlor-free aquasmart.
http://www.chlorfree-usa.com/index.html
I have read about concerns over copper levels of similar products but these are laboratory tested and measured as insignificant with this product.
Maybe it works better than others because of the other added elements to the Copper/silver? i.e. zinc, palladium, carbon. I dont know. I can just say it works.