Pool water

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

My wife accidently left the pool filler line on all night. Big flood this A/M. Dyp Decipiens, Tupidanthus, Rav Glauca, Mac Mooreii in harms way. I've placed a hose with a fountain sprinkler in the affected area, hoping to dilute/leach out the bleach. Ideas..???

[Tad]

couldnt be tooo much worse than city water. could it??

maybe toss a little compost around as a I'm sorry.

you could also maybe spread some charcoal(real,not briqueettes) ?? I dont know, just suggestions

[Bilbo]

Steve I reckon you need  lower pH water; rain or whatever that can lower the pH without harming any aquatics whether fish or plants.

Check this out with your nearest aquatic dealer and good luck.

Regardez

Juan

[LJG]

Your wife did? Sure *she* did. ;)

[Alan_Tampa]

don't worry about it.

Alan

[Dypsisdean]

Steve,

As a veteran palm grower and 25 years in the pool/spa business, this question is right in my comfort zone.

And the answer is, there is really no way to know because everyone's pool water is very different. Without getting technical, it depends on what has been put in it over the years, and how old it is. There are all kinds of additives today that owners and pool care techs use.

As a general statement, the older the water is, and if copper, silver, or other metal based algaecides have been used, are the critical questions. Very old hard water with a large amount of copper algaecide could be detrimental. I would not worry about the pH or chlorine. I have backwashed filters for years where there were plants and saw no noticable damage, even on Kentias.

The only thing you can do you have already done, and that is try to dilute it. Of course it probably depends on how old the palms are. Younger is always more tender. But the short answer is I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just make the wife feel guilty enough to make up for it with a nice "back rub."

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

Dean....I put in a new DE filter last year, if that means anything.

[palmsrgreat]

I wouldn't worry about it at all, esp. if you have a typical chlorine pool.

However, I just converted my pool to a salt system earlier this year and was wondering how the additional salt content could possibly affect them. Dean, any info on this?

Oh, and the salt content is roughly 2800-3200ppm

[feijoa]

DE media won't harm plants, i've been "watering" my for years with no loss.

Dypsisdean is right on the money though. Do you know how old the water is? and was the pool operational or were you opening it (meaning was it full of algae)?

**My advice before going to far... Do you know how to do a TDS (total dissolved solids) test? Do one and tell me what you get.

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

The water has been in there since we moved here...about 4 years. I'm assuming it's much older than that.

[Dypsisdean]

Well, re: the salt systems. That's a lot of salt you have to add to those systems. So, while I can't testify to actual experience, I can't imagine any amount of salt being a good thing.

The age of the water is important because of what was already mentioned, the TDS. The older, the higher, and high TDS includes a bunch of other types of salt compounds. Boil down some old pool water and you will see how much "salty" stuff is in there. BTW --- liquid chlorine adds a lot of sodium to your water. In leaky bottles you can see the left over deposits when it dries. 5-6 yrs in California is max for pool water IMO. It may only cost $200 to refill your pool. That's a drop in the bucket to the damage old water does to your plaster, tile, and equipment.

And no Steve, for the sake of this discussion, a filter has virtually no effect on water chemistry. It is just filtering out solids.

Bottom line is there is nothing you can do about it anyway, except to dilute what's there as much as is practical.

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

I think I'm SOL...I've been noticing that a white 'chalkiness' has been building on the rocks in my waterfall. Assume now that it's salt/mineral build up.

I need to repaint my black bottom (back-off, Al Sharpton) so I  could do this when I drain/replace my water. My problem is...where do I drain my pool water to...my avocado grove? Certainly not. My neighbors?

One of the bad sides of having no public sewer....

[deezpalms]

Not sure if this helps but when I have BBQ's at my house pool water gets splashed all over my cycads and palms and they all seem fine. The pool water collects around the edge of my pool right where my plants are with no problems.

[Kris]

(STEVE IN SO CAL @ May 12 2007,17:17)

QUOTE

The water has been in there since we moved here...about 4 years. I'm assuming it's much older than that.

Very very intresting discussion we got here !

all these years i was of the opnion that all people who posses

swinning pools at their homes & at hotels.they keep changing their waters say after 2 months or so.and its very coustomery

that we in india do this compulsorly.and the only addative we

use here is chlorine & chlorinate products sold specifically for

this kind of use.

but from now on i will think twice before going for a swim in my

friends pool or even in hotels,since dean has said a lot on

fungicides & other addatives.i fear using these kind of chenicals on plants then how come i even dream of

dipping my entire body with these kind of chemicals.and

result eye irriation and hairs falling from my body that includes even my head.since my friends do call me tedy

no its not my pet name but i appear like a bear.

emagine all that hairs falling off !  

even after taking a regular shower after smimming my eyes used to burn & irriate for a while.Now its clear why.

my heart felt thanks to dean & Steve for giving a clear

picture_what lays deep benith the pool !

I will never venture into a pool from now on...

Thanks & Love,

Kris  

[osideterry]

I overfilled my pool a month go. Left it on from 9am until 1pm or so. No damage to anything as far as I can tell.

I changed out the water around 4-5 years ago. To refill it only cost about $40-50, but it took a few days.

[STEVE IN SO CAL]

(osideterry @ May 14 2007,18:23)

QUOTE

I overfilled my pool a month go. Left it on from 9am until 1pm or so. No damage to anything as far as I can tell.

I changed out the water around 4-5 years ago. To refill it only cost about $40-50, but it took a few days.

Encouraging...my wife is horrified...hope all is well. I need to rig up a timer (I usually put on the microwave timer when I run the pool filler)