I didn’t want a pool in the first place, but nevertheless we put one in anyway
After some years I was the only one left at home, with this monster pool, calling for salt, chlorine, electricity and brushing with escalating black algae, green scum, a complete magnet for ANY loose dirt, leaves, frogs, beetles or plastic bags which would then become stuck on the leaf trap and gummy up the works. Not to mention the amount of water that it constantly seemed to need to stop it gasping with a death rattle whenever the pump switched on.
The final straw came when the electrode of the chlorinator finally fell to bits. It was going to cost in excess of R2000.00 to replace, and was only expected to last for 5 years or so. I was contemplating filling the pool in, rather than pay that sort of money just to continue with the same problems.
When I heard that Dr. Badat was giving a short seminar on the application of magnets for his students and any interested parties, I went along, having been interested in medical magnets for the past 10 years.
I had done a time lapse photography experiment with 2 flowers, one standing on a water magnet & one not. During the course of the lecture, I jokingly asked if there was anything I could do about my pool.
As a result I put a pair of 50,000 gauss power magnets into my pool on Wednesday 27th March, having taken photographs to document the amount of growth clinging to the sides.
By Saturday 30th March, I could take the brush and sweep the green algae and it just floated off. This resulted in a very cloudy pool, so I set the Kreepy to suck up the dirt. After a few days of backwashing and cleaning, I noticed the walls were much cleaner and the black algae was starting to disappear. The water was still cloudy, so I added 2 cups chlorine (the last in the container) to give it a helping hand. After a few more days, when the chlorine had dissipated, I started to use the pool water to water my plants.
On 12th May, I tested the water for keeping fish and found that it was almost perfectly balanced. There was still a trace of chlorine (I disconnected the chlorinator) and the ph was on the low side. I added some acid and the next day I took a sample of the water to a pet shop. It passed with flying colours.
I now have 2 little gold fish in my 40,000 liter pool, along with a frog or two on occasion and have switched off the pump completely, in case the fish should be sucked up.
The only thing I have to do now is give the pool an occasional brush, remember to recharge the magnets once a week and feed the fish. The dread that I felt every time I had to attend to the pool has turned into delight!
After some years I was the only one left at home, with this monster pool, calling for salt, chlorine, electricity and brushing with escalating black algae, green scum, a complete magnet for ANY loose dirt, leaves, frogs, beetles or plastic bags which would then become stuck on the leaf trap and gummy up the works. Not to mention the amount of water that it constantly seemed to need to stop it gasping with a death rattle whenever the pump switched on.
The final straw came when the electrode of the chlorinator finally fell to bits. It was going to cost in excess of R2000.00 to replace, and was only expected to last for 5 years or so. I was contemplating filling the pool in, rather than pay that sort of money just to continue with the same problems.
When I heard that Dr. Badat was giving a short seminar on the application of magnets for his students and any interested parties, I went along, having been interested in medical magnets for the past 10 years.
I had done a time lapse photography experiment with 2 flowers, one standing on a water magnet & one not. During the course of the lecture, I jokingly asked if there was anything I could do about my pool.
As a result I put a pair of 50,000 gauss power magnets into my pool on Wednesday 27th March, having taken photographs to document the amount of growth clinging to the sides.
By Saturday 30th March, I could take the brush and sweep the green algae and it just floated off. This resulted in a very cloudy pool, so I set the Kreepy to suck up the dirt. After a few days of backwashing and cleaning, I noticed the walls were much cleaner and the black algae was starting to disappear. The water was still cloudy, so I added 2 cups chlorine (the last in the container) to give it a helping hand. After a few more days, when the chlorine had dissipated, I started to use the pool water to water my plants.
On 12th May, I tested the water for keeping fish and found that it was almost perfectly balanced. There was still a trace of chlorine (I disconnected the chlorinator) and the ph was on the low side. I added some acid and the next day I took a sample of the water to a pet shop. It passed with flying colours.
I now have 2 little gold fish in my 40,000 liter pool, along with a frog or two on occasion and have switched off the pump completely, in case the fish should be sucked up.
The only thing I have to do now is give the pool an occasional brush, remember to recharge the magnets once a week and feed the fish. The dread that I felt every time I had to attend to the pool has turned into delight!
