Green pool - no thanks

This is not my pool because mine sits empty.   Neither I or neighbors are going to swim in a pool out of control.   Mine was not this bad but on the way.   The clear plastic hoses to the filter pump were definitely green.   I've read that Shocking a pool will clean it up but I don't have much Shock left and I doubt the size of the pump is ready to do a lot of work.   The reason it's like this is the temperature here for the last two weeks.   The pool water was actually uncomfortably warm.

So now it's been cleaned with cloro, filter and hoses cleaned .... and we are on day seven without water from the street.   Sorry guys but it's showers to cool off because I'm not going to use cistern water for this.   

Lorena talked to a guy today that was headed to fix the "city" water pump and he said TODAY.   It might be a Mexican manana.   Neighbors are using my well pump because I have so much more water storage than they do and they're a family of five.   I can always get it back if I run out.

Did a really stupid thing Friday

But hopefully learned my lesson. It's all about learning about this pool. After two pool parties with kids in and out for hours ... the pH of the pool went thru the roof. To bring down pH you add acid. I bought a powdered pool acid but it does not dissolve quickly so sits on the bottom eating away the plastic ... or at least the color.

I didn't buy a floater but those are usually used for Cloro tablets. So I made an acid floater out of a yogurt container. A bunch of ice pick holes in the bottom, put some powder in and enough water to float it upright. The mistake came when I checked it the next day, opened the lid with my face about a foot away. It nearly knocked me down with the fumes. I didn't feel it in my lungs but coughed for half the day and I'm sure it brought on the allergic type cold I had for two days.

So now I read that with a really high pH you are probably better emptying 1/2 the pool or all of it and starting over. I'm also reading that a pool can be maintained with cheaper and easier to use products like; sodium bicarbonate, muriatic acid and bleach and if I can't maintain a balance with them then empty the pool and start again. When the rains start the battle should be constant.

pH and Cloro test

The Pool Revisited

I had first put the pool on smooth dirt, so I thought. Trouble came with the weight of the water bringing small rocks to the surface while compacting the soil. Sure enough, two small puncture holes next to each other that the kids found.

Emptying a pool that size is not fast or easy and I hadn't thought where the hose connector should be placed. Started draining just with a hose stuck in the pool like you would siphon gas from a car. As the water level goes down, so does the pressure so the flow slows. After running it into the street I remembered the grey water septic so the rest of it went there.

Brought in a half load of sand so now it has a 2.5 inch sand bed. Patched it and filled it yesterday and last night we filled it with bodies. Slowly learning the PH and Cloro balancing with a test kit and chemicals I bought at Home Depot last week.

Kids from 3 families

The rain brings out everything

I'll just call him a rain toad because I don't know what type of toad this is. After 2 days of rain I found 3 of them in my yard this morning. All were about 5-6 inches long. I also found a small land crab in the house. Small crabs can squeeze into/under very tight openings. I assume they both live under ground and don't appreciate getting soaked so up they pop.

Hugo was over working on my back wall today and during a water break I pointed out these toads who were hunkered down next to my front wall. I was surprised at his reaction of getting rid of them because I have pets. Anything that moves in my yard is a target for both my dog and cat.

Hugo's solution was to pour Clorox over them and throw them in an empty lot with a shovel. He said the Clorox (Cloro) will make them puff up and die ... who knows?

Bufo is both Spanish and the scientific name for a large toad. It seems all toads excrete toxins from their back as a protection mechanism and animals/pets can get sick or die if they ingest it. Some toads are much more toxic than others ... and I assume by Hugo's reaction they are quite toxic in this area.

6/24/2012
They are called Sapos here and they eat insects (mostly cockroaches) so now I leave them alone

Man, I got bugs

As if the leaf cutting ants weren't bad enough - now I have these, whatever they are. They're in the avocado tree. Not all the way up (big tree) but on the trunk about head high. With the 1000 or so tightly grouped it looks like a nest just burst - or do they swarm and stick together ?? Not sure they are old enough to fly but look like winged creatures to me. They had started eating leaves on a small branch so I sprayed them.

BTW ... the ant powder I've been using on the leaf cutting ants works but without bodies I can't tell if it's just chasing them away. While I was in Melaque for a week my house keeper ran into another nest and poured a 1/4 bottle of Cloro (bleach) down the hole. Hundreds of bodies lying around when I came back

I'm tempted to call them aphids .... but this is Mexico

So .... they are stink bugs.  Not much to worry about.  They do eat fruit but I have no fruit now.  They also may stink but I didn't smell anything. Neighbors recognized them because they've had them