Metals in pool

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Save the Polyquat-60 for the next AA treatment, don't dump it in now cause it won't help at all. When ordering Jack's Purple, I found Amazon has the best overall deals if you can find a find that sells them in 2, 4, 8, or 12 packs, instead of buying the individual bottles. I think you'll be happy with the Purple Stuff overall, just remember that my amounts above are slightly stronger than the dosage recommended on the bottle, up to you if you prefer to follow the exact recommendations on the bottle.

For the future, when doing AA treatments, strongly recommend to record/track all additions of chemicals adding during/after the AA process, at least until you are 100% where you want. It can help when needing to troubleshoot and go back to remember what was added/when, etc. Just to verify, (and I can't remember) are you testing using a preferred test-kit here that we recommend at TFP? A TF-PRO kit or a Taylor kit? Staying away from the test-strips or pool store tests?
 
jesse-99 said:
Save the Polyquat-60 for the next AA treatment, don't dump it in now cause it won't help at all. When ordering Jack's Purple, I found Amazon has the best overall deals if you can find a find that sells them in 2, 4, 8, or 12 packs, instead of buying the individual bottles. I think you'll be happy with the Purple Stuff overall, just remember that my amounts above are slightly stronger than the dosage recommended on the bottle, up to you if you prefer to follow the exact recommendations on the bottle.

For the future, when doing AA treatments, strongly recommend to record/track all additions of chemicals adding during/after the AA process, at least until you are 100% where you want. It can help when needing to troubleshoot and go back to remember what was added/when, etc. Just to verify, (and I can't remember) are you testing using a preferred test-kit here that we recommend at TFP? A TF-PRO kit or a Taylor kit? Staying away from the test-strips or pool store tests?
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I use the Taylor. I’ve been using it and the trouble free pool methods since I got my pool. And, up until now, I’ve been trouble free. Lol Do you add your poluquat at a certain time. Ex. B4 sequestrant, during the sequestrant? And would you mind sharing with me your process of bringing your chlorine back up and when you start? Please.
 
Excellent.
Add the Polyquat-60 as soon as your FC gets <1 or so (IMHO). If you add it before your FC gets low, the chlorine will eat up the Polyquat-60 which you don't want. Whether you add it before/during/after the sequestrant I don't think matters much, just give time for things to mix properly in your pool.

As for adding chlorine, when and how much I think is different for everyone during the AA process (we all carry different CYA levels, and FC targets, etc.). I can tell you that for me, and this is only for me I'm stating, that after doing AA, I have never had my pool turn green afterwards right away if have enough sequestrant, and am careful about my 12.5% chlorine additions. So for me, it -might- look something like this if I added 5 or 6 pounds of AA to my pool for a treatment:

Sun @ Noon: AA treatment completed (no chlorine added, waiting 24 hours for AA to do it's miracle)
Mon @ Noon: Start targeting FC-4 (which means, 1 gallon of 12.5% chlorine -if- FC dropped back to 0), every hour by the hour, or every two hours, or every four hours)
Tue @ Noon: Continue targeting FC-4 (which means, 1 gallon of 12.5% chlorine, -if- FC dropped back to 0), every hour by the hour, or every two hours, or every four hours)
Wed @ Noon: Start targeting FC-6 (rinse and repeat until FC holds and stabilizes)
etc...

That's just an example ONLY. Every formula for every pool will be different because of your CYA, FC target, and your FREQUENCY of how often you check/add chlorine and if you're using 10.0% or 12.5%. I also add some small maintenance dosing of the sequetrant each day as well, just as an extra precaution.

That being said, I have also done a AA "Speed Run" where I went extra heavy of the AA, didn't use Polyquat-60 at all, and within 3 hours starting dosing Chlorine back into the Pool (instead of waiting the 24 hours) -- I made a post about it a week or so ago which you can search for but I would never recommend doing that kind of AA "Speed Run" unless you were really experienced AND could dedicate an entire day or two to watching your pool and taking tests BY THE HOUR and chemical additions BY THE HOUR. (I was mostly just curious about the possibility of success with a very short 24 hour window to start/finish an AA treatment, instead of dragging the AA process out for days and days and days)
 
Pennypat said:
I use the Taylor. I’ve been using it and the trouble free pool methods since I got my pool. And, up until now, I’ve been trouble free. Lol Do you add your poluquat at a certain time. Ex. B4 sequestrant, during the sequestrant? And would you mind sharing with me your process of bringing your chlorine back up and when you start? Please.
Click to expand...
Which "Taylor"? Add it to your signature.
As well, be more specific with your pool and equipment:
- gallons instead of dimensions
- manufacturers and model numbers for all equipment
 
jesse-99 said:
Excellent.
Add the Polyquat-60 as soon as your FC gets <1 or so (IMHO). If you add it before your FC gets low, the chlorine will eat up the Polyquat-60 which you don't want. Whether you add it before/during/after the sequestrant I don't think matters much, just give time for things to mix properly in your pool.

As for adding chlorine, when and how much I think is different for everyone during the AA process (we all carry different CYA levels, and FC targets, etc.). I can tell you that for me, and this is only for me I'm stating, that after doing AA, I have never had my pool turn green afterwards right away if have enough sequestrant, and am careful about my 12.5% chlorine additions. So for me, it -might- look something like this if I added 5 or 6 pounds of AA to my pool for a treatment:

Sun @ Noon: AA treatment completed (no chlorine added, waiting 24 hours for AA to do it's miracle)
Mon @ Noon: Start targeting FC-4 (which means, 1 gallon of 12.5% chlorine -if- FC dropped back to 0), every hour by the hour, or every two hours, or every four hours)
Tue @ Noon: Continue targeting FC-4 (which means, 1 gallon of 12.5% chlorine, -if- FC dropped back to 0), every hour by the hour, or every two hours, or every four hours)
Wed @ Noon: Start targeting FC-6 (rinse and repeat until FC holds and stabilizes)
etc...

That's just an example ONLY. Every formula for every pool will be different because of your CYA, FC target, and your FREQUENCY of how often you check/add chlorine and if you're using 10.0% or 12.5%. I also add some small maintenance dosing of the sequetrant each day as well, just as an extra precaution.

That being said, I have also done a AA "Speed Run" where I went extra heavy of the AA, didn't use Polyquat-60 at all, and within 3 hours starting dosing Chlorine back into the Pool (instead of waiting the 24 hours) -- I made a post about it a week or so ago which you can search for but I would never recommend doing that kind of AA "Speed Run" unless you were really experienced AND could dedicate an entire day or two to watching your pool and taking tests BY THE HOUR and chemical additions BY THE HOUR. (I was mostly just curious about the possibility of success with a very short 24 hour window to start/finish an AA treatment, instead of dragging the AA process out for days and days and days)
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What brand of polyquat-60 do you use?
 
jesse-99 said:
I think there is only one brand? (I could be wrong on that) but ProTeam is the one I use.
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There are some others that have generic names with the number 60. I bought the whole culator kit before I did the last AA treatment and I haven’t opened it yet. Have you used any of their products? I’ve already ordered the products you suggested. And, some additional AA. They claim their sequestrant is good for a month. I’m thinking about returning it. (After my next attempt, of course, in case I don’t succeed.)
 

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I've used CuLator 1.0's (I have 1 in each of my skimmers) and also have (3) CuLator 4.0's (in 3 of my 6 pumps). They do turn yellow (for iron) though I'm not sure how effective they really are quite yet.. I only recently started using them. I tried their Sequestrant around a month or so ago and shortly after switching to it (I was -trying- to save money using theirs instead of Jack's) my pool turned green from metal and started staining, so I stopped using it. Full disclaimer, I may not have been using enough, and IIRC my FC was pretty high around that time, so I can't point a finger at their sequestrant causing the problem for certainty, and it might have just been coincidental, I'm not sure... but regardless, I've decided to stick with Jack's sequestrants instead. I remember speaking with David over at CuLator as well (very helpful and willing to listen) and he also claimed their sequestrant was good for a month IIRC, but like I said, my green pool color returning shortly after trying their sequetrant MAY have been coincidental, I dunno, I honestly just feel safer with Jack's, even though it's more expensive.?

If there are other Polyquat-60's out there, I would stick with ProTeam as the manufacturer. Others can chime in with their expereinces using other types of Polyquat-60 but I -tihnk- ProTeam's is the brand preferred here?
 
I’m going to use all the things you recommended since you’ve been successful with them. I’m going to keep meticulous notes this time and I’m planning for success. 😜 Thank you for your help. It’s been refreshing. I’m going to take before and after pics and I’ll update the post.
 
I've been successful, but I've also made mistakes too, and still continue to sometimes. It's a continual learning process. The good news is, lots of helpful folks here at TFP and everyone is willing to share their experiences and offer help. Best of luck to you as you continue the fight!
 
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proavia said:
Which "Taylor"? Add it to your signature.
As well, be more specific with your pool and equipment:
- gallons instead of dimensions
- manufacturers and model numbers for all equipment
Click to expand...
How do you add all that to your signature? It’s been a long time since I did that. I’ve slept a lot since then. Lol
 
Pennypat said:
What brand of polyquat-60 do you use?
Click to expand...
I actually used my CUlater kit on Friday morning. All of my polyquat and purple stuff was supposed to be here on Friday. My chlorine was only about 1-2 ppm and my ph was 7.6. So, I wanted to go ahead with the AA treatment while I had 3 days in a row off. It was only about 1 lb of AA and about a lb of some sort of citric acid formula for copper stains. I used their sequestrant too. Side note: I’ve had a couple of conversations with David too. He’s in Hawaii right now. Bahaha! I turned my chlorination off and the next day their was still some staining. So, I put a bottle of vitamin c tablets in the skimmer. And some MA to get my ph down some. Boo yah! My polyquat came Friday afternoon and I added it. I drove across town to a pool store to buy some purple stuff because my shipment was delayed 😪. They told me on the phone that they had a bunch. They had ☝️ one. So, I added that and put a second 4.0 CUlater in my skimmer basket. I’ve talked It looks great right now. I want to jump in it. But, this is where things go wrong 😑. My purple stuff is coming today and I’m hoping it’s early. I’m going to add a couple more bottles. And, try to start raising my chlorine. I’m a little nervous. Do you turn your chlorinator back up when you’re raising your chlorine?? I usually keep mine on about 50% all the time.
 
Pennypat said:
I actually used my CUlater kit on Friday morning. All of my polyquat and purple stuff was supposed to be here on Friday. My chlorine was only about 1-2 ppm and my ph was 7.6. So, I wanted to go ahead with the AA treatment while I had 3 days in a row off. It was only about 1 lb of AA and about a lb of some sort of citric acid formula for copper stains. I used their sequestrant too. Side note: I’ve had a couple of conversations with David too. He’s in Hawaii right now. Bahaha! I turned my chlorination off and the next day their was still some staining. So, I put a bottle of vitamin c tablets in the skimmer. And some MA to get my ph down some. Boo yah! My polyquat came Friday afternoon and I added it. I drove across town to a pool store to buy some purple stuff because my shipment was delayed 😪. They told me on the phone that they had a bunch. They had ☝️ one. So, I added that and put a second 4.0 CUlater in my skimmer basket. I’ve talked It looks great right now. I want to jump in it. But, this is where things go wrong 😑. My purple stuff is coming today and I’m hoping it’s early. I’m going to add a couple more bottles. And, try to start raising my chlorine. I’m a little nervous. Do you turn your chlorinator back up when you’re raising your chlorine?? I usually keep mine on about 50% all the time.
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My numbers:

Salt 3400
CYA 60
FC 0
PH 7.3
TA 60
 
Can you clarify, the AA treatment you srarted, was it AA powder, or vitamin C tablets, or both?? How many gallons is your pool? (I forget)

Your FC was around 1-2ppm when you start the treatment, correct?

Please keep track of the exact amount of what you add, how much Polyquat60, purple stuff, AA powder, Citric acid powder etc. Be diligent in logging that stuff just in case...

If you added Polyquat60, you can wait a good 24 hours before you start trying to raise FC (via liquid chlorine) las that Polyquat60 should help prevent the onset of any algae. And I wouldn't add any chlorine until you make sure you get your proper dosage of Jacks Purple in the pool (I always add more than necessary cause there's no issue with adding too much sequestrant).
 
Also keep in mind , adding CuLators is great, but they only work if you keep your metals in solutions (sequestered) and it can take 3 weeks or so of using them before they pull out the metals completely, depending on how much you have.. so don't expect that just because you used them for 4 days that all the metals will come be out, that's not going to happen and that's not how they work. Within a couple days, and within the first week, you should notice that the white bags themselves turn color inside when you hold them up to the sky or sun, and if they're pulling out iron, the bags will turn a yellow hue.

Also keep in mind that adding chlorine will break down the sequestrant over time so you need to keep up with maintenance dosing for your sequestrants. HTH.
 
I have everything written down. I started on Thursday night after work. My FC was zero by morning. It was then that added the poly quat. All total, I’ve added the periodic products sequestrant (it was all I had) and 3 purple quarts. The last 2 purple quarts I added a few minutes ago. So, technically it’s had 3 days of adding sequestrant. So, I’m going to add some MA and lower my PH and start adding chlorine and testing every hour. I’m going to shoot for chlorine of 4 ppm. How fast should I try to raise it each hour?? I’m thinking 1 ppm.
 
Okay, you definitely have a lot of Purple stuff in, I wouldn't add any more for right now. You can do maintenance dosing on the Purple stuff weekly (if it were me with your pool size I'd add about 28 oz per week roughly, which is almost a full bottle but not quite), -OR- you can do maintenance dosing by adding like 4oz per day (or 8oz every other day, etc.) over this first week until your AA treatment is completed, and then resume maintenance dosing on a weekly basis thereafter. (the reason I like to add "smaller" maintennace dosing every day or every other day in that first week from an AA treatment is because you are manually adding a lot more chlorine to the water during the first couple days as the AA neutralizes the chlorine and vice versa. (hope that makes sense?)

I would aim for the very low end of your FC "Target" (based on your CYA!), and keeping FC around that amount over the next few days. You have already added Poltquat60 in, so you don't need to panic about getting an overabundent amount of chlorine in right now. Just go cautiously with the additions. Which might mean you're adding a bit of liquid chlorine every hour or two, or every four hours.. taking measurements, etc. Just be careful NOT to overshoot the low end of your FC level because you want that iron to stay in solution with the help of the sequestrant you've added and you don't want your pool turning green again (from iron going back into suspension). The longer you keep the iron in solution with the help of that sequestrant, the longer time you give your CuLators to work and do their job.

Also, you might consider adding some Jack's Filter Fiber to your cartridge filter too. It can help catch that sequestered iron as well, much better than your standard cartridge filter will catch it because the filter fiber brings your filtering ability down from roughly 20 microns to 2-3 microns so it should catch a lot more stuff that you're used to catching (I swear, my pool is even more extra-crystal clear than ever since adding in Jack's Filter Fiber into my pool as well, but maybe that's my mind playing games with me). Expect your filter pressure to go up slighter faster with the Jack's Filter Fiber being added, so just note that as well.

Think of AA treatments and how you're attempting to remove the iron afterwards and balancing the FC with sequestrant etc. as "science" yes, but, also a bit of "art" and "feel" as well. LOL.
 

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