Metal Magic in lower temps

[JoanC]

Hi everybody,
For those who may need to know if Metal Magic will work below the recommended temp of 70 degrees, yes it will work with air temp of 58.
Sorry I don't have thermometer for pool. But, the water is really cold!

This is my idiot pool owner story of late

Temps here in NW GA have fluctuated a great deal with highs up to 70 a few days and lows to 40 at night. Lots of wind and rain recently.
We don't close pool for the winter, leave the pump on 24/7 and fight the leaves for a short period which we're in now.
Severe rain and wind a few days ago so I shut the pump off for a couple of days deciding to just let leaves sink and scoop out later.

Later came today because water getting cloudy and freeze warning tomorrow night.
I spent about an hour this morning scooping leaves and brushing the pool. Getting wet with cold water in high forty temps isn't fun but better than tomorrow when lower.
In my brilliant wisdom I decided to throw in not 1, but 3 jugs of 8.25% bleach to help with the cloudiness of the water that was present before my leaf removal.
I thought with some of the warmer temps and water not moving I might be getting an algae bloom.

It took less than 15 minutes for my cloudy blue pool to become emerald green.
Not until I came looking on the forum for solutions did I even remember that I have a SPECIAL NEEDS POOL!
I have had stain problems due to iron for a couple of years now but today, never once thought about sending my CL level too high and bringing the metal out with this addition.

I had been so careful all summer with my Ph and Cl levels. Careful to never go above Cl of 2.5.
Luckily after going to TFP (The Holy Grail of pool care) I realized I had done this to myself and figured out how to fix it.

Numbers weren't horrible.

Ph (7.5) - Cl (3.5) CC (0.5) I then looked up directions on Metal Magic (of which I had a several bottles) to sequester the iron.
By this time it was noon and temp was about 58 degrees. According to a post on the forum, ideal temp for Metal Magic needs to be 70 or above.
My chemistry would work okay but temp might not. I decided to try 2 bottles of the Metal Magic instead of the recommended 3 for my size pool just to see if it would make a difference.
I didn't want to waste the 3rd bottle if it wasn't going to work. Within 30 minutes the water was a nice aqua blue. After 2 hours it was a beautiful blue!
Still some cloudiness but no green whatsoever and absolutely no stain on my liner.


The amount of Bleach I added should have raised the Cl higher. About 8.5 if I remember correctly. That I don't understand. I tested twice to be sure. I didn't test CYA. Too little CYA could have contributed to quick loss of Cl but I wouldn't think over a 3-4 hour period. It was sunny today but definitely not hot. Who knows? I'm just thankful it has turned out for the good.
Hopefully my ignorance and resulting experience will help someone else.

Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season and a Trouble Free Pool!

Joan

 

[Swampwoman]

Hi Joan. Thanks for sharing the lower temp efficacy of metal magic. My "special needs pool" is closed for the season but its always good to know the real world limitations or lack thereof with sequestrants

Are you on well? Eg. Is that the source of your iron?

If so, I'm just throwing this out there as a thought...if you'd like to dramtically reduce your iron load to get the metal magic monkey off your back, it is possible to plumb a whole-house softener to an exterior spigot for top up/refill. Works best with a dual tank system so that you don't tap out capacity, in my experience. Since you're vinyl and don't really need calcium from the water, softened water would be pretty hassle free for you.

My formerly-staining "special needs" pool is now down to under .5 ppm iron after a few seasons of dilution this way, and while I still use metal magic (softener will not get ALL the iron if a well is up around 2 ppm or more) I use it much less and haven't had to deal with staining at all this season. Way more "trouble free" just thought I'd throw that out there!

 

[JoanC]

Thank you for the iron/staining tip Swampwoman.
Hopefully it will help someone else as I am not on well water.
I am on county/public water which tested with trace to no metals multiple times.


The only possible sources of my iron are either blow in of GA red clay over the years or my yard guy spraying iron on the grass year before last.
I have seen some clay dust on steps at times. This is from animals coming to drink from pool with dirt on their feet I do believe.
No stopping this or wind blowing dust in. I'm not sure how much this affects the iron content.
I have no idea what the piping is underground but all that connects to the filter and pump is PVC.
I have told the yard service to never use iron on our lawn again so that has been stopped.

Several partial drains and refills should help with dilution if indeed the fill water has no iron in it. This was my plan last summer and got done only once.
Hopefully next summer my memory will be better and the plan with be enforced!

Thank you again for trying to help me! That's exactly why I posted my experience, to help someone else.

Let me reiterate: Metal Magic worked for me with air temp of 58 degrees! ( water was cold) Recommendation somewhere on the forum was at least 70 degrees.
Checked on Pool Geek and Pro Team and found :For best results use in early afternoon or evening with water temperature above 60 degrees, and run pump for 24 hours.
2 bottles worked for right at 30,000 gallons. Recommended is 3 bottles.

You're all great!