Ascorbic Treatment to rid Pool of metal stains

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Ok- Wednesday afternoon and when I check the pool--- I can't see the main drain in 6' of water!!! What happened? I tried raising the TA before turning on the chlorine generator as recommended so there hasn't been any chlorine in the pool since the AA treatment, only Polyquat 60. Checked the PH = 7.4 TA = 60 chlorine =0. Added the remainder of the Polyquat 60 ~20oz.
Also added 1 gallon of bleach 6% and left the pump/filter to run 24/7 as recommended. I did turn the chlorine generator back on at ~20% setting. Could this be a major algae bloom? I've never had anything like this before... The pool looks cloudy not green or yellow, but whiteish in color.

Any suggesgtions on what to do next?
 
It is very common for the water to turn cloudy after an AA treatment. The metals in the water react with the sequestrant and can cause cloudiness. Of course it is also possible for it to be algae, but that wouldn't normally be white.
 
It does not seem to be working for me. I started two days ago with FC at 0. I incrementally added AA to a total of 3 lbs. PH now is 6.8. Stains are not lifting. Here is the strange thing to me. Last year mid-season I did the vitamin C test and it worked great. I can still clearly see the white spots from last years test. This morning I did the vitamin C test, and it is not doing anything. I'm not sure what to think of this. Any suggestions would be great. Right now I will just keep waiting, but I don't see a reason to buy and add more AA if the vitamin C is not removing the stain. Thanks again.
 
Correct. If vitamin C is not working, then AA won't work. This can happen with copper stains. Copper can be transformed between a couple of different charge levels, some of which can be removed with AA and others can't.
 
Thanks. So if it did work last year, which it did (and it is still white in those spots). Should I just say forget it for now and vitamin c test throughout the season? If it works again in the future, then try the AA treatment?
 

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Well I've just done "my version" of this. As I mentioned earlier, I have tons of Oxalic acid so I popped some in a sock and started rubbing a stain on the concrete with it and it started to disappear. I don't have access to sequestering agents so I decided to use my normal method of shocking to oxidise out the iron, and then flocculating and vacuum to waste. I used a fair bit of Oxalic acid and the water has gone white and opaque and my pH has dropped to 7.0. I did make one mistake though (stupidly I didn't come back and re-read this post) in that I left my FC at 8 (cya is 45), so I'm imagining the Chlorine and Oxalic acid are eating each other up right now. The stains seem to be going though so hopefully I can add some flocculant and see my oxidised metals drop to the floor as usual.

Further discussion of solarboy 's pool and oxalic acid have been moved to this topic. JasonLion
 
Here's a quick tip for those who can't wait for to order of AA. Go to your supermarket or hardware store and go to the canning section, (you know, mason jars and stuff). You will find a product called Fruit-Fresh. It is put out by Ball. It is Ascorbic Acid and Citric Acid. It comes in a 5 oz. container and is about $3. It is quick and easy to get and works like a charm.
 
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Just a quick question - does the temperature of the water have any effect on doing an AA treatment?

Just asking because I'm thinking of doing an AA again this fall when the pool is not used so much and the threat of algae will be lower due to the colder air/water temp when the chlorine is reduced to 0.

Thanks.
 
I began my treatment today to remove a mild beige ring around my fiberglass pool about a foot below the waterline. The ring disappeared very quickly after putting in the AA. I put in Metal Magic after about an hour of circulation. In the morning I will check my TA and PH and begin to raise as needed.

My question is regarding bringing the FC back up. The instructions indicate to slowly raise the FC. What is considered slowly? Should I add a few cups at a time which would normally raise my FC 1-2ppm or should I add more? How often should I be adding additional quantities?

Thanks.
 
Help!!! We have a 27' round above ground pool, this year we have noticed stains on the bottom of the pool where the bottom has small depressions. (The pool is 10 years old).

I have tried all the tests and I think they are metal stains, we fill the pool from our well. I just had the water tested and these are my results:

Temp: 80 degrees
TDS: 600
CYA: 70
PH: 7.8
Total Alk: 287
Hardness: 353

My local pool guy just wanted me to shock the pool and add muriatic acid. He thought they were calcium stains. He also sold me scale inhibitor (everything can be returned).

I want to do the AA treatment from this site, but don't know where my levels should be. I know the PH is high, and the Chlorine is at 0, but where do aI go from here?
 
I am having a tough season with evaporation and/or pool water loss so I need to keep filling pool. There a lot metals in long island water so my water is not as crystal as I like (and a few minor stains). Does anyone recommend Jacks Purple or something cheaper???
...I have a SWG.
 
I see it's recommended to not shock the pool for ~2 weeks. I assume this is for chlorine.

Would it be OK to use the non chlorine product (Monopersulfate?) or will this also cause the stains to redeposit?

Thanks.
 
Well, I'll offer a differing opinion on this. The warning against shocking, I believe, is primarily due to the rise in pH when adding a lot of a hypochlorite source of chlorine. The higher pH can precipitate metals by forming metal oxides-hydroxides which can stain. It is also true that the higher chlorine level can oxidize ferrous to ferric, but that occurs at lower levels as well and occurs rather quickly so I believe it is the high pH that is primarily being avoided. So using non-chlorine shock, MPS, should not cause staining since MPS is acidic. However, there shouldn't be a need to shock the pool if one maintains proper normal chlorine levels (and during the AA treatment one can use Polyquat to inhibit algae growth).
 

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