Red and Greenish yellow stains in pool

[Porthos]

Hello everyone,

I've been trying to get rid of these stains from my pool for quite some time now and am unable to get rid of them! Its extremely frustrating.

As background, I have tried regular green algae algaecide, silver based algaecide and super chlorinating the pool with liquid chlorine. These stains will not budge!

The only way i've been able to slightly get rid of one of the stains is by laying a trichlor puck right over it over night. However the stains or algae has fanned out from the steps to lightly cover 1/4 of the pool bottom.

Brushing does not seem to have any effect on it, even taking my nail and trying to scrape it off didnt do much of anything.

I am assuming this is what is considered "Pink Algae" however, I see people refering to it as Pink slim and it does not feel slimy at all.

Unfortunately right now I do not have a test kit to post any numbers up, however if needed I'll local pool supply place to give me the numbers.

This is super frustrating and ugly, any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[duraleigh]

Yep, we'll need a complete set of test results to get started. Post those up and you'll get lots of help.

 

[PSW]

Based on the picture, this looks more likely to be a metal stain. NaturalChemistry recommended the following test:

Take a vitamin c tablet and apply onto stained area. If the stain is removed or lightened by the vitamin c tablet then StainFree should work

EDIT: (we prefer you not link to off site documents that promote specific products.)-Lershac

The full doc has the rest of the steps they recommend for treating the stains, and preventing recurrence.

There are a few different approaches to solving it, but identifying the type of problem is an excellent starting point.

 

[Porthos]

Thanks for the reply, I tried rubbing a vitamin C tab into the stain and it did not make any noticeable change.

I'll try to get some numbers and post them up.

 

[Porthos]

Well I have the test kit on order, once I get it in I will post up the numbers.

Those stains really are a heck of a bother....is it somewhat of a clue that the only way ive been able to loosen it up is by laying a tri-chlor puck right over it?

 

[Melt In The Sun]

You said in your first post that putting a trichlor puck on it helped, so it's organic and not a metal stain. That means that chlorine will eventually remove it (good news!). Test results are still needed, but I expect you'll need to shock your pool (see the instructions in Pool School).
pool-school/shocking_your_pool

 

[Porthos]

Hi Everyone,

So I got these numbers back from Pinch a Penny....

Total Chlorine: 4.0 ppm
Free Chlorine: 4.0 ppm
Combined Chlorine: 0.0 ppm
ph: 7.6
Total Alkalinity: 125 ppm
Calcium Hardness: 175 ppm
Stabilizer: 20 ppm
Dissolved Solids: 2200 ppm

Gotta say thanks for everyone's help in advance! This is a great site!

 

[Lershac]

Ya know that doesn't look like algae, but mor like something that was dropped on the pool and stained it. I wonder what?

 

[Porthos]

Wish I knew what it was....why would it only disappear with a puck on top of it?

Is there any way to know for sure whether its algae or something else?

 

[Porthos]

Also, the picture I posted is only a picture of one of the spots on the step of the pool.

On the actual floor of the pool, the stains are there just not as dark as the one in the picture, on the floor it kind of looks like whatever it is fanned out. I'll try to get a broader picture tomorrow during daylight.

 

[ProPoolGuy]

If your ready to throw in the towel on products... you could have the pool drained and acid washed.

Btw, did you move into this house with this problem? or did it develop over time?

 

[Richard320]

I had a stain that looked similar, but a different color. We had a block wall built to replace the old wooden fence. Some dirt got in the pool, and some pieces of something iron. I had some rust spots after I vacuumed up everything.

So, I put a handful of Vitamin C tablets in a nylon along with a smooth river rock, tied a string to it, and got it sitting on top of a spot in the deep end. I left it there overnight. The next day, the dark spot was gone, replaced by a dispersed lighter stain. I put more Vitamin C in and left it again, and it pretty much disappeared.

I think you have some kind of metal stain. The puck is acidic, so it dissolves it into suspension.

 

[Porthos]

Hey guys been away for a few days, and kind of been running low on funds, so have not really been able to work on the stains.

I tried the Vitamin C but that did nothing,didnt even lighten up the stain.

There were no stains when I bought the house, these just happened recently probably around New Years.

Now as I write this, I wonder if fireworks had anything to do with it.

Either way this weekend I plan on getting the pool up to shock levels and work on leaving it at that level the whole weekend. See if that takes care of anything.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Since a trichlor tab on the stain lightened it, it's organic and keeping the FC at shock level for your CYA should definitely make a difference.

 

[ROB N]

fireworks will leave a stain on plaster. After new years I fished a few out of our pool that were on the bottom and they did leave stains. they would not scrub off, over time they did dissapear with proper levels of fc. Have you tried MA? You could pour some MA in the affected area and see if that would help to etch it away. Do not let the MA sit there too long though as not to damage the plaster. I had a few stains that were removed by a few applications like this when I needed to add acid to the pool.