Source of metal staining ???

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T

Traylork

0
Jul 19, 2013
51
East Texas
1. Flagstone rock around the pool..
2. Moss rock on the water fall...
3. Irrigation system... Pump the water for irrigation from a pond behind my house. I have several sprinkler heads around the pool to irrigate grass.

I did a acid wash to clean the pool and now I am hunting the source...?..

Thanks for the help
 

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A couple of questions...
  • 1. What is the source of your pool's fill water (municipal/city water, well water, or ???)
    2. What do you use to chlorinate your pool?
    3. Do you use any algaecides?

While we are at it, :testresults:
 
1. My water source is from Texas water utilities .. Which is from a well but treated . I had the water source tested.
Cc 0
Ph 8.5
Hardness 19
Alk 148
Cya 4
Copper 0.2
Iron 0.2

2. I have a swg
3. No alaegacides have been used.

These test results are after the pool was refilled and not treated

FC .25
Tc .25
Cc 0
Ph 7.2
Alk 107
Cya 2
Copper .3
Iron .1

Hope this makes sense...
 
The copper and iron results from the treated well is still enough to cause the staining. To get rid of the existing staining, you can perform an Ascorbic Acid Treatment. This will remove the staining from the pool surface but does not remove the metals from the water.

After the AA treatment, you will need to add a sequestrant to keep the metals from redepositing as stains. Sequestrants break down over time, so you will need to occasionally add more to keep the metals in suspension. Here is an article with more information about sequestrants: Metals in the Water and Metal Stains.

One side note from your test results that is unrelated to the metal staining: You are showing a CYA of 2. What are you using to test for that?
 
CYA was tested at a local pool store.


I did a full drain acid wash last Thursday .

Since that time I have added.
5lbs of stabilizer
I put three chlorine tabs in each skimmer x 2
I also added 3 bags of shock .
I am going to put 14 bags of salt in tomorrow
I also added two 32oz bottles of jacks magic magenta
 
Traylork said:
CYA was tested at a local pool store.
Click to expand...
That explains it. Here's a recent example of why pool store testing cannot be trusted: Inconsistency in Readings

Traylork said:
I also added 3 bags of shock .
Click to expand...
What is the active ingredient in the shock you used? Most likely it is trichlor or dichlor (both add CYA), but could also be calcium hypochlorite (adds calcium) or potassium monopersulfate (a.k.a., MPS which is an oxidizer, not a sanitizer). MPS can sometimes show as CC when testing chlorine.

Note that you will need to get chlorine to drop to 0 or very close to it in order to begin the Ascorbic Acid (AA) Treatment to remove the stains from the pool surface. Therefore, I would not add any more chlorine or shock products until you have finished the AA Treatment. You will need a Polyquat 60 algaecide to help prevent algae while doing the AA treatment. Polyquat 60 is sold by several distributors. The active ingredient for a Polyquat-based algaecide is: poly [oxyethylene (dimethyliminio) ethylene (dimethyliminio) ethylene dichloride]. Look for a 60% concentration of that ingredient.
 
Before you add the chemistry to your water, you should get a little better understanding of the things you should test for and why.

Read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School....it'll help.

Then, use poolcalculator.com for your dosages. You need about triple the amount of CYA.

the pucks are OK, but not really helping that much and shouldn't be in the skimmer.

Get some chlorine in your pool ASAP with bleach until you fire up the SWG.
 
Should add chlorine if I am going to fire up the swg this morning?
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I would. SWG's are excellent at maintaining FC but not good at raising them quickly. A nice dose of bleach up to your maintenance level (from Pool School) will give your SWG the "jump start" that is normally very helpful.
 
If the acid wash removed all the staining (sorry...missed that part last night), then yes it's time to add chlorine. Since you added 3 bags of shock (although we don't yet know what kind), you may have some chlorine in the pool already. Do you have a test kit to test the current chlorine and CYA levels without having to go to the pool store? In any event, I would fire up the SWG.

Then, I would get on your computer and order one of the Recommended Test Kits. This is required equipment for properly managing a pool - no way around it. You can either order it now and begin saving money right away by avoiding problems or order it after you have spent mucho dinero clearing up problems and then realizing the need for a proper test kit.
 

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Traylork said:
As of right now I have a HTH 6 way test kit... Is mainly use it to test ph and my alkalinity.
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That is at least better than pool store testing and you can use it in the interim. However, you will still need one of the recommended kits which include the FAS-DPD chlorine test. The HTH 6-way does not have this vital test.
 
Traylork said:
This morning the ph was around 7.8 and chlorine was so yellow I couldn't tell???
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I think you are beginning to see the need for a good test kit. All of the kits we recommend include the FAS-DPD chlorine test as well as the other tests needed to properly manage your pool. The beauty of the FAS-DPD test is that it is not a color matching type of test. You add a powder to the water sample which turns the sample a magenta color. Then you add reagent drop-by-drop. When the sample turn clear, count the number of drops you added and divide by 2 to get your chlorine level. This test is much more precise than any other on the market and eliminates the guesswork of matching color shades.
 
Lets talk irrigation...

Last night I tested my ph and it was at 7.2. I try to keep it as close to 7.0 as possible. Every time I irrigate around my pool the ph jumps. I get a little over spray when the wind blows.. East Texas trees not knocking the wind down for me!! But could this be why my ph spikes ???
 
Traylork said:
Alkalinity was 120
Ph 7.5
Chlorine off the chart..
Click to expand...

Alkalinity and pH are fine. Chlorine "off the chart" indicates that it is higher than 5 ppm. How much higher?...cannot tell without a good test kit.

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I really think you are seeing the need for a good test kit. The FAS-DPD chlorine test can test chlorine levels up to about 50 ppm reliably. I wouldn't harp on it to this extent if it wasn't that important, but I will rest my case since I have said about all that can be said about it.

If there are two things a pool owner should have a solid understanding of, they are (1) The importance of a good test kit, and (2) The Chlorine CYA Chart. Yes, there are other aspects of pool water management, but a solid understanding of these two basic principles will go a long way towards preventing common pool water problems.
 
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