Checking Stains

[PoolStudent]

I have in hand now a tricolor tablet and some vitamin C to see what my stains are composed of. I have owned the pool for 2 months now and this forum has been nothing short of amazing. There were some stains to begin with, but have gotten worse recently. I haven't kept my pH as low as I should have and I am in the process of SLAMing at the moment. I have brushed this stains on a daily basis and it has not gotten any better.

1. Do I need to wait until the SLAM is over to do the stain test correctly?
2. Do I put the tricolor tablet in a sock and rub it on the stain? How long do I rub for?
3. Do I put the vitamin C tablet in a sock and rub it on the stain? How long do I rub for?

Am I looking for any color change, texture change, etc.?

 

[zea3]

You can rub either tablet on the stain for about a minute. Look for the color to lighten. Wait until the slam is complete, since your pH will be higher during a slam. You don't have to use a sock as long as you are holding the tablet and not just placing it on the stain and walking away.

 

[PoolStudent]

I did have some success removing the stains with the absorbic acid. The stains are Orange yellowish on plaster. Is this normal to occur after a slam? Should I do an absorbic acid treatment in the near future?

 

[Swampwoman]

^those results would suggest to me that you have iron in your water that "oxidized" during the slam. An AA treatment would or should remove the stains.

Since taking over the pool two months ago, have you added any metal sequestrant? (eg jacks magic or metal magic?) Do you fill using well water?

Jack's and metal magic are the two sequestrants recommended here. They hold the metal in suspension, and do wear off over time, so maybe you need to dose up.

If you want to wait til its cooler to do AA treatment (the pros of "cooler" mean less chance for algae to grow while the chlorine is dropped...the cons are that it takes AA longer to work at lower temps) its possible that a 2-quart treatment of metal magic may keep the stains from getting worse in the interim and possibly lighten the existing stains to some degree.

While visible staining is enough evidence to treat, it might be helpful to get an idea of how much iron you have, though the tests are notoriously hit and miss. More than .5 ppm of iron will stain if the ph gets high, if you shock, or if the sequestrant wears off.

If you're on a well, you will find it helps to use a filter on your fill hose.

Three years ago I bought a foreclosure with a swamp I rehabbed. I've struggled with metals a few seasons now. The AA treatment is very effective when you do it, but sometimes the strains come back in a few weeks if you raise the chlorine too fast, if ph rises, or it you metal levels are quite high.

This year I tried an alternate approach ( I'll post the link when I find it) that is not generally recommended here but that seems to be working...though I will say that even AA doesn't nail some of the historic stains (have a few leftovers here and there).

How bad is the staining? If you're the only one who notices it, try not to drive yourself too crazy maybe post a pic so we can see what you're dealing with.

Hope this helps!

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the link:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/75280-Switching-Sequestrate-from-EDTA-to-HEDP

 

[PoolStudent]

^those results would suggest to me that you have iron in your water that "oxidized" during the slam. An AA treatment would or should remove the stains.

Since taking over the pool two months ago, have you added any metal sequestrant? (eg jacks magic or metal magic?) Do you fill using well water?

Jack's and metal magic are the two sequestrants recommended here. They hold the metal in suspension, and do wear off over time, so maybe you need to dose up.

If you want to wait til its cooler to do AA treatment (the pros of "cooler" mean less chance for algae to grow while the chlorine is dropped...the cons are that it takes AA longer to work at lower temps) its possible that a 2-quart treatment of metal magic may keep the stains from getting worse in the interim and possibly lighten the existing stains to some degree.

While visible staining is enough evidence to treat, it might be helpful to get an idea of how much iron you have, though the tests are notoriously hit and miss. More than .5 ppm of iron will stain if the ph gets high, if you shock, or if the sequestrant wears off.

If you're on a well, you will find it helps to use a filter on your fill hose.

Three years ago I bought a foreclosure with a swamp I rehabbed. I've struggled with metals a few seasons now. The AA treatment is very effective when you do it, but sometimes the strains come back in a few weeks if you raise the chlorine too fast, if ph rises, or it you metal levels are quite high.

This year I tried an alternate approach ( I'll post the link when I find it) that is not generally recommended here but that seems to be working...though I will say that even AA doesn't nail some of the historic stains (have a few leftovers here and there).

How bad is the staining? If you're the only one who notices it, try not to drive yourself too crazy maybe post a pic so we can see what you're dealing with.

Hope this helps!

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the link:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/75280-Switching-Sequestrate-from-EDTA-to-HEDP

Thank you for the great reply.

I have not added any metal sequestrant. I do not use well water.

The stains are fairly visible, and I'd rather have spotless versus questioning if it is algae or stains.

 

[PoolStudent]

Here are some thoughts on removing the metal from my pool.

I have a Pentair pump and its waste is out the top through a garden hose attachment. Could I put the metal trap at the of the garden hose out the pump to clean the metal out the water? I could control the flow to some extent and not exceed what flow rate this product can handle even putting a flow meter in line if need be.

 

[chem geek]

You could do that if the pressure through the waste line from the Pentair pump is compatible with what the garden hose can handle (i.e. it shouldn't block the flow rate too much). You would circulate this waste water that went through the filter back into the pool. I looked at the HydroPure website and couldn't find info on flow rates through the filter. My main concern is that it wouldn't provide sufficient flow that your pump expects so might get out of the range for your pump or could create pressure that damages the hose or the MetalTrap filter. You might contact HydroPure to ask them about the flow rate through their filter and if running the filter through the waste line would work without damage.