Hello,
This is a new house/pool to me (last fall) and I have some problems with staining on the steps and shallow end floor and a separate crud along the water line. I feel like both are slowly getting worse over time. I'm guessing the stains on the steps are from iron and the water line is calcium buildup. The pictures look worse than they are, and the water has always been a clean, crystal-clear blue. I have not used any cleaning chemicals or scraper tools on either area yet, but have ordered up some vitamin C tablets to try as other posts from TFP have shown positive results. Our last pool was plaster and tile so the water line was maintained with pumice stones, and I know we can't use that on fiberglass.
I should have all of my "stats" in my signature but here is some of the vital information...we are in Pahrump, NV (outside of Las Vegas but think a lot less concrete and a lot more desert). I am on hard well water (measured around 250 ppm CH). It is a 20,500 gallon fiberglass salt pool with all Pentair equipment that previously had a problem with the IC20 cell. We used chlorine tablets (I know junk) for the last 8 months or so for sanitation, and I probably...OK definitely, did not properly maintain the pH. I recently repaired the cell (massive calcium buildup in the metal plates), discontinued the use of tablets, stopped believing the pool store hype, and picked up a proper test kit...I have seen the TFP philosophy light. Currently, my numbers are all jacked up and I plan on doing a water exchange at the end of this season to get back in check. I would like to work on the staining now, unless it is recommended to do so when the water level is lower.
I should have my Pool Math App linked to the forum but here are the stats from my test kit (performed yesterday):
FC 8.0
CC 0
pH 7.7
TA 200
CH 625
CYA no idea, its way off the chart. I basically only have 3/8 inch of solution in the vial and the dot is not visible, see attached picture.
Pool store test says Stabilizer is 196.
Salt 5400
Temp 84
Pool math shows CSI 0.3
The pool store test numbers are not far off from what I measured other than alkalinity. They have TA at 150 and an adjusted alkalinity of 91. They show 0 for Iron and 0 for copper. I plan on following up with them today to see if they are actually testing for those of if the computer just put in the zeros as place holders.
I know the salt level is crazy...it's from when the cell had problems and was reporting low and very low salt indications to the panel and we added a few bags over the off season. I don't have a heater to worry about. I'm also guessing that the high CYA may have been from me using tablets for so long.
Again, I know a water exchange is in my future but would like to hear your thoughts on the staining and water line issues.
Thanks for your help,
John
This is a new house/pool to me (last fall) and I have some problems with staining on the steps and shallow end floor and a separate crud along the water line. I feel like both are slowly getting worse over time. I'm guessing the stains on the steps are from iron and the water line is calcium buildup. The pictures look worse than they are, and the water has always been a clean, crystal-clear blue. I have not used any cleaning chemicals or scraper tools on either area yet, but have ordered up some vitamin C tablets to try as other posts from TFP have shown positive results. Our last pool was plaster and tile so the water line was maintained with pumice stones, and I know we can't use that on fiberglass.
I should have all of my "stats" in my signature but here is some of the vital information...we are in Pahrump, NV (outside of Las Vegas but think a lot less concrete and a lot more desert). I am on hard well water (measured around 250 ppm CH). It is a 20,500 gallon fiberglass salt pool with all Pentair equipment that previously had a problem with the IC20 cell. We used chlorine tablets (I know junk) for the last 8 months or so for sanitation, and I probably...OK definitely, did not properly maintain the pH. I recently repaired the cell (massive calcium buildup in the metal plates), discontinued the use of tablets, stopped believing the pool store hype, and picked up a proper test kit...I have seen the TFP philosophy light. Currently, my numbers are all jacked up and I plan on doing a water exchange at the end of this season to get back in check. I would like to work on the staining now, unless it is recommended to do so when the water level is lower.
I should have my Pool Math App linked to the forum but here are the stats from my test kit (performed yesterday):
FC 8.0
CC 0
pH 7.7
TA 200
CH 625
CYA no idea, its way off the chart. I basically only have 3/8 inch of solution in the vial and the dot is not visible, see attached picture.
Pool store test says Stabilizer is 196.
Salt 5400
Temp 84
Pool math shows CSI 0.3
The pool store test numbers are not far off from what I measured other than alkalinity. They have TA at 150 and an adjusted alkalinity of 91. They show 0 for Iron and 0 for copper. I plan on following up with them today to see if they are actually testing for those of if the computer just put in the zeros as place holders.
I know the salt level is crazy...it's from when the cell had problems and was reporting low and very low salt indications to the panel and we added a few bags over the off season. I don't have a heater to worry about. I'm also guessing that the high CYA may have been from me using tablets for so long.
Again, I know a water exchange is in my future but would like to hear your thoughts on the staining and water line issues.
Thanks for your help,
John
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