Iron Saga continued...

Neworldjef · Jun 19, 2022

Hi again,

Quick overview of history - I am totally on top of my pool chemistry - especially since TFP! Iron stains end of last season before closing - waited for opening this season for low chlorine (zero) and cool temps // first AA was great and immediate and I went back up too quickly for chlorine and PH // did AA again and went back slowly and looked really good for about 1.5-2 weeks even with regular sequestrant // iron stains crept back - not as bad as before but unsightly // FC 2-3 and PH 7.4

I am having a professional lab test my municipal water to double-check that source this week. There has been work on municipal pipes in my neighborhood and town water guy thinks that could have released a one-time bit of iron from old pipes. I am lowest point in my neighborhood. My close-by neighbors with pools have had no issue (I am only one with vinyl liner if that makes a difference)
I have a SWG since May 2016 and never replaced the sacrificial zinc anode based on what I read here at TFP. One ladder making contact with water in the deep end of pool - some rust over the years and a couple of years ago we used steel wool to clean it all off - like new and keep using it. Some light rust on it now.
Newer heater - 4 full seasons of use - cupro nickel exchanger (Google tells me that contains iron) and I am obsessive about proper chemistry

I am considering doing a change of all water if professional lab says no iron in municipal water. Especially since it is about time for new liner. Does anyone think any of this is related to not changing anode? Besides ladder in pool, what other metals would have contact with water? Any metal supports behind vinyl liner? Could that be it? FYI - I have a light in deep end with no visible signs of degrading/rust.

I am leaning toward new liner and complete fresh water - maybe even taking ladder out of deep end. Thanks for thoughts on any of this. 19 years of sparkling, perfect water - this is a huge frustration.

kimkats · Jun 19, 2022

sigh on the iron............I would be upset also! There was a couple of threads where they knew their well water had iron in it. What they did was make a "iron" filter using a 5gal bucket and polyfill like you put in pillows. Here is a good link to some of the ideas:

Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I hope this helps!

Kim :kim:

Mdragger88 · Jun 19, 2022

If u don’t get the bulk of the iron out of the water it will continue to make new stains. Sequestrants only last so long & it gets expensive. Municipalities do not have to list iron as it’s not considered a contaminant. Even after draining & refilling u could be in the same situation again.
After getting the bulk out you can treat the stains left behind w/ aa.
Before I went to the expense & risk of draining I would try the polyfill solution as guided in your other thread & as kim suggested above

If you’ve got iron in your fill water, use Polyfill to remove it

EDIT: Found out this method only works if your iron is oxidized already, meaning it’s got a dull or bright green tint to the water, or a nasty brown tint. If you know you have iron in your fill water, but it isn’t oxidized yet, bring your pool to shock level and it’ll turn the telltale green...

www.google.com

Iron persists! Time for water change...

Hi All - thanks for all the help and suggestions recently. I did the AA treatment twice (likely went too quickly on raising chlorine first time). Second time was very patient and still light staining is back - much better than before but returning none the less. I'm considering changing all...

www.troublefreepool.com

Maintaining only minimum fc for your cya level or below puts u at risk for algae FC/CYA Levels

Neworldjef · Jun 20, 2022

kimkats said:
sigh on the iron............I would be upset also! There was a couple of threads where they knew their well water had iron in it. What they did was make a "iron" filter using a 5gal bucket and polyfill like you put in pillows. Here is a good link to some of the ideas:

Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I hope this helps!

Kim

Thanks Kim. Not well water...

Neworldjef · Jun 20, 2022

Mdragger88 said:
If u don’t get the bulk of the iron out of the water it will continue to make new stains. Sequestrants only last so long & it gets expensive. Municipalities do not have to list iron as it’s not considered a contaminant. Even after draining & refilling u could be in the same situation again.
After getting the bulk out you can treat the stains left behind w/ aa.
Before I went to the expense & risk of draining I would try the polyfill solution as guided in your other thread & as kim suggested above

If you’ve got iron in your fill water, use Polyfill to remove it

EDIT: Found out this method only works if your iron is oxidized already, meaning it’s got a dull or bright green tint to the water, or a nasty brown tint. If you know you have iron in your fill water, but it isn’t oxidized yet, bring your pool to shock level and it’ll turn the telltale green...

www.google.com

Iron persists! Time for water change...

Hi All - thanks for all the help and suggestions recently. I did the AA treatment twice (likely went too quickly on raising chlorine first time). Second time was very patient and still light staining is back - much better than before but returning none the less. I'm considering changing all...

www.troublefreepool.com

Maintaining only minimum fc for your cya level or below puts u at risk for algae FC/CYA Levels

My municipality does test for and list iron. I'm also having a professional lab come out this week to double check for all metals in municipal water. No algae so far and water sparkles with sequestrant but expensive and does not last long. Since it is time for a new liner, might do it this fall or next spring with all new fill water (as long as lab shows no metals in municipal fill water).

Mdragger88 · Jun 20, 2022

The only real risk with the polyfill method is that u can get stains- but u can treat them afterwards & as u said, u intend to replace your liner anyway.
Its a cheap & easy process. Just takes slam level fc & some filtering time.