1. Cant Shock w/o getting Iron Stains & 2. Sodium Bicarb Making Water Milky
- Thread starter kimray
- Start date
arff
Active member
It would make sense to eliminate variables - Have you tried taking a direct sample of water from the source you are using to fill your pool (city water, and from the same tap / hose / etc. ) and running tests directly: can you see the same effect in a bucket of the stuff and can you measure the copper/Iron? (for fun take a sample to your pool stores and see what they say!)
Seems like you need to find the source, or at least confirm that your fill water definitely is not the source?
Seems like you need to find the source, or at least confirm that your fill water definitely is not the source?
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pool store test, 2 different ones say high copper and no iron, but everyone here assumes high iron because of the orangey brownish color. My city water quality report shows iron.
All i know if metal treatment gets rid of it, adding chlorine brings back the staining. over and over and over.
reggiehammond
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- Oct 4, 2020
- 2,258
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Your only option is to dump what you have - there’s no saving it. As for your testing results, the CC is not believable unless you’ve used some non-chlorine shock products.
so I currently have staining from presumed iron in the water. Do i need to treat the stains before draining? My thinking is if there is no water and the liner dries, will the stains "set"?
or is it ok to treat after its been refilled?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,231
- Pool Size
- 26000
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- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
You gotta replace that water - its who knows what soup.
U can deal with the iron precipitation issue upon refilling while doing the SLAM Process by using the polyfill & take care of any stains afterwards.
If copper is an issue- a 75% or more water replacement should take care of that. With it being an intex you can drain the whole thing safely , scrub it well & refill. U can try vitamin c on some of the stains while it’s empty & see how they do.
The slam process will be waaayy quicker.
U can deal with the iron precipitation issue upon refilling while doing the SLAM Process by using the polyfill & take care of any stains afterwards.
If copper is an issue- a 75% or more water replacement should take care of that. With it being an intex you can drain the whole thing safely , scrub it well & refill. U can try vitamin c on some of the stains while it’s empty & see how they do.
The slam process will be waaayy quicker.
arff
Active member
It would make sense to eliminate variables - Have you tried taking a direct sample of water from the source you are using to fill your pool (city water, and from the same tap / hose / etc. ) and running tests directly: can you see the same effect in a bucket of the stuff and can you measure the copper? (for fun take a sample to your pool stores and see what they say!)
Seems like you need to find the source, or at least confirm that your fill water definitely is or is not the source?
If so then you need filter(s) on the feed to your house or this problem will never go away and likely remain difficult (and expensive) to manage?
I would have to agree with ReggieH: chemistry is delicate, and adding more stuff to stuff gets out of hand. It would seem like a refill would be the best bet... if you can get clean source water!
Seems like you need to find the source, or at least confirm that your fill water definitely is or is not the source?
The Iron theory deifnitely makes more sense, but let's forget the pool for a sec: can you repeat the "adding chlorine causes staining" in a bucket of the water from the same hose somehow? Or if you have 2 buckets, one from your pool and the other from the hose; does adding chlorine do the same thing? In other words, are you absolutely sure the problem is entirely from the city water?
If so then you need filter(s) on the feed to your house or this problem will never go away and likely remain difficult (and expensive) to manage?
I would have to agree with ReggieH: chemistry is delicate, and adding more stuff to stuff gets out of hand. It would seem like a refill would be the best bet... if you can get clean source water!
wont the SLAM just bring the iron out of solution and add to my staining problem? I meant that seems to be what brings about the metal problems..
Can i drain it with current stains or will they "set" if the liner dries?
PS.. i hate this pool
rcs29
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- Jul 26, 2020
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I feel bad for you and what they did to your water. You're getting sound advice and the good thing is that your pool is safe to drain so that's a definite plus. As for the testing, once you get new water in there the tests will be more inline with how they should be and at that point it'll be very simple for you.
well I have no other sources of iron. no metal stairs, no heaters, no anything. I could try the bucket thing, but to be quite honest, my wallet and my patience are exhausted on this pool... I just want to go swimming and here it is almost Aug!!
as much as I hate it, the drain may be the quickest fix and give me a clean slate in which to apply the TFP methods. I just ordered the hose adapter for the drain valve so I guess my weekend will be that.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,231
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Yes , let me explain-
If you bring the iron out of solution but then use the polyfill to remove it , it will be gone, out of your current pool water permanently. Some stains may occur in the process but u already have some so u will just treat those afterwards.
You will then need to take steps as listed in this article to filter your fill water so u can prevent more iron from accumulating when u top up the pool or u can repeat the polyfill method when it shows up again
Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading
www.google.com
Your pool needs adequate amounts of fc to be safe & swimmable period - risk of stains or not. Obviously there’s alot of iron in the current fill because your fc is quite low & you have likely never reached shock/slam level for your cya.
If u just use sequestrants you aren’t removing the iron- just hiding it temporarily (very expensively).
Kimray, refresh my memory. When was the last drain ?
If nothing else, we can get you going well from the start so your outlook has improved greatly. You may need to get rid of iron, and that takes some doing, it's not a snap like the regular chemistry, but after that it will be smooth sailing.
We'll have big fat training wheels on you the whole time. Rest assured, we got you.
If nothing else, we can get you going well from the start so your outlook has improved greatly. You may need to get rid of iron, and that takes some doing, it's not a snap like the regular chemistry, but after that it will be smooth sailing.
We'll have big fat training wheels on you the whole time. Rest assured, we got you.
ok that makes sense. My brain needs things dumbed down sometimes LOL!!Yes , let me explain-
If you bring the iron out of solution but then use the polyfill to remove it , it will be gone, out of your current pool water permanently. Some stains may occur in the process but u already have some so u will just treat those afterwards.
You will then need to take steps as listed in this article to filter your fill water so u can prevent more iron from accumulating when u top up the pool or u can repeat the polyfill method when it shows up again
Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading
Your pool needs adequate amounts of fc to be safe & swimmable period - risk of stains or not. Obviously there’s alot of iron in the current fill because your fc is quite low & you have likely never reached shock/slam level for your cya.
If u just use sequestrants you aren’t removing the iron- just hiding it temporarily (very expensively).
Trust me, I blazed that trail a mile wide already. We all did. And we never forgot how bad it sucked getting here, and getting a clue. You're in great hands.
it was last year.. after the metal staining started seemingly out of nowhere. It didn't help.Kimray, refresh my memory. When was the last drain ?
If nothing else, we can get you going well from the start so your outlook has improved greatly. You may need to get rid of iron, and that takes some doing, it's not a snap like the regular chemistry, but after that it will be smooth sailing.
We'll have big fat training wheels on you the whole time. Rest assured, we got you.
and Im thankful, because when i posted earlier i was ready to take a kitchen knife to it, I wasnt lying. Total love/hate relationship at the moment. More hate actually atm. If i ever get solid test results I can link from pool math, you see I named the pool Big Blue Nuisance. and for good reason!
make me laugh and smart to boot. you may be my new internet bff
Ok then. It's definitely 'who knows what soup' as @Mdragger88 so eloquently said, and I will TOTALLY be stealing in the future.
Drain and report back.
Here is something you can do that is easy. Test the pH and TA of the water that comes out of the hose you use to fill the pool. ONLY those two please.
OK that was an extremely enlightening experiment. If you’ve read my other post you see that my pool water‘s TA is less than zero if that’s even possible. 0008 turned it to pink instead of green lol
and my pH didn’t even turn red it stayed yellow. I filled up a bottle with water straight from the garden hose that fills the pool. The closest visual match on the pH appeared to be 7.5, perfect. And the TA came in at about 40.
The other interesting thing is it may have confirmed that the iron is in fact coming from a source water. When I went to squirt the hose sprayer into the bottle that first tiny little squirt was pure rusty water. I’ve never noticed that before because it cleared out in about one second and I’m never squirting my garden hose into a bottle.
Off the top of your head what typically gets added to a pool to lower the pH and the TA that much? Man I’m going to become a chemist before I know it!