Newbie from Northern VA!

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J

JT.Benson

0
May 25, 2018
4
Leesburg VA
Hello TFP!

I am fairly new to pools and pool chemistry and just put up a pool for the family for this summer. Right off the bat, I got myself into a situation (some of the well water I used to put 4 inches of water in had iron in it, so when I put in the first chlorine a few days later, you know what happened... water turned brown!). The rest of the water (about 5,000 gallons) was from a pool water delivery company (so I do not think iron is in that water).

I think my filter was able to remove the iron particulate because the water is clear now (it was brown last night and this morning), but I stained my brand new liner and I do not know as I add more chlorine if it will keep happening (or did all the iron turn to particulate from the first dose)? I added more chlorine tonight, so I will see what happens in the morning.

My next problem is I need to lower total alkalinity. It measured at 137 and I need to get it down to about 80. I did not buy anything yet to do this. What do you all recommend? What is the most natural and safe product to use to lower TA?

I know I will have more questions in the future and I will learn from all of you.
 
Hey JT and welcome to the forum! :wave: First thing we'll need to know is how are you testing the water? Do you have a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C? If so, please update your signature with all of your pool details (much like mine below) and include the test kit so we know what you have to work with. As for the TA, here are the instructions: Pool School - Lower Total Alkalinity.

For the iron, if the staining isn't too bad, you might get away with a sock full of crushed vitamin c tabs and rub the areas. If it's widespread, you might chose to do an AA treatment (Ascorbic Acid). But we know iron does not like a high FC OR a high pH level, so make sure the pH isn't elevated as well. Try keeping it around 7.4-7.5.

Beyond that, your best and most reliable method of metals management is to add sequestrant to the water and replenish it periodically. Sequestrant is a chemical that binds to the iron in the water so that it can't form stains or turn brown. Sequestrant breaks down slowly, so you need to add more regularly. ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG) are some of the top sequestrants. You can also find other brands with similar products, some of which are noticeably less expensive. Sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives are the most effective.

Lastly, make sure to read our ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and those vital links below in my sig. Hope that helps.
 
Thanks for writing back Texas Splash ;)

The chemical that we put into the pool seems to have eliminated 95% of the rust stain on my brand new liner. In fact, when I vacuumed the pool the day after I put it in, the iron came right off the floor and into the cartridge filter I used at the time (glad I did that because I didn't want to gum up my new filter with that stuff). The remaining rust stain is near the top of the water line, because, the water level went down when I back washed the new filter and thus, the water isn't sitting there with this chemical soaking on that part and clearing it for me. Hopefully, we'll get enough rain soon to raise the levels up so that stain leaves too. I don't want to put more well water in if I can avoid it. I have approximately 5,000 gallons in. It's shy of 1,000 to 1,500 gallons.

I have a decent test kit (see in my signature line). But, I bought it years ago and used it for a few years with a smaller Intex pool. And for the last three years, we had no pool. So, I am wondering if my reagents are not functioning properly because after I put the proper amount of cyanuric acid in, it only raised CYA to 20 instead of 30 as expected. I do not understand why this forum recommends CYA of 60 for SWG pools. If someone can explain that to me I'd appreciate it. But before I panic about my CYA reading of 20, I ordered new reagents so I can retest to see if the new reagents give me different/more accurate tests results. I am questioning all of my test results for the same reason.

Here are my current test results:

Free Available Chlorine: 2.03 (ran the SWG for 6 hours today, and 6 hours yesterday)
Total Chlorine: 2.89
Combined Available Chlorine: 0.86
pH: 7.7 (was 8.0 this morning!). pH has been 7.7 or 7.8 for every reading except one at 8 this morning.
Total Alkalinity: 137 now, crazy unexpected jump to 237 this morning. ALY has been an average of 152 over 12 samples. I want it to be 80 - 100.
Cyanuric Acid: 20

So to implement what your forum recommends, I bought some Muriatic Acid (31.45%) and put in approx. 3 cups. I had a real hard time measuring it precisely because 1) the fumes were overwhelming, even though I was trying to hold my breath, and 2) it was nearly dark out by the time I got home. I put the acid in slowly while the pump circulated the water, and set the pump to continue circulating for four more hours. Because the water is approx. 1,000 gallons less than full, the water that returns to the pool is providing aeration as it sprays into the water from up above the water. So tomorrow, I will test again and see how the pH may have dropped and to see whether the Alkalinity is coming down.

Now that I recognize how powerful and dangerous the fumes are for this acid, I am wondering if I should have chosen the dry acid instead? And how can we safely store it? And keep it away from the kids? And my wife is worried that I have put acid into the water the kids swim in. I tell her that it will turn into salt but she doesn't believe me because I am not a chemist.

I have read all those articles at pool school and am trying to learn and make wise choices. We want to be as natural and safe as possible, and adding acid to the pool seems so incongruent with that goal.

My Pool: Intex 18' x 48" Round Vinyl pool, ~6,435 Gal; Filtration & Chlorine Generation: Intex Sand Filter Pump w/ SWCG (2,150 gallons / hour, generates 11 grams of Chlorine / hour); 100 lbs of Dr. Dryden's Activate glass filter media; Test Kit: LaMotte ColorQ Pro 7
 
JT, the reason we recommend a higher CYA for a SWG is basically to help the SWG work more efficiently and save cell life. The added CYA protects the FC as it is being produced during pump run time and keeps it in the water longer. For the acid, yes, you have to be mindful of the wind direction and splashing, but it is the best product to use. Dry acid is cumbersome and can present some side effects. There is a less strong muriatic acid, so you can use that if you want, but it's not as good of a value because you have to use more. Lastly, better get some new reagents. The ones you are using (years old) are probably bad. You really, really need a kit you can depend on at home. Either a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C. We don't care which one, just get one of those. Other kits have not shown to be as reliable, and store testing will bite you in the backside. :shark:
 
So tonight I received my new reagents, and the test results are significantly different than the old reagents. Big lesson learned now.

Current test results:

FCL 5.43
tCL 5.43
CAC 0
pH 7.9
TA 205
CH 451
CYA 37

I have put 9 cups of Muriatic Acid (31.45%) in the last 2 days and aerated, pH has continued to remain up after testing (8-10 hours later) and ALY is still up, and even high than I thought it was now that I have new reagents. The water is not cloudy (yet) it looks great. My old reagents didn't give valid test results now that I have more believable results I need a new strategy for dealing with this.
 
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