Staining appearing and getting worried

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Bruceer1

0
Oct 14, 2018
8
Austin, TX
Hi there-
I have owned pools past 10 years and our current pool was re-plastered about four years ago. Recently I am starting to notice what looks like rust stains appearing in the bottom of the pool per the picture attached. I also feel like we are starting to get more of these raised bumps in the surface (circled in picture). This morning I was really concerned when I was vaccuming out the pool and saw a 4-5 ft brown line in the below picture.

About a month ago we had part of the plaster lift up and I had the people who replastered the pool patch it.

Any thought or suggestions on what may be happening would be appreciated!


FA611978-E225-417D-A3A0-6DB7F8936669.jpg8F3C2A7F-A359-4F9B-B7BA-555E71235BBA.jpg
 
Hello and welcome to the forum! :wave: As a wild card effort, you could test some of those stains with a thin sock/nylon filled with some crushed Vitamin C tabs in it to see if they are iron, but I have a feeling those are relate to the plaster or what's underneath. For example, rebar, wire ties, etc. Some areas might possibly be calcium nodules, but hard for me to tell at this point. The fact you had plaster separate before adds to those concerns.

We might have one of our plaster experts chime in shortly. To help, can you give us some water chemistry info? Tell us how you test your water, and if possible give us a full set of results. It might help us put the entire story together.
 
A large percentage of plaster issues stem from poor water quality. How do you test your water? Do you have any test results to share? Have a look here and fill in your signature:

Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

Then post up some test results. You might have to purchase a decent kit, in order to give us some meaningful numbers. The experts here can't do much of anything with pool store or test strip results.

With some better info about your pool and water, we can maybe give you some answers.

Welcome to TFP!! ;)
 
Thank you all for the quick replies! Now having read through these links, I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I have only been using those cheap water strips and the occasional visit to the pool store. That said I have already ordered the Taylor 2006 and will post results and update signature once I do a “real” test on Tues/Weds.

results from the cheap heap water strip show PH at 7.5, FCI at roughly 7, ALK at roughly 170 and CYA at roughly 180.

Thank you!


Dirk said:
A large percentage of plaster issues stem from poor water quality. How do you test your water? Do you have any test results to share? Have a look here and fill in your signature:

Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

Then post up some test results. You might have to purchase a decent kit, in order to give us some meaningful numbers. The experts here can't do much of anything with pool store or test strip results.

With some better info about your pool and water, we can maybe give you some answers.

Welcome to TFP!! ;)
Click to expand...
 
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I have only been using those cheap water strips and the occasional visit to the pool store.
Click to expand...
Admitting it is the first step. :grin: Now take advantage of your time before the test kit arrives to review our ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry page and the Vital Links below in my signature. Don't forget to update your sig as well. :wink: All of that info will come in very handy as we move forward. If you have any problems with the testing when your kit arrives, let us know.

One thing's for sure ….. when you do your CYA test, if it's at or over 100, perform a diluted CYA test as noted on the Pool School - CYA starting at Step #8. That will be an important first step in water rehab. We'll go from there.

CYA Testing:
Proper lighting is critical for the CYA test, so you want to test for CYA outside on a bright sunny day. Taylor recommends standing outside with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body. Use the mixing bottle to combine/gently mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently mix again. Then, while holding the skinny tube with the black dot at waist level, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. If it helps, pour a little, look away, then look back and pour some more. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. After the first test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate the CYA reading. If you are still questioning your own results, have a friend or two do the same test 2-3 times. Share your results only after everyone is done to see if you came up with the same average results.
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Hi Dave-
It appeared out of nowhere this morning and was what finally motivated me to become educated and take action. It has since disappeared just as quickly. I brushed over it and dropped shock on it this am and it did nothing. Went out for a spirited drive, came home and it was gone (3-4 hours later). So strange.
 

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I've had similar happen to me. I small brown spot. Seemed at first to be impervious to scrubbing, rubbing, brushing. Gave up, next day gone. I figured it must be a leaf for other organic contributor (bird poop?) that settles on a step or the bottom. It's enough of a stain to resist physical attack, but chlorine eventually does its thing.
 
Ok so finally have a real test kit (Taylor 2006) and have finished testing. Please keep in mind that I had issue with algae and had put algicide in three days prior and a lot of shock. The algae is gone, but I wanted to share it in case you guys feel the algicide may impact the results even three days later.

PH: 7.6-Took three drops of acid demand to take it to 7.5
TA: 150ppm
Ch: 650ppm
Free Chl: 14.8ppm
Combined Chl: .6ppm
CYA: Below the 100 line significantly so I was not able to get an accurate reading. Since it is raining a lot in central Texas I drained the pool about a foot after the testing to allow the rain water to bring it up.

Looking forward to any of your thoughts.

Thanks, Eric
 
See step 8 of:

Pool School - CYA

Your CC might be indicating the need to SLAM Process. Perform a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. If a SLAM is necessary, you will need to reduce your CYA to do one. Keep in mind while you are draining and refilling your pool, you must test each time, as your levels are changing each time.
 
sktn77a said:
Both are likely caused by the high CSI of your pool water.
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Thanks Keith. Quick update, drained about half the pool and refilled. Here are new results:

Ph: 7.5
TA: 90ppm
Ch: 400ppm
Free Chlorine: 6.5ppm
Combined Chlorine: .5ppm
pool temp 60

water balance calculator is showing me at essentially 0 (pure luck). I know 400 still seems high for Ch as ideal seems to be 150-400. Given the calculator is showing I am balanced (if I am reading correctly), should I leave everything alone now? Also hoping this should stop with the issues I have been experiencing noted above. Really appreciate the great help so far from this incredible forum!
 
Good work! Keep in mind that any amount of CH in your fill water will cause the CH in your pool to rise, just a matter of time. CH doesn't evaporate with the water, so it gets left behind and continues to accumulate. The more that is in your fill water, the faster it will rise. So you monitor CSI and keep it in check as CH rises by adjusting pH. Once you get to the point where that becomes unmanageable, you replace water and start over.

The alternate solution, which is what I do and is working great, is to replace splash out and evaporation with soft water (I connected my filler to my water softener). I now add only near-zero CH water to my pool, and my CH-rise is negligible.
 
Dirk said:
Good work! Keep in mind that any amount of CH in your fill water will cause the CH in your pool to rise, just a matter of time. CH doesn't evaporate with the water, so it gets left behind and continues to accumulate. The more that is in your fill water, the faster it will rise. So you monitor CSI and keep it in check as CH rises by adjusting pH. Once you get to the point where that becomes unmanageable, you replace water and start over.

The alternate solution, which is what I do and is working great, is to replace splash out and evaporation with soft water (I connected my filler to my water softener). I now add only near-zero CH water to my pool, and my CH-rise is negligible.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Great thought on managing an ever increasing CH by adjusting pH. Looking at the wheel, it appears I will want to lower pH over time to compensate. How low can you go on pH to compensate before it becomes to low?

good call on connecting to water softener. I will look to do the same and take advantage of when we get rain!
 

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