Am I doing this in the right order???

[poolcool]

First off, thanks for the TFP. I've had my pool for about ten years and learn something new every year. With TFP, I've already learned 3 new things in 3 days.

Now, for my question. I have low Ca hardness to the tune of about 150. I have metal stains (most likely manganese). And I want to try the borate procedure.

My current plan is to take care of the Ca issue first with calcium chloride (Peladow), then take care of the stains with citric acid, and then use borax plus acid (or just boric acid) for the borates trial. Is this the best order in which to proceed?

Also, should I bypass the heater when using the citric acid? I remember it was a step in the old Jack's magic stain removal instructions.

Thanks again!

 

[JasonLion]

There is no need to bypass the heater when doing an normal ascorbic acid/citric acid stain removal. You do need to bypass the heater when doing a no-drain acid wash to remove copper stains or calcium scale.

As long as you use boric acid, the order you suggested is fine. If you are going to use borax and muriatic acid there will be wild swings in the PH, so it would need to be done first.

 

[poolcool]

Thanks for the help! I've got boric acid on the way so I'll follow the original plan.

Prices at TFTestkits look pretty competitive so I stocked up on Taylor reagents and a salt test kit K-1776 (the number at Taylor's site is K-1766). About a second after I checked out I remembered the borate test strips so I had to place a separate order just for the strips.

Thanks again.

 

[Butterfly]

Thanks for the help! I've got boric acid on the way so I'll follow the original plan.

Prices at TFTestkits look pretty competitive so I stocked up on Taylor reagents and a salt test kit K-1776 (the number at Taylor's site is K-1766). About a second after I checked out I remembered the borate test strips so I had to place a separate order just for the strips.

Thanks again.

They have a phone number listed on their site - call them and see if they can combine your orders!!!

 

[poolcool]

Thanks! I'll give it a try. A buck saved here and there is helpful after all the chemicals I've invested in this spring. But I'm betting that the BBB saves me some money in the long run.

 

[Butterfly]

Oh yes, the BBB method will save bunches of $$