Water Balance in SWG Questions

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Benttt

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May 20, 2009
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I just opened my pool and had several questions around SWG. I installed it midway last season and had water pretty much in balance...I just tested and here's the results: TC:6.3 FC:5.8 pH:6.9 TA:40 CH:250 CYA/stabilizer:10

I know I had to keep my dial in my Goldline SWG real low at less that 10 to keep the chlorine at a usable level. Should I keep the CYA low as to maybe burn a little more Chlorine to keep it honest?

Also, I know it off topic, but I have some really nasty brown stains that appears organic since when I first opened they looked almost like debris. Now that a day or so went by (with plenty of shock), They seem to be just stains not debris. The "Pool Store" tried to sell me some stain remover crystals, but I didn't bite. Since this stain thing never happened to me in the past, it it related to SWG? Should've I closed the pool with different chemical balance?
thx
 
Your PH and TA are both too low. You should raise TA up to around 70. Then recheck the PH and if it is still below 7.2, raise it to 7.2.

With a SWG you want CYA to be around 70 to 80. Lower CYA levels will result in shorter cell life and more difficulty keeping your levels balanced.

Try holding a vitamin C tablet against one of the stains for 30 seconds and see what that does. That will tell us if it is an iron stain or not.

The staining might have been caused by your lower TA level. When TA is low it allows the PH to fluctuate quite a bit. If the PH got very high as some point, it could easily have caused staining and/or scaling.
 
Benttt said:
I know I had to keep my dial in my Goldline SWG real low at less that 10 to keep the chlorine at a usable level.
Click to expand...

Have you seen the CYA chlorine chart? Maintain your FC level according to your CYA level (which should be 60-80) and never let it fall below the "min". Anything up to shock level is easily considered "usable". :wink:
 
You treat it with an AA treatment:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/ascorbic-treatment-to-rid-pool-of-metal-stains-t2298.html
Don't skip steps - make sure you use Polyquat 60 and follow the instructions carefully.

After you get the stains out, it will be a tricky couple of weeks - so I'd do this process before it gets too warm by you or your risk for an algae bloom becomes greater.

After your FC begins to hold, make sure you raise your CYA level into range as advised above.

Maintenance doses of sequesterant will be needed in the future to prevent the stain from redepositing on the surface.
 
Thanks.....If I do the AA treatment, can we swim next weekend?
Curious, the 4 vitamin C tabs I used in the test dissolved to a power on the pool bottom and cleared the stain where the substance settled. Is it possible to target the stains with the AA in effort to use less and not have to alter the balance of water? Will the AA dissolve immediately or will it settle to bottom?

One more question: A friend of mine gave me a 2 lb bottle of SeaKlear Natural Stain remover. It doesn't say what chemical it is but he swears by it. Do you think Its AA?
 
SeaKlear Natural Stain Remover contains citric acid, which is nearly identical to ascorbic acid/vitamin C, except that you need twice as much of it.

If there are only stains over a small area, then you can simply wrap up some ascorbic/citric acid in a cloth and place it on the stain. If the stains cover a large area you need to go through the whole AA treatment process.

In an ideal world, an AA treatment can be done in a week. However, most of the time it takes longer than that. Because of the lack of chlorine during much of the treatment, you shouldn't swim while the treatment is in progress.
 
Pool stores often sell AA under various brand names. Health food stores often have it labeled as vitamin C powder. Someone mentioned that Trader Joe's often has it. Usually the best prices are on the Internet. Citric acid is also good and often less expensive, though you need twice as much.
 
I got the TC down to almost 0, put in two pounds of Trader Joe AA and had a slight fade of stain. Put in a third pound last night and no change. Should I put in a fourth? I'm ready to give up!
 

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Yes, add another pound or two. The amount of AA you need varies quite a bit, and there isn't any way to know exactly how much it is going to take till you try it. If you have doubts, try the vitamin C trick again. As long as using a vitamin C tablet helps and the stains aren't all gone yet, you just need more AA.
 
UGGHHH! I got rid of the yellow stains a month ago and now new ones have emerged. The plastic stairs and and the shallow corners have some yellowing happening. I did the vitamin C test and it cleared. Does this mean my metal stains are back? I have guests coming over this weekend.....can I still swim? Should I put in more sequestering agent to slow the stains or is it a waste? I guess after the weekend I'm be doing the AA treatment again huh?
 
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