I am ready to get rid of the yellow stain in my pool

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aquawife

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Jun 27, 2012
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Okay - I am ready to try and get rid of the yellow stain in my pool and balance my water..... need input. I did the vitamin C test and it worked on the stain so bought ascorbic acid and want to do that treatment but want to make sure my ducks are in a row... I used my test kit for the first time and after flashing back to high school chemistry class came up with these levels to the best of my ability:
pH 7.6
FC 2.5
CC .5
TC 3.0
Alk 180
CH 150
CYA 72
We have been using triclor tabs but took them out to lower the chlorine before adding the ascorbic acid. Question - is circulate different from the basic filter setting and if so how do I achieve it??? Is there a particular sequestering agent that you prefer - I have Metal Free from Natural Chemistry on hand - will that work? When do I add the polyquat 60? before, during, after?? When you say Arm and Hammer washing soda - is that different from baking soda? How long after treatment before you can expect to swim??
Any input is appreciated... please use very simple terms and treat me like the complete novice that I am!! I am hoping if I can get rid of the stain that two pool stores were unable to that my husband will be more open to the BBB method. I look forward to your feedback and thank you in advance.
 
Re: Ready to get started - need input!

Hi, welcome to TFP! Your CYA is on the high side, unless you plan on using a saltwater chlorine generator (swg) for your chlorine. If not, then drain and replace enough water to lower the CYA to 50 ppm. Should be about 1/4 to 1/3 of the pool volume. If you do this step first you will not loose any of the chemicals you are about to add, and it will be easier to maintain your pool with a lower chlorine level after the AA treatment.

The sequestrant you chose should be fine. Washing soda is not the same as baking soda. You will find washing soda in the laundry section, usually near the 20 mule team borax. Re-circulate by-passes the filter. There should be a re-circulate setting on the multi-port valve. Take a picture of the valve and post it here if you need help identifying this setting.

Here is the order of the AA treatment:
1. Lower pH and chlorine.
2. Add algaecide.
3. AA treatment
4. Sequestrant
5. Re-balance pool

Full instructions are found here.
 
Hooray!!!!

Well, my iron stain did not "disappear before my eyes" but it did lighten and after waiting overnight it is now gone!!!!! Some questions while I wait to start rebalancing....
1. I used the poly 60 as directed for a clean pool but am really nervous about having no chlorine in the water - should I add more? I used a 32 ounce bottle for a 28000 gallon pool.... it called for 11 oz per 10,000 gal.....
2. While the stain is gone, the water is now cloudy - not discolored, just not clear - is this normal? could it be from having new sand?
3. Will ClearView Filter Aid really remove the metals from the water once they have been sequestored or is that just a fantasy of the pool store employees? does it fall under the category of "couldn't hurt"?
4. When doing the chemistry - should I count the drop when the color first turns or should I keep adding until the water is truly blue or red, not just bluish (lavenderish) or reddish (pinkish). this will really make a difference..... CH would be 60 and not 150, Alk would be much lower than it's current 140.
5. With my ph at 7.2 and my alkalinity at 140, should I go right to chlorine when I start rebalancing?
6. When you say that you like to use bleach only at this time.... does this include the 12.5% liquid shock, or should I stick with 6% ultra chlorine?
7. I promised my husband the cloudiness would clear as the chlorine is added.... am I likely to be right?
8. Are there some tests the pool store does better than others??? I just am not sure about my chemistry talents...... they were pretty close to the same for my ph and chlorine but way off for ALK, CH, and CYA.... is this consistant with what you could expect to see with their poor results?. They also say my phosphates are high and after treating it twice with their product.... it is even higher!

My current readings 18 hours after AA treatment:
TC is zero
ALK 140
pH 7.2
CH 150
CYA 72 - I know this is high and am slowly switching out water..... I understand I will have to use more bleach until it is down.

Sorry for the long post...... I am very new to pool stuff... my husband has always been the poolboy, but with the switch to BBB and all the chemistry I am doing more.....
Thanks in advance for any input! Michelle
 
Re: Hooray!!!!

I am winging the balancing act post ascorbic acid treatment and have a question about Calcium hardness. If I am doing the test correctly it had been testing consistently at 150 until this morning. I began adding chlorine back last night and this morning I had lost 1ppm and had a CC of .5 but the CH test now doesn't turn red at all - it goes right to lavender and stays there no matter what I do.... I will be ordering more reagent tomorrow..... Is this normal after this treatment? Did the Metal Free sequester all my calcium as well?? How important is this to getting my water balanced and when and how should I add this, if at all?? My pool is vinyl and I have been slowly trying to get the FC up...... these are my levels at the moment:
FC 4.5
CC .5
TC 5.0
ALK 160 (down from 180)
pH 7.2
CH ?????
CYA 60 - down from 72 - got some rain, changed out some water and I think I am getting better at reading the test....

I am aiming to get FC to 7 and keep it there until I shock..... How long should I wait..... one week, two weeks?? does it depend on the overnight loss numbers??? Any guidance is appreciated!
Michelle
 
Thanks - my husband, Aquaman, is concerned because the Calcium is at zero. These are my current numbers :

FC 8.5 ( I am working at getting it to stabilize at 7)
CC .5 ( I have not failed the overnight test yet - Aquaman keeps the pool immaculate)
ALK 140 (I am working the lower pH and aerate cycle with a target of 120 - it is down from 160)
pH 7.2 (pretty consistantly - I am adding dry acid to keep it there if it creeps up)
CH 0
CYA 60 (difficult test.... it is down from 70 ( I think) as I slowly switch out water)

How am I doing? Am I right in thinking that the chlorine won't hold because of a combination of high CYA and residual AA? From the pool deck the water is clear but my husband says that when swimming with goggles, there is cloudiness. Does that seem reasonable given what I have been doing? How can I get rid of this and get the sparkle we all strive for?? Will shocking clear this, or in the absence of a failed overnight test, do I even need to shock at all?? I think this is my husband's main concern - the constant need to add chlorine and the cloudiness. I am trying to get him to be patient and embrace the BBB! He is chomping at the bit to add flocculant - will this hurt? If I wanted to add Calcium, can I use powder calcium hypochlorite (I happen to have a packet on hand) - should I even bother??
Thanks for any input!
Michelle
 
Since you are in the process of rebalancing from the AA procedure, I suggest that you do not add CH until you are completely done balancing. Adding CH should be done when everything is balanced and you are not adjusting anything else.
 
My stain is returning...I added Jacks blue stuff but it did not help. What now? DoI star over wit another AA treatment? My water is clear and I pass the overnight test so the transition to BBBhas been successful,except for the stain...Here are my numbers:
FC. 7
CC 0
pH. 7.5
TA. 150
CH 0
CYA. 60

Thanks for any ideas! Michelle
 

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Butterfly said:
Since you are in the process of rebalancing from the AA procedure, I suggest that you do not add CH until you are completely done balancing. Adding CH should be done when everything is balanced and you are not adjusting anything else.
Click to expand...
That is my normal answer above for someone who actually needs CH in their pool.
However, you do not need CH in vinyl pool, so don't worry about zero CH.
 
I lowered the pH to no avail..... the stain is back with a vengeance.... I have ordered more ascorbic acid and am going to start over... the good news is that the water is clear and I don't fail the overnight test..... it is frustrating because I had a week of perfection.... I will post my progress and look forward to help in keeping the stain from coming back. I have polyquat on hand to use as I let the chlorine go, jacks blue and pool magnet plus for afterwards...are there any better products? I think I was so happy to see the stain go that I was not attentive enough with the aftercare.....I look forward to your advice as the process proceeds. Thanks in advance! Michelle
 
Well, the stain is gone and I am ready to start adding chlorine...I am not sure what is "adding slowly", but I am planning to add one gallon of 13% every hour and monitor for stain and pH drift and adjust as needed....wish me luck!! Michelle
 
It's back!!!! it starts on the steps and then is kind of an overall dinginess on the liner - a stranger probably wouldn't notice, but the pool does not look its best. Also, it is not iron after all....I assumed it was because the instructions for metal stain say if AA works then it is iron....When our skimmer socks turned a lovely shade of turquoise, I got both tests and it is copper. So...where does it come from? if it is from the heater, why did it take 8 years to show up? We plan to change the water in the spring, but won't it just come back? Am I doomed to a life of sequestering? Why doesn't every pool with a heater have this problem? Does it happen even if you don't run the heater? Is there anything you can do to minimize it? I read that raising the calcium will help - true? When I test for calcium it does not turn red when I use the regular instructions, when I use the instructions with copper present, I get the lavender fading endpoint... If I add enough reagent I come up with 500.... so, do I have zero calcium or really high calcium?? This stain is making me crazy!!! My current levels are:
FC. 4
CC .5
TA 70
CYA 55
CH. either 0 or 500 !

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!
Thanks! Michelle
 
You didn't list your pH and it's a major factor in leaching metal form the heater. If it gets and stays low for any length of time it will leach copper from the heater. If your fill water doesn't have metals in it and you maintain the pH (& the rest of the chems) in the recommended range you won't leach metals from your equipment.
 
AHHHH... I have been keeping it at 7.2. So after you lower it with the AA to get rid of the stain, the low ph promotes the stain......hmm..... do you think this is pool industry design??I think I should just buy stock in Jacks!!
Thanks.... Michelle
 
^By low, I think Bama mean less than 7 for a protracted period of time ;)
However, with respect to buying stock in Jacks -- yes indeed, because if you do not maintain that sequestrate those stains WILL come back...so once you figure out where the copper came from, you might at some point want to find a way to dilute/swap water, as I understand it.
 
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