- Jul 8, 2011
- 30
This is my first year on BBB and I successfully turned our swamp into a sparkly oasis earlier this month thanks to you all! I've read a ton of pool school posts, and am testing the water regularly with my Taylor test kit.
In the past 3 years I've had perfectly clear but probably not safe water on the "pool store" method. My FC was always only around 1ppm. This year I switched to BBB and because of high CYA (75) at the beginning of the summer I had to shock to high levels around 30ppm to turn my swamp sparkly after opening. I lowered my CYA through partial drain/refill with well water and it's now between 50 and 60. (Grrr....I think I ended up trading high CYA for metals.)
I've noticed that light brown stains are appearing over large areas of the pool and my logical conclusion is iron because of the well water combined with high chlorine levels. I wasn't too concerned because I figured even if it was metals, I probably wouldn't need to shock very often if I followed BBB. Then a neighbor's kid pooed in my pool. Then a chipmunk died in the pool. :thumbdown: And this week a mole died in the pool. So you can see I am ending up needing to keep the chlorine up more than I wanted to and I think that's bringing out the metal stains!
I don't want to halt our swimming to do the AA treatment...but I'm distressed by the stains. Can anyone give me advice? Perhaps add Jack's sequestrant now to prevent further staining and then do the treatment in September before closing and in cooler temps? But I don't want the stains to set in....
I'd attach a picture but everyone I've tried to take hasn't successfully shown the stains. They remind me of the stains that tea bags leave on the inside of a plastic iced tea maker.
Someone help me, I'm freakin' out here!
Thanks!
Jen
Tonight's readings:
FC 4
CC .5
pH 8.0 (has been holding at 7.2...went up this week while I was on vacation)
TA 120
CYA (not sure at the moment....out of reagent which is on order from Amazon)
In the past 3 years I've had perfectly clear but probably not safe water on the "pool store" method. My FC was always only around 1ppm. This year I switched to BBB and because of high CYA (75) at the beginning of the summer I had to shock to high levels around 30ppm to turn my swamp sparkly after opening. I lowered my CYA through partial drain/refill with well water and it's now between 50 and 60. (Grrr....I think I ended up trading high CYA for metals.)
I've noticed that light brown stains are appearing over large areas of the pool and my logical conclusion is iron because of the well water combined with high chlorine levels. I wasn't too concerned because I figured even if it was metals, I probably wouldn't need to shock very often if I followed BBB. Then a neighbor's kid pooed in my pool. Then a chipmunk died in the pool. :thumbdown: And this week a mole died in the pool. So you can see I am ending up needing to keep the chlorine up more than I wanted to and I think that's bringing out the metal stains!
I don't want to halt our swimming to do the AA treatment...but I'm distressed by the stains. Can anyone give me advice? Perhaps add Jack's sequestrant now to prevent further staining and then do the treatment in September before closing and in cooler temps? But I don't want the stains to set in....
I'd attach a picture but everyone I've tried to take hasn't successfully shown the stains. They remind me of the stains that tea bags leave on the inside of a plastic iced tea maker.
Someone help me, I'm freakin' out here!
Thanks!
Jen
Tonight's readings:
FC 4
CC .5
pH 8.0 (has been holding at 7.2...went up this week while I was on vacation)
TA 120
CYA (not sure at the moment....out of reagent which is on order from Amazon)