What to do next?

[Lukelou]

Hello. My pool:
18X48 6100 gallons vinyl easy set cartridge filter
Used well water to fill. Turned brownish green after shocking.
Pool store found no metals. Purchased some Vitamin C and stains came off plastic of skimmer parts.
Never having my water tested there again.
FC...14.5 because I was shocking to determine it wasn't an algae issue
CC...less than 1ppm
T/A..120
CH...300
CYA..40
pH...7.2
Temp. 78

I am now using a sequestrant (ClearView Mineral Magnet). I don't know if it's a good one because their website is limited on info.
I vacuumed today and picked up a lot of the sediment from bottom of pool. Presently the water is yellowish to pale orange when looking at it in a white bucket. In the pool the water looks light green. The bottom looks light brown. Maybe it's stained.
What should I do next? Leave it alone and let it filter? Throw in more Mineral Magnet? How long before I continue seeing changes and not do anything? And should I return pool to shock level?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I would take your fill water source (if it's from your house well) and have them test that.

One of the "guru's" on here said the water itself may not test positive for metals, especially if they have already stained the pool (the metals now in the pool, not the water), that kinda makes sense. Jack's magic is supposed to be good, you can try that....http://www.jacksmagic.com/page.cfm?id=382

Did you follow the dosing instructions on the bottle, did you use the whole bottle? Maybe you didn't add enough for your size pool? I'm not really sure what to tell you on that.

I don't think you need to add more bleach right now till you figure out this staining thing.

What a pain....so sorry. Other experts here at TFP will be along to help I'm sure.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

You might try reading this article in Pool School about metals.

 

[Lukelou]

Still waiting for some help.
So far I've used two bottles of the Mineral Magic. The pool water hasn't changed much but I know I'm catching a lot of the "stuff" floating in there because I see it on the cartridge filter.
I read the article on metals last week and decided it's probably whats going on since the water turned brown when I originally shocked.
I continue to rinse the cart. and run the filter.
I just want to know if I should keep adding one of these metal products, wait a few more days, shock...?

 

[JasonLion]

If your iron levels are very high you might simply need more sequestrant. You might want to think about getting an iron level test kit, though they do tend to run around $50+, or trying another place to get your iron level tested.

 

[TxSkye]

Having gone through this myself, I feel your frustration.

With an Intex pump/filter combo, it’s going to take time. While they may be able to maintain a balanced pool, getting them to clear it up from a problem is another story.

If your problem is metals, and I believe it is, then shocking the pool won’t help. You need to filter and vacuum. I went from sludgy, rusty brown to clear in 2 weeks. Here was my plan of attack.

For the first 4 days I used a home rigged polyfill bucket to help with the filtering. Once I could see the bottom fairly well, I removed it. At this point the water still looked kind of yellow green in color and the bottom appeared to be covered with a layer of reddish sand.

I turned off the pump and let everything settle. Then started the pump/filter and vacuumed very slowly. I often had to stop mid-vacuum and swap out the filter with a clean one. (I have 4). Turn off the pump and let it settle again. Since I am home all day, I would repeat this process several times a day. DH said I was being “obsessive”, I say I was “DETERMINED”. :x

You might also try creating a whirlpool and get everything to settle in the middle and along the outer edge. Just get into the pool and run around in a circle a few times. Really get that whirlpool going then get out and let everything settle, then vacuum.

Even after 2 months, my filter still collects these rusty particles, due to the sequestrant breaking down, so I add about 2 ounces every week to maintain it.

I know it seems as though you’ll never get it clean, but you WILL. Just keep filtering and vacuuming, and have a double dose of POP, the end result is worth it and you’ll feel proud of what you’ve accomplished.

 

[Lukelou]

Thanks TxSkye. You've been the BIGGEST help to me on this website. I already took your other suggestions and put them to use and they've given me great results.
I learned a lot on this site-but sometimes the situation or conditions aren't perfectly imperfect-if that makes sense.
Today I told the pool guy I have metals and his iron test didn't find it. So he told me I may have manganese. Whatever .

 

[Guest]

Thanks TxSkye. You've been the BIGGEST help to me on this website. I already took your other suggestions and put them to use and they've given me great results.
I learned a lot on this site-but sometimes the situation or conditions aren't perfectly imperfect-if that makes sense.
Today I told the pool guy I have metals and his iron test didn't find it. So he told me I may have manganese. Whatever .

If you shocked and the water turned brown it's iron. Manganese will color the water pink to purple after shocking and can create greyish to black stains. Iron stains are yellow to orange (rust colored).