I'm having the same problem as skillset with stains appearing FREQUENTLY in my fiberglass pool. I added AA a couple of weeks ago to get rid of a really bad stain after having to shock my pool. One week ago the stain re-appeared so I added a whole bottle of metal-free which made the stain disappear. Now the stain is back and once again I've added another bottle of metal free and am hoping the stain is gone by tomorrow when we're having 11 boys over for a little league end of year swim party! My problem is, can I add some bleach tonight while waiting for the stain to disappear? My chlorine level is at .5 and I want to raise it before tomorrows swim party! Help!!
Adding Bleach while trying to wait for stains to disappear??
- Thread starter templehb
- Start date
You should be able to add a little bleach without problems, but if you add too much the stain will come back. If you ease the FC level up gently and have another bottle of sequestrant on hand just in case you should be fine.
By the way, I prefer sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives, for example ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG).
By the way, I prefer sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives, for example ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG).
I put a whole bottle of metal free in (it's all I have right now) yesterday about 5:00 pm and the stains are still there. I don't know if I should add more metal free or try some AA.
If the PH is above 7.2, try lowering the PH down to 7.2. That can help the sequestrant lift the stains.
I just put some more Muriatic acid in but I don't know how long to wait to see if the stain disappears. I also don't know if I should add Ascorbic acid (which I KNOW will take the stain away), or add more Metal free. And if I add AA, do I then have to add more metal free anyway? I'm so confused!!
I know, it can get confusing. There are two different things going on that interact in a confusing way. First there is lifting the stain off the surface, and second is keeping it from coming back.
Ascorbic acid is the best thing for lifting the stain off the surface, but sequestrant can remove a stain if it is a new stain or very mild. If the stain doesn't start lifting off the surface in a couple of hours, it might not all come off right away but you should see some progress fairly quickly, then you need to use ascorbic acid.
How much sequestrant you need to keep the stains from redepositing depends on a great number of factors and is best determined by trial and error. The basic rule is that if the stains start to reappear you need more sequestrant. If you add the additional sequestrant as soon as the stains start to come back, then the sequestrant alone is usually enough to lift the stains off. Lowering the PH to around 7.2 can also help with this.
Different kinds of sequestrant will last different lengths of time. Some kinds of sequestrant need to be added constantly, others only occasionally. How often you need more depends both on the kind of sequestrant and the FC level. Higher FC levels will break down the sequestrant more quickly.
Ascorbic acid is the best thing for lifting the stain off the surface, but sequestrant can remove a stain if it is a new stain or very mild. If the stain doesn't start lifting off the surface in a couple of hours, it might not all come off right away but you should see some progress fairly quickly, then you need to use ascorbic acid.
How much sequestrant you need to keep the stains from redepositing depends on a great number of factors and is best determined by trial and error. The basic rule is that if the stains start to reappear you need more sequestrant. If you add the additional sequestrant as soon as the stains start to come back, then the sequestrant alone is usually enough to lift the stains off. Lowering the PH to around 7.2 can also help with this.
Different kinds of sequestrant will last different lengths of time. Some kinds of sequestrant need to be added constantly, others only occasionally. How often you need more depends both on the kind of sequestrant and the FC level. Higher FC levels will break down the sequestrant more quickly.
Thank you. I live in the boonies and have to order everything online. Unfortunately, I think I waited too long for the metal free to get here. I'll try to use the sequestrant right away since I ordered 4 bottles this time. I tried to order some heavy duty stuff from Doheny's water warehouse, but they don't ship that stuff to California!! I'll have to go back to ordering Jack's Purple stuff from In the Swim.
If you have a stain that is pretty small - (less than 3 sq ft or so), you can certainly crush up some Vitamin C and put in a pair of pantyhose and rub the pantyhose on the stain, which should lift it. The stain issues I have been having with my FG pool is the entire pool, so the above won't work.
Currently, I've just done an AA treatment on Thursday and the pool is great again. But really having a hard time getting the pool to keep any Cl. I am trying Metal Free as the sequesterant currently with this AA treatment.
I did try the Extra Strength Metal Out from Doheny's and returned it (the unopened ones). I found that so far, the best sequesterant has been Metal Magic, which I order from PoolGeek.Com. By the way, not having much luck with Doheny's on the return and their customer service has not been that great.
I'm on a bit of a mission here - I am trying many different sequesterants to find out which one works best for me.
I also may try using Citric Acid instead of AA as Citric is much less expensive.
Finally, the advice given by many folks here does work. Since FG pools seem to be a pain with stains, keeping the Ph low and the Cl on the lower side helps. My CYA is 50 and I am running with 4.0 most of the time and a Ph of 7.0. Last year, I had a higher CYA and ran at least 7-8 w/virtually no stains. This year is a different story.
Currently, I've just done an AA treatment on Thursday and the pool is great again. But really having a hard time getting the pool to keep any Cl. I am trying Metal Free as the sequesterant currently with this AA treatment.
I did try the Extra Strength Metal Out from Doheny's and returned it (the unopened ones). I found that so far, the best sequesterant has been Metal Magic, which I order from PoolGeek.Com. By the way, not having much luck with Doheny's on the return and their customer service has not been that great.
I'm on a bit of a mission here - I am trying many different sequesterants to find out which one works best for me.
I also may try using Citric Acid instead of AA as Citric is much less expensive.
Finally, the advice given by many folks here does work. Since FG pools seem to be a pain with stains, keeping the Ph low and the Cl on the lower side helps. My CYA is 50 and I am running with 4.0 most of the time and a Ph of 7.0. Last year, I had a higher CYA and ran at least 7-8 w/virtually no stains. This year is a different story.
We've had ongoing problems with this since we got a pool. 
Evidently, our water is full of metals, lol. I've used a couple of different sequestrants, and so far, the one that is the easiest for us to find (sold locally) and works the best is BioGuard's Pool Magnet Plus. But I do have to use quite a bit more than they state. 
As mentioned above, make sure that the PH is low when you add it.
I found that waiting two-three days before adding any chlorine, and keeping the PH low for a week or so until the sequestrant "sets" and bringing the chlorine up slowly over several days, works well for our water.
If it rains, or if we add anything appreciable to the pool, then I add more sequestrant.
Evidently, our water is full of metals, lol. I've used a couple of different sequestrants, and so far, the one that is the easiest for us to find (sold locally) and works the best is BioGuard's Pool Magnet Plus. But I do have to use quite a bit more than they state. As mentioned above, make sure that the PH is low when you add it. I found that waiting two-three days before adding any chlorine, and keeping the PH low for a week or so until the sequestrant "sets" and bringing the chlorine up slowly over several days, works well for our water.
If it rains, or if we add anything appreciable to the pool, then I add more sequestrant.
One thing that seems to help with staining in fiberglass pools is keeping the calcium hardness around 300 ppm. If your CH is lower than this try raising it.