Algae? Iron? Treated both with no fix.

[Jebil]

Been fighting this brownish stain/residue and cannot beat it. Pool was completely clean when I uncovered it in march. Took sample to pool store balanced water. Everything was going good then BOOM this brownish stuff set in. I told pool store and they sent me home with jacks magic the blue stuff and a small amount of some granular acid. Put that in and it cleared up within a matter of hours. 2 days later it came back stronger. Went back to pool store and they said let’s try it again with same chemicals. So we did and nothing changed. They told me to just swim in it that the water was perfect.

I then went to the internet for help. Bought citric acid, didn’t help. Bought Metal stain eliminator Kit from Amazon. That Kit required certain ph requirements and calcium levels. Went to pool store got water tested they gave me calcium. Added that to pool then added metal eliminator kit. Pool cleared up in a couple hours. 3 days later stain back!

Reached out on Facebook for help and people were saying yellow/mustard algae. Bought yellow treat and put in pool, no change. Somebody mentioned this forum on Facebook so I’m here now pleading for help.

 

[ajw22]

I suspect you have iron or copper in your pool water.

Stains in Your Pool

The stained pool is beyond embarrassing. Our in-depth Guide to remove stains in your pool will help you to remove the stains and prevent them in the future.

www.troublefreepool.com

The problem you are having is you have been doing treatments that lift the metals and put in a seqestrant that binds the metal for a bit. Sequestrants don't last long and when the sequestrant degrades the metals redeposit.

The only long term fix is after the metal is lifted and bound to the sequestrant you need to remove the metals form the water. If iron you can possibly filter it out using polyfill. If copper the only way is to drain the pool and put fresh water in.

Follow the stain identification process in the link above and tell us what you get.

 

[Jebil]

Thanks for the response!

I think it’s iron. I did the vitamin c test and the stain cleared…some. I don’t think it’s copper because we’re not seeing fingernails and hair turn green.

 

[Texas Splash]

Now that you know you have iron in the water, now would be a good time to update your signature with all of your pool details. See mine as an example. If you are on a well list that too. The link Allen gave you outlines your options. Also keep in mind that pool store testing (and advice) is generally off the mark resulting in a lot of wasted to, resources, and money. We encourage all TFP members to test their own water with a proper test kit - either a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C. They are easy and reliable. Proper testing is the foundation of good water and is especially important in your situation with metals in the water.

Pool Care Basics

 

[Jebil]

Thank you for the help

 

[Jebil]

I’ve had some people mention putting this in my pool. Anybody ever done this? Just curious.

 

[Texas Splash]

I would not use it. It may be fine for some in-home applications, but not in your pool water. Remember there is no product that can remove iron from your pool water. A product, like a sequestrant, will only pull it off the surfaces or discolored water and keep it "suspended" temporarily. Once it wears off, the staining and color change return. If you elect to do an Ascorbic Acid treatment, ideally you would want to remove the water once the stains are lifted and have fresh (non-iron) water delivered. As noted above, polyfill filtering can sometimes be effective with colored water, but it won't remove stains.

Ascorbic Acid Treatment - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Jebil]

Yea I was just reading about the AA treatment and poly fill and having water brought in to fill the pool.

There are a lot of pools in my neighborhood and they were all filled with the same water I’m using (we have a community well) and none of them are having this issue like I am. Any idea why that is? Now I haven’t inspected everyone’s pool but I did post my problem to our Facebook group and nobody mentioned having the issue. And I know personally my neighbors pool looks perfect and he just replaced his liner and filled it with water out of the hose.

 

[Texas Splash]

Any idea why that is?

The reactions you see from stains and water discoloration is related to 3 primary things: the amount of iron in the water, the current FC level, and the pH. This is why accurate water testing is so critical in situations like yourself. Test (guess) strips and/or local store testing won't do it. Any of those variables can influence the water of your pool and your neighbors.