Hi all! This is my first post here so hopefully I've put it in the right place. I've been searching around this forum for a while and have pieced together some information from various posts. I'm sure I'm missing the one (or many) that will deal with my specific issue and situation but hopefully I can get some clear answers with this post.
Im a relatively new pool owner (bought this house a year and a half ago), with a 20k gallon in-ground fiberglass pool with a cartridge filter. The pool is equipped with a saltwater system, though I haven't been using it due to an error message on the box and the idea from the previous owners that it had malfunctioned somehow. Not sure if any more specifics needed but I'll fill in if needed.
I never had had any problems with metal/mineral staining until earlier this year, then woke up one morning to a brown stain coating the walls and floor that I'd not noticed before and over time it's just gotten worse. The water is clear, but it's all stuck to the sides. Prior to this I'd had a lot of algae problems so I had been keeping chlorine high, and from what I've read here that may have triggered the metals out of solution and onto the walls. My town also had a little hiccup with their water supply, so I'm still unsure if there is an increased metal content now as opposed to what it was before. I need to buy a test kit and test the hose water. I've now gotten the regular maintenance down to weekly acid addition to keep the pH at 7.2, and the addition of 2 gallons of liquid chlorine. The pool sits under a huge oak tree, so I need this amount of chlorine to keep the organic stains at bay.
In any case, I used an ascorbic acid powder from the pool store but in my ignorance at the time, didn't use anything else to go with it so when I raised the chlorine back up (to a relatively high level to keep the algae and organic stains at bay), the mineral stains returned. Still totally clear water, just stained surfaces.
Now that ive done quite a bit more research, my question is: once I use the stain remover again, I somehow have to get the metals out of the water unless I want to continuously add a sequestering agent from now until forever. I've seen a few scenarios suggested, and from this I get the idea that I need to do this -->
1) stain remover, in conjunction with something like Pool Refresh which is supposed to chelate the metals into a sufficient size to be filtered out. Followed by a sequestering agent to tie up any lingering metal ions. I've also seen it suggested to use something like a MetalTrap hose filter to remove as much as possible prior to it going into the pool, and even the use of pillow stuffing to help filter out what's in solution. Several posts have also talked about clarifiers, are these the same as Pool Refresh?
I wouid ideally just like to have a clear clear plan and some input on which combination of chemicals and methods I need to employ to remove the metals from the water as best as I can without having to drain and start over, if this is possible. TIA for the help, I'm sure my pool and my wallet will be thankful!!
Im a relatively new pool owner (bought this house a year and a half ago), with a 20k gallon in-ground fiberglass pool with a cartridge filter. The pool is equipped with a saltwater system, though I haven't been using it due to an error message on the box and the idea from the previous owners that it had malfunctioned somehow. Not sure if any more specifics needed but I'll fill in if needed.
I never had had any problems with metal/mineral staining until earlier this year, then woke up one morning to a brown stain coating the walls and floor that I'd not noticed before and over time it's just gotten worse. The water is clear, but it's all stuck to the sides. Prior to this I'd had a lot of algae problems so I had been keeping chlorine high, and from what I've read here that may have triggered the metals out of solution and onto the walls. My town also had a little hiccup with their water supply, so I'm still unsure if there is an increased metal content now as opposed to what it was before. I need to buy a test kit and test the hose water. I've now gotten the regular maintenance down to weekly acid addition to keep the pH at 7.2, and the addition of 2 gallons of liquid chlorine. The pool sits under a huge oak tree, so I need this amount of chlorine to keep the organic stains at bay.
In any case, I used an ascorbic acid powder from the pool store but in my ignorance at the time, didn't use anything else to go with it so when I raised the chlorine back up (to a relatively high level to keep the algae and organic stains at bay), the mineral stains returned. Still totally clear water, just stained surfaces.
Now that ive done quite a bit more research, my question is: once I use the stain remover again, I somehow have to get the metals out of the water unless I want to continuously add a sequestering agent from now until forever. I've seen a few scenarios suggested, and from this I get the idea that I need to do this -->
1) stain remover, in conjunction with something like Pool Refresh which is supposed to chelate the metals into a sufficient size to be filtered out. Followed by a sequestering agent to tie up any lingering metal ions. I've also seen it suggested to use something like a MetalTrap hose filter to remove as much as possible prior to it going into the pool, and even the use of pillow stuffing to help filter out what's in solution. Several posts have also talked about clarifiers, are these the same as Pool Refresh?
I wouid ideally just like to have a clear clear plan and some input on which combination of chemicals and methods I need to employ to remove the metals from the water as best as I can without having to drain and start over, if this is possible. TIA for the help, I'm sure my pool and my wallet will be thankful!!
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