Brown staining around pool returns.

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M

mcinlb

0
Aug 24, 2017
108
Long Beach, CA
Have been noticing brown pebbletec staining on a step directly adjacent to 2 of our pool returns. Won't come off with a pool brush. Any ideas on how I can tell what it is / treat them? You can see the darkest part of the stain right below the jet outlet in the photo and it kind of fans out as it gets farther out.

pool2.jpg
 
Sounds and looks like iron. Rub some vitamin c on it. See if it changes. It may change back. You may need an ascorbic acid treatment or a water replace.
 
Yes, I've done it successfully with a pebble finish although it was not the Pebble tec brand. Read this for details from our wiki. How long did you operate before the stains appeared? Have TFP methods been adhered to or is there a possibility mineral systems have been used? Are you on a well?

Chris
 
Pool was built in 2007. We bought the home in 2017 and I've been using TFP methods since then.
Had to partially drain pool because CYA was 150+ when we moved in and then we had some repairs that needed to be done, so a full drain and fill was done in 2019.

Noticed the stains appearing gradually. Water is from municipal source and tested at .1 ppm for Iron.

I did notice a bit of rust on the inside of our DE filter (stainless filter ring) and on the corner edge of grout in our spa.
Resolved the rust inside the filter, spa repair is pending.

Sounds like I may want to add a sequestrant once stains are cleared up as well.
 
Read the wiki.. "High ph along with high chlorine will precipitate any metals that are not sequestered out of the water and on to the surface of the pool again. "

Our pool always seems to want to creep up to 8.2ph.

TA was 130 and I've been able to get it down to just below 100 which has helped.

We have a SWCG and I'm wondering if the staining is occuring right next to the outlet because of the super chlorinated water coming out of the return.
 
If you confirm iron with the vitamin c test you'll have a couple of options. After the AA treatment you can:
  • do a water exchange with iron-free water
  • use sequestrant from now on approx monthly to keep the iron in solution
  • try one of the sequestrant compounds that claim to "crystalize" the iron so it can be removed with poly fill. Results on the last option seem to be mixed at best.
I found the AA treatment to be very fast and effective once you get the pH down and polyquat doesd. My pool looked like new within hours. We sold the house before I could confirm "crystalize" and remove with filtration effectiveness. I ran my pH a little high but never above 8 on purpose. Typically it was around 7.8. It took over 7 years for me to notice any iron stains and mine were pretty minor similar to yours. Our water had very very low iron content and was at levels that don't usually present a stain risk. My theory was that it concentrated over the years via evaporation. Never really proved this though.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 
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