Steve, Swampwoman has been battling metals for a long time and has been able to successfully keep stains at bay in her pool. You can search her username for some of her posts.
Can't figure out my metals(?) problem
- Thread starter SteveTN
- Start date
Re: Can't get rid of metals
If I clean the stains with AA and test for metals while it's clean would you expect to get a reading? I really want to find out if my heater has been damaged and is injecting copper into the system before I drain the pool.
If I clean the stains with AA and test for metals while it's clean would you expect to get a reading? I really want to find out if my heater has been damaged and is injecting copper into the system before I drain the pool.
Cleaning the stains with AA puts the metals back into solution. At that point they should show on a metals test. Why not have someone come and inspect the heater to see if the heat exchanger has been damaged? If it is a copper heat exchanger they can tell by looking at it if it is leaching copper into the system.
The way my heater is installed makes getting to the heat exchanger difficult. You have to be able to get to the back but it's installed against a wall. We'd have to disconnect the gas and physically move the heater. I can get to the manifolds. I've had to replace one. If there is damage would it be at the edges or more likely inside?
If I can get a reading from the water and it shows iron then I won't have to worry about the heater. I've already spent a bunch on this problem.
If I can get a reading from the water and it shows iron then I won't have to worry about the heater. I've already spent a bunch on this problem.
A (hopefully) final report. The last time the stains showed up--about 2.5 weeks ago--I didn't bother lowering FC or pH before adding acsorbic acid. FC was probably around 4.5 and pH in the normal range. I put in acsorbic acid a little at a time until I saw some change. I ended up putting in 3 lbs before the liner cleared up. Over the course of the next couple of days I continued to see some lessening of stains on the plastic bits in the water (returns, etc.).
About two hours after the AA treatment I put in a bottle of Jack's Magic (purple). Two days later I put in 2 lbs. of granular chlorine. After that I had to add 1lb/day of granular chlorine for the FC to keep up with the AA. I've been running the SWG nearly 24/7 at 100% since about the 3rd day after the AA treatment.
I haven't added any chlorine (other than the SWG) for a little over a week now. I lose about .5 ppm FC during the day and gain it back over night. I think the AA is still working against me a little and hope to be able to turn the SWG down at some point. In previous years I have run it at about 60% for 12-14 hours/day.
The water and liner both look like they should. It's the first time this summer that the pool has been inviting.
Also, I put the heater back in the loop (without turning on the heat) before the last treatment. It doesn't seem to be causing any metal build up. I have yet to get anything but 0.0 reading for iron or copper with my test kit. I've been running the heat for a little over a week now and still no ill effects.
I plan to add about 1/2 bottle of Jack's Magic every week for a while (maybe forever) to try to keep the problem at bay. In any case, things are going well right now.
I did have to drain about 1.5 feet of water because I had high salt readings. This was before the last AA treatm I expect this helped with the metals and may have been a key to the problem's solution.
I still don't know the source of the metals. There may be enough in the tap water to have built up over time since I put the pool in. However, there is probably more rainwater than tap water in the pool. I leave it uncovered all year so any time we have a good storm I end up draining some water and the rain fills it back up. During the summer I make up for evaporation with the hose but I hadn't filled with tap water since last summer when this year's problems started.
Anyway, we've been in the pool pretty regularly for the last couple of weeks. Overall a happy ending, so far. I hope it holds until my great-nephew's birthday pool party at the end of the month!
About two hours after the AA treatment I put in a bottle of Jack's Magic (purple). Two days later I put in 2 lbs. of granular chlorine. After that I had to add 1lb/day of granular chlorine for the FC to keep up with the AA. I've been running the SWG nearly 24/7 at 100% since about the 3rd day after the AA treatment.
I haven't added any chlorine (other than the SWG) for a little over a week now. I lose about .5 ppm FC during the day and gain it back over night. I think the AA is still working against me a little and hope to be able to turn the SWG down at some point. In previous years I have run it at about 60% for 12-14 hours/day.
The water and liner both look like they should. It's the first time this summer that the pool has been inviting.
Also, I put the heater back in the loop (without turning on the heat) before the last treatment. It doesn't seem to be causing any metal build up. I have yet to get anything but 0.0 reading for iron or copper with my test kit. I've been running the heat for a little over a week now and still no ill effects.
I plan to add about 1/2 bottle of Jack's Magic every week for a while (maybe forever) to try to keep the problem at bay. In any case, things are going well right now.
I did have to drain about 1.5 feet of water because I had high salt readings. This was before the last AA treatm I expect this helped with the metals and may have been a key to the problem's solution.
I still don't know the source of the metals. There may be enough in the tap water to have built up over time since I put the pool in. However, there is probably more rainwater than tap water in the pool. I leave it uncovered all year so any time we have a good storm I end up draining some water and the rain fills it back up. During the summer I make up for evaporation with the hose but I hadn't filled with tap water since last summer when this year's problems started.
Anyway, we've been in the pool pretty regularly for the last couple of weeks. Overall a happy ending, so far. I hope it holds until my great-nephew's birthday pool party at the end of the month!
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,017
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Hope the rest of the season goes well for you. 