CYA Testing

[Newdude]

Would you say raise FC to SLAM level or just a little higher than target?

Welp. You could do it in stages and if it gets more tinted along the way, then you can see if more FC makes more tint. We've had a couple variables in play and they may be working together for appeared progress.

Maybe it’s my imagination but I don’t think so, because I think I saw improvement since Friday in the water.

It was already improving slowly so the million dollar question is if it kept going on its own, or the poly made a faster dent.

I’d be more than happy to keep putting in poly every 24 hours over replacing water.

Replacing water with tap is something we want to avoid at the moment with questionable results about the source. Rain would be a good source over time.

The other choice is to use a sequesterant to prove its metals. If it poofs clear then we know for sure it's metals, but then need to make it appear again to (poly) filter it out if it's iron. @Mdragger88 recently had good results with metal magic, let's get her thoughts here if you want to explore that route.

If we end up with a strong feeling its iron, as it currently is indicating, a 5 gallon bucket system like in the link above would speed it along. Or slow and steady with the skimmer poly works too.

 

[kcassidy0772]

Welp. You could do it in stages and if it gets more tinted along the way, then you can see if more FC makes more tint. We've had a couple variables in play and they may be working together for appeared progress.

It was already improving slowly so the million dollar question is if it kept going on its own, or the poly made a faster dent.

Replacing water with tap is something we want to avoid at the moment with questionable results about the source. Rain would be a good source over time.

The other choice is to use a sequesterant to prove its metals. If it poofs clear then we know for sure it's metals, but then need to make it appear again to (poly) filter it out if it's iron. @Mdragger88 recently had good results with metal magic, let's get her thoughts here if you want to explore that route.

If we end up with a strong feeling its iron, as it currently is indicating, a 5 gallon bucket system like in the link above would speed it along. Or slow and steady with the skimmer poly works too.

Great I’d like to hear here thoughts on the metal magic. I’d have no problem trying that either just as a confirmation. That stuff though doesn’t cause any other problems like a lot of other pool store products?

 

[Newdude]

I’d have no problem trying that either just as a confirmation.

Yeah. This is all cementing the fact of how imperative reliable testing is.

Sadly we don't have any reasonably priced options for metals. So we have a green pool that's confirmed to be algae free (yay reliable testing).

Then the unreliable testing says the pool is free of metals but the tap water is heavy. If it said the reverse we could maybe justify it that the pool had metals to back up what we see, but it's not coming from the tap. Instead it gave us more questions, not less. Apologies there but we can only be so psychic. And it's not alot of psychic. It's actually very very little psychic.

That stuff though doesn’t cause any other problems like a lot of other pool store products?

It shouldn't cause any issues. Some chose to use it as an ongoing treatment but most tire of the expense and effort after some time. So we generally try to remove the OPs metals one and done.

Sequestrant - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mdragger88]

Looks like you certainly have iron.
I know you don’t feel lucky that your pool water is green but you are!
Now is your chance to catch as much of it as possible with polyfill.
The higher the fc the more the iron is oxidized and in the state that the polyfill can catch it. This is why it is recommended to reach slam level fc.
If you can rig up a bucket of the polyfill on your return along with having some in the skimmer you may get through the process faster & be back to blue.
If the bucket isn’t a doable option you can attach a skimmer sock filled with polyfill to your return.

In the skimmer you can use a skimmer sock to help contain the polyfill and make removing it easier.
After as much as possible has been filtered out only then you would use the sequestrant. Adding the sequestrant hides the metals so you don’t want to use it now while you’re actively trying to catch the iron.
The sequestrant would be to help prevent any stains from the iron that remains in the water you can’t see.
The deal is that sequestrant can only do so much & it wears off so it must be replenished with maintenance doses.
You want as little reliance on sequestrant as you can get. Like insurance that you hope you really don’t need
If you notice stains after the water clears up & they are very faint, the initial dose of metal magic may clear them up.
If not, you can treat the stains with the AA treatment process later when the water is colder.
Metal magic & Jack’s magic are HEDP based which is what tfp recommends using.
Sequesterants have a purpose and a place for some pools that need them, they do have their cons, mainly ongoing expense. This is why the recommendation here is to actually remove the metals from the water if at all possible (like you are doing with polyfill) & to cease adding more metals. To prevent the reliance on them as much as possible & to reserve their use for if you actually have a known problem - not just use them prophylactically no matter what like the pool store would have you do.

Sequestrant - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[kcassidy0772]

Yeah. This is all cementing the fact of how imperative reliable testing is.

Sadly we don't have any reasonably priced options for metals. So we have a green pool that's confirmed to be algae free (yay reliable testing).

Then the unreliable testing says the pool is free of metals but the tap water is heavy. If it said the reverse we could maybe justify it that the pool had metals to back up what we see, but it's not coming from the tap. Instead it gave us more questions, not less. Apologies there but we can only be so psychic. And it's not alot of psychic. It's actually very very little psychic.

It shouldn't cause any issues. Some chose to use it as an ongoing treatment but most tire of the expense and effort after some time. So we generally try to remove the OPs metals one and done.

Sequestrant - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I’m all on board and the steps all make sense even to me. Lol. And I will order one of those filters asap still because inevitably I will have to add more. Maybe as early as end of week because it seems like no rain in sight. Also since weather will be much warmer these next few days maybe I won’t lose much to require a top off.

 

[Newdude]

And I will order one of those filters asap still because inevitably I will have to add more

When you do need to add, ensure the hose is the only thing running. With a 1977 house at the old place, the water hammer was terrible and if somebody was filling the tub when the washer or sprinkler kicked on, they got a rusty bath.

So do your best to minimize the chances of similar going on.

 

[kcassidy0772]

Looks like you certainly have iron.
I know you don’t feel lucky that your pool water is green but you are!
Now is your chance to catch as much of it as possible with polyfill.
The higher the fc the more the iron is oxidized and in the state that the polyfill can catch it. This is why it is recommended to reach slam level fc.
If you can rig up a bucket of the polyfill on your return along with having some in the skimmer you may get through the process faster & be back to blue.
If the bucket isn’t a doable option you can attach a skimmer sock filled with polyfill to your return.
View attachment 586139View attachment 586140
In the skimmer you can use a skimmer sock to help contain the polyfill and make removing it easier.
After as much as possible has been filtered out only then you would use the sequestrant. Adding the sequestrant hides the metals so you don’t want to use it now while you’re actively trying to catch the iron.
The sequestrant would be to help prevent any stains from the iron that remains in the water you can’t see.
The deal is that sequestrant can only do so much & it wears off so it must be replenished with maintenance doses.
You want as little reliance on sequestrant as you can get. Like insurance that you hope you really don’t need
If you notice stains after the water clears up & they are very faint, the initial dose of metal magic may clear them up.
If not, you can treat the stains with the AA treatment process later when the water is colder.
Metal magic & Jack’s magic are HEDP based which is what tfp recommends using.
Sequesterants have a purpose and a place for some pools that need them, they do have their cons, mainly ongoing expense. This is why the recommendation here is to actually remove the metals from the water if at all possible (like you are doing with polyfill) & to cease adding more metals. To prevent the reliance on them as much as possible & to reserve their use for if you actually have a known problem - not just use them prophylactically no matter what like the pool store would have you do.

Sequestrant - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks! I don’t know if I feel lucky, but I feel better when things make sense and I learn. And the pool tint remaining by something other than algae makes perfect sense to me based on how it’s been going lately. I think with time constraints during the week it makes perfect sense for me to raise the FC, keep stuffing basket with poly and if by the weekend I see big improvement great, if improvement very slow then I consider rigging up the bucket.

 

[kcassidy0772]

When you do need to add, ensure the hose is the only thing running. With a 1977 house at the old place, the water hammer was terrible and if somebody was filling the tub when the washer or sprinkler kicked on, they got a rusty bath.

So do your best to minimize the chances of similar going on.

Thanks for that, would never have even thought of that.

 

[Newdude]

Thanks for that, would never have even thought of that.

TFP is well refined, but it's more or less a giant collection of 'don't screw up like I did'.

And it's EFFECTIVE.

 

[kcassidy0772]

Ok so I raised to SLAM level last evening. Water didn’t turn any greener. So I guess my plan should be to keep putting fresh poly in everyday until at least weekend and if not improved enough I can rig up a bucket of some kind. Poly that was in there this morning though is loaded with iron so it’s doing its job.

 

[Newdude]

Ok GREAT. Letting the Ph run on the higher side of in range may help keep more iron out of solution so you can filter it.

If the pump is on a schedule, remove the poly first because it will give it back with no flow.

 

[sande005]

Off the wall - but if you are really serious about this filtering, you may want to do a search here for "Duda diesel bag". Advance several years ago as a DIY solution for small particle filtration, similar to the "Slime Bags" on the market. Never really worked all that well when I tried it. But they are cheap, and you can buy a variety of sizes and porosity for filtering. For here, select an appropriate sized bag, filter level can be a high micron number, as you don't really care about the bag itself doing much, fill with poly, and champ it to a screw in pipe fitting to go on your return jet. You could even do several (depending on the number of returns). Change out poly as needed. Then you don't have to rig up a bucket, drill holes, figure out how to feed the bucket, etc. Now that I've mentioned it, there's probably a bazillion other things you could use as a container for the poly attached to a return.

 

[kcassidy0772]

Right now I have pump running 24/7. I figure while I’m trying to get iron out with the poly It will go faster if I do that.

 

[kcassidy0772]

Off the wall - but if you are really serious about this filtering, you may want to do a search here for "Duda diesel bag". Advance several years ago as a DIY solution for small particle filtration, similar to the "Slime Bags" on the market. Never really worked all that well when I tried it. But they are cheap, and you can buy a variety of sizes and porosity for filtering. For here, select an appropriate sized bag, filter level can be a high micron number, as you don't really care about the bag itself doing much, fill with poly, and champ it to a screw in pipe fitting to go on your return jet. You could even do several (depending on the number of returns). Change out poly as needed. Then you don't have to rig up a bucket, drill holes, figure out how to feed the bucket, etc. Now that I've mentioned it, there's probably a bazillion other things you could use as a container for the poly attached to a return.

Yes, I read about the Duda Diesel bag too. If by the end of this week my poly in skimmer isn’t moving along fast enough for me then I’m going to look into other avenues to speed it up. Thanks!

 

[Mdragger88]

This is why I suggested the skimmer sock filled with polyfill on the return- most folks already have a skimmer sock & rubber band on hand.
Fyi - you can rinse the polyfill out & reuse it. Not sure if you’re doing that already.

 

[kcassidy0772]

This is why I suggested the skimmer sock filled with polyfill on the return- most folks already have a skimmer sock & rubber band on hand.
Fyi - you can rinse the polyfill out & reuse it. Not sure if you’re doing that already.

Haven’t tried reusing it yet because first 2 days I quickly switched out poly right before I left for work and it’s messy

 

[kcassidy0772]

So I ordered the Pentek #10 Big Blue Filter Housing and the 5 micron filter mentioned in the link. However, in further reading I’m wondering if I should have gotten the other one used in the link that is a .5 micron filter. (He used two housings in his setup I am just going with 1). I may have jumped too quick. Would the 5 micron filter not be good enough to filter out all the iron? Haven’t used it yet so easy to order the other still if it would be better.

 

[Mdragger88]

So I ordered the Pentek #10 Big Blue Filter Housing and the 5 micron filter mentioned in the link. However, in further reading I’m wondering if I should have gotten the other one used in the link that is a .5 micron filter. (He used two housings in his setup I am just going with 1). I may have jumped too quick. Would the 5 micron filter not be good enough to filter out all the iron? Haven’t used it yet so easy to order the other still if it would be better.

The smaller the microns the better-

 

[Newdude]

Would the 5 micron filter not be good enough to filter out all the iron?

Going on nothing else but your cartridge filter working at about that level, it's probably not fine enough.

Also, is that for the hose or the pool ? It likely won't catch much from the hose without the chlorine to bring it out of solution. It's certainly not going to hurt, and every little bit helps, but the water goes in clear and then poofs green.

 

[kcassidy0772]

Going on nothing else but your cartridge filter working at about that level, it's probably not fine enough.

Also, is that for the hose or the pool ? It likely won't catch much from the hose without the chlorine to bring it out of solution. It's certainly not going to hurt, and every little bit helps, but the water goes in clear and then poofs green.

Oh, my intent was for the hose for when I need to refill. Maybe I misunderstood that article I thought the poster used that to filter out the iron when he refilled.