Help with stains on plaster pool

[batesjer]

First off thanks to everyone who contributes to this site. I would be a lost new pool owner if not for the resources here. I've spent the first three weeks with my pool getting the chemical balancing in check and now that it seems to be dialed in I would like to address the staining on the plaster. The plaster is 5 years old and there is extensive staining particularly in the deep end and on the steps. Dropped a trichlor puck on them yesterday and it did nothing. Rubbed a few with vitamin c tablets and the stain does go away. So they are iron stains correct? Some are very large and with it being a big pool I'm not sure I'll be able to address all of them by filling a sock with ascorbic acid and manually scrubbing - although I'm game for giving it a shot. Bigger question is should I just leave them until the fall or spring and address them immediately before opening or closing the pool? I'm asking because if I do a full AA treatment I need to lower my FC level to 0 correct? And I'd rather not risk an algae bloom in the middle of summer with as short as it can be in Michigan. Thanks for any input!

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

You can start using Jack's Magic Pink or Blue Stuff. The product sequesters metal, and some have reduced the staining from metals over time. I had copper staining last year due to no knowing TFP methods yet and adding algaecide with copper. I've been treating with Jack's Magic Blue Stuff per the label guidelines since last August and the stains are greatly reduced.

 

[batesjer]

Can I sequester and then remove either through vacuuming to waste or polyfill in my skimmer basket or will I just need to continually sequester over time?

 

[Texas Splash]

Generally, filtering will only be effective when the iron is actually precipitating-out. You can still try, just don't be surprised if you don't see much caught unless your FC and/or pH are high. In the meantime, you have about what ..... 2-3 months left max? If it were me and the stains didn't bother me too much, I'd wait until the water temp drops. Do your AA treatment and then you can go into closing with some Poly 60, or wait until early next spring and do the AA before the water temp increases. Certainly your call either way.

Have a great weekend.

Ascorbic Treatment to rid Pool of metal stains

Here are the directions to use Ascorbic acid to rid your pool of metal stains: Here is the ascorbic treatment: Take your chlorine down to 0 and PH down to 7.2, if there is chlorine in the water it won't hurt, it will just eat up the ascorbic acid, so you will need more to get rid of the...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[batesjer]

Thanks Texas Splash. Figured I'd wait until mid-September to treat the pool. That way if anything goes wrong it's not a huge loss and I have time to get it balanced before closing it down. The people at Jack's Magic Stuff seem helpful and since they get recommendations here I'll probably go with their process. Iron and Cobalt remover, Blue Stuff, and cellulose added to my sand filter. And continued maintenance afterwards since the iron is likely coming from my fill water.