Iron Staining // Ascorbic Acid Treatment

[Tiziano]

SLAM done! It was my first time and I would say the main thing I learned is that it was much easier to keep the chlorine level a bit above the recommended so it never dropped below. Once I started doing that, I think I was done in two days versus the 5-6 before where I kept it right at recommended level and was constantly going below it between tests.

My big worry with doing a SLAM right after an AA treatment was that the iron would stain again. I went as high as 26-29 FC and didn't get staining. This was definitely due to the fact I stuffed my leaf catcher with Polyfil and to a more minor degree the CuLator.

Initially I didn't think the Polyfil was doing anything but over the two weeks I finished the AA treatment and did a SLAM, I would say the Polyfil is excellent at filtering iron and the CuLator seems cool but from a cost perspective is not worth it as Polyfil works better and is really cheap.

I only used 4oz of sequestrant early on in the process and then forgot about it altogether. I don't think that little made any difference in the process so would say it's not a necessary step. Or at least in my case.

Attaching some pics of the Polyfil, CuLator and pool when I finished.

Crystal clear and blue

 

[Texas Splash]

Glad to hear the poly helped. Enjoy another TFP season.

 

[Tiziano]

Glad to hear the poly helped. Enjoy another TFP season.

I'm ready! Thanks for all the help!

 

[mknauss]

I'm ready! Thanks for all the help!

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[Rob_LI]

SLAM done! It was my first time and I would say the main thing I learned is that it was much easier to keep the chlorine level a bit above the recommended so it never dropped below. Once I started doing that, I think I was done in two days versus the 5-6 before where I kept it right at recommended level and was constantly going below it between tests.

My big worry with doing a SLAM right after an AA treatment was that the iron would stain again. I went as high as 26-29 FC and didn't get staining. This was definitely due to the fact I stuffed my leaf catcher with Polyfil and to a more minor degree the CuLator.

Initially I didn't think the Polyfil was doing anything but over the two weeks I finished the AA treatment and did a SLAM, I would say the Polyfil is excellent at filtering iron and the CuLator seems cool but from a cost perspective is not worth it as Polyfil works better and is really cheap.

I only used 4oz of sequestrant early on in the process and then forgot about it altogether. I don't think that little made any difference in the process so would say it's not a necessary step. Or at least in my case.

Attaching some pics of the Polyfil, CuLator and pool when I finished.

Crystal clear and blue

Hi Tiziano - I'm about to start the AA treatment this summer and was interested in your process. I did it 2 years ago but after struggling to raise my FC back, along with re-staining (and the cost), I pretty much gave up on the process. But I think you're on to something here.. When I did it, I used Metal Magic to sequester the iron right after the AA. I think that was my problem; I never did get the iron out (even used a bunch of CuLators).

Based on your posts, it looks like you did the AA to lift the stains and basically get the iron moving around - but it wasn't until the SLAM that the iron was able to get caught in the polyfil. Is that accurate? If so, I think I'm going to give this another shot as I cannot stand looking at the stains on my liner.

 

[cledee]

Hi Tiziano - I'm about to start the AA treatment this summer and was interested in your process. I did it 2 years ago but after struggling to raise my FC back, along with re-staining (and the cost), I pretty much gave up on the process. But I think you're on to something here.. When I did it, I used Metal Magic to sequester the iron right after the AA. I think that was my problem; I never did get the iron out (even used a bunch of CuLators).

Based on your posts, it looks like you did the AA to lift the stains and basically get the iron moving around - but it wasn't until the SLAM that the iron was able to get caught in the polyfil. Is that accurate? If so, I think I'm going to give this another shot as I cannot stand looking at the stains on my liner.

Did this ever work for you?

 

[Rob_LI]

Did this ever work for you?

sorry for the late reply, haven't been on the site in a bit. I have not done the AA treatment this year but years ago I did and now my iron stains are worse than ever. My plan, once the water temp drops a bit and no one is using it, is to drop the chlorine and add polyquat, along with a couple of pounds of AA (1st time I overdosed with like 4 lbs). Recirculate for 24 hrs-ish, then stuff polyfil in the skimmers. Going to add liquid chlorine in through skimmer, hoping the iron precipitates into the polyfil. Even if I'm able to get like 50% of the iron out, I'd be happy.

 

[cledee]

sorry for the late reply, haven't been on the site in a bit. I have not done the AA treatment this year but years ago I did and now my iron stains are worse than ever. My plan, once the water temp drops a bit and no one is using it, is to drop the chlorine and add polyquat, along with a couple of pounds of AA (1st time I overdosed with like 4 lbs). Recirculate for 24 hrs-ish, then stuff polyfil in the skimmers. Going to add liquid chlorine in through skimmer, hoping the iron precipitates into the polyfil. Even if I'm able to get like 50% of the iron out, I'd be happy.

No worries, I did try the polyfill method and it did catch some metals, but it was not enough and most of the metals just stained the walls and the Stairs, especially around the return jets. What worked best for me was after AA treatment was just dumping and replacing water. Right now I only have stains on the stairs so in mid October when I'm getting close to closing the pool, I will do one more AA treatment before dumping water.

 

[Rob_LI]

No worries, I did try the polyfill method and it did catch some metals, but it was not enough and most of the metals just stained the walls and the Stairs, especially around the return jets. What worked best for me was after AA treatment was just dumping and replacing water. Right now I only have stains on the stairs so in mid October when I'm getting close to closing the pool, I will do one more AA treatment before dumping water.

actually just did the AA few weeks ago and stains did come back.. polyfil didn't really do anything but i think the filter caught some iron since the stains look to be "better". i'm due for a new liner in a year or two so i'll just deal with the iron until then and filter the water going into fill the pool. this sucks lol.