Iron stains AA plus Metal Magic?

[mguzzy]

So 'Sails .. is iron in your pool water something you will have to declare in the conditions of the house? Or are we going to have to put up with a new user at some point that starts their Introductions post with.. "We bought this new house and the pool has stains..."

So I just got my tub of AA and I already had the MM when I saw it at a good price this winter. I'll be following your recipe when the water gets a little warmer.. only 8 degrees to go before I reach 60!

 

[markayash]

I too have been considering an investment to a real good filter for getting the iron out. This liner is going on its 6th season. Like to keep it this way.

Thanks for that story Chris. I'll be watching both ph & chlorine like a hawk to keep it nice.

I learned the hard way high PH will bring them back. First year with my SWG and wasn't watching PH over the winter..Noticed stains and then when I checked PH it was off the color scale

Live and learned

 

[borjis]

Ive gotten lucky in that this pool likes to be at 7.4 year round without chemical addition.

 

[zapados]

Wow this is a great thread and I just read the ENTIRE thing.

Thanks @setsailsoon for this tale.

It does seem like getting iron-less water into the pool is the best way to avoid iron staining...everything else seems very...precarious?

But if your fill water has iron...mine supposedly has 1.01 ppm iron "maximum contaminant level"...how do we get that out before putting it in the pool?

Also, I have an above ground pool, so how does that play with water replacements? I've heard you should never remove all the water as that can damage the liner or even collapse a pool. How "low can you go"? Will the removed water be enough to stop iron stains from re-appearing after doing an AA treatment? Or is this a multi-year process? Also, I drain in the winters to 6" below the skimmer, so not sure how that plays into it either, except that maybe stains would continue to decrease IF I had a method to add iron-free water back to the pool.

Thoughts?

Again thanks for the awesome information in this thread all!

 

[mguzzy]

how do we get that out before putting it in the pool?

How you ask! Why just consult the font of all pool knowledge.. the TFP wiki of course ...

Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[zapados]

How you ask! Why just consult the font of all pool knowledge.. the TFP wiki of course ...

Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

This is pretty sweet! Thanks @mguzzy. So maybe that sick dual-Pentek solution, AA treatment, partial water drain, refill with that badboy, is the most sane path. If the staining comes back, try again next season, as the diluted "iron water" left in the above-ground pool will keep going down over time so long as I keep filling from the filter setup.

 

[mguzzy]

Not to toot my own horn.. but here's some tooting:

What I thought were old iron stains on my cartridge filters, is iron my water!

Hi all Amazingly I found no posts on the forum about this. So I was the victim of the dreaded Iron contaminated Clorox Pool Salt about 3 seasons ago. Apparently it was worse than I thought. There is a nice darker area in my mottled dark plaster in the deep end from salt additions from that...

www.troublefreepool.com

See what ya think of that process.

 

[markayash]

This is a Video we got or mark Grizzly ( he typed it wrong, hard to type with long claws ) watching his water

 

[setsailsoon]

Wow this is a great thread and I just read the ENTIRE thing.

Thanks @setsailsoon for this tale.

It does seem like getting iron-less water into the pool is the best way to avoid iron staining...everything else seems very...precarious?

But if your fill water has iron...mine supposedly has 1.01 ppm iron "maximum contaminant level"...how do we get that out before putting it in the pool?

Also, I have an above ground pool, so how does that play with water replacements? I've heard you should never remove all the water as that can damage the liner or even collapse a pool. How "low can you go"? Will the removed water be enough to stop iron stains from re-appearing after doing an AA treatment? Or is this a multi-year process? Also, I drain in the winters to 6" below the skimmer, so not sure how that plays into it either, except that maybe stains would continue to decrease IF I had a method to add iron-free water back to the pool.

Thoughts?

Again thanks for the awesome information in this thread all!

Zap,

Glad it was helpful. With only 1 ppm in your fill water it should take some time to build up enough to cause stains but it will happen. When we get our new pool I'll have a more serious problem since I'll be on well water. The biggest problem will be total hardness which runs about 15 grains and will need a water softener. I plan to also install an ionic resin bed for the iron and will let you know how it works but that will be about a year down the road.

I think the best bet in the short run is to use @JoyfulNoise suggestion to put a tablet in the skimmer with some polyfill but I never did get a chance to try that before we sold the house.

Chris

 

[Bradenwb]

I think the best bet in the short run is to use @JoyfulNoise suggestion to put a tablet in the skimmer with some polyfill but I never did get a chance to try that before we sold the house.

Which tablets exactly? I'll give it a whirl.

Thanks Chris for posting this - and everyone that contributed.

I am on well water and I have a dual all-house pentek for fill water (5 micron and .5 micron filters). I have slight staining on liner but the white fiberglass stairs are more severe. After reading all this, I am still unclear which path to take to clear this up. Can I just lower pH, treat with AA, and stuff poly in my strainers? Or will it not filter it out without MM? I would like to avoid a sequestering agent if not needed.

Do you filter this through cartridge filters or bypass filters for first 24 hours? Pool School says to put in circulate mode which I think means bypass but it 14 years old post? I am not sure I can even bypass my filters.. I need to go look (Ascorbic Treatment to rid Pool of metal stains)

 

[setsailsoon]

Which tablets exactly? I'll give it a whirl.

Thanks Chris for posting this - and everyone that contributed.

I am on well water and I have a dual all-house pentek for fill water (5 micron and .5 micron filters). I have slight staining on liner but the white fiberglass stairs are more severe. After reading all this, I am still unclear which path to take to clear this up. Can I just lower pH, treat with AA, and stuff poly in my strainers? Or will it not filter it out without MM? I would like to avoid a sequestering agent if not needed.

Do you filter this through cartridge filters or bypass filters for first 24 hours? Pool School says to put in circulate mode which I think means bypass but it 14 years old post? I am not sure I can even bypass my filters.. I need to go look (Ascorbic Treatment to rid Pool of metal stains)

B,

I believe they were calcium hypochlorite not the more common trichlor. Maybe @JoyfulNoise can confirm. If you're on a well that has iron (most do) you'll need to treat the well water for iron. There are a couple of different systems that work depending on the iron level. In the short run I think the tablets and polyfill are your best bet. If that doesn't work you'll need to continue with sequestrent until you can find a way to eliminate iron from the well. A little sequestrant each month isn't that bad of a price to pay for ridding the pool of iron stains. Of course best way to go is iron free water but not possible for some of us.

Good luck and please do keep us posted.

Chris

 

[markayash]

Thanks for your input! I’ve seen Jack’s but have heard mixed reviews about it whereas MM seemed to have mostly positive reviews so that why I was looking for that. I might have to go with jacks though if I can’t get MM here. Thanks!

Jacks has a few different formulas and they are good about replying to emails on which one to use.