I apologize in advance as I anticipate this thread may be all over the place!
I just completed my third metal treatment for what I am rather sure is iron staining. My first two unsuccessful tries were AA and a sequestrant, however, I used CuLater the second time only and did not use an algaecide either time (Leslie's neglected to tell me I may need those). The metal came back both times and I blame it on the fact that I brought the chlorine up too quickly because my water began to turn cloudy (beginner's mistake). My third try was with a new product call Phoenix Super Erace which claims to be a metal remover and sequestrant all in and this time I did use polyquat 60. It worked fairly well, there is still mild staining, but it is improved and my water does look clearer and more blue. My first question is, could it have been the polyquat that made the water look clearer and more blue and that the Phoenix product did nothing? My pool previously had a green tint to it, but I figured it was the yellow staining + the blue water = green tint. Now I have a suspicion that maybe it wasn't metal all along but it was algae instead. Note: the AA worked wonderfully the first two times, but like I said it came back in a few days so this is why I am "fairly" sure I have an iron stain. Another note: water reports from my town mention no iron contamination whatsoever, and I have used my hose to fill the few times I've had to drain. I'm having a hard time finding what the active ingredient is in the Phoenix product but it requires a high PH and TA, unlike AA which requires you lower the PH.
My current readings are as follows after cleaning the filters twice which leads to my 2nd question:
FC: 0.5
CC: 1
PH: 8.2
TA: 130
CYA: 40
CH - the Taylor kit says that if calcium is present in your sample it should turn red initially, but mine is more like a magenta. Furthermore, when adding drops of 12 and counting drops the color very gradually changes from magenta to a soft blue, and I'm having a hard time nailing down what the reading is. I'd say it's between 200 and 300, maybe closer to 250. Is this how the CH test with the Taylor kit is supposed to work? It's not very clear.
I appreciate the info in advance, I can't wait to get a handle on this!
I just completed my third metal treatment for what I am rather sure is iron staining. My first two unsuccessful tries were AA and a sequestrant, however, I used CuLater the second time only and did not use an algaecide either time (Leslie's neglected to tell me I may need those). The metal came back both times and I blame it on the fact that I brought the chlorine up too quickly because my water began to turn cloudy (beginner's mistake). My third try was with a new product call Phoenix Super Erace which claims to be a metal remover and sequestrant all in and this time I did use polyquat 60. It worked fairly well, there is still mild staining, but it is improved and my water does look clearer and more blue. My first question is, could it have been the polyquat that made the water look clearer and more blue and that the Phoenix product did nothing? My pool previously had a green tint to it, but I figured it was the yellow staining + the blue water = green tint. Now I have a suspicion that maybe it wasn't metal all along but it was algae instead. Note: the AA worked wonderfully the first two times, but like I said it came back in a few days so this is why I am "fairly" sure I have an iron stain. Another note: water reports from my town mention no iron contamination whatsoever, and I have used my hose to fill the few times I've had to drain. I'm having a hard time finding what the active ingredient is in the Phoenix product but it requires a high PH and TA, unlike AA which requires you lower the PH.
My current readings are as follows after cleaning the filters twice which leads to my 2nd question:
FC: 0.5
CC: 1
PH: 8.2
TA: 130
CYA: 40
CH - the Taylor kit says that if calcium is present in your sample it should turn red initially, but mine is more like a magenta. Furthermore, when adding drops of 12 and counting drops the color very gradually changes from magenta to a soft blue, and I'm having a hard time nailing down what the reading is. I'd say it's between 200 and 300, maybe closer to 250. Is this how the CH test with the Taylor kit is supposed to work? It's not very clear.
I appreciate the info in advance, I can't wait to get a handle on this!