Hi all, I will say I have not too mush staining but it was probably getting or going to get worse. Brownish starting on the liner in corners and in one corner of the pool some rust spots and two spots on the white fiberglass stairs. But my stairs are white and my liner blue but there is that brown staining happening. I would think the culprit is we had town water delivery pipes changed in the whole neighborhood last year and I filled added an inch or two from the hose this year but honestly I had some of the brown stain on opening here in the Northeast. I used vitamin C in a sock to identify it and actually got rid of the more unsightly spots knowing that they will come back if I don't take further action. I came across this site- http://www.poolxperts.org/remove-iron-pool-water/ -and just want to ask an opinion because I am not having the more severe problems like some others at the moment. My pool looks great right at the moment and for the gain I am not sure I want to use AA and the sequestrant and lowering FC and PH and all. This link states four ways to handle this problem and I am interested in trying the least invasive which is probably #1 but how does that actually work and does it work? I do have AA on order to start the process but may decide to, at minimum, add AA and sequester(with small maintenance doses) at minimum for the rest of the summer this year and try not to use house water or come up with some kind of filter to add water. Will some type of poly fill concoction on the end of the hose help with getting rid of some of the particulates? Thanks for the help in advance.
Metal staining not Bad but IS there. OPTIONS FOR GETTING RID OF IT!
- Thread starter gdinda
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,030
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Method 1 (SLAM/Shock level) is one way, but trickier than what the article describes. Once you elevated the chlorine level to "force" the iron out of suspension, it's "game-on"! That stuff is going everywhere it can and quickly. It's not just going to fall to the floor for easy vacuuming. It can stain any surface. But if done carefully, one big benefit is that you can filter it out better. Use batting materials, towels, micro-filters, poly, etc to grab the iron while it's in that suspended state.
You have a cartridge filter, so I'm assuming no way to backwash to waste so option #2 is out - not so sure that would be your best method anyways. The last two options are really just sequestrants and such.
If you can't have fresh water trucked-in, your best and most reliable method of metals management is to add sequestrant to the water and replenish it periodically. Sequestrant is a chemical that binds to the iron in the water so that it can't form stains or turn brown. Sequestrant breaks down slowly, so you need to add more regularly. ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG) are some of the top sequestrants. You can also find other brands with similar products, some of which are noticeably less expensive. Sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives are the most effective.
You have a cartridge filter, so I'm assuming no way to backwash to waste so option #2 is out - not so sure that would be your best method anyways. The last two options are really just sequestrants and such.
If you can't have fresh water trucked-in, your best and most reliable method of metals management is to add sequestrant to the water and replenish it periodically. Sequestrant is a chemical that binds to the iron in the water so that it can't form stains or turn brown. Sequestrant breaks down slowly, so you need to add more regularly. ProTeam's Metal Magic and Jack's Magic the Pink Stuff (regular), the Blue Stuff (fresh plaster), and the Purple Stuff (SWG) are some of the top sequestrants. You can also find other brands with similar products, some of which are noticeably less expensive. Sequestrants based on HEDP, phosphonic acid, or phosphonic acid derivatives are the most effective.
Thanks for the reply and understood. I would like to think I never have to add water but we do have some dry times. So, if I add sequestrant I should do it after adding AA? And after adding sequestrant do I have to add the 'batting', 'poly' to the skimmer to catch 'stuff' or do I just add the sequestrant and then some maintenance doses for the rest of the summer until I change over some of the water? Meaning is the sequestered iron getting filtered and will I have to clean my filter or is the iron just being suspended in the water after adding the agent?
Any tips on winter closing for this issue or should I just expect some staining on opening? Thanks again, a lot of questions....
Any tips on winter closing for this issue or should I just expect some staining on opening? Thanks again, a lot of questions....
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,030
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Managing the iron depends on the level of iron in the water causing the staining and/or water discoloration. If you chose to try and aggravate the iron a bit by elevating the FC first to try and filter some out, you would do that first. Once complete, you might consider an AA treatment if there was enough staining that warranted a full AA treatment. Once that was completed you would slowly begin to increase the FC level again and include sequestrants to help keep any iron "contained" from precipitating out again. It's a bit of a pain but comes with the territory of having iron in the water.
If over the course of the season, or next year, you are able to replace some water, that should help lower the iron content. Once you are done wrestling with the iron and treatments, try to keep the FC on the lower end of your [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] requirement and also keep the pH down as well. That might help. For winter, you can still follow our winterizing procedures and address staining (if any) when you re-open.
If over the course of the season, or next year, you are able to replace some water, that should help lower the iron content. Once you are done wrestling with the iron and treatments, try to keep the FC on the lower end of your [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA] requirement and also keep the pH down as well. That might help. For winter, you can still follow our winterizing procedures and address staining (if any) when you re-open.