New House - Old Pool, trying to get in order

Looks good. Next you can try to solve those stains. They may be iron stains. Test a small area by crushing some vitamin c tablets inside a sock and rubbing it against the stain for a few minutes. If it's iron, it will lighten after a couple of minutes. Once you know it's iron, you could try an ascorbic acid (AA) treatment on the entire pool. You basically:

1) Adjust pH down to 7.2 and let the FC drop near 0 (can be a bit risky if the weather is warm(algae)

2) add your AA around the entire pool. It's basically crushed vitamin c in a powder form. You can use as little as a couple of pounds or even up to 4 or 5. I did a treatment on my pool (20,000 gallons) last August and I used around 6 pounds. I started it with my FC at 2. I couldn't wait any longer. The AA will just burn off the remaining FC before actually going to work on the stains, so you need more of it in that case.

3) Add 2 bottles of metal sequestrant to keep the stains in solution so they don't end up back on the walls and floor of the pool. I use the Metal Magic brand.

4) Start adding FC back to the pool slowly. I added enough to get to my lower limit (FC 4) and checked it often cause the chlorine will eat the remaining AA in the pool and get used up very quickly. So redose it often back to at least 4. Eventually it will start holding, but you'll use quite a bit of chlorine until that happens. Once it starts holding, adjust the FC up to its normal level. You don't want to shock the pool for at least a couple of weeks cause that could cause the stains to come out of solution and go back onto the pool's surface. Hopefully, you don't have to shock at all.

5) Then, you simply add a maintenance dose of sequesterant once a month to keep the stains in solution and off your surface. I use half a bottle a month (16 oz) and the pool still looks great.
 
If you're gonna tackle the stains, then yes, I would stop that for now. Lowering the TA is always the last thing we recommend after everything else is done. Can you give us a new full set of test so we can see where you're at now?
 
Use the muriatic acid to lower your pH but with a TA of 250 your pH is going to drift back up. Also 7.8 is not a bad number just at the top of the range so don't get too excited. Focus on keeping your pH below 8 and above 7.2 You can lower your TA with acid and aeration if pH drifts too high too fast or just add some MA every week or two to manage pH.
 
Where is the best place and type (brand) of Muriatic acid to buy? I'm near a Home Depot, Lowes, or Ace Hardware. Also a Leslie's pool, if necessary.

Thanks again for all of the help.
 
I get mine at Leslie's. It's the full strength (31%) and it's about $15 for a case (2 gallons). Home Depot, at least in California, only stocks the half strength(14.5%) for $11 so you're getting ripped off if you go this route. The muriatic acid is what you adjust the pH with. AA is only for the stains. I used this AA.

5 lb Bulk Ascorbic Acid Powder | NewStore : PC NetwoRx Inc.

and this sequestrant:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MYHDJNZ/ref=twister_B01MZIZ9G3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The 4 pack is the best deal and you will probably use about half a bottle monthly for maintenance.
 
I already ordered the sequestrant via Amazon. Unfortunately I also ordered the AA via Amazon, so I paid $38 for 3lbs, rather than $45 for 5. AA treatment should just be one time, assuming I keep using the sequestrant, right?

I'll swing by Leslie's and get the muriatic.

Thanks much.
 

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3 Lbs may not be enough, especially if you don't let your FC drop to 0 cause the AA will go to work on the remaining FC first before it attacks the stains. Maybe another 3 Lbs would work best. That sight also has the 3 Lb bag for $29 but they do charge shipping, so it may be close to a wash.

Yes, the AA should just be a one time thing, although if you're not happy with the results you could do it again at a later time. I helped a friend of mine out with her pool who also had iron stains and I didn't quite have the optimal amount of AA so, I may have to do it again in the future.
 
Pool now. AA is like magic.20180416_191125.jpg

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No chlorine. Sequesterant gets here tomorrow at which point I will begin to normalize chlorine. I did not use algicide. I have hth super algicide 60, but I can't determine if it polyquat or not. Should I use it? Vacuuming every day. Pump runs 24/7. Anything else I should be doing?
 
Wow! What an improvement. You probably should have waited until you received your sequestrant before starting the AA treatment, but hopefully it wont affect much. The AA lifts the stains off the plaster and into the water, while the sequestrant holds them there in solution so they don't find their way back down to the plaster. Get a couple of bottles in there right away when you receive them.

Since you have no chlorine in there right now, I would brush the entire surface a couple of times a day to keep any algae bio film from starting. With no chlorine, you're way more susceptible to it, so a little brushing all over should help, especially if you have any dead spots in the pool where water doesn't seem to flow very well.

Just remember to bring up your FC slowly, so you don't get anywhere near SLAM levels. I would add around 4-6 PPM at a time and test it every couple of hours at first and re-dose it because it will disappear rather quickly as it burns off the rest of the AA in the pool. Don't get frustrated by how much liquid chlorine you'll use. It's normal, especially if you added excess AA. How much did you end up adding by the way?

As for the algaecide, if you haven't added it yet, you're probably better off saving it for the future or returning it. Your choice. I added mine before I added the AA while my FC was getting close to 0 (2 PPM).

Keep a really close eye on the pool for at least a few days after you FC starts to hold. I thought I was out of the woods about 4 days after my FC started holding. We went swimming that day and everything looked great, but when I looked out my window at midnight I noticed the water beginning to get cloudy. I did a mini semi-SLAM where I added about 10 PPM FC and checked it about 6 times in the next 24 hours and re-dosed it. It seemed to clear it up and I was good to go. It was warmer back then (August), so it's less risky now, but keep an eye on it anyway.

Don't forget your maintenance dose of sequestrant monthly and you should be set.
 
I used 3 lbs of AA for the record. I have 5lbs on the way, but my impatience got the better of me. I thought the sequesterant would have been here by now, or I maybe would have waited. I will brush & vacuum daily to try to avoid an algae bloom.

When bringing the FC up, shouldn't I be targeting a maintenance level relative to my CYA? My CYA was 50 (I will recheck after adding some water, but I doubt it has changed much). So shouldn't my ultimate target be 6 to 8 ppm FC? From the pool calculator roughly half a jug of 10% (69 oz vs. 64oz) raises by FC by 4ppm. So I'm thinking add half a jug, wait an hour, test and add the other half a jug (if needed) and go from there. From reading other posts, I get the impression that FC decays exponentially rather than linearly, so there really is no benefit to overdosing (and risk of stains returning).

I was planning on getting to a maintenance FC level, and cutting the pump back to 7 hours (which generates over 1 turn of the water), but given your advice I may wait a week or so to make sure everything is copacetic before cutting the pump from 24/7.

Any idea how much FC I should plan on the AA "eating"?

Again thank all of you so much for your help. I felt pretty hopeless at the onset and was ready to hire a "pro", but the transformation (which has taken about a month at this point) has been nothing short of phenomenal. I will post a before and after pick side by side shortly.



I was planning on loading up on bleach the other day, but I also needed the muriatic, so I favored waiting on the bleach so I didn't have to transport the potentially volatile mix together.

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20180319_174811.jpg20180412_193201.jpg20180416_191125.jpg
 
A couple more questions, while I am thinking about it -

What about the staining above the waterline? Raise the water level and retreat with AA?

I have been vacuuming everyday, but I can't get all the small stuff floating on the surface at the waterline (primarily those little string seeds that fall from Oak trees). It also doesn't net very well. Any tricks, or just wait for the skimmer to eventually get it?

Would a dolphin or similar cleaner get the stuff at the waterline?

Thanks in advance.
 

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