Phosphates, Hardness & Stain

[bradleyofkansas]

I first slammed towards the end of last fall and the correlation between CYA and sanitizer has changed everything for me. Keeping my pool clean and pretty is no longer a chore, but a fun hobby thanks to you all!!!

Today my water is pretty nice, but a little off from perfect so I took a sample into Leslie's to get some extra readings and make sure mine were close to inline with theirs. (All items not listed were in range and otherwise optimal)

Phosphates
879 ppm - Should I just get up to SLAM level to knock this out, or supplement with a product, say NoPhos? My concern here, is the instructions say the Chlorine level must be 4 or below, but that is out of Target Range considering my CYA is rounding up to 50ppm right now.

Calcium Hardness
148 ppm - It's a bit low and out of range, but not sure if I should add something in to get it up in range. Pool store wasn't super concerned about it. Again, the products say to have Chlorine pretty low to ensure effectiveness and I'm nervous to do that.

Metal Stain
In some years past I would mistake Stain for Algae. Once I recognized, I used the product Stain Free (Citric Acid) and it worked wonders!!! Right now, there is very very faint discoloration in some spots, so I'd like to get ahead of it. It also suggests to get the Chlorine real low to ensure effectiveness, I think 2ppm but I've heard it's affective for other people.

There is a pretty clear theme here, many additives that I may be needing right now ask for low chlorine, but I'm nervous cause I've seen first hand that reeks havoc.

Thanks in advance,
Brad

 

[AK-]

SLAM won't remove phosphates. Unless you already have algae keeping your FC on target will prevent algae without need to remove phosphates, but if you already have an algae bloom then SLAM. The idea is to kill algae before it can feed on your phosphates.

Vinyl doesn't care about CH that much. As long as you CSI is in range you should not have any corrosion. I'm increasing my CH (to be in the recommended range for my heater) with by adding chlorine with Cal-Hypo, . What product to increase CH asks for low FC?

I never had to deal with stains... but have seem multiple very effective suggestions here at TFP that don't require to lower your FC. You just need to know what is the stain cause (or test it).

 

[AK-]

OK. Seems I was mistaken., I was reading again Ascorbic Acid Treatment - Further Reading and I realize that you might want to temporarily reduce your FC.

 

[Texas Splash]

I would first say trust your own testing. Store results can only offer doubt. Phosphates are something we basically ignore in 99% of TFP pools. I agree CH should not be a concern for you. As for iron staining, keep the FC balanced correctly, not too high, and also keep the pH under 7.5. if you continue to see new stains, you can try to filter with polyfill. Later you may need to use a sequestrant or change the water for fresh water.