Pleading for help after AA treatment

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Snoufette

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May 29, 2015
47
Cincinnati/ohio
I am so discouraged with iron staining returning!!

Middle of June I performed the AA treatment following instructions here on the forum:
Thursday
Allowed Chlorine to drop to zero
Added Polyquat 60
dropped pH to 7.2
Added 2lbs of AA, left on recirculate
Added 2 qts Pink Stuff
Water was gorgeous!

Friday
24 hours later began rebalancing
pH 7.0
TA 80
(expected more of a drop after treatment, dropped some but increased within 24 hours)
Then began to slowly add chlorine
1/4 gallon Friday after sundown

Saturday
AM - added 1/2 gallon
2 hours later FC zero, added 1 gallon

Chlorine and pH held steady for the next 2 weeks. I have noticed the staining slightly returning but attribute to possibly not adding enough sequestering agent. (2 quarts for 25,000 may not be enough??)

Today upon coming home from work the pool has taken on a definite iron color to the water.
current readings are as follows:
CYA 20 ( I know should be higher but recently added and wanted to measure before adding more)
FC 5
CC 1
pH 7.8
TA 100

What happened in just a few days?? I've been checking the water religiously. Steps are now turning brown again and water is no longer a gorgeous blue. :(
 
Sequesterant agents do not last long. Chlorine degrades it and the iron is released again. You need constant renewal of the sequesterant or drain the pool to get iron out or use polyfill to filter out iron as it is released.
 
I have been battling with iron stains in my pool since opening in mid April and have learned a vast amount of knowledge from this site. The one thing I could say for certain in regards to my situation and perhaps it's the same with yours is that when the pH reaches 7.6 I begin to see early signs of the staining returning (iron coming out of suspensions setting on the liner). I have been testing my water every single day and the only things I check for on a daily basis are chlorine and pH. I do not allow my pH to go over 7.3

My suggestion would be to do one more AA treatment in order to lift all the stains and then add the sequestriant to keep the iron in suspension. Keep your pH at 7.2 and monitor it on a daily basis. Lower your alkalinity to 50 or 60 to prevent those quick rises in pH.

Then continue to add the sequestriant of choice on a monthly basis based on the dosage recommended for maintenane
 
anthony21078 said:
I have been battling with iron stains in my pool since opening in mid April and have learned a vast amount of knowledge from this site. The one thing I could say for certain in regards to my situation and perhaps it's the same with yours is that when the pH reaches 7.6 I begin to see early signs of the staining returning (iron coming out of suspensions setting on the liner). I have been testing my water every single day and the only things I check for on a daily basis are chlorine and pH. I do not allow my pH to go over 7.3

My suggestion would be to do one more AA treatment in order to lift all the stains and then add the sequestriant to keep the iron in suspension. Keep your pH at 7.2 and monitor it on a daily basis. Lower your alkalinity to 50 or 60 to prevent those quick rises in pH.

Then continue to add the sequestriant of choice on a monthly basis based on the dosage recommended for maintenane
Click to expand...

Thanks for responding....
It’s so frustrating. I do monitor the ph and fc everyday. So strange that the pH was maintains and then all of a sudden jumped. I’ve got it back down to 7.2.

Do you prefer Jacks pink stuff or metal magic. Someone recommended metal magic on a thread recently but I can’t find the thread again. I’m assuming it works the same way.
 
Snoufette said:
Problem is we don’t know where it’s coming from....! We don’t have well water. Can I just put poly fill in the skinner basket. I’ve researched but all I read is that it is not easily filtered out.
Click to expand...

Keep polyfill in the skimmer basket and see what it catches. Folks have also filtered their pool water through a bucket filled with polyfill and cloth.
 
iam struggling with the same. I tried the metal magic after the AA and also getting recurrent staining. pH never above 7.2.

If you are concerned about the poly in the skimmers, you can try the bouffant style surgical hats and place the poly in that
 
How expensive is your water/sewage in OH? Test your tap water for iron and if no measurable iron, do a water exchange after the AA treatment if your water isn't too expensive. I had bad metal staining issue for the first two years I owned the pool and the only thing which made it go away almost 100% was a full water exchange after AA. Memphis water/sewage is very cheap so it cost me less than $150 for 26k gallons.

My Polaris is still stained like the steps in the attached picture since it was removed from the pool during AA + water exchange. I still don't know the source of the iron/copper since it all happened before I owned the house so I keep C-u-lator packs in my pump basket to proactively catch any metals (this may just be in my head though).

Post a picture of your stains so we can see how bad they are. Don't give up, it took me over 2 years and countless bottles of Metal Free and AA treatments. Not continuing the fight will let the stains win the war....
 

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