A week ago, put in Stain Free by Natural Chemistry to remove iron stains (confirmed by Vitamin C tablet test) after letting the chlorine drift down below 0. Ended up having to use 4 bottles to remove all the stains. Added algaecide using instructions on bottle for initial dose.
Once stains were gone, added Metal Free (sequestrant), waited 24 hours and vacuumed and backflushed – discharge was extremely dirty so I’m assuming some of the iron was removed.
Over the next 5-6 days, added chlorine to 2-3 ppm 3-4 x’s/day until it started holding. Somehow, I must’ve forgotten that I already added chlorine because it spiked and was at 16 when I tested yesterday morning. Started to notice the stains returning (assuming because the chlorine was too high and the Metal Free was oxidized)– so added a maintenance dose of Metal Free. Ran another full round of tests and pH was high – 8.0 so added muriatic acid to bring it down (staining is usually less when pH is lower, right?). Yesterday evening the water started to get cloudy. Not sure if this is the beginning of algae or the sequestrant doing its job. This morning it’s somewhat better but not crystal clear.
Current test results:
FC: 14
CC: 0
pH: 7.6
TA: 160
CYA: over 100
CH: 380
I’ve read some people have had good results with ProTeam Metal Magic as both a stain remover and sequestrant. Should I try that since the stains are new? Magic Mike’s?
In what order should I proceed? Clear the cloudiness and then worry about the stains later? My husband is losing patience not being able to swim since the weather has been fantastic and we haven’t been able to swim in over a week!
Once stains were gone, added Metal Free (sequestrant), waited 24 hours and vacuumed and backflushed – discharge was extremely dirty so I’m assuming some of the iron was removed.
Over the next 5-6 days, added chlorine to 2-3 ppm 3-4 x’s/day until it started holding. Somehow, I must’ve forgotten that I already added chlorine because it spiked and was at 16 when I tested yesterday morning. Started to notice the stains returning (assuming because the chlorine was too high and the Metal Free was oxidized)– so added a maintenance dose of Metal Free. Ran another full round of tests and pH was high – 8.0 so added muriatic acid to bring it down (staining is usually less when pH is lower, right?). Yesterday evening the water started to get cloudy. Not sure if this is the beginning of algae or the sequestrant doing its job. This morning it’s somewhat better but not crystal clear.
Current test results:
FC: 14
CC: 0
pH: 7.6
TA: 160
CYA: over 100
CH: 380
I’ve read some people have had good results with ProTeam Metal Magic as both a stain remover and sequestrant. Should I try that since the stains are new? Magic Mike’s?
In what order should I proceed? Clear the cloudiness and then worry about the stains later? My husband is losing patience not being able to swim since the weather has been fantastic and we haven’t been able to swim in over a week!