White stains expanding on gunite pool - Please Help

[JamesW]

You can turn the system off and try a zero alkalinity treatment and then restore the alkalinity before turning the system back on or maybe get the heater taken offline to do the sulfamic acid treatment, but that means no heater for months until the sulfamic acid eventually breaks down.

The sulfamic acid locks up the chlorine for months and the copper will eventually come back out of solution if you don’t drain and refill to remove the copper.

 

[rozus]

@JamesW Please see this craziness!?!?! I cleaned the filter today, do you think this matches with colors of the copper you were talking about? How come I have so much residual left after backwashing!?!?! I backwashed it really well, so surprised to see this!! also, please see rhe rusting around the metal ring, would that be causing the stain also??

 

[rozus]

More:

 

[rozus]

:

 

[rozus]

Also, are these residuals caused by my nature2 mineral cartridge?? Or phosfree phosphate remover I added twice? I am confused as to where these woucome from. We opened the pool late april, and filter blades were super clean.

 

[rozus]

Really interested in hearing what you experts think also @JoyfulNoise @ajw22 @PoolStored what these residuals caused by. Really appreciate your insights in advance

 

[JoyfulNoise]

The leftover DE on the filter vanes is normal. Backwashing a filter does not efficiently remove the DE. It’s a temporary way to clean a DE filter at best and you’ll never remove all the DE with a backwash. This is why it is recommended that a DE filter be torn down and cleaned every year.

@JamesW has haven you the correct advice. You have copper staining. You need to bypass the heater by removing it and installing a PVC pipe to bypass the plumbing that goes into and out of the heater. It’s plumbing work and if you’re not comfortable doing it then you have to pay someone else to. Then you need to treat the pool with sulfamic acid. After that has lifted the stains you then need to SAFELY drain and refill the pool. This is the only way to get rid of the copper once and for all.

I’m sorry that you’re dealing with this mess but this is the consequence of using these terrible mineral systems. They do more harm than good.

 

[rozus]

The leftover DE on the filter vanes is normal. Backwashing a filter does not efficiently remove the DE. It’s a temporary way to clean a DE filter at best and you’ll never remove all the DE with a backwash. This is why it is recommended that a DE filter be torn down and cleaned every year.

@JamesW has haven you the correct advice. You have copper staining. You need to bypass the heater by removing it and installing a PVC pipe to bypass the plumbing that goes into and out of the heater. It’s plumbing work and if you’re not comfortable doing it then you have to pay someone else to. Then you need to treat the pool with sulfamic acid. After that has lifted the stains you then need to SAFELY drain and refill the pool. This is the only way to get rid of the copper once and for all.

I’m sorry that you’re dealing with this mess but this is the consequence of using these terrible mineral systems. They do more harm than good.

Thank you! Yes, I’ve been following JamesW advice. This is my 3rd month of pool ownership (not counting winter), and I think I will have to learn to live with it for now until I’m ready to take on the steps you mentioned. I had bad experience from the pool techs who came to open and close the pool. They always mess something up or give wrong advice. That’s why I’m little hesitant to bring someone in. I wish TFP could recommend reliable pool professionals whom I can hire to get these done, but that process probably doesn’t exist.

 

[rozus]

I was also chatting with plaster expert @onBalance. To continue the conversation here:
Thanks so much! With possiblities of copper staining, or poor worksmanship, You mentioned it might also be calcium scaling. Should I still try to sand those whitish areas and report back? Also, would you say sanding or acid washing might be the best solution to it? I was also thinking to keep my Ph at lower side like 7.2 and lower chlorine levels below 2.5 going forward to prevent this calcium scaling.

 

[onBalance]

As mentioned previously, there may be a copper issue with this pool that needs to be dealt with and eliminated.
Also from the photos, it appears that the plaster/pebble finish is a blue finish and is turning whitish in various areas of the pool. That would indicate either calcium scaling (due to improper water balancing), or poor troweling workmanship that leads to the whitening of dark colored plaster.

At this point, I suggest draining the pool and preferably performing a "power sanding" job (instead of an acid wash) to remedy both possible issues is the best course to take. While an acid wash would remove copper stains and calcium scale (if present), it would not properly and effectively remedy the whitish discolorations possibly caused from poor troweling procedures.

Why Colored Plaster Turns White

Plaster colors can fade or turn whitish for a handful of preventable reasons. First off, scale can be deposited onto pigmented plaster surfaces by out-of-balance pool water. As is widely known, calcium scale makes the surface rough and turns it white, and acid washing is often the remedy...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[rozus]

Here are the images shared with onBalance earlier:

 

[JamesW]

If you're going to drain anyway, I would do a sulfamic acid treatment to see what that does and then drain and do the sanding if you want.

 

[JamesW]

You can also do a zero alkalinity treatment, which is called a no-drain acid wash instead of or in addition to a sulfamic acid treatment before draining.

It's less damaging to plaster than a drain and acid wash.

Then, you can drain and sand to get rid of the water and copper and then sand if necessary.

Get local professional help make sure that everything is done safely and correctly.

Pools can pop out of the ground if the ground water table is too high.

Dealing with acid treatments is aggressive and can potentially cause new problems or cause new damages.

Do at your own risk and do your due diligence researching everything so that you are making the best and most informed decisions and so you are aware of all risks.

 

[rozus]

I am a bit scared of drain and fill. Will definitely look into zero alkalinity treatment.
One question. Can pool water with metals in it be diluted intead of replaced?

I was planning on getting an rv portable water softener when refilling the lost water from evaporation.

 

[JamesW]

Can pool water with metals in it be diluted instead of replaced?

You can add water and remove water at the same and it will dilute the metals.