Yellow staining on the wall - metal? mustard algae? calcium buildup?

[pooln00b1]

Hi all,

I have a relatively new pool owner. Have had it for about 2 years. I do my own chemistry and up until last year (2023) my pool was perfectly fine. This last winter the pool got a bit more dirtier than usual and upon opening this summer I have had a many issues and have spent more money than I would like to admit.

the pool water is clear and well balanced for the most part. At a certain point, my test strips were reading low CYA so I raised it only to find out that the test strips were faulty. Now I am using the liquid testing kit and my overall chemistry is as follows:

Total Chlorine: 1-4
CYA: currently 45 - used to be over 200 (drained water to bring the levels down)
PH: 7.2
Alkalinity: 200 (I just added some muriatic acid to reduce this)
Hardness over 80+ PPM (I gave up testing as the color would never change (this may be related to the high alkalinity) working on fixing it

I have a decent amount of staining. It is light yellow/tan, doesn't feel slimy, doesn't brush off. I have tried bushing it by hand and it doesn't come off


I read about Mustard Algae and started treating it with yellow treat (bromine): did not work (but this was when my CYA level was high and maybe it made the chlorine less effective? (I can try again)
I read about metal staining and tried both Vitamin C and Citric acid and both did not work. I did nothing at all I also added metal gone and culator recently
I tried brushing and that didn't work.
I changed the cartridge in the filter since it was three years old and not doing a great job.

Before I go adding more stuff to the water and continue to waste money I need your help. What is this stain ? The stain is all around the pool walls (not just in one spot )

 

[ajw22]

Looks like copper stains. Have you added any chemicals that have copper sulfate in it?

Stains in Your Pool

The stained pool is beyond embarrassing. Our in-depth Guide to remove stains in your pool will help you to remove the stains and prevent them in the future.

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Stain ID Kit | Jacks Magic

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Yellow Treat changes your pool from a chlorine pool to a bromine pool.

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Hardness should be 250+PPM for a plaster pool.

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Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

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[wireform]

Did you just say test strips. Before you go by more stuff you need a real test kit
Test Kits Compared
Those test strips will not give you any accuracy.

 

[pooln00b1]

Thanks for the response y'all !!

Copper stain: I tried removing it with citric acid which apparently removes copper stain and event at direct contact it did nothing. Yes, I have used algicide and clarifiers with copper content in it. I have added metal gone to decrease metal content together with culator.

Yellow treat: I am putting a relatively low amount of Bromine- should not impact the chemistry that much, right? the recommendation on the bottle is to put shock after one capful of the yellow treat content.

Hardness: good to know on the levels. Is there any way to decrease it quickly? I am currently looking at 800+ since my Alkalinity is also high I thought the hardness was directly related to it.
Test Strip: I no longer use them. I bought the liquid 6 way test kit from HTH.

 

[wireform]

I'd return that kit and get the TF-100 we linked you to. It's missing crucial stuff

 

[ajw22]

Copper stain: I tried removing it with citric acid which apparently removes copper stain and event at direct contact it did nothing. Yes, I have used algicide and clarifiers with copper content in it.

Citric aid removes iron stains, not copper stains.

I have added metal gone to decrease metal content together with culator.

They don't do much.

Everything you say points to copper staining.

Yellow treat: I am putting a relatively low amount of Bromine- should not impact the chemistry that much, right? the recommendation on the bottle is to put shock after one capful of the yellow treat content.

No, not right. That can mess up your chlorine demand for a while.

We recommend you stay away from all those magic potions which you seem to like throwing into your pool.

Hardness: good to know on the levels. Is there any way to decrease it quickly? I am currently looking at 800+ since my Alkalinity is also high I thought the hardness was directly related to it.

Ok, in your first post you said...

Hardness over 80+ PPM (I gave up testing as the color would never change (this may be related to the high alkalinity) working on fixing it

800 ppm is a different story.

Where are you located? Please put your location in your profile so it appears..
<<--- here

The only way to lower CH is to drain the pool or do a water exchange.

Draining - Further Reading

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Test Strip: I no longer use them. I bought the liquid 6 way test kit from HTH.

The HTH kit is not sufficient to follow TFP methods if you choose to do so. You need the Taylor K-2006C or TFT Test Kits

I suggest you put aside what you think you knew about pool care and learn about TFP Pool Care Methods and decide if you want to join the hundreds of thousands of people who are following them.

I caution you that trying to mix methods and pick and choose what you like does not work and only leads to confusion.

 

[pooln00b1]

Yea sorry for the typo - Hardness and Alkalinity are high for me each at 800+ and 200.

I read online and here mostly that citric acid was used to remove copper stain but I have also tried ascorbic acid.

Thanks for responding btw. I have been dealing with all of this for a little over 2 months and gone with recommendation from forums/internet and neighbors etc. I am literally new to this stuff so if you say something will work, I try it out

Added location and pool size (Antioch CA and 16k pool approximately)

FWIW: I did drain the pool and refilled with new water when trying to lower CYA levels. Metal staining is still present.

 

[ajw22]

Removing copper stains require the use of sulfamic acid which is what this contains...

STAIN SOLUTION #2 – The Copper & Scale Stuff | Jacks Magic

jacksmagic.com

Then after you lift the copper from the surfaces you need to drain and refill with clean water.

Copper in Pool Water - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[pooln00b1]

Gotcha - will order the test kit and the copper & scale stuff. TY

Draining the pool water is not an option for now so I will have to do this:

Sequestrant doesn't get rid of metals, it just holds on to them so that they can't form stains. Sequestrant wears out slowly and must be constantly replaced. The only way to get rid of metals is to replace water with some water that doesn't have metals in it.[12]

 

[ajw22]

Gotcha - will order the test kit and the copper & scale stuff. TY

Draining the pool water is not an option for now so I will have to do this:

You are jumping the gun. Slow down.

Get Jacks Stain ID kit first and confirm it is copper stains.

If you cannot drain the pool I suggest you live with the stains until you can.