Yellow streaks two years after pool recemented.

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johnny lambo

Member
May 4, 2020
8
new jersey shore
Hello fellow pool owners, Here's my story. 2 years ago I had the pool (Cement) done over and it looked great. Last summer, when I opened the pool, it was not as bright white as it had been at closing The pool company said I needed a 'hot shot,' which turns out to be putting in a lot of muriatic acid. Anyway, I didn't do the 'hot shot' that first season. So I had it done this summer (not cheap); the pool was out of commission for 3 weeks because the guy doing the 'hot shot' was busy brushing the pool for weeks.

BUT now I've got a somewhat brighter pool with yellow streaks throughout. Here's what I've done/know so far. Chlorine is high so I don't think it's algae, though I do have algae at the deeper end (6'). I cannot brush off the yellow streaks. I've tried a bottle of Natural Balance METAL FREE. The pH has been increasing, so I've been adding about a cup (sodium bisulfate) twice a week to lower pH, which has bounced between 7.2 and 7.8. All other readings are fine. I use the tstest kit.

I have not talked to the company who did the pool 2 years ago because I think they'll say it has to be done again.

Any ideas? Thanks.
 
You have your own test kit? If not, get the TF-100 Test Kits or the Taylor K-2006C.

Pool Test Kits - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

Then post your test results in the format..

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
Water Temp
CSI

Stop using dry acid as it leads to an accumulation in sulfates in your water.

Dry acid is sodium bisulfate. After dissociation of the acid salt, it leaves behind the sulfate ion.

Problems sulfates can cause include:
  • Sulfates can damage concrete & plaster
  • Excess sulfates in water increases the likelihood of corrosion on metal parts
  • Excess sulfates in splash out water leads to degradation of any concrete surfaces
  • Sulfates degrade the coatings on SWG plates
  • At high enough concentrations, sulfates can react with calcium to form spindly, needle-like crystals of calcium sulfate (gypsum)
  • While sulfates in vinyl pools is typically not as problematic as in plaster pools, scaling of gypsum crystals can increase the risk of liner puncture.[9]
Sulfates can only be removed by draining water.

Pentair specifically says on page 9 in the IntelliChlor SWG Manual[10] - CAUTION: The use of dry acid (sodium bisulfate) to adjust pool pH is discouraged especially in arid regions where pool water is subject to excessive evaporation and is not commonly diluted with fresh water. Dry acid can cause a buildup of by-products that can damage your chlorinator cell.

Dry acid should be considered only if obtaining muriatic acid is too expensive or difficult to obtain. In some countries, it’s illegal to sell it to the general public. It’s really not good to have in water

Post pics of your pool showing the yellow streaks.
 
Hey, thanks for the quick reply. Here's some of the info.

FC 3
CC 0.5
pH 7.2
TA 90
CH 250
CYA 60
Water Temp 80
CSI I will figure this out later, I've not done this test before.

I will send a photo tomorrow morning. Also, the 'hot shot' was completed on June 27, 2021. By completed I mean that I had drained the pool because before draining the pool the CH had been as high as 850. After draining it was 125. The yellow streaks started to show up around 2 weeks later.

Thanks for your help.
 
Thanks for the help so far. I tried the vitamin C, unfortunately, it did not help. Interesting, I would've thought the pill would dissolve quickly but they don't at all. Here's a photo, hard to really see the streaks.

Steps so far.
- I'll stop using sodium bisulfate to lower pH, which still creeps up. 7.8 today.
- I did try a bottle of Natural Balance METAL FREE, which is supposed to "Controls metal staining and calcium scale." It didn't help.

Any other ideas? Products?

THANKS.
 

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johnny lambo said:
Hey, thanks for the quick reply. Here's some of the info.

FC 3
CC 0.5
pH 7.2
TA 90
CH 250
CYA 60
Water Temp 80
CSI I will figure this out later, I've not done this test before.

I will send a photo tomorrow morning. Also, the 'hot shot' was completed on June 27, 2021. By completed I mean that I had drained the pool because before draining the pool the CH had been as high as 850. After draining it was 125. The yellow streaks started to show up around 2 weeks later.

Thanks for your help.
Click to expand...

Do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

How do you chlorinate the pool?

Your FC is low for your CYA level. The yellow could be algae stains.
 
Here's some more info.
- I used muriatic acid and got the pH down to 7.2.
-- Tonight, I'm doing the OCLT test. It is 8:30pm and the sun set at 7:30. CH is already down from 9.5 to 8.5. If it is down more tomorrow morning than I will SLAM the pool.
-- My combined chlorines (CC) is only 0.5; and it's barely that high. Is that a problem? And if so, how to raise CC?
-- Also, at the deep end (not that deep, 6') I have algae on the walls. It brushes off but comes back. So something is amiss with the chlorine because that algae should not come back.


Here are the answers to your questions.
- I do not use well water. Plain ol' New Jersey water.
- I use a chlorinator with jumbo tabs from Leslies.


The issues could be
-- iron stains
-- algae stains

I was away for awhile so I'm only getting back to my issue now. Thanks for your help so far. Hopefully, we'll figure this out. Thanks.
 

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I've done the OCLT test twice and got the same results both times. 15 drops! 7.5. FC was 7.5 at night and the same in the morning. So, the stains are probably not algae stains.

So is it iron or some metal? If so, what do I need to do to remove those stains?? Any ideas will be appreciated.

Thanks,
 
Although the vit C pills did not remove the stains, a neighbor had some Natural Chemistry stainFree (basically vit c). When we poured just a little onto a stain in the shallow end, the stain disappeared. JAMES W - you were right! It seems to be iron, just like you said. I will get more vit C and a couple of other things and do the whole pool. I plan to follow the directions on the back of the stainFree bottle. Anyway, thanks!
If you've any suggestions, please let me know.
 
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