Dark brown stains in pebbletec finish

[mjmccrea]

Hello all - This is my first post, and my first pool, so I have several questions, but wanted to start off with the one that is most urgent. Within the last couple of months, I have had dark brown stains appear on the bottom and steps of my pool on two separate occasions. The plaster is gunite with a pebbletec finish. It looks like dirt, but cannot be scrubbed. I am still learning how to maintain the right chlorine level and I think I let it get too low (below 1). It seems that increasing the chlorine gets rid of the stains the first time, so I am trying that right now to deal with the second occasion. The water is clear with no odor, so no other apparent problems other than the stains.

Just to clarify a few things:
- I run my pump on low speed all day (except three hours in the evening) and two hours on high with the booster pump to run the pressure cleaner - This was recommended by the pool store to help save energy. I have bumped up the SWCG and got the CL to 2 yesterday, but I am increasing that today. I only have a basic test kit that goes to three. Should the CL be higher?
- Have issues keeping the pH lower than 7.8 and its been up to 8.2. Could that be an issue? What is causing the high pH? I have heard its common with SWCG and new pools.

I am pretty new to all of this, so if you need to "dumb" things down for me, I won't be offended!

Thanks!

[PoolDoc]

Brown stains on a Pebbletec finish, that go away when you raise the chlorine level, but can't be brushed off?

Is that right?

If it is, I'm stumped. Are the stains distinct enough, to show up in a photo?

Regardless, you need a good test kit -- pretty much everything starts with accurate testing . . . though I can't promise it will help with the stains. Anyhow: http://pool9.net/tk/

It's pretty common for pools with an SWCG to experience a constant slow pH rise: it's an effect of the SWCG. Higher borate level will make it easier to control. Using muriatic acid makes it fairly cheap to manage: http://pool9.net/ma/

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