Lets beat my stain

Greetings.

First the details-inground pool, 6 years old. For the first year I chlorinated with a duoclear plus natur2 as that was the unit the installer used. After 1 1/2 years and the use of this forum, I knew more about that thing than the installer. They were selling the wrong sized cartridges for the unit and dispensing loads of misinformation. I then switched to a Hayward SWG-self installed. I had some issues with it last summer thus I used bleach until it was repaired (warranty).

Late last summer I noticed subtle yellow/brown staining along the edges of the pool and the steps of the ladder. Not noticeable in bright sun but evident in evening hours. Shocked extensively with no change. Staining worse this spring on opening the pool. Got smart--read this forum--threw some vitamin C tabs around the pool and wherever they landed it was magic! So now Im ready for the full treatment.

Im in Upstate NY. On well water. Vinyl liner. 23K gallons. I only use the Taylor test kit-thanks to you folks. Late start to spring--pool open 2 weeks. Water is clear. Temp 68 degrees. PH 7.4, free chlorine 4.0, Alk 80 ( a little low for me-the cold rainy weather has kept me from giving the pool the love it needs this spring), CYA 30-40 (that dot test drives me nuts), Calcium 160, salt 2800 (haven't hooked the SWG back up yet, will use bleach until this process complete).

I plan to do this likely starting next Monday as it looks like a warm weekend coming up and the kids will want to swim. Then with school/little league they will be too busy for the next week. I will purchase from amazon using the links in the vitamin C stickied post.

A few questions:
Is the skimmer sock the same thing as the liner thats linked to at amazon?

What size (ppm) and how many of the culator packs should I get? How do I distribute them between my two skimmers. How long do I leave them in (all summer?)? I assume its safe to swim with them in?

Filter is DE. Do I need to change the earth after this process?

Im sure theres more that Im not thinking of.

Thanks in advance. I need to kick this thing.

Tony

While I wait for answers to my questions, I started ordering some things from amazon. Estimated total of $325. Certainly not a cheap clean up.
Tony

Do you have an earlier post, describing your stains and problems?

Can you list what you have on hand to clean up the stains?

Would you complete the pool info form: http://pool9.net/pf-chart/ ?

Ben, he described the issue in the first post in this thread.

Ok...the stuff came early in the week. Last night I added the polyquat and will do so again tomorrow. Got the ph down to 7.0-7.2 and the chlorine to 0.4 so decided tonight it was time. Used just about 3 pounds of ascorbic acid. Simply amazing. What I thought was minimal staining turned out to be more pronounced as we could see the streaks of clear pool appear on the walls and floor. In 45 min it was clear! Added the Pink Stuff and stuck the 4.0 ppm culator in the skimmer sock lining the skimmer basket. Hopeful it will continue to look this good. Going to add a little pink stuff whenever I add water. May keep the pack in the skimmer full time and replace every 30 days.

Tomorrow night will raise ph a little with borax and then if it's good on Monday add bleach. I assume I want to add enough to get chlorine to 3-6 ppm ( current cya 40-50) but it likely won't be enough when I retest next day because of vit c? Thanks for your help.

Well--Im now 9 days out from giving my pool the "treatment". We are maintaining chlorine levels. The liner looks fantastic and the pool is crystal clear. Im going to keep the culator in for thirty days and then replace it. Im thinking about adding some Jacks magic pink stuff whenever I add water.

Been using bleach but will likely hook the salt system up this weekend.

Any other thoughts/advice or am I all set for now??

Thanks

It's a good idea to add some Pink Stuff when you add water; it will keep the metal in the water, hopefully long enough for the CuLator to capture it.

I would recommend that you NOT discard the Culator. Unless it's heavily discolored or gummed up with skimmer goo, it still works. The manufacturer's 30 day deadline had, I believe, more to do with sales than function. Instead, tie the old bag to the ladder or something else, and put the new one in the skimmer. The Culator's are quite slow at 'gathering' the metals; the more bags you have in the pool, the better off you'll be.