Light brown staining - Bromine pool

I have a 20,000 gallon vinyl IG in the Boston area. I am eexperiencing staining below the water line on the steps, floor and walls in approximately 15-20 percent of the pool. I have read through the threads with regard to stains and metal matters, all seem to reference chlorine levels when describing how to correct staining problems. I believe that my staining is caused by metals, my question is..........do I follow the same procedures as a chlorine pool when in fact my sanitizer is bromine?? Any advise is greatly appreciated!

I would think so, since it takes chlorine to activate the bromine, but I'm NOT the metals expert--Marie (mbar) should be by shortly and can advise you better!

Janet

I don't have any experience with bromine. However I did do a little research and it seems to react the same as chlorine during stain treatment. So you would follow the same instructions. I would try adding a sequestering agent, lowering the ph down to 7.2-7.4 and let circulate for 2 hours. Check the ph if it is any higher than 7.2 add a little muriatic acid. Sometimes the low ph with the sequestering agent will lift new stain. Make sure you put at least as much sequestering agent in as the bottle says. If the stain does not go away in 24 hours you may need to do an ascorbic or citric acid stain treat. Sometimes it will bring down your chlorine or bromine, so when you raise it - you should always raise it slowly. High ph along with high chlorine (or bromine) is what causes metals to fall out of solution and stain the surface of the pool. If you have any other questions feel free to ask:)

I tried the vitamin c in a sock and the stain disapeared so I it is indeed a mineral stain according to what i've read. I will try the sequestering agent today. If the stain lifts should I be adding "metal out" on a regular basis? Thanks for all of your advise.

Paul.

Yes, you want to use a sequestering agent to keep any metals in the water suspended in the water. You can think of the sequestering agent as a magnet that holds the metals. If there is no "magnet" the metals will fall out of solution and stain the surface of the pool. The stain treatment lifts the stain off the surface, putting the metals back in suspension. If there is no sequestering agent the metals will fall out onto the surface again as soon as the chlorine and ph are high.

Thanks, Marie for checking on all these stains and metals threads for us. We really appreciate you. Hope you know that!

Lisa

Thanks watermom:) It is because of this forum that I learned what I know about stains - Ben helped me to know that I could take charge of my own pool;)

Thank you so much for all your help! I used to be a slave to the pool store guy, this forum has given me the confidence I needed to fix my own pool problems. Thanks again.

Paul.

Update:
I lowered the ph to about 7.2 and let the bromine level come down to about 1-2 ppm. Added 32 oz of metal out and ran the pump on "whirlpool". When I checked the pool in the morning, the staining was gone! pool was as blue as could be. I am amazed at how simple this process was! Thanks so much for all of your help!

Paul.

Congrats:)

Ditto!

And thanks, Marie. You seem to just have a real feel for the metals issues.