How Do I Remove Metal and Stains From My Pool?

[sunlove]

You can still use chlorine if you have metals

[rusty37]

do the sequesters really work? I know on the small pools I tried one and it did not clear up the pool, and the cartridge type filter would get dirty quick. Is it a matter of the filter unit being too small to really do the job? I just dont want to end up with a huge brown pool.

[PoolDoc]

Sequestrants 'work', though some work rather poorly, and I suspect none 'work' the way you mean. All they do is keep iron (or other metals) dissolved; they don't get rid of them

The ONLY way to get rid of the metals, is to get them out of the pool,

• by causing them to settle to the bottom of the pool, and then vacuuming them out, OR
• by filtering them out, OR
• by using the CuLator* units to capture them, while they are still soluble.

So, having a cartridge filter "get dirty quick" is EXACTLY what you want, because when you wash that dirt off, you have removed that much of the metals. The small filters that come with Intex pools make it harder to remove them, either because they fail to capture the metals, OR because they stop up so quickly.

Getting a LARGER Intex filter will make it easier, as will replacing they Intex cartridges with higher grade US-made cartridges that will last all season, if properly cleaned each time. This is pretty easy to do IF you have a least a pair of cartridges, and preferably, with metals, three cartridges.

* We think, but are not completely sure yet, that these work more or less as claimed.

[rusty37]

I will have to see what filter setup I have that came with my doughboy pool, if needed I can change styles. Do the earth filters work better than the media style when it comes to removing metals from the water?

[PoolDoc]

Not necessarily. But DE (diatomaceous earth) filters don't have as much of a problem with over-sized pumps blowing dirt through, as sand filters do. And, virtually all AG pool combos oversize the pump, and undersize the filter.

[rusty37]

so even if my pool water ends up yellow, I can get the metals out and get the water clear? I guess my main concern is the liner getting stained, when this happened to my small ezup pool the water would stain your bathing suit brown if you got in it.

[aylad]

You can use ascorbic acid to remove metal staining, once you get the metals under control. Take a look at the sticky in the "metals" forum, written by mbar for more information.