Brown stains spreading

[mbar]

Yes, you can start your swg. The filter pressure is probably going up to filter out what the chlorine is breaking down - the citric acid. You can start to raise the chlorine level - keep your ph no higher than 7.2, and watch for stains - if you start to see them, bring your ph back down to 7 and add more sequestering agent. I usually try to raise my chlorine by 1 ppm at a time till I get it to where it needs to be according to cya. You will find it hard to keep chlorine in the pool till all the cloudiness is gone.

[cmcq]

Hopefully this is my final set of questions. The stains remain gone, but the water is cloudy. I've been running the pool 24 hours/day with the SWG running. I had a separate issue this week with pressure rising quickly in the pump so I had to backwash a couuple of times and clean the filter manually. I got that cleaned yesterday (Thurs) a.m., but ran w/o DE in the filter until last night b/c I ran out. Also yesterday a.m. I turned the SWG up b/c I wasn't getting any chlorine readings. I ran it at 100 all day, then checked again after about 10 hours but the chlorine still barely registered. I put the control on "boost" overnight, and the level raised slightly. I tested the water this a.m and got the following:

FC = .5
TC = 2
ph = 7.2 (I did add a little acid last night as it had crept up to just above 7.4)
alk = 70
cal = 180
cya = 27
temp = 80

We're having a small cookout tomorrow (6 kids, 4 adults) and a bigger party on Tuesday (6 kids, 9 adults) and I'd like to have the water cleared up ASAP. Do I just need to keep running the pump with the SWG on "boost" to raise the chlorine to clear the water? Can/should I add a chlorine stick in the skimmer to accelerate the process? Also, are CYA and Alk too low?

[mbar]

Yes, your water is still cloudy because there are things in the water that the chlorine is busy breaking down, that's why your pool is using up the chlorine so fast. You need more chorine. Take your chlorine up to about 5ppms. You can do this by adding bleach, and a puck in the skimmer. I also read on this site that you can add chlorine manually so that your swg doesn't have to work as hard to keep up with the bleach demand at times like these. Your alk is just a tad low - I wouldn't do anything with this, because I think it will rise on it's own - it gets low from the stain treatment. Just keep your eye out for stains starting when you raise your chlorine - if you see them add more sequesterant.

[cmcq]

I guess that wasn't my final set of questions. I added the stick and the chlorine started to come back, but I woke up this a.m. to light green water. I tested for chlorine and it was basically zero. We're going to be gone from 7 a.m until 1 pm and I didn't have any bleach, so I added shock to the pool to try to raise the chlorine level quickly. Should I add polyquat, or test and add bleach when I get home or ????? Ideally, we're having people over at 4 today so I want to clear this up of that is even possible.

[mbar]

Add the polyquat, and get your chlorine to hold - you will have to use a lot of chlorine to get it to break down all of the ascorbic acid that is left in the water and have it filter out. If you are starting on an algae bloom, you will have to shock the pool to kill the algae. Make sure you take your ph down to 7, add more sequesterant and take your water up to shock level according to the best guess chart. With the extra sequesterant and the low ph, hopefully you won't get any stains back, but shock it now so that you don't get an all out algae bloom. After doing the stain treatment it is very important to keep after the chlorine so that it stays consistant - because it is hard to keep enough in the water to break down the ascorbic acid.

[gerri]

Marie,

Is there any way you could do a sticky thread with step by step using asorbic acid to remove stains?

I have another question.. after the asorbic acid treatment I will start adding the chlorine back in.. you have said gradually - can you elaborate on that just a little bit?

How many gallons of bleach will it take and over what time period will I add the bleach?

I'm still waiting for my Asorbic Acid to arrive. I just want to get prepared and I don't want to add too much bleach too quickly and have the stains come right back.

My pool is 8500g IG fiberglass.

Thanks for all of your help!

Gerri

[mbar]

Here is the ascorbic treatment:
You will need about a half to one pound of ascorbic acid per 10,000 gal. I like to go lighter on it and see if all the

Put the filter on circulate.
Use a cup and go around the perimeter of the pool and drop it down the sides as you go.
Let the ascorbic acid circulate for 1/2 hour. You will be amazed how the stain just disappears before your eyes.

If the stain is not all gone, leave the filter in circulate and add more ascorbic acid close to where you still see stain. Leave it in circulate until all of the stain is gone. (add more ascorbic acid if it circulates for 1/2 hour and there is still stain)

When the stain is gone, add enough sequestering agent for the volume of your pool - more is better than not enough.

Put the filter back on filter and leave it on 24/7.

The ascorbic acid will bring your ph down, after 24 hours you can start to bring up your ph and alkalinity - use baking soda first, it will raise both ph and alk. Make sure you test in between, because you don't wantyour ph to go any higher than 7.2. If your alkalinity is in range, and you still need to raise your ph, use Borax to take it up to no higher than 7.2. After 48 hours you can start to bring up your chlorine. You want to do this slowly. It will take a lot of chlorine - I prefer to use bleach only at this time, and try to take it up to your minimum chlorine for your cya according to the "best guess chart" Do not shock! Do not shock for at least 2 weeks! Make sure you keep your ph low for (7.2) for a week or two - it won't be hard because the ascorbic acid will help it stay low. Once your chlorine starts to hold, it means that you have used up the ascorbic acid in the water and it will be easy to rebalance the pool back to your regular parameters.

Since your pool is 8500 gals, I would add 2 cups of bleach at a time. You can start to do this after 2 days. If you are in a hot climate, you may want to add some polyquat before the treatment to keep algae at bay. You will have to test often, because the bleach will get used up breaking down the ascorbic acid. Once you start to raise the chlorine level, keep it consistant - don't let it yo yo down. Take your chlorine up to the lower level of your cya "best guess chart". Let me know if you have any other questions - good luck!

[gerri]

Thanks Marie!

I am sure I will be freaking out and have other questions as I do this. I'm really scared of the cloudy water because I have so much staining.

I really appreciate your help!

Gerri

[mbar]

Feel free to ask any questions you have. Let me know if the stains don't come off right away with the ascorbic acid, because there is more you can do if they don't. Just keep the pump on cirulate and let me know. Most of the time the ascorbic acid is enough - sometimes the stains are more embedded and need a little help, so don't worry if they don't come right off. Just be sure to add enough sequestering agent, and don't worry if the water gets cloudy - it will clear up.

[gerri]

Thanks!

I just found out that my Asorbic Acid will be here Tuesday. I guess since it is coming from Arizona it takes a week to get to SC and we had the holiday so that slowed it by a day too. Next time I will order from the chemisty store, it seems to be in SC. Too bad I didn't notice that when ordering! Do you remember how much they charge for shipping?