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Thread: Stains in Fiberglass pool

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    Default Stains in Fiberglass pool

    I get brown stains in my fiberglass pool all the time. I can effectively remove them with oxalic acid, but it always turns the water cloudy for about 3 days. Jack's Magic Blue Stuff also works, but it costs me a fortune at over $20 a bottle. I heard somewhere about using ascorbic acid. Where can I get it in bulk? Is it expensive? Will it turn the water cloudy? Will it get the stain out?

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    waterbear is offline Lifetime Member Sniggle Mechanic waterbear 4 stars waterbear 4 stars waterbear 4 stars waterbear 4 stars
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    Iron is your problem, Oxaylic acid is a known remedy for rust (oxidized iron) stains! It is toxic, however. Phosphonic acids are also effective and are the active ingredient in most of the "metal removers" I have seen. You can learn a lot about a product by going to the manufacturer's website and reading the MSDS for it. Ascorbic acid works (if I am not mistaken) by acting as a reducing agent just like Oxaylic and Phosphonic acids. These will also lower your pH and their effectiveness is dependant on pH so read your directions!

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    cajunfla is offline ** No working email address ** Thread Analyst cajunfla 0
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    Have you tried the new Mr Clean Magic Eraser? My fiberglass pool gets a dirt ring around it. Not all the sod has been installed yet. Mr Clean works wonders.

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    msehome Guest

    Default Heres a link for Ascorbic acid

    http://www.msm-msm.com/store/agora.c...scorbic%20Acid

    I have a 35,000 gal fiberglass pool and it stains all the time. Dont have a heater, and no iron pipes. It takes about a pound to a pound and a half of ascorbic acid to make the pool beautiful again. This is the cheapest I've found for it. $45.00 for 5 lbs. and if you buy over $100.00 at a time its free shipping. Heres a pic of my fiberglass pool.


    Good Luck
    Last edited by PoolDoc; 03-12-2014 at 10:12 PM. Reason: pic

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    Thanks, msehome, I'll give it a try. Does it turn your water cloudy when you add it?

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    msehome Guest

    Default No Cloudy Water

    Not at all, its amazing to watch the stain dissappear right before your eyes. And the water stays clear.

    Good Luck

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    OK, I just ordered some. Can't wait to try it, thanks.

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    I also have a fiberglass pool, and I have learned to deal with the stains pretty effectively. When I get stains I use ascorbic acid, and a metal free product. The cloudy water is the metal free agent combining with the metal that has come back into solution. If you have a lot of metal in solution and the water is cloudy, you should not start to bring up your chlorine until the water is cleared - you can put a chlorine puck in the basket so the metals will stain the filter. You have to try and keep the ph around 7.2, not higher - it is hard to keep the ph there, because the stain treatment brings down the ph, plus the puck in the skimmer will add to lower ph. Be sure to keep your filter running 24/7 - once the water is clear, you can start to bring up the chlorine. I use regular bleach, and I don't run high chlorine levels - it isn't necessary especially if you keep your cya under 50. In my opinion, fiberglass pools tend to stain, I now treat it heavily at the beginning of the season with a metal free product, and keep the filter running 24/7 when I have high chlorine levels. All water and pools are different - you will have to experiment with yours to see where you need to keep your chlorine & ph to keep the stains away. Don't worry so much - if it stains, it can be taken care of!
    Northeast PA
    16'x32' kidney 16K gal IG fiberglass pool; Bleach; Hayward 200lb sand filter; Hayward pump; 24hrs; Pf200; well; summer: none; winter: mesh; ; PF:7.5

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    Arizonaoldman is offline ** No working email address ** Arizonaoldman 0
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    I too have a 21,000 gallon fiberglass pool and a salt to chlorine generator. We have extreamly hard water and I just had my generating cell replaced after only two years. (free of course) Last year I began to have brownish 'build-up" at, or above the water line only in two areas (both wind driven areas) I had been using a 'Bio Guard" product "Off the Wall" on a weekly basis until late last fall. This year the stains are quite noticeable and no amount of "Off the Wall" and/or elbow grease seems sufficient. Do you think the Ascorbic Acid trick will work for me? Remember that most of the stain is above the water line. Will scrubbing with the ascorbic acid do the trick.

    By the way I life in north western Arizona.

    Ralph

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    If the stain is above the water line, then I don't know how it would be from iron falling out of the water. You can tell if it is mineral by rubbing a vitamin c tablet on the stain. If it takes it off, then ascorbic acid would work. You wouldn't have to scrub with ascorbic acid - just letting it touch the stain will make it disappear. Let me know if the vitamin C tablet (you can put a couple in a sock, soak the sock and rub it on the stain) works. If it is stain from leaves, they come off after chlorine is on them for a while. I have also had good luck with cleaning the water line with magic erasers. Hope this helps
    Northeast PA
    16'x32' kidney 16K gal IG fiberglass pool; Bleach; Hayward 200lb sand filter; Hayward pump; 24hrs; Pf200; well; summer: none; winter: mesh; ; PF:7.5

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