iron and copper

[mdecrow]

I too had iron in my water, have been fighting this battle for 11 days. Started by filling the pool with brook water (14,600), adding 4 gallons of super shock 12.5%. Water turned green within an hour. Tested positive for Iron. Added two quarts of mineral magnet - kept pool filter running for days. No better. Balanced pool for alk & ph and added one more quart mineral magnet. Nothing. Got a second opinion at another pool place. Rebalanced water & added 4 more gallons of super shock to adjust free chlorine. Added two quarts of ez-loc drop out. I quart is suppose to treat 40,000 galloons of water so we did a heavy dose. Shut the pool pump off. Waited two days, no improvement since the day we first added the water and got it green with orginal shock. Add two more quarts of DROP OUT yesterday and this morning still no better. Call the pool guy, he said bring him a sample again and we will have to add a clarifier! HELP!

[szampino]

I'm no pro but think I have a pretty good handle on the blue/brown metally water. The brookwater concerns me because I don't know how to deal with Bacteria.

The first think you need to do is drop your ph to 7.2. The next thing you might try is Ascorbic Acid (Vitaman C). My water wasn't Brown it was more of a Greenish color. I used a bout 1 lb of Acorbic Acid for my 8000(+-) gal. pool. This amount may need to be adjusted based on the size of your pool.

Shut your filter down, drop the Ascorbic Acid down the sides of the pool and let it sit there for at least a 1/2 - 1 hr. Then Turn on the filter and let it run overnight. The AA will eat the chlorine up very quickly and bring it to a 0 level. This should clear up the water if it is in-fact metal. (worked for me)

After your water gets clear the next step is to prepare the water for Chlorine. I learned from this forum that Metal in water never disappears, it's sort of like living with a disease. You have to add a sequesterin agent (pool magnet, metal magic, etc) to keep the metal in what is called "in solution" this means the agent keeps the metal from reacting to chemicals (Chlorine). If the agent isn't added, the chlorine and higher PH will cause the Metal in the water to become visable and actually stain the pool liner and stuff. this is called "falling out of solution". To effectively use this site, I suggest you read through all the different posts that have simmilar problems. you will learn a lot.

Keep posting and people will help. I learned a new acronym last week POP (pool owners patience). I'm now dealing with cloudy water and it is definately testing my POP! Good luck

[mdecrow]

Well, The pool guy was right. After two treatments of EZ-Loc Dropout (2 Quarts each) We used their clarifier and everything dropped to the bottom by morning. I vacuumed it up to waste and it look good, still need to vacuum the remaining particles but the water is clear! Just a little cloudy from sediment. I have to vacuum to waste one more time then add two bottles of shock and we should be swimming by morning! Yeah!!!

[bonni]

I would like to thank everyone for all of their help, my pool is almost clear to the deep end and getting better everyday. My advice to anyone with metal problems... be patient and persistant.

[mbar]

Congrats! You are right, it is POP and persistance. Once you understaind your own pool, and the reasons for the staining, it will be much easier for you to keep ahead of the water. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[szampino]

Bonni,

Congratulations! Your results are encouraging, and I could use some encouragment right now battleling my own water problems.

Also - I want to appologize for stepping on your post early on. After reading through the post I realized that I used your post to solve my problem. Sorry about that! Glad to hear you could see the light (to the bottom of the pool)!

[bonni]

Not a problem, like I said ... have some patience, I was also at a point where I never thought I would be swimming in a clear pool, but with persistance and staying away from the pool store (Except for the pool magnet) it all worked out and it will for you too.