Help with stain removal and metal free

[webfeet]

I added a quart of Polyquat 60 yesterday and my numbers were:
CYA 35-40
FC was 5
Ph 8
TA 140

Today's numbers were as follows before -the Ascorbic acid and Jacks metal free
CYA 35-40
FC 3-4
Ph 8
Ta 100

I think I messed up. I used 4.5 lbs ascorbic acid to 26,000 gl vinyl liner pool to remove stains. My water was going through the sand filter the entire time. I had asked DH to put on circulate only, and he misunderstood. About an hour, the stains were gone. Then we realized that the filter was running, so we backwashed the sand.

Then we added about 2 quarts of Jacks' Metal Free with water again running through the filter.(?) Double dumb? Anyway. about an hour later I have no fc and cannot get enough Dpd powder in the vial to turn the sample pink. The ph came down to 7.3.

My stains are gone! Doesnt the Jacks Metal Free sequester the loose particles? Will they get caught in the filter then? Do I need to add any other sequestering agent, if so what? Do I need to change from filter to circulate only?

Thanks for your help!

[aylad]

If your stains are gone, then I think you're fine....according to Marie's ascorbic acid treatment sticky (at the top of this forum), once you add the sequestering agent you're supposed to turn the pump back to filter anyway. The purpose of the sequestering agent is to keep the "stain" in the pool water rather than deposited on your pool surfaces, and will need to be re-added occasionally. Marie's sticky indicates that the chlorine is depleted while this is in progress, and describes how you need to handle the chlorine and pH.

Janet

[webfeet]

Thanks Janet. The pool looks great- the water is clear. I am ready to start raising the chlorine. The ph is 7.2. I have a salt water generator. Should I used plain Bleach from a bottle to slowly raise the chlorine? I hope Marie sees this thread, because I know she can tell me how fast and how to bring it up. I would also like to use Jack's metal magic, if it will change the metals into salts or whatever that can be filtered out. Will it help filter the metals out? What about flocculants or clarifiers? Thanks, Web

[aylad]

Having never had the problem with stains, I don't know the best answer to how fast to bring up the chlorine, but I would just say to do it gradually while keeping an eye on the pool and stopping if you see stains beginning to form.

As for the metal magic, it doesn't change the metals into salts, it just keeps them sequestered in the water so they don't deposit on your pool. Flocculants are usually used to gather small particles that are floating around in your water and make them stick together to make it easier to vacuum them out....but they are not going to change your metals situation. Unfortunately the only reliable way to remove the metals from your water is to replace your water.

Janet

[Watermom]

I sent a message to Marie asking her to take a look at this thread. Hopefully she is still around the forum and will be able to help.

[mbar]

hi, sorry I was away and just got back. You are doing everything right. The whole idea is to get the chlorine up slowly while keeping the ph low. Try to keep the ph at about 7.2 and no higher than 7.4. High chlorine with high ph reacts and drops the metals out of solution to stain the surface of the pool. You do have to be careful of getting any algae, so it is a good idea to put in a polyquat 60 algacide. I would use bleach to raise the chlorine -raise the chlorine slowly, by taking it up 1 at a time. Start by getting it up to 3 and keeping it there, keeping your eye out for stains. As long as you have sequestering agent in the water, and the ph is low, you shouldn't get any stains. If you see the stains returning take the ph lower and add more sequesterant. You don't need anything else in the water. All of the metal sequesterers are basically the same - just not the really cheap ones. Let me know if you have any other questions