Help with stain removal and metal free

[mbar]

Most of the metal sequesters say that they remove metals, but they don't. They are all basically the same, and metals get in the water some way, and stay there unless you can pinpoint how they got there, and refill with water you know doesn't have any metals. I think it is easier to just use the sequestering agent, and keep the ph on the low side. Keeping your chlorine up everyday so you don't have to shock is really the best thing. You can start to bring your chlorine up slowly. It sometimes takes a long time to hold chlorine, because the chlorine is busy eating up the ascorbic acid that is left in the pool. Once all of the ascorbic acid is gone, the water will hold the chlorine again. So you just have to test often and bring it back to you minimum according to the best guess chart. Once the chlorine is holding, you can go back to keeping it at the regular levels that you do. Just be sure that when you get a lot of rain, or fill water, you add more sequestering agent. Also, if you see some stain coming back, you know it's time to add more sequestering agent. The sequestering agent also brings ph down, so you have to monitor the ph often. You can notice that if the ph is high, your stains come back easily. I always keep mine no higher than 7.4. Ascorbic acid will only remove metal stains. Sequestering agent will only sequester the metals. You can put the solar cover on - but make sure you keep an eye out for algae - put in an algaecide, because you don't want to have to shock the pool right after a metal treatment, the stains will return. Hope this helps.

[webfeet]

I put in a quart of polyqouat 60 about 5 or 6 days ago. Do I need to add some more? Any opinion on the solar cover? Thanks

[mbar]

sorry, I missed that you added poly in the first post You don't need to add anymore. It is just as a precaution for when the chlorine goes to 0 while doing the stain treatment. How does the pool look?

[webfeet]

The pool looks great. But I can't keep the chlorine level up yet. Is this normal? Ph is about 7. do I need to raise it? Thanks

[mbar]

Yes, sometimes it can take a week or more to get the water to hold chlorine. Leave the ph at 7 while you continue to add chlorine. Just keep checking it and add more chlorine to bring it up each time. As soon as all of the ascorbic acid is gone, the water will start to hold chlorine. It's good to keep the ph low while adding chlorine so that you won't get any stain. Once the water holds chlorine you can let the ph get a little higher. Just remember that if the stain starts to come back, take the ph back down and add more sequestering agent.

[webfeet]

I've been ill and the pool has been neglected. I have had a solar cover on it about a month. I kept the pump on low or off most of the time- to aid raising the temperature. The temp is 87 and its wonderful, but the stains are back worse than before. The white parts of the pool-steps, returns, drain, etc. are rusty colored. Should I have been adding a routine dose of sequestering agent? Do I just start all over with the treatment to remove it? If I put in ascorbic acid without a sequestering agent, won't the stains come right back again? I thought they were metal stains, but could they be something else? Thanks for your help again.
Ph 7.0
FC 2.
CC.0
cya 10 (?)

[mbar]

I hope you are feeling better You can try adding a sequestering agent first with your ph at 7 - no higher. This may lighten the stains. Your chlorine is too low, and I don't know how you are keeping chlorine in on a sunny day with a cya of 10- are you sure of these numbers? The metal out (sequestering agent) along with the low ph may lift the stains off. I wouldn't do the stain treatment again until you add the metal out and keep the pump running for a few days to see if the stain start to lighten up. If they don't - then the ascorbic acid treatment will be needed again. You always have to make sure you use a metal out (sequestering agent) when you do the stain treatment. If you don't the stains will come back as soon as you shock and have a ph over 7.5. If you have a lot of metals in your fill water, then you have to add sequestering agent on a regular basis. Feel free to ask any other questions you may have.