New Pool Owner With High Iron

[Watermom]

Yes, try the bleach/bucket thing. I think pH at 7.3 is OK, but if one of the metal experts reads this they can correct me if they think you should lower it a little more.

Yes to paying attention in chemistry class ---- (can you tell that I am a teacher!)

And a big NO, NO, NO, to draining the pool and never looking back!

You're gonna get this thing straightened out and will soon be enjoying this pool. And besides, who needs another planter??!!

Good luck.

[labdi01]

Hi Watermom and thanks for you help - I need all I can get!

Used a drop-test kit this am. My Walmart didn't have one - I'm in the sticks - but I found one. Ph was in the toilet this am 6.8 or lower (tri-chlor tab from last night - or natural?) and my Alk was sky-high - above 225.

I went to Walmart and a couple other places and got bleach (5 gals) and baking soda and Borax - could only find one small box. I also found poly-algaecide - which I want to do again because I have no cl/cya in yet and I got 2 more quarts of sequestrant that I'm going to toss in and circulate (or should I filter)?

Any idea how much BBB I need at this point (will do the bleach in a bucket first - 1 cup)?

[aylad]

Your pH drop was more than likely just the trichlor. Take it out, and get some Borax in the pool to get the pH back up. This is a priority, since pH below 7.0 can damage your pool, and if your test reads 6.8, it could actually be lower. I'd start with about 3 cups added slowly through the skimmer, breaking up the clumps as you go. Wait 1-2 hours and test again, adding more as necessary. Stop at 7.2-7.4. One of the keys to dealing with metals in the water is to keep the pH on the very low side, but not less than 7.0.

You're obviously not going to need the baking soda this year--it's used to raise alk, and yours is high enough already!

and yes, try about 1 cup of bleach in the bucket of water and check to see if you see staining. If you do, then make sure your pH is at 7.0-7.2, then add more sequestrant until you see the stain lift. AT that point, you should be able to slowly raise your Cl. (Reference the latter part of Marie's post in this link http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=7923

Janet

[labdi01]

Thank you so much for all your time and attention!

I had some leftover PH Up in the shed, so I tossed some of that in and changed the pump/filter to circulate.

Pool looks a little hazier today, I'm nervous about a bloom - can/how should I algaecide (used as a verb)?

Also, should I toss more sequestrant in because my iron level last night was 0.5?

I have water and bleach in a bucket (it's 6% bleach) - how long would it take to know if metals are still present? I saw some slight yellowing initially, but the bleach is the $1.50 special and is extremely yellow. ;oP

So, the alk level is not a concern?

[aylad]

With no chlorine and no algaecide, you're probably on the edge of a bloom--if the algaecide you have is Polyquat 60, then I would go ahead and add it, leaving your filter on recirculate.

Regarding the sequestrant, I'm not really comfortable advising you whether or add more or not, or what the effect of the alk is, since this isn't really my area of experience. I do know that the more sequestrant you add, the more chlorine it's going to take to get up to baseline levels when you start raising it--but I'm not sure how much is enough. I've asked Marie to come take a look at this thread. Hopefully she will
be by soon and I'm sure that she can answer more fully for you.

I would think that the metal staining would show up fairly immediately. In the worst case, I guess you could always bring the chlorine up and deal with the stains if they show, but it's an expensive venture and I'd hate to put you through that unnecessarily.

I'm sorry I can't be more help, but I don't have any experience with metals, other than what I've learned from Marie!

Janet

[labdi01]

You've been a lot of help Janet. I'm kind of stuck right now until the pH comes up a bit. Gonna go check now.

The bleach water is yellow - but not as yellow as straight bleach. Not sure if it's staining or the bleach itself. Ugh - so confusing. I feel like I'm so close, yet so far away (to be able to shock).

I did put some algaecide in the pool on Sunday because the temp was approaching 90 and the pool is in direct sun. Same scenario today. I thought they were good for a week - but that's probably for a chlorinated pool - not a cesspool! ;oP

[labdi01]

pH still reading 6.8 after "pH Up" and one hour of circulation. I added 1.5# of Borax to the skimmer, with pump/filter on "bypass to pool" which I presume is circulate.

I bought algaecide for black algae (which I don't have, but), it was the only one I could find that says poly-something-something-ethylene 60%. I diluted that and added it to the pool, just in case - I don't need to add to my list of problems.

I'm gonna let those 2 circulate for an hour or so.

Still on the fence about shocking vs. adding another bottle of sequestrant. The bleach/pool water concoction was still yellow and had a brown tint to it. It was such a long, expensive road to get from opaque brown to clear-ish green, I think I'd rather fight chlorine levels than metal levels. Even 50 gallons of bleach will cost less than $140 (which is what the sequestrants have cost me so far)

Once I do shock, I know I have to do it slower than those blessed with healthy water. Never having used the BBB method (because I've never owned a pool before this season), how much liquid beach over how much time is 'slow'? And do I bypass to pool (circulate it) or filter it?

[labdi01]

Just an update. After Borax, pH too high (7.6-7.8), so I added leftover pH down.

I also decided to add the Iron Away (sequestrant?) rather than start shocking.

I got clouding after algaecide (dead algae?) and would like to filter that for a couple of days to get back to a clear-ish pool, and since I'd be filtering anyway - I decided to treat the trace metals. Hoping to start shocking on Friday. From what I'm reading, I'm probably going to have a hard time getting a chlorine level and I'm guessing the 8 gallons of bleach I bought today is not going to be nearly enough.

Would I have to use the same amount of liquid shock from the pool store?

Does anyone know of anywhere to buy larger bottles of bleach or buy in bulk for the cheapest price?