Metal in pool

[aylad]

The fact that the chlorine and pH were raised is probably what caused the iron to precipitate and give you brown water. We know how the chlorine got that high....but also keep in mind that high chlorine tends to give falsely high pH results, so I don't really trust your pH result until the chlorine comes back down some.

What is the ingredient in the "shock" and the "chlorine granules" that he added? If it was dichlor, which I think it probably was, it added some CYA. Also, the trichlor pucks that you are using add a great deal of CYA over time, plus you added a huge dose of CYA from startup, so that's why your CYA is suddenly so high. With a CYA that high, you do normally need to run higher chlorine levels to keep the water clean.

You don't need to increase your calcium in a vinyl pool, so if you haven't added the other pound, I wouldn't. Calcium is necessary in plaster/gunite/concrete pools to keep the water from leaching calcium out of the concrete and making it brittle. In a vinyl pool, there is no concrete to protect. Brittleness in a liner is normally a result of sun damage, and/or out of whack water chemistry, not calcium deficiency. Mbar recommends a little calcium in her pool to help with the metals staining the water, but you do not need to raise it any higher than it is. That's a pool store thing--I think they tell you that you need calcium in a vinyl pool because that's what they've been told....and it doesn't normally make any discernable difference, but it's not needed.

Janet

Edit: I see that Marie was typing at the same time I was--I will always defer to her on the metals front!!

[newpoolgirl]

Hi,
my pucks,shock and chlorine granules were all calhypo. (i do not have trichlor pucks.) I have been adding weekly dose of algecide the whole time since mem. day. it's hth algae guard 3x concentrate. the only cya i added was in beginning. the pool stain treat cleared my water quickly last time, but not really seeing any difference yet? i know to get my pH around 7.2, but where do i go next for my chlorine level to show. I was told not to shock unless i really need to so how can i get my FC at 5 w/o shocking and turning my water brown again?(if it ever clears) I am now mad since i wasted another $15 on calcium, lol. (keep in mind since mem day i have added 32 oz of metal out, 32 oz of hth metal control, and 32 ozs of united chemical's metal treat. this all went into my 5000 gals of water. then on top of that a whole bottle of pool stain treat.) do i need more sequestering agent? and with my iron level so low why does it still turn brown? please bare with me. every time i think i'm one step ahead, i fall 10 behind.

[mbar]

5 ppms of chlorine in your pool is not shock level. To take your pool up to shock level with a cya of 60 would be 20ppms. The only thing I can think of is that your cya didn't register right away at the beginning, or the test is wrong. That is why we recommend you have a really good test kit. This way you can test your own water and the results will be consistent. I think you need a little POP (pool owners patience) You are putting in too much stuff. It takes chemicals a while to work, and sometimes if you put too much in a small amount of water it will all react against each other, and then you won't know what is working, and what is not. I know that it is very frustrating. Just check your ph, I think when it comes down, and the chorine is at 5 the iron will go back into solution. Your chlorine level should consistently be no lower than 5 with your cya level or you risk getting an algae attack. You don't need anymore sequestering agent as far as I can see. What is your calcium level? Calcium is a metal itself, if the level is too high now with the calhypo and the calcium you added, it could be a problem. You may have to drain and refill a third of the water to get rid of the calcium - Let me know how you do, I am pullin for you

[newpoolgirl]

If my calcium in normal should i just go to using bleach? if so, please direct me. also, stopped at this other pool store today on my way to work to check out their prices on sequestering agents. I did not spend any money this time. How long do you think i should wait before i try another sequesterant if the water doesn't clear? they had this 1/2 hp sand filter made for intex pools for $239. do you think that would be worth the investment if i ever get this water under control? Patience, what is that, lol.

[PoolDoc]

Hi,
my pucks,shock and chlorine granules were all calhypo.

Are you SURE? That's very unusual, but not impossible. Removing metals with cal hypo is different than with triclor, and can be more successful. But, I'm not sure if you could do it on an Intex with no skimmer.

PoolDoc

[newpoolgirl]

pool doc
that's what the bottles and bucket said was calcium hypochlor.... There is a skimmer on the pool. it hangs in water and screws to side(metal frame pool) then there is hose that goes from skimmer to liner adapter on inside of pool.

[PoolDoc]

I guess the one I'm really suspicious the container of "pucks" -- make SURE they are cal hypo. If they are, and if you are using ONLY cal hypo or bleach to chlorinate AND if you have a skimmer . . .

. . . then there may be a way to remove the iron.

But verify the pucks, first. Bad things happen with trichlor and cal hypo when they get close to each other.

PoolDoc

[newpoolgirl]

The chlorine pucks are made of:
calcium hypochlorite 47.6%
other ingredients 52.4%

last night when i talked to my husband from work around 730pm, he said the pool water was the worst it has ever been. i looked at it this morning and he was right. so dark that i can't even see bottom. this has never happened to me before where it has gotten worse. We are changing the filter cartridges constantly. Do you think i should just just go buy that sand filter?

[waterbear]

newpoolgirl,

What is the brand on the pucks and what color is the lid? some manufacturers use yellow lids on cal hypo and orange on trichlor.
Also, there are not that many cal hypo tabs on the market.

[newpoolgirl]

it's hth brand pucks. the lid is yellow. (their trichlor lid is orange)

i do have a breakthrough...lol...i was holding off of adding more sequestrant since our conversation yesterday, but since my water was looking worse, i bought some cheap brand and put it in this AM. now my water went from brown to cloudy greenish color there is alot of stuff settling on bottom. i made my own vac system out of intex vac head that came with pool. bought a cheap hose and stuck that on the end where the bag would go on vac head, and shoved other end of that hose into intake on inside of pool. it was sucking stuff up, but the cartridges didn't filter it. everything was going back into pool. Went out and bought sand filter made by AquaQuik, now i can vacuum and clean water goes back into pool. hoping that this filter clears the water for me so I can start over.

If this works should i continue with the pucks i have?
What is the real deal with shocking? Do I shock and continue to have brown water?
Bleach is the cheaper way to go?