TXGlenn

I have a heater but do not have a heater bypass. When I do the ascorbic acid treatment for metals, do I need to run the heater to remove metals from inside the heater? Or will the water pass over the exchanger and effectively lift any metals? I've been fighting a metal stain with some success. I've been trying to raise my chlorine levels up slowly but it has taken a long time (2 weeks) and it's still not over about .5. I recently turn on the heater and the stains came back rather quickly and I was wondering if the heater was likely the cause or if it was just a coincidence? Thanks

My Jandy Aquapure salt cell is going out and rather than replacing it, I am debating on scrapping the salt system and just going with a traditional chlorine tablet system. The salt system has turned into a pain for me because it ususally ends up someting like this: 1. I check the chlorine level and then adjust the chlorine production according to my "best guess" as to what needs to happen 2. Check again the next day only to find chlorine level still not sufficient, increase chlorine production 3. Check again the following day to find salt level now too low. Add salt and turn off chlorine production 4. The next day, turn back on chlorine production 5. The next day chlorine level way behind now..adjust based on my best guess 6. Find production level too high, lower it This is typical and rather than spend at least $800 on a new salt cell, I like the idea of spending $100 on an in-line chlorine set-up and just dropping tabs in every week or so. For those who have done this conversion, do you regret it? How much are you spending on chlorine every month and where is the best place to get tablets?

I've been fighting light-brownish metal stains for months. I've repeatedly done the ascorbic acid treatment and after trying numerous products (Metal Free, Jacks Magic, Culator, various sequestants) I have finally found that Proteam's Metal Magic mentioned above seems to give me the best results. It didn't work as fast as ascorbic acid, but it still only took a few days to noticably clear the metal stains. They are not completely gone, but they are gone enough to where if nothing else happens I would be happy. I just added my first maintenance dose yesterday and hope it will continue to improve. The best past is, with Metal Magic you don't need to mess with your chlorine level or sequestrants. Leave your chlorine where it is (2-3ppm) and add Metal Magic and you're done. (Ph should be around 7.6 with this stuff)

waterbear - I do my own testing with a Taylor kit. I am probably guilty of bringing the chlorine level up too fast as I grow impatient with it. I use more than enough ascorbic acid and thus it takes quite a while for the chlorine to start to hold....I will add a 182-oz jug of bleach every day (half in the morning half at night) for a week and have ZERO chlorine. Does the chlorine bring the metal out of suspension? If I am adding sequestrant every week, and I supposed to clean my filter cartridges every week as well??!

waterbear - My TA is around 100. The stains are brownish and I had my water tested for metals at Leslie's and they didn't see any using their test. I guess I should bite the bullet and get one of the Taylor 1264 kits but I know it's metals (based on the ascorbic acid working and the Jacks Magic Stain ID kit) so figured that was awaste of money. Although I can't remember now if it was iron or copper...I'll have to do the test again. I don't see any *exposed* metal pieces rusting. My light ring has turned gray-ish. Should I take it apart and check out the insides? Also, I have a heater which I have read can cause metal problems. It's only a couple years old. Is there any way to test it to see if that's the source of the metals? Thanks for your help!

I wouldn't count on converting to a SWG system to solve your metal issues. I have a salt water pool and am in the same metal hell that you are in.

Waterbear - I have been using sequestrants. Initially Metal Free and then Jacks Magic Purple stuff. The latest round I used 2 quarts of the Purple Stuff (pool is 19k gallons) initially. Per the instructions I needed to add 6-8 ounces per week as a maintenance dose. I figured I could get by the first week since I had just added 2 quarts but about 10 days after the initial does the stains returned. I've had the pool 3 years and the metals only became a problem after about a year and a half. I really wanted to find the source of the problem to avoid all this headache.

I've been in a struggle with metal stains for 6+ months now. Ascorbic acid takes it off, but when the chlorine starts to hold, the stains come back. My latest attempt to fix the problem was having a zinc anode installed which didn't help...metal stains came back when ascorbic acid was used up. The guy who installed my anode suggested the Cholox bleach (regular..unscented) that I'm using to bring up the chlorine level could have some additives that could be causing the metal stains. I had never heard of this. Can someone confirm or refute this? Thanks

I did have a rusty rivet inside the filter cartridge housing, but I removed the entire ring the rivets were attached to last year and when I cleaned my cartridges a few weeks ago, I didn't see any signs of the rust stains. The most recent ascorbic acid treatment was a couple weeks ago and after letting the stains lift for a few hours, I started draining the pool. I did about a 2/3 drain hoping the metals that were now in suspension would drain out and I bought one of these CuLator Stain Preventers, which at this point has done nothing. I refilled the pool and metal stains came back in no time. I will have to check the model of my heater. It is only 2 or 3 years old, although I bought it from the people who built my pool and I got a deal on it because they supposedly had installed it at someone else's pool, they didn't like the color of it, so replaced it. I was assured it was new but I just took their word for it. Is there an easy way to see if the headers are rusting in it?

I'm having a hell of a time keeping this brownish stain off the plastic pieces in my pool. Ascorbic acid removes it, but it comes back in two weeks (I am using sequestrant). I took a sample to the pool store and they said I had no metals present. I tried this test before I added the ascorbic acid, as well as afterwards. Also tested the fill water..no metals present. So if ascorbic acid removes the stain, is it definitely a metal problem? Or could it be something else?

If the metals are deposited on the pool surface, will the metal test show a low-level reading? Is the best time to do a metal test after the ascrobic acid treatment?

Thanks for the reponses! Sounds like I need to clean my filter (cartridges) as well as get a better sequestrant. I am intrigued by the chelation product though...I think I'll give it a shot. Is there an inexpensive test kit for metals?

This metal issue is driving me completely nuts. To the point where I'm wishing we never put in a pool. I do the ascorbic acid treatment...bring down the chlorine, ph to 7.2, add ascorbic acid which takes the stains away immediately, add 1 liter of Metal Free 45 minutes later, let pump run 24-7 for ~ 2 days and then start bringing chlorine level up. About 10 to 14 days later, the metal stains start to reappear. What is causing this?? I did this treatment about 4 weeks ago but didn't keep an eye on all my chemical levels but 2 weeks ago I did the treatment again and made sure everything was in-line on a daily basis (ph 7.2, TA 100, cyanuric acid 70, calcium is about 400 but has been since this was built). It's a 19000 gallon gunite pool with SWG. Anyone have any ideas? Am I raising the chlorine too fast? I am really tired of buying all this ascorbic acid just to have the stains come right back. Thanks for your help.

Just to follow up on my own post for future reference... I replaced the o-ring and everything seems fine so I am going to say "no, the large retaining ring is not necessary." When I received the new o-ring, I knew immediately that was the problem as my old one looked like a "D" rather than an "0".

I have a Jandy CL series filter leaking around the clamp. The retaining ring in the bottom tank was rusting and the people who built my pool said the ring wasn't necessary and that I could just take it out. I was told I might need a new o-ring. The o-ring looks new and is only 2 years old. Just wanted to get second opinions on whether or not the retaining ring that fits inside the tank bottom was necassary or not? Thanks.

I never got around to lubing the o-ring...there just didn't seem to be any air in the line all of a sudden.

I turned the pump on with plans of testing the "turn it off and on again to see if there is air" theory, and today there was no air in the line. Weird. I *think* I had turned it on multiple times in a day in the past and did have the air bubbling issue. Anyway, I'll keep an eye on it and see what happens. Not common in my experience for this type of problem to just fix itself. Thanks for all your help!

I noticed a bubble when the pump is off that is about 2 or 3 inches in diameter but when I was back there I noticed a small leak trickling from the clamp that goes around the filter cartridge housing...this is the most likely cause, correct? Does the o-ring grease they sell at pools stores typically correct this problem? The o-ring is only 2 years old.

Yessir.

Pool Clown - I'm not sure what you mean by solar...don't think I have such a thing and have not turned anything new on.

I have a good bit of air pouring out of my returns when the pump first starts up for the day. Enough to where water is bubbling over the edge of the pool. Once it calms down, I see no air bubbles coming out the the returns and all is fine. Anyone know what might be the cause and should I be concerned with it? Thanks

I had a metal problem in my saltwater pool so I gave it the ascorbic acid treatment. This is what happened: 1. Began letting chlorine drop to 0. 2. Water started getting slightly cloudy so I added algaecide. 3. Chlorine hit 0 so I added ascorbic acid. 4. Waited a day for ascorbic acid to work and then added sequesterant. 5. Increased cloudiness. 6. Started adding chlorine (regular bleach) back and now it is around 5+. Pump has been running 24/7, pool is balanced (ph 7.4, TA 70, CA 70 (although this was low and I had ot bring it up when I started adding chlorine back), calcium around 410 - a little high but has been this level since i started). I only have about 2 feet of visibility..water is very opaque. Please help..wife wants to hire someone to clean it up and I just keep saying "filter will take care of it". I figured if the water is balanced it should clear up but it's been 3 days. There is a white, powder-looking substance floating on the surface which came about after I started adding the bleach in. I thought it may be the ascorbic acid but the water started getting cloudy very quickly after I dropped the chlorine (before the ascorbic acid) and never really stopped.

Thanks for the reponses guys. Not really what I wanted to hear as I don't know anything about sacrificial anodes or even what they look like. But nothing seems to come easy with this pool. Quantum - This is a Jandy CL series filter. I do have a heater and originally thought that may have been the source of the metal. This heater was evidently one the pool builder installed somewhere else, they didn't like the color, so they took it out. I got a deal on it, but I'm not sure how old it is...it's not new. Where could I get my tap water tested for iron?

Hi everyone. I have a 2-year-old salt water pool and have been having problems with metal stains. This weekend I took the top off of the Jandy filter tank and find this rusted mess. I hate to ask the obvious, but is this the likely cause of my metal stains? Is this a common problem and how should I proceed with this? Any input would be appreciated. It looks like the rivets that held this metal plate in position just rusted away…the entire plate fell off when I touched it. What is the purpose of this metal ring around the bottom of the tank? Here are some other areas with rust stains coming out from underneath the metal ring.

Great..thanks.