mveno Posted July 17, 2008 Report Share Posted July 17, 2008 I have had a San Juan fiberglass pool for almost three years now. I've had a lot of problems with iron staining. I put Mineral Magnet in the pool (I've used a few different brands) and it turns gleaming white almost instantly because the iron goes back into solution. But it only lasts a few days or less if I shock the pool. I get a lot of yellowish/brown staining all over and it looks awful. Everything I have read says the best way to get rid of the iron is to get the iron back into solution and empty the pool, start over with clean source water. I've gone as far as installing a filter in my tap lines in case I have to add water to my pool but as we all know you cannot empty a fiberglass pool completely. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get it out of the water? It's costing me a fortune in mineral magnet to keep the iron in solution. To remove it I've tried the sequestering agents and filter aid/frequent backwashing to no avail. This is so frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don pool Posted July 18, 2008 Report Share Posted July 18, 2008 One of the few problems with fiberglass pools is that they act like a magnet to metals in the water. Once you pour in the metal removing agent and the stains go away, you are going to have to use a weekly maintenance dose to keep it from coming back. Your tap water is more than likely the source but if you have any type of rock work or decorative rock around your pool it could be an added source of metals. You say you have put some sort of filter on the tap line for filling. Try buying an RV. type of a water filter that screws on to you garden hose for filling. The product I always used was Biodex Stain Out. I would buy it in a gallon size, pour half of it in the pool, and kept the other half to use as a small weekly maintenance dose. This product did not work immediately, it normally took a couple of days. As you know the metal removing products suck all the chlorine out of your pool. Certain types of chlorine shock have an adverse chemical reaction if there is metal present in your pool. What type of chlorine do you use in your pool? Do you have a salt system or do you use chlorine tablets or granulated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbecher Posted May 28, 2009 Report Share Posted May 28, 2009 Did you ever make progress with this? I have been fighting staining (a gray-yellow) for the three summers I've had my pool. This is the fourth summer and I want to find the right products to use. Here is my history. Can someone please help??? I had a fiberglass pool (salt water) installed 4 years ago, with an aqualogic chlorinator. It wasn't installed until the end of the summer, so it was closed up shortly after it was finished. When the pool was opened the next summer (we live in New Jersey), it was clear - just some leaves on the bottom, which cleaned up real well. After about one month, I started seeing stains on the bottom and sides of the pool. The pool guy told me to use a stain and scale product, which I did. The stains started to fade, but I also noticed that my chlorine reading was always very low (0-.5). With this being my first real summer using the pool, I thought my chlorinator wasn't working, so I called Goldline. They told me to test my phosphates, which I did and found they were sky high - over 2000. They said this was my problem - that the phosphates should be close to 0. So the rest of that summer, I used Phosfree and got my phosphates down. The Natural Chemistry people were very friendly and helped me out a lot, except my pool didn't cooperate. I used their stain free product to get rid of the stains, then metal free as a maintenance. This didn't work. The stains keep coming back. I keep the PH at around 7.4, and Alkalinity around 120. Last summer I tried Jack's Magic Purple Stuff - and still have stains. The guys who opened the pool this summer recommened Bio Dex, but I haven't tried it yet. I see a lot of posts on this forum about stains, so I figured the best place to get answers is here. Which stain product should I use and what do I do to keep the stains away? Do I need to worry about phosphates with a salt generator (my pool has never been green) Please help! I'm really trying to understand all of this. Is it possible to have a salt water fiberglass pool without stains? Thanks so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adwh.com Posted June 5, 2009 Report Share Posted June 5, 2009 Did you ever make progress with this? I have been fighting staining (a gray-yellow) for the three summers I've had my pool. This is the fourth summer and I want to find the right products to use. Here is my history. Can someone please help??? I had a fiberglass pool (salt water) installed 4 years ago, with an aqualogic chlorinator. It wasn't installed until the end of the summer, so it was closed up shortly after it was finished. When the pool was opened the next summer (we live in New Jersey), it was clear - just some leaves on the bottom, which cleaned up real well. After about one month, I started seeing stains on the bottom and sides of the pool. The pool guy told me to use a stain and scale product, which I did. The stains started to fade, but I also noticed that my chlorine reading was always very low (0-.5). With this being my first real summer using the pool, I thought my chlorinator wasn't working, so I called Goldline. They told me to test my phosphates, which I did and found they were sky high - over 2000. They said this was my problem - that the phosphates should be close to 0. So the rest of that summer, I used Phosfree and got my phosphates down. The Natural Chemistry people were very friendly and helped me out a lot, except my pool didn't cooperate. I used their stain free product to get rid of the stains, then metal free as a maintenance. This didn't work. The stains keep coming back. I keep the PH at around 7.4, and Alkalinity around 120. Last summer I tried Jack's Magic Purple Stuff - and still have stains. The guys who opened the pool this summer recommened Bio Dex, but I haven't tried it yet. I see a lot of posts on this forum about stains, so I figured the best place to get answers is here. Which stain product should I use and what do I do to keep the stains away? Do I need to worry about phosphates with a salt generator (my pool has never been green) Please help! I'm really trying to understand all of this. Is it possible to have a salt water fiberglass pool without stains? Thanks so much. No fiberglass pool under 15 years old should ever have stains. After that, the gel coat slowly becomes porous causing staining, blisters, and algae cling. This type staining usually has only two possible causes. Most common is a heater with iron headers and impellers. If you have a heater, contact a pool service professional and have the heater checked. If the headers and impellers are iron, have them changed out. The other possibility is the use of "well water" with a high iron content. If you do use well water, you should empty the pool and refill from a different source or, continue using sequestering agents. All fiberglass pools can be emptied safely with the help of a fiberglass pool resurfacing specialist. Information is available here. Enjoy your pool. -Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomK Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 No fiberglass pool under 15 years old should ever have stains. Not sure what you mean. from what I have read and my experience I have had stain issues from day 1. I have had it removed to only come back days later. I find that trying to balance the water is too delicate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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