brown spots on bottom of my pool

Stains on the pool surfaces, pool equipment
or on the swimmers, or off-color swimming pool
water. Discolored but clear pool water.
craig

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby craig » Thu 16 Aug, 2007 19:23

Hello to all, and thanks for any help on our problem. We have a 27 ft round 54 inch deep pool that has brownish spots all over the bottom of pool they look like stains, I tried to scrub them off no luck its looks like stains in the liner. I've tried to shock it to ,no luck. I took a water sample to local pool shop and this was the readings free chlorine 4.7 total chlorine 4.7 , stablizer 61 , ph 7.1 , alkalinity 100, ca hardness 150.00 iron 0.2, copper 1.7. I have to say we a nature 2 mineral water purifier that has copper and silver in it . The copper level was real high according to pool rep and she thought it was because ph was to low so she wants me to get ph up to 7.6, shock the pool and see what happens before using a stain removal. also they thought it couldn't be algae under pool liner, they said liner was to thick to bleed through. I live in the pittsburg pa. area, any help on this would be greatly appreciated thanks Craig


Backglass
Swimming Pool Superstar
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Postby Backglass » Thu 16 Aug, 2007 19:40

Hi or low ph doesn't magically create copper. You copper is high because of the Snake Oil (my opinion) mineral system you are using. You are running a real risk of green haired guests with those levels. :shock: You don't need it as you wont get algae with a properly chlorinated pool, as your's is.

I would bet money your stains are metal, most likely the copper or possibly the iron. The way to find out for sure is to put on your mask and place a plain old Vitamin C tablet on the stain. If you magically see it disappear, you have metal staining which can be removed with an ascorbic acid treatment DETAILED HERE.
===============================
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Download Bleachcalc free at troublefreepool . com /files/BleachCalc262.exe and start saving money on chemicals.
craig

thanks

Postby craig » Thu 16 Aug, 2007 20:31

Thanks I'll try the c tablet tomorrow I'll let you know . Thanks craig
craig

stains ?

Postby craig » Fri 17 Aug, 2007 14:56

Hello WE tried the vitamin c tablet about 10 of them, my boys said it appeared to them to have no affect on these shadows, stains, I have to say since I really shock the pool and added ph plus they are getting a lot lighter, but also a few days ago I spread algae stop from hth all around the outside of pool and watered it well, we have marble stones all around the pool 2-5 inches in diameter just not sure what to think it still might be algae under liner but pool supplier said there was no way it would bleed through.but read on net that they could, if it is algae under liner would putting liquid clorax all around outside of pool kill the algae under liner.the liner is 3 years old from aqua-leader 20 mil. I like to add when I open the pool each year these spots are not there then as season goes on they appear. thanks for any help . sincerely Craig
Backglass
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Posts: 727
Joined: Tue 29 May, 2007 09:02

Re: stains ?

Postby Backglass » Sat 18 Aug, 2007 09:50

craig wrote:Hello WE tried the vitamin c tablet about 10 of them, my boys said it appeared to them to have no affect on these shadows, stains, I have to say since I really shock the pool and added ph plus they are getting a lot lighter, but also a few days ago I spread algae stop from hth all around the outside of pool and watered it well, we have marble stones all around the pool 2-5 inches in diameter just not sure what to think it still might be algae under liner but pool supplier said there was no way it would bleed through.but read on net that they could, if it is algae under liner would putting liquid clorax all around outside of pool kill the algae under liner.the liner is 3 years old from aqua-leader 20 mil. I like to add when I open the pool each year these spots are not there then as season goes on they appear. thanks for any help . sincerely Craig


Well, it definitely isnt metal then as the vitamin C tablets work instantly on metlal stains.

OK...step two is to place a chlorine puck on the stain and leave it there for awhile. If the stain lightens or goes away, it's an organic stain and you might have some luck with super-shocking the pool.
===============================

I'm no expert...just a long time pool owner. The real experts are at www . troublefreepool . com



Download Bleachcalc free at troublefreepool . com /files/BleachCalc262.exe and start saving money on chemicals.
craig

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby craig » Sat 18 Aug, 2007 14:15

Hello, Thaks again for all the help, Yes the chorine tablets do work the vinyl liner under tablets come real clean, I have to say this is not a real dark stain it allmost looks like a shadow on your pool bottom in spots, now what should I use next. the chorine leve is real high in pool right now but probably not enough to get rid of this stain/algae, would liquid gold algacide work,I have put 3 gallons of liquid clorax in pool in last 3 days this may be why shadows have lighten in color. thanks again for help. Craig
POOLGRL

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby POOLGRL » Fri 17 Jul, 2009 09:16

In response to Craig, you should be careful of putting the chlorine tabs on the stain directly because this may burn a whole in your vinyl liner. I have the same exact problem occuring in my pool and it's got us stumped. We tried shocking the pool and raising the chlorine very high - that did not work. Then we added MetalX for the stains assuming it was a metal stain. This dropped our ph very low. That did not work so I had to work on raising my ph level again and my alkalinity and chlorine. I FINALLY have my pool balanced again but the stains are still there. I think they are bleeding thru the bottom. Not sure what I'm gonna do now. Any ideas would be great.
Sean

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby Sean » Thu 06 Aug, 2009 06:13

I use a citric acid based stain remover. (available from pool chem shops)
It brings it up like new.
I also have Nature2 and am now pretty sure it is the cause.
I am going to plumb it out and get rid of it.
shady bottom too?

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby shady bottom too? » Mon 10 Aug, 2009 08:02

POOLGRL wrote:In response to Craig, you should be careful of putting the chlorine tabs on the stain directly because this may burn a whole in your vinyl liner. I have the same exact problem occuring in my pool and it's got us stumped. We tried shocking the pool and raising the chlorine very high - that did not work. Then we added MetalX for the stains assuming it was a metal stain. This dropped our ph very low. That did not work so I had to work on raising my ph level again and my alkalinity and chlorine. I FINALLY have my pool balanced again but the stains are still there. I think they are bleeding thru the bottom. Not sure what I'm gonna do now. Any ideas would be great.


I have the same problem. I thought using the chlorine tab seemed to make it lighter. I guess the maybe using super chlor to shock might work? Any other suggestions?
craig l

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby craig l » Mon 28 Sep, 2009 18:40

Hi, You might be surprised to hear the stains might be under your liner, mold or algae , that makes your liner look like dark shadows .I know ,I have them on my liner.really no solution for this problem.Craig
asp5074

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby asp5074 » Wed 28 Apr, 2010 19:37

Stains
When stains appear on swimming pool surfaces, immediate action should be taken to avoid costly and annoying repairs. Brushing can often remove fresh stains if recognized early enough. Neglected stains in plaster pools may ultimately require draining and an acid wash. Like colored water, stains are the result of metal ions in pool water. They indicate that either the source water contains metals, such as copper, iron and manganese, or that a corrosive pool water condition is dissolving metal pool components.

The first step after noticing a pool stain is to determine what caused the stain. This is done by testing the water for metals. The first step after noticing a pool stain is to determine what caused the stain. This is done by having your local dealer or service professional test the pool water for metals. If the stain is caused by metals, the dealer may recommend either a sequestering agent or clarifier to treat the problem. If metals are present due to improper pH levels, the pH should be adjusted to be within the range of pH 7.2-7.6. If the problem persists, add a sequestering agent or a clarifier that will chemically bind the metals so that they can be filtered out before they cause more staining problems.

Color Blue/Green Red/Brown Black
Cause Copper or Iron corrosion or from water supply. Iron or manganese corrosion or from water supply. Manganese in water supply.
Treatment 1 Adjust pH & alkalinity to recommended ranges.

2 Vigorously brush the stained areas.

3 Add sequestering agent & run filter.

4 Twelve hours later, shock treat the pool.

5 Retest pH & alkalinity. Also test hardness levels &, if necessary, raise to 200 ppm.


Notes:
Take a pool sample to a pool professional for dissolved metals testing 24-48 hours after treatment and at least once a month.
lisakmusco

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby lisakmusco » Wed 09 Jun, 2010 12:56

We have a fibretech coated pool (recently resurfaced with it this year) and recently these brownish-green stains are appearing, mostly on the bottom, but some on the walls. We get the water tested every week or two and are in balance. Have added metalfree as well. Tried scrubbing, chlorine tab and vitamin c tab to no avail. Any other suggestions?
Fanie

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby Fanie » Fri 10 Sep, 2010 06:18

lisakmusco wrote:We have a fibretech coated pool (recently resurfaced with it this year) and recently these brownish-green stains are appearing, mostly on the bottom, but some on the walls. We get the water tested every week or two and are in balance. Have added metalfree as well. Tried scrubbing, chlorine tab and vitamin c tab to no avail. Any other suggestions?
Fanie

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby Fanie » Fri 10 Sep, 2010 06:27

Why dont u try Hydrocloric Acid 1L per 10 000L take APC Baracudas/Kreepy's out run pump for 24Hours and keep on brushing the stains. Afterwards rebalance your levels and do a metal treatment once a month
keeping your P.H 7.2 - 7.4. The stains are called osmoses its a chemical reaction in the liner with the Sodium Carbonate P.H Adjuster and Sodium Bicarbonate Alkalinity Adjuster. :D Try it, it works....
Miker

brown spots on bottom of my pool

Postby Miker » Fri 13 May, 2011 08:23

I also have brown spots in the bottom of my pool, appears to be spores of some type, when you brush over them they blow up like a mushroom cloud, was told to use an algecide with copper in it, did not effect it at all, but created a gummy residue on the surface, pool now has a gummy ring around it, need help, any ideas ?

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