Iron Bacteria Eliminator Kit Worked!

Before and After Iron Bacteria Eliminator Kit

Before and After Iron Bacteria Eliminator Kit

Many thanks to Chris Walkerow at Periodic Products and Fred Schweer at Pool Rx for incredible help with our pool.

We’ve been dealing with gray/brown discoloration on the bottom of this pool in southwestern Pennsylvania for several years without success. Finally last fall, I reached out to Pool Rx whose sanitizing product we use. Fred worked with us and directed us toward C U Lator to deal with copper removal. In talking with Chris about the issue, he recommended that we use their Iron Bacteria Eliminator product to address the discoloration. So after dumping and refilling the pool to get rid of the very high chlorine stabilizer that had built up from past efforts, we followed Chris and Fred’s guidance to the letter. Nothing went in the pool this season without their approval. We couldn’t get the C U Lator products locally so we had them shipped up from Chris in Florida. Even liquid chlorine was very difficult to source locally: “Nobody uses that, use tablets or granular” is what we kept hearing. But we insisted on what these two chemists recommended.

We dumped and refilled the pool in late June, and completed the Iron Bacteria treatment just in time to swim over the July 4th weekend. The pool has been clear, clean, and stable the rest of the season! This is the first time in at least 3 years that we have had stable pool chemistry and had a normal pool bottom appearance. Our local pool supplier ran our water tests but quickly learned not to make any recommendations because we were “using another lab.” After about six weeks of consistently stable test results, they started to ask: “What are you putting in this pool?”

We HIGHLY recommend Chris and Fred for their outstanding ability to deal with pool chemistry issues. Apparently, a combination of iron bacteria in our fill water combined with clay soil, a high water table, and direct sunlight resulted in this persistent discoloration. Chris was the first to figure out a solution.

Attached are before and after pictures. A HUGE thank you to Chris and Fred!!!

CuLator Metal Eliminator — The Final Step In Pool Stain Treatment

No Drain Metal Stain Eliminator Kit

When treating a metal stain in a swimming pool or spa, there are three steps you must follow:

  1. REMOVE THE METAL STAINS FROM THE WALL:  This process is usually the easy step because when you pour the stain treatment (generally ascorbic acid and/or citric acid into the pool, the stains “magically” disappear.  What is happening is a chemical reaction where the acid is a reducing agent and allows the metals to go back into the pool water.  The trick is that you have to take your chlorine level  below 1 (or zero) or the acid will just go after the chlorine first before it goes after the metals on your surface. Ascorbic Acid Metal Stain Remover (Rust + Iron)

Acid Metal Stain Remover
  2. SEQUESTER THE METALS TO KEEP THEM IN SUSPENSION:  Pour a sequestering agent into the water.  Generally, these are liquids that come in quart sizes.  Just pour directly into the water around the edge of the pool.  Make sure that the sequestering agent you use does NOT have phosphonic acid.  Chlorine, sun, and time break phosphonic acid down into phosphates.  Phosphates are algae food!  Sequestering agents allow the metals to stay in suspension long enough for the next step to work.  Often, the phosphates from your sequestering agent is the reason you get algae during a stain treatment.  Food for thought!
  3.                                                              
  4. USE CuLATOR METAL ELIMINATOR TO REMOVE AND ELIMINATE METALS FROM THE WATER:  To finish the stain treatment, always use CuLator Metal Eliminator to remove and eliminate the stain-causing metals from the water.  I recommend using a CuLator Ultra 4.0 for every 20,000 gallons of water.  If you do not use CuLator, your stain will reappear quickly.  Sequestering agents are a temporary fix.  CuLator is the CURE!                                    CuLator Ultra PowerPak 4.0

 

To make life easier, we have packaged all these products together, with full instructions, into our NO-DRAIN METAL STAIN ELIMINATOR KIT:

Metal Stain Eliminator Kit