Intex Above ground, G.A.M.E Sand Filter, BioGuard Stingy Sticks, and other chemicals

[kristen]

I have an Intex 18ft diameter, 4 ft deep pool, am using a GAME sand filter and was given BioGuard Stingy sticks. Where the heck do I put the stingy sticks and how do I get chlorine into my pool. I'm used to using pools that use filters and you place the chlorine in the middle of the filter. Is there some sort of container I should buy that will float in the pool to slowly dissolve the stingy sticks? Thanks in advance!

[aylad]

There are floaters that you can buy, usually they're for the pucks (trichlor, I think it's the same thing as the stingy sticks), but you can look and see if the sticks will physically fit in them. If you use a floater, though, make sure that any kids in the pool don't play with it, because there can be low pH/high chlorine pockets around it that can be painful and/or damaging to the eyes. I also would recommend that you tether it from either side of the pool when the pool isn't in use, so it won't float over by your liner and fade it.

Most of us on the forum just use plain unscented bleach for chlorination, and we pour it into the skimmer or into the return stream. The problem with the trichlor is that it drives pH down and CYA up. A little CYA is necessary, but a lot of people don't realize that as your CYA level increases, so must your baseline chlorine level. By using bleach, you don't have the CYA buildup that you have with the trichlor sticks/pucks.

You can use the link to the "best guess table" in my sig to see what I mean about corresponding CYA to chlorine levels.

[kristen]

The BBB method sounds so much easier and makes a whole lot more sense! I think I may have to see if my pool dealer will take back all the chemicals he sold me. Grrrr. If not, maybe find someone who wants a good deal on some pool chemicals. I wish I would have read this before buying the chemicals. I used to do pool maintenance in high school and everyone I know who has a pool uses all the junk the store sells you....I just assumed that's the way to go.

I love using more natural or readily available stuff. Thank you so much!

[kristen]

Actually quick question re: BBB. I have approximately 80ppm iron in our water which is why I went with the sand filter. It filters 2500gph I think, maybe a little more, but I was contemplating buying some of the metal remover to help speed up the process of getting my orange water clear. Is there something you'd recommend for a metal remover or just let the sand filter do it's job over time?

[aylad]

Pooldoc and Mbar are the metals gurus on the forum, but I do know that the metal removers don't actually remove the metal--they just put them back into suspension so that they don't stain your pool. So it's an ongoing process to keep the metal remover in the pool, and the pH and chlorine low so no staining happens. The other alternative (there are threads on this in the metals forum, too) is to run the water past a high chlorine source JUST before it hits the filter, so that the staining falls out on the filter instead of in your pool. I urge you to read through some of the threads in the metals forum, even if you have to log out to be able to see them, to get a better idea of what you're dealing with.

That being said, there's no reason why you can't swim in a pool with iron staining, provided the water is clean and the other levels are in line. Just depends on how picky you are about clear, blue pool water!!

There are a lot of people in your position, with Intex pools filled from wells, and we're trying to work out a solution--but it's still in the works for now....

Janet

[CarlD]

The BBB method sounds so much easier and makes a whole lot more sense! I think I may have to see if my pool dealer will take back all the chemicals he sold me. Grrrr. If not, maybe find someone who wants a good deal on some pool chemicals. I wish I would have read this before buying the chemicals. I used to do pool maintenance in high school and everyone I know who has a pool uses all the junk the store sells you....I just assumed that's the way to go.

I love using more natural or readily available stuff. Thank you so much!

Didn't we all at one time! I came here when in my second year, with an Intex donut, I got cloudy water and got "Pool-Stored". Nothing helped except giving up, draining and calling it a season (it was late August anyway). My third year, using the B-B-B method (not yet called that--it hadn't been named), I never had any water problems.

Carl

[PoolDoc]

Arg-gh!

Did God make an 11th Commandment this year: "Thou shalt not install an Intex pool unless thou hast foul water drawn from deep with in the bowels of the earth"?

It seems like everyone with an Intex this season ALSO has badly metal contaminated water source . . . and trying to deal with metals when you've got an Intex pool is HARD! My gosh, you can just about build bridges with water containing 80ppm of iron!

OK, for now, get some polyquat algaecide (www.poolsolutions.com/gd/polyquat.html) and use it. You'll probably have to go to a pool store to get it; Walmart and Kmart are now almost exclusively selling 'goop' and 'hobo-soup' chemicals.

In your pool, you need to avoid any sudden rise in pH or large additions of chlorine. The polyquat will help you filter, help you santize, and prevent algae, even if your chlorine is low-ish.

I'll return to this thread later today, but I go run some errands right now.

[kristen]

LOL @ 11th commandment. Thanks so much Ben. I guess the pool store did sell me one thing correctly and that is the polyquat. I will add some of that but it's safe to assume that over time the filter will do it's job and get rid of most of the iron? We fully understand that we may never have the crisp clean clear pool that most people have but as long as most of the iron is out it will make it more desirable to swim it :)

[Watermom]

Do some reading:

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?11815-New-pool-owner-and-well-water&p=73523#post73523

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?11846-Experiment-Homemade-Sump-Pump-Filter-to-get-rid-of-brown-water

Also, read a lot of the other threads in the metals section of the forum.

[kristen]

After I posted I realized I finally have the ability to search so I've been reading tons of info :) I put a sock full of white wash cloths on my return shortly after posting on here and have had to clean it twice already....the wash cloths were reddish orange within an hour. My sand filter is doing a good job at getting the stuff out, the pool already looks better 24 hours later, it's more of a strong tea color than orange but it still needs more work. I knew it was going to be a slow process to get it to be clearer so I'm in no rush. I just bought a brush so I can brush the pool and I'll be so happy once this is part is done. Thanks for your help and patience, I can imagine how frustrating it is to have the same questions asked over and over and over again. Have a great weekend!

[PoolDoc]

Actually, we're really just wondering why there's been such a surge of questions this year from folk with Intex pool and well water.

I'm trying to put together some guides, based on the answers we've been cobbling together.