next steps for well water pool?

[33feet]

Just put in a 33ft diameter AG pool 54". came with: 2 hp (2 speed) pump, swim pro voyager150 filter, nature2 vision pro

Filled with well water (high iron but do not know level). This water also has a tendency for algae to grow (in past, smaller kiddie pools)
Pool when initially filled was slightly green, slightly cloudy, 68 degrees. ph and alkalinity very high

Testing currently with HTH 6 way drop tests. At first with strips (2006c on its way)
My husband put in algaecide (not sure what was in it); metal free; shock (Nature's Way)
cya level went from 0 to 30-50 (strips)

Currently:
Temp 100 degrees, clear, very slightly green
no algae( at least that I can see!)

with HTH drop tests:

Total chlorine 1-2 (at highest-in morning after adding 2 gal of bleach the night before); usually 0
pH 7.2 (has been 7.8 or maybe even higher) Brought down with miuritic acid
Total alkalinity 240 (has been as high as 380)
Total hardness 500
Cyanuric acid 0 (if I use a strip is says 30-50).

Glad to find you all. And our pool installer suggested you.
I feel like I have read every post trying to figure out what to do. Lots of great info. I feel like I am getting the hang of this but need guidance on what to do next.
chlorine? alkalinity?

Thanks

[33feet]

A little more info:
Evening of July 7 -added 2 gal bleach
Morning July 8 -tested with the HTH drop tests
Total chlorine 3-6
pH 7.5
Total alkalinity 350
Total hardness 360

Evening July 8
total chlorine 0
ph 7.8

Well water:
Total chlorine 0
pH 7.8 (at least)
Total alkalinity 430
Total hardness 360
Cyanuric acid- not tested

Anything else I should do? Thanks

[aylad]

That's a difficult set of test results to work with!! The best thing you can do is keep your chlorine between 3-6 at all times so that you don't end up with an algae bloom. You don't want to have to shock our pool if you can help it.

Do not use any algaecides, unless it's Polyquat 60. The rest of them will create other problems for you, the primary one being the addition of copper to an already metal-laden pool. I would also unplug the Nature2 unit, or at least just take the cartridge out. It's not doing anything to help sanitize the water against viruses, and it also is adding copper to your pool.

Your hardness and alk are very high. You can keep the alk and pH down by using muriatic acid, but everytime you top off the pool with water, you're adding high alk water back in, so you might find yourself fighting a losing battle there.

Just filter, filter, filter, with your pump on low speed (2 HP is really oversized for your pool) and don't let any algae get started in the pool!

[PoolDoc]

Hi 33;

1. Turn off the Nature2, unless no one in your family has light colored hair. When it works at all, it adds copper, and copper turns light hair green.

2. Go to Lowes (HomeDepot, possibly a big AG supply) and get 4 gallons of PLAIN (not safe, not diluted, not non-fuming) 31.45% muriatic acid. Get some nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses, if you don't already have some. READ the muriatic acid page in my signature, and then begin adding acid, 1/2 gallon at a time, till your pH is near 7.0. Keep it there till your alkalinity is below 100 ppm.

3. Go to the Sams Club in Peoria, and get their PoolBrand bagged dichlor shock (24lbs). Sams is one of the VERY few retailers selling undiluted, unblended dichlor, and the price for this is excellent. Dichlor tends to lower pH and alkalinity over time, so this is a good product for you, at least for now. On your pool, 24lbs will add about 70 ppm of chlorine and about 60 ppm of CYA (stabilizer), which is about perfect. Since it's bagged, you can buy 2 boxes if you like; what you don't use will keep fairly well till next year. Alternatively, order the Kem-Tek dichlor from Amazon. But do NOT buy any other dichlor, without first becoming an expert 'label inspector' -- most of the dichlor currently sold by Costco, Kmart, Walmart, Lowes, pool stores, etc. is a MESS.

24 lbs PoolBrand bagged shock (http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=108822) @ Sams Club
Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0030BEHZA/poolbooks) @ Amazon

4. You'll need to switch to another form of chlorination once you've used about 1/2 of the dichlor. Look for a source of PLAIN 6% household bleach. You want a store brand that turns over quickly, so it's fresh -- bleach loses strength rapidly at summer temps. Walmart is usually ideal.

5. If that's not available, you can use cal hypo -- but it adds both calcium and alkalinity, and is tricky to use on a cartridge filter pool.

6. You need a spare cartridge, so you can rotate the one you have. But Hayward's website is down at the moment, so I can't look that up.

7. Run your pump on LOW speed, 24/7, EXCEPT when you are vacuuming, or cleaning up leaf debris via your skimmer, after a storm.

8. Meanwhile, add 3 gallons of household bleach EVERY evening, till you can begin using the dichlor.

[33feet]

thank you for the guidance.
July 8 evening added 2 gal bleach ad one gallon muriatic acid
July 9 7am
ph 7.5
total chlorine 8-10+

Have a cartridge ordered; will take off Nature2.
Will continue to run pump 24/7 on low.
will add more muriatic acid

water is clear and sparkly. No metal deposits! Been rinsing the filter about every 2 days.

Thanks again!

[33feet]

Step from above:
"2. Go to Lowes (HomeDepot, possibly a big AG supply) and get 4 gallons of PLAIN (not safe, not diluted, not non-fuming) 31.45% muriatic acid. Get some nitrile rubber gloves and safety glasses, if you don't already have some. READ the muriatic acid page in my signature, and then begin adding acid, 1/2 gallon at a time, till your pH is near 7.0. Keep it there till your alkalinity is below 100 ppm."

question: I need to to have ph near 7.0 and alkalinity below 100ppm before doing anything else (except adding bleach daily and removing Nature2)? I think that may take awhile!

[33feet]

I found some values on our well water:

Calcium 66
Magnesium 33
Alkalinity 380.
Iron 1.78

This evening:
ph 7.0
alkalinity 210
FC 0.6
CC 0.2

I will keep working to get alkalinity down. Then what?

[aylad]

Just keep chlorine in the pool so it doesn't go green on you. What is your current CYA level?

Janet

[33feet]

Forgot to post that.
Cya. 0. (Or at least less than 30 there was no cloudiness at all with the test)

[PoolDoc]

Were you able to get the dichlor?

You need to add chlorine; you need to add stabilizer, AND you need to keep your pH down. And, dichlor will do all three things!

Note, that this doesn't mean dichlor will ALWAYS be the best chemical for you: when your alkalinity is low enough, and your stabilizer is high enough, using dichlor would NOT be a good idea. But, for now, it's a GREAT idea!

[33feet]

Oh yes. Have the dichlor from Sams. Am ready. I think
This am:
Ph. 7.0
FC. 5
CC. 0
Alk. 250

Calcium hardness (curiosity) 425

Thanks for all the help

[aylad]

In 25K gallons of water, each 6 ounces of dichlor you add should raise your FC by approx. 1 ppm, so you can start using that instead of the bleach. For every 10 ppm the dichlor gives you, you're going to raise your CYA by 9 ppm, so I would test for that at least weekly, and then stop using the dichlor when it gets to your target (we recommend 40-50 ppm for most pools). Also, keep an eye on your pH--you're already at the lowest end of the acceptable range, and the dichlor is going to lower it more, so I would add some Borax to get the pH back up to the mid-7's range.

Janet

[BigDave]

I'd also suggest that you aerate by pointing the return eyeball at the surface. With your high alk, this will help raise your pH.