Looking for concise help with clearing up brown-metal rich pool water

Like many people here, we purchase an easy set pool with hopes of staying cool in through the Florida summer. Sadly, we have not been able to enjoy the pool much as in short, WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT WE ARE DOING! Basically, I would appreciate if someone could assist me by giving simple-specific instructions on how to remove the metal discoloration from our pool. It is well water that from what I have gathered reading many posts is iron rich as it originally has a yellowish coloring. First we tried to use one of those saltwater systems, investing the $200 in the machine that immediately turned the pool water brown when the chlorine was produced. I drained the pool and refilled it again with well water, this time using the purchase shock, chlorine, etc. Same result, brown water and repeatedly changing the filter. The pool is an Intex, mental frame pool that is 14' x 42". We also can't seem to keep the PH down either, it's testing higher than the 8.5 level on the test strips not matter how many times we add the PH down chemical and have run the filter pump for two days now. Thanks for your help, Bridget!

Hi Bridget;

You've got iron in your fill water. It's in a soluble form, till air gets to it, or till you mix it with chlorine. You can solve the problem, but it will take some work and effort on your part. The worst of it is learning how; once you have the routine down it will be much easier. You'll want to make sure you have everything ready, BEFORE you refill and start over. (You can clean the water you have, but it will be easier if you start over.)

But do this:

1. Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol red test it, or (much better & available at some Walmarts) get a HTH 6-way DROPS testkit. Also, get 3 gallons of plain store brand 6% household bleach.

2. Go to Lowes, Home Depot, etc. and buy a gallon of muriatic acid. But before you use it, read the muriatic acid page linked in my signature.

3. While you are at Walmart and Lowes, see if you can buy a quart of polyquat. Read this page FIRST (www.poolsolutions.com/polyquat.html) so you know what to get. If you cannot find it there, I've put it with some Amazon links at the bottom of this post.

4. Fill out the pool info chart -- as members of the PF Support Team walk you through the process, having the chart makes it MUCH easier to give you good answers.

Pool History Entry Form
Pool History Logsheet

5. Order a bottle of HEDP -- link below. You can find this locally, but it's very tricky to buy, since stores will try to sell you something that's 'just as good' but is NOT the same. If you print the picture from the Amazon link and get EXACTLY that product, you can buy it locally.

6. Purchase some dichlor -- this is an easy way to raise your stabilizer level. Again, link below. You *may* already have some, but much what's sold is blended and diluted. If you have some, include the EXACT manufacturer and product name, so we can see if you can use it. But, if you have access the best source for this is "PoolBrand" 24 x 1lb bagged shock at Sams Wholesale. It's about $2.50/pound, in sealed bags, so it's not only an excellent price, but you can store what you don't use for next year.

7. Unless you have a sand filter, order 2x the Unicel replacement cartridge for your filter. This are better than OEM cartridges, which will filter better, and will last all summer if you clean them properly.

8. Once you start testing your pool, use this chart to keep up with the results:

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

I know this is a lot of stuff, but you will not use all of it up this year. OK, links:

Kit

HTH 6-way at Walmart (check availability)

Polyquat

Kem-Tek 60% polyquat @ Amazon
Nava 60% polyquat @ Amazon

HEDP

Jacks Magic The Pink Stuff 1qt (60% HEDP) @ Amazon
20% KemTek HEDP @ Amazon -- watch out for the ship date!!

Dichlor (if you can't get it at Sams)

Kem-Tek Dichlor 22 lbs

Unicel replacement cartridges -- only if you have a cartridge filter; you'll need TWO

Unicel C-4607 Replacement Filter Cartridge (Easy Set Size A or C) @ Amazon
Unicel C-5315 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 15 Square Foot Intex B Filter @ Amazon

Filter cleaning package (ALL of this is available locally! TSP is sold in the paint section of hardware stores; any 5 - 10 durable plastic container with a lid is OK for cartridge cleaning)

Rubbermaid BRUTE Gray 10 Gal Container w/o Lid @ Amazon
Round Brute Lid For 10-Gallon Waste Containers, 16" Diameter, Gray
1lb Savogran 10621 Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) @ Amazon

Oh, one more thing: when you get this stuff, do NOT just go dumping it in the pool. Most of those items are NOT "if a little is good, more is better" chemicals: too much will be BAD. It's very likely you'll have enough stuff to use during start up NEXT year, as well.

Now, let me outline the process, assuming you start with fresh water.

1. Drain and clean the pool.
2. Place a plastic bucket in the pool, and put the fill hose IN the bucket. You do NOT want the water splashing and aerating -- that can convert the iron, two.
3. Add a small dose of HEDP, to keep the iron from converting, while you fill. (Dose depends on which you get.)
4. Add a dose of polyquat, once the pool is 1/2 full, to help filter and to prevent algae from getting started.
5. As soon as you can, put the Unicel filter in, and start your filter. Do NOT add chlorine!! Do NOT start SWCG (salt water system)
6. Once the pool is full, add a finishing dose of polyquat, and of HEDP. Circulate for 24 hours; do not swim; swap cartridges;
7. Add muriatic acid as needed, to lower pH to 7.0 - 7.2
8. Add 2 ppm of dichlor -- carefully. You should be able to swim at this point.
9. Check chlorine on exit; probably add 2 ppm more dichlor.
10. Use pool normally, but

(a) run pump 24/7
(b) add 2 ppm dichlor each PM, and before each swim, if chlorine is low
(c) add polyquat 2x per week.

11. Check filters regularly -- clean promptly; let us know if iron (red/brown) is showing up on the pool.
12. After at least 1 week, but after you have kinda got the routine down begin raising chlorine levels, and pH.

You'll need to keep us informed, and use the test history chart. There will almost certainly need to be some individual adjustments made, based on YOUR pool, YOUR water, and the way YOUR family uses it. Also, you'll have to work out a way to add water to the pool, without causing new problems.

There are some other possibilities. For example, in some cases, filling through several layers of old cotton socks can trap some of the iron BEFORE it goes into the pool.

How's it going with the pool?

Janet