got new 24x5 round intex pool need help with water. Sandy water..help

[iwannaswim]

I just purchased a intex 24 x 5 swimming pool. I filled the pool using my water well, water comes from an artesian aquifer that has amazing water. How ever i seemed to have pulled alot of sand from the well and now its in my pool. It has left a brown ring on everything in the pool, ladder, pool toys. Im not sure how to get it out of the pool other than constentaly changing the filter out. Is the a product i can put in the water to help rid it faster. Please help kids are ready to swim, but the pools looks merky and unclean right now..

[CarlD]

Are you sure it is sand and not iron?

Carl

[PoolDoc]

Hi IWanna . . .

Sand sits on the bottom of your pool; it doesn't make rings around things. It's probably, at least in part, metal from your well water.

Currently, we don't have any good solutions for owners of small Intex pools filled with metal-contaminated well water. The methods used on in ground or large above ground pools don't work on Intex pools because of the lack of a skimmer and the very small (undersized, really) filter system.

The chemicals sold as "metal removers" do not (remove metals). Instead, they hold it into solution, until they break down. Since chlorine breaks them down, sooner or later more has to be added.

Various jury-rigged filters have been used, such as setting a sump pump into a bucked, and surrounding it with pillow stuffing or cotton, or putting socks on the return line into the pool. Some of these have had some success. But they are high maintenance and (in the case of the sump pump) very dangerous if not connected via a working GFCI breaker.

Then, there's the problem of what's really there in pools. Iron usually does not appear as rings around the pool. Actually that sounds more like an excess of sweat, body oils and sunscreen . . . except that is usually more black than brown.

We may have a new trial solution in conjunction with a manufacturer beginning soon, so you may want to check back in this section of the forum, every week till mid July, if you think you might be interested.

Meanwhile, do this:

#1 - buy a small bottle of Iron Out at Walmart. Mix 1/4 cup of warm water with as much Iron Out as will dissolve in it. (Do it outside -- it will stink. Also, Iron Out dust & fumes are not safe for people with asthma -- they can trigger an attack.) Then, take an old wash rag and saturate it with this solution. Thing hold this rag against one of the brown rings, for several minutes. If the ring is removed, it's metal in nature and probably iron. If not, it's not.

#2 - If the Iron Out doesn't remove it, try scrubbing it with another old wash rag that is covered in a damp paste of baking soda and water. If it comes up, it's probably a body oil and lotion based ring.

#3 - If neither of these works, hold a large vitamin C tablet against one of the spots. If it lightens, it was metal after all, but probably not iron.

#4 - If none of these works, I have no idea.

#5 - If it's metal, you can use a product like this:
http://www.poolsinc.com/jacksmagic_the_Pink_Stuff.html
You'll probably have to use it weekly.
(Please note -- I just spent 30 minutes trying to find a product that is not 'mystery goo'. This is 100% HEDP, which is an effective chlorine stable metal sequestrant. Proteam Metal Magic is also HEDP, but no % is listed, so it's impossible to tell how diluted it may be.)

#5 - HEDP is not fully compatible with chlorine (though it is MUCH better than many other sequestrants!), so you'll have to keep our your chlorine low. In order to do this without problems, you'll need to use polyquat. See this page:
http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/polyquat.html
It's available in many brands. Again, you'll need to add it weekly.

#6 - Do NOT add any "alkalinity" or "calcium" to the water.

#7 - Do keep the pH on the low end of the scale 7.0 - 7.2. Use 20 mule team borax if you need to RAISE your pH; use either a "dry acid" or "pH down" type product OR muriatic acid to LOWER the pH. (Muriatic acid is cheaper and better, but a bit hard to handle. Store it outdoors in a plastic can. Wear gloves and glasses when adding it, and avoid the fumes.)

#8 - Use dichlor, rather than bleach, to chlorinate and use small amounts added at one time.
http://www.doheny.com/poolsupplies/D...-Chlorine.html
You can also use a trichlor floater.

#9 - Get, and use a cheap OTO / phenol red test kit, like this one
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002NSRD5C/
Keep your chlorine in the yellow, but not dark yellow range.

#10 - Finally, keep in mind, that with the complications of both metals and the undersized Intex pump, you cannot let the pool 'get away from you'. If your pool gets cloudy for any reason (usually, algae) it's more practical to drain and refill, than to try to clean it up in place.

Good luck!

Ben

[CarlD]

I found this post I had written in 2006 about how I solved the vacuum problem with my Intex donut:

07-24-2006, 07:00 AM
I came up with a vacuum system for my 15' Intex donut back in the stone ages--about 7 years ago.

I bought 18' of 1 1/4" hose. I found a 3/4" (ID) double-female PVC adapter at H/D. I forced the adapter in the hose, and the other end fit perfectly in the Intex return.

For a vacuum head I used a Biogard garden hose-type vacuum (like a Black Magic) that had an adapter to use as a regular vacuum head and had a 1 1/4" fitting.

While the suction wasn't the greatest, it DID catch the super-fine stuff in the filter.

I hope this is useful to you. ID is "Interior DIameter". H/D is Home Depot.

Carl