Hi jennifert,
Well water is notorious for having large amounts of metals, mostly copper and iron. When you introduce iron-laden water to high chlorine levels, it precipitates the iron out and that's where you get the brown water. You can get this straightened out, and it's not that hard, but is going to require some diligence. You are going to need a test kit that uses drops instead of strips. If you will keep your pH at 7.0-7.3, your chlorine at 2-4ppm, and add a metal sequestrant, it should start clearing up the water with some filtering (lots of filtering!). The metal sequestrant won't actually remove the metals; instead, it will just dissolve them back into the water so that you're not seeing the brownish appearance. However, those sequestrants are broken down by chlorine, so you either will need to add another dose when you start seeing discolored water, or actually remove the metals by introducing them to a high chlorine source right before they hit the filter, causing them to drop out onto the filter.
Take a look at this thread (might have to log out and read it until your registration is upgraded). It was posted by someone who was in almost the same position as you. It is a long thread, but it details her journey from brown/black water to clear and blue. http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...me-says-it-all!
While you're at it, could you please fill out this chart with your pool info--it will only take a minute but will help us give you better information based on your pool...Pool Chart Entry FormWelcome to the forum!!
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