brown water AGAIN

[retyler]

Hello,

We are having a very hard time with our new pool. The specifics are below.
This pool is inside a conservatory, fiber glass walls and roof, block walls to 3' and concrete floor.

We installed the pool two weeks ago and put in a salt filter, filling it with well water as that's all we have. We put in After we put in 80 lbs pool salt we began getting a green tint. We kept filter running 24/7 with the sw working for 4/6 hours every day. The water began to clear a bit, but tests still showed no chlorine. We added another 40 pounds of salt ( SW system info said 110 lbs needed at start up). Still green. Added a gallon (actually 3 qts, 36 oz) of WM household bleach and left the pool covered while we were away for the weekend with filter running 24/7. When we got home after the weekend and pulled back the cover the whole thing was the colour of tea. Clear, but dark. tested the chlorine and it was dark yellow almost orange. Added another "gallon" of bleach. The next day the water was the colour of coffee but still clear. We vacuumed, vacuumed and stirred up everything. Chlorine read orange.

Decided this was gross, so we siphoned the darn thing, cleaned it and refilled. Day one clear. Day two added the first bag of salt. Day 3 a faint greenish tinge, added the second bag of salt. Day four the pool was definitely turning green. Added the final bag of salt and the water began getting brown again. It's midway between green tea and black tea. Chlorine barely registers the palest pink on the test kit / Ph is 7.

What to do? I filled out the pool chart but the info is below as well

15' x 48" Intex AGP 4440 gals with Intex Krystal Clear Model 637R Filter Pump and a Krystal Clear Saltwater System Model cs8110 Unicel A/C filter cartridge Taylor K2006 test kit

[PoolDoc]

When we got home after the weekend and pulled back the cover the whole thing was the colour of tea. Clear, but dark.

No orange tint? That coffee color is pretty specific for oxidized manganese in water. Do you have a softener or 'greensand' filter on your house water? Did you fill your pool with THAT water, or with water BEFORE the softener/greensand, etc.

Dealing with iron is fairly difficult; dealing with manganese is harder.

Do this:

1. Drain the pool.
2. Do the metals bucket test. http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?16946
3. Figure out what you've got, and let us help you make a plan.
4. Refill the pool ONLY after you have a plan AND all the pieces you need.
5. Do NOT add salt or turn on the SWCG till you have the pool 100% cleaned up and ready to go, operating manually!

[retyler]

Thank you so much for your reply.
No softener in the water system. The orange was only on chlorine test after we had added the second gallon of bleach. Water went clear, greeinsh tint , greenish, green, tea coloured, coffee coloured.

[retyler]

Okay, we'll do that and let you know on Wednesday after we get the pool filled again. (Takes a couple of days to fill)

[PoolDoc]

You're missing it.

Do NOT refill the pool till you have ID'd the problem, made a plan, AND gotten the bits you'll need. Otherwise, you'll just restart the cycle you're in now.

If you do have manganese, it will NOT be that simple to deal with successfully. I hope it's just iron.

[retyler]

Sorry, I misunderstood. I'll begin the "bucket test" today, pool already draining.

[retyler]

Bucket test water from the well turned brown after adding Clorox. I filled a bucket with water from the well tap 3 days ago, it turned brown just sitting after a day. Water is clear but brown. When we drained the pool the last bit of water had to wait till we got back from an out of town business trip. The water was clear and there were small brown patches that gathered together. When we swept the water toward the vacuum hose the brown patches would mix back into the water making it brown again. A professor at NCSU (our local university) tells us they have had many problems with iron in water this summer. Is this possibly the cause?

[PoolDoc]

Pool photos










Bucket test:

[PoolDoc]

The colors that are showing up look in between iron and manganese, but it's possible you have some of both. Of course, it also could be camera color error.

+ In the picture of the clumped iron, did those clumps wash or brush away easily?
+ Do you have a pole, vacuum head and hose?
+ Has the iron or whatever in the bucket test settled out? If so, how long did it take?

I'm thinking you may be able to add polyquat, settle the iron, and the vac to waste, or even to filter, if you have several extra filters, and are prepared to clean them properly.

[retyler]

Thank you. Colour appears to be the same in the photo.

To answer your questions;
+The clumps will reintegrate with the water if disturbed. Water turns brown again.
+Yes, we have pole, vacuum head and hose.
+In the bucket test the iron or whatever is forming "small clumps" but is still hanging suspended in the water has not settled to the bottom.

We have 4 filters that we rotate changing every 24 hours. The last one we took out after the coffee coloured water is stained beige, but clean.
The second (clear) bucket is a bucket test we are doing from one of our other wells. It is still clear after two days, so I we have begun to fill the pool
with water from this well as it takes much longer to fill than from the other "big" well. The ph is lower in the water from the small well but the calcium
and the alkalinity #'s are much lower. We are hoping this will prove to be an easier way to go.