Brown water in pool- from Iron

[mbar]

Sorry I haven't answered sooner. I was in Texas, then flew to Philadelphia to attend my nephews graduation party, then today to my future daughter-in-law's bridal shower I am now homeIf it were my pool, this is what I would do:

Put a puck in the skimmer.
Start to add cya (stabilizer) - I am not sure how much you need for your salt system, but cya takes a while to register. I would put it in a sock and hang it by the skimmer. You don't want to put it in the skimmer because you will need to backwash often now, and you don't want to backwash any of the cya out. If you hang it by the skimmer, and squeeze the sock every now and then it will dissolve.
You have to continue to lower the alkalinity - just keep adding muriatic acid and keep the water aerating to raise the ph. Just make sure you don't let the ph to get too low - the puck in the skimmer will also lower ph. You can add borax if your ph goes too low. It will raise the ph without raising the alkalinity. (I know this is all confusing) The reason the pool store does not want you to add bleach right now is because the bleach will break down the metal out. So while I agree with this, a puck in the skimmer will add enough chlorine to keep the algae away while your cya is at 0. You can also add some polyquat 60 algaecide, but the algaecide also uses up chlorine. I know all of this is complicated, but once you get your water in balance it is very easy to maintain. You really have to get your alkalinity in check, because unbalanced alkalinity will cause a ph bounce and then it is hard to maintain a balanced pool. It all works together

I just read that Aylad answered your post - what she said It is the same advice.

[newguyjosh]

Thanks.

I turned the SWG on last night and added some cya. So far I have added 3/4 gallons of muriatic acid to lower the alkalinity. Water still green but can see bottom of pool. Havent had a chacne to get my own test kit (just have strips) but the pool store reported the following from todays sample. Haven't got a puck to put in yet either

Total chlorine 2, Free chlorine 2
Cya: 0
Ph: 7.4
Total alkalinty: 309- came down 60 but still way high
Total hardness 285

They advised continuing to add muraitic acid 1/4 gallon a time ove the next few days and seem to think if the alkalinity lowers the water will turn clear.

I have been cleaning the filter and reusing it several tiems per day but maybe I wil start replacing it more often.

Any other suggestions? Will lowering alkalinity actually clear it up or do I need to do something mroe about the iron? More metal control? Time with the fitler? thanks

[labdi01]

Hi Josh.

My name is Dianna, and I am a brand-new pool owner and have very high iron. I have an AG 24' pool (that I acquired with the house I just purchased).

We started, after initial-fill and shock - with "Cesspool, Opaque brown" water, and I spent $140 in sequestrants alone (not to mention all the balancing chems) to try to clear it (and daily trips to pool store for testing).

The sequestrants semi-cleared it over the course of 3 or so days - to a clear pool with a green tinge (which I think you're experiencing). Then I had to shock. Tried to do it slowly. Ended up at square 1 ("Cesspool Brown") and I was so disheartened (this happened this past Thu) and I was ready to either spend $300 to drain it and have it refilled - or rip the thing down. Lived this long without a pool, right?

Well, I found another way - and since Fri afternoon - not only is my pool CRYSTAL clear (no lie) - I did it without chemicals and worrying about that delicate balance of CL and pH because of metals. No more sequestrants, no bringing your CL down and risking a bloom (and more chems), etc.

Look under "New Pool Owner with High Iron Manually Removing Iron". I kid you not - it's crazy - and it works - and you're free of the "ball-and-chain" of having iron (you have to filter your fill water, tho). Our water has been 'to-the-eye' clear since 5:00 am today, and we've been running the homemade filter and still catching lots of brown (and my iron reading this am was ZERO at the STORE).