Greenish - Yellowish - Brownish Water After Adding Shock Treatment!

[Jinxy]

I at one time had one of those above ground pools with the inflatable ring at the top. At that time we were living in a different area and had county water. The pool did great until one day one my son said "hey ma watch this!" and I looked up to see the entire side blew out and my son was projected through the hole in what looked like a tidal wave in my backyard. Since then we have moved and bought another pool. This time with the steel frame (highly recommended). We moved to the country and now we have well water.

We set up the pool over a course of two days (beginning Friday). After the pool was full, I added a super-shock treatment for the right size of my pool (15'X 48") and as I was adding it, the water instantly began to change to an ugly brackish color! It looked as if I had dumped Kool-Aid in it and started mixing it around....that's how quickly it changed. I added chlorine tablets with stabilizer. The chlorine levels are fine but the water looks horrid. I was hoping when I woke up this morning the chlorine and shock would have had time to clear it up, but it hasn't. It looks just as bad today as it did yesterday.

I have read this article here ---> http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=99 but I haven't tried it yet. To be honest, it seems like a heck of a lot of work and a whole lot of chemicals to be using. I was wondering if we changed to the saltwater filtration system if this would solve the problem or would I still have the murky water? I don't really want to go out and buy this filtration system if I'm going to still have the same problem. But I really don't want to have to use a large range of chemicals if I can avoid it. My grandchildren swim in this pool and I really want it to be safe for the youngest who is only a year old.

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[born2crooz]

We have the same problem with our well water and our 18 x 52 metal frame pool almost every year.

4 things that work for me:

use the skimmer and buy a skimmer sock. You will have to clean it frequently but it will catch a great deal of the metal particles.

buy some Fiber Clear (or similar product) from a pool store. It's a lightweight "powder" similar to DE. I sprinkle some around the outside of the paper cartridge filter, while it's in the pump. When you turn the pump on, the water mixes with the fiber material and adheres to the paper filter. After about 3-4 hours, shut the pump off and take the cartridge filter out (it will be DARK brown and dripping with goop). Hose it off and repeat the process. You should notice a significant difference overnight. It should take no more than 48 hours. Once clear, the metal will be GONE and you won't have this problem again.

A bottle of some sort of metal out wouldn't hurt either. You can usually find it for as little as $10.00 per bottle.

buy a Bobby from the pool store. It's a carbon based "sock" that goes over your hose nozzle when filling the pool. The filter will trap most of the metal before it enters the pool.

Good luck!!!

[dymondgeezer]

We have well water also. Has a lot of iron in it. If you use a water softener for the house, it will remove most of the iron. Last year I didn't set the softener to regenerate overnight and the next day I filled the 2nd half of the pool with straight well water.

Added chlorine and Bingo! looked like week old ice tea!

I took the return hose off the outside of the pool and zip-tied it to the ladder so the water would flow through an old bath towel draped over the ladder rung. Add chlorine and it will cause the water to release the iron. I also put an old cotton sports sock inside the skimmer basket (Intex pool).

After a few hours the towel & sock were dark brown. Add more chlorine, rinse out the sock & towel with the hose and repeat. It took a couple of days but once you get the iron out, it's out for good.

Finally, add a metal sequestering agent to dissipate the remaining metals back into the water.

I also read a guy who used a milk jug full of pillow stuffing (teddy bear stuffing) with a bunch of holes punched in the jug. Attach the return hose and it does the same thing. He simply threw the jug away and made another 'filter'.

Hope this helps.

This year I made sure I regenerated the softener and used a .5 micron carbon filter to fill the pool.