Very fine SILT. Need advise on a prefilter system.

[EverydaySpaUser]

Hello all.  I work on a ranch and just got a new hot tub.  It's well water and it's not good.  I filled the tub the first time and after the bottom area filled I already noticed the water was cloudy with a brown/red/green color.  At that initial start up I had no idea what it was.  I couldn't get the water balanced in order to sanitize in case it was organic.  I put some clearing product in, a coagulant, and it turned the sediment into a sticky mess.  Drain, clean, start over.  Next time around I had bought some new filters than the one it came with.  I bought an inline filter from EcoOne.  I think that is 10 micron.  I filled it... same sediment problem so the inline filter did not work.   After running the pumps all day and continually brushing the sides and surfaces with a sponge mop to keep it from settling I eventually got it clear as the filter in the tub itself eventually caught the stuff.  The silty sediment would also collect around the water line especially with the jets on as the silt would be carried by any bubbles create and was able to wipe that off on occassion as well.  

I literally just added maybe 2 inches of water to the 325 gal tub to raise the water level.  I still used the eco one filter even though it had no effect but with low water pressure.  Didn't matter.  Just that little bit of water added the silt into the tub and I'm doing the running of the pumps all day to try to get it out again.  I need a serious pre filter for tiny particles.  I have seen some 1 micron inline filters but I'm now wary of them.  It would be nice to be able to see inside to see if it's working. Would be nice to get a canister type filter that connects to garden hose where I can put a 1 micron or less filter inside it to fill this thing.  Preferably something clear?  It's a winter area so it would need to be portable.  Put on when filling the tub, take off when finished.  

And yes, the well people have come out and the water is being tested.  But before the results and possible plan of action I need to figure out something.  Even topping off the tub sends the silt flying.  

Thanks

[ratchett]

59 minutes ago, EverydaySpaUser said:

with a brown/red/green color.  At that initial start up I had no idea what it was. 

That sounds like metals in the water (copper, magnesium, etc), and algae.

 

59 minutes ago, EverydaySpaUser said:

I bought an inline filter from EcoOne.  I think that is 10 micron.  I filled it... same sediment problem so the inline filter did not work

Little pro tip - those inline pre-filters work best at low-flow.  The lower your flow, the more filtration - running your hose at max pressure will result in poor filtration.  However in this case, you may need additional filtration (or hook two pre-filters together haha).

59 minutes ago, EverydaySpaUser said:

I need a serious pre filter for tiny particles.  I have seen some 1 micron inline filters but I'm now wary of them.  It would be nice to be able to see inside to see if it's working. Would be nice to get a canister type filter that connects to garden hose where I can put a 1 micron or less filter inside it to fill this thing.  Preferably something clear?  It's a winter area so it would need to be portable.  Put on when filling the tub, take off when finished.  

I would seriously look into using multiple filters to tackle your issue - larger garden hose filter as a pre-filter, and then hook that up to an inline pool pre-filter.     The only other option I can imagine would be to DIY build a large 55-gallon filtration system with rocks, coarse sand, fine sand and coffee filter - fill up the barrel with water, let it slowly filter out into another container and then use a hose connected to a spa pre-filter to try and get clean water into the spa.

I'm still betting you'll have metals in the water, in which case you'll need to use a metal sequestering agent which causes the metals to clump together and sucked into your spa's filter where you can then pull the filter and flush it out.

[EverydaySpaUser]

Ok... so after multiple attempts with contractors (the well people were no help claiming "the bucket doesn't lie" as they filled a 5 gallon bucket to see if there was anything in the water... yes that happened.)  So what my issue is is IRON.  Ferrous iron to be exact.  It's clear coming out of the frost free on the side of the house which I'm now suspecting is raw water from the well, not going through the house soft water system, but once it contacts the air it begins to show it's ugly head.  And when I turn the jets on, oxidizing it even more that's when it grows to a point that the spa filter can catch it but not until the damage is done.  It coats everything.  I still have a suspicion that I'm also dealing with iron bacteria but I've ordered a test kit for that and will test that just for peace of mind but either way it doesn't solve my problem of HOW do I remove this iron which is soluble in water thus even the 1 micron filter in a big blue filter can that I attached to my garden hose won't even catch before it gets into the spa?  (and yes.. at a low flow rate)  The water softener in the house seems to be doing a good job with the house water but I've always been told not to put soft water into a spa.  At this point I'm wondering if it's the lesser of two evils?   Initially I did try a clarify agent from Leisure Time which I think works like a coagulant but it just turned this oxidized iron into a sticky, VERY sticky substance which didn't help the situation.  

[CanadianSpaTech]

Water from a home softener is not properly balanced for hot tubs, however, if you must fill your hot tub with a softened water supply you’ll need to harden it up before it causes any problems.

The ideal calcium level for water in a hot tub is 200 to 400 ppm, but before you add a product like Liquid Calcium to your newly filled tub, you must first get the alkalinity and pH in line. Start with Alkalinity. This will stabilize the water so you get an accurate reading when testing for PH and calcium hardness. If you don't do alk first and it is not inline you can get "bounce". Do tests 20 mins apart and get 2 different readings. Using softened water is manageable and I think once you get the hang of it this would be your best option if the house water is good. 

Call in a water truck

Buy a poly tank that holds enough water to fill and or top up the spa and truck it in yourself when needed

Buy a good Taylor test kit. 

 

[Cusser]

Ferrous ion (Fe+2) will not simply filter out; your sanitizing agent (bromine or chlorine) and oxygen in the air oxidizes the ferrous ion to ferric ion (Fe+3), and ferric oxide is what we call rust.

If mine - I might try a pool/spa chelating agent for metals.  These can contain a form of EDTA or etidronic acid.  How these would affect calcium levels is something I'm not familiar with, as these also chelate calcium.  You might want to investigate those, are old commercially.

https://www.google.com/search?q=chelating+pool+chemical&sa=X&biw=1354&bih=627&tbm=shop&ei=f4kbYsHAEqnIkPIPvcqRwAg&ved=0ahUKEwiB_Kr2iqD2AhUpJEQIHT1lBIgQ4dUDCAU&uact=5&oq=chelating+pool+chemical&gs_lcp=Cgtwcm9kdWN0cy1jYxADMgYIABAeEBg6BggAEAcQHjoICAAQCBAHEB46CggAELEDEIMBEEM6BQgAEIAEOgoIABAIEA0QHhAYSgQIQRgBULIFWLcqYNs3aAJwAHgAgAHAAogB_xGSAQcxLjcuMi4ymAEAoAEBwAEB&sclient=products-cc#spd=5097597827927057343

I'm afraid that a low volume reverse osmosis system to use for spa water only will be a few hundred dollars, need cartridges changes like once a year, and still need calcium level to be adjusted.

[RDspaguy]

I am no chemist, but I've seen ALOT of spas. I have never heard of iron (or any metal) causing silt, or particulate of any kind. Metals usually come out as stains on surfaces.

Well water is often high in calcium, and calcium will form particulate, which can be colored by metals, as well as a rough, sandpaper like coating on every surface. This is a result of a high ph, which happens during aeration when your jets are on and air valves open. This is also when metals come out of solution.

Not sure if this is what's happening, but it would be my first guess based on your description.

 

[EverydaySpaUser]

So I've tamed the beast.  Finally.  I did test the water from the well for iron bacteria and am clear of that worry.  But it is, in fact, a high concentration of iron.  How I'm able to capture it is either when I fill the tub or add water to the tub I make sure the chlorine is at level and then I SHOCK the tub and aerate.  Without the shock this doesn't work.  The filter won't catch it.  But with the shock and aeration it seems to "grow" the iron into particles the filter can catch.  A few cycles and the water is clear.  I then remove the iron filled filter, replace with a fresh one and then continue to balance the water etc.  Of course I could spend money to create a whole prefilter system that oxidizes that iron before it gets to the tub but for right now, this seems to be working.