Just set up our 3400 gallon pool and the water that was used was rusty. We have considered just emptying it, but my brother insists that we can clear it up. We shocked it initially, but have done nothing else but run the filter and rinse/change it daily. There is a sediment at the bottom of the pool that we can now see but the water is still orange in color. What would my next steps be? I am a complete newbie to this.
Orange pool water
- Thread starter Ourlove
- Start date
You can use a sequestrant but I am not an expert... they will be along soon. They will make a recommendation like one of the Jacks products. Using the incorrect sequestant can cause other issues.
Thanks for the link.
One question - when you speak of stains, do you mean stains on the sides of the pool or actual staining (discoloration) of the water?
One question - when you speak of stains, do you mean stains on the sides of the pool or actual staining (discoloration) of the water?
Personally I'd start over if you have a cleaner source of water. I don't know your water rates but 3400 gallons is going to be somewhere in the $5 - 25 range.
lightingguy said:
... of course, this assumes your fill water doesn't have the metals in it. If you're filling from a well, it's quite possible you fill water would be the same or worse.
I assumed you had "orange water" not stains on the side of your pool. But, its my understanding they are both symptoms of similar problems. To me, staining indicates you have something in your pool that has stained your liner or the plaster. This could be a ladder ir a piece of trim that left a stain on the wall, it could be a bolts that dropped into the pool and left a rust stain, or it could be the metals in your water were high enough to stain the walls.
As mentioned in the link, some metals only become a problem if you pH is to high (8+) or too low (below 7) or the chlrone levels in your pool have reacted with the metals in your water. Sometimes the metals will drop out of the water and make junk on the bottom of your pool. Other times they will stay in solution and make your water colored (ie orange water, green is also common) but clear.
Water delivery in my area is not a simple thing unfortunately. It costs around $300 to have water delivered. To fill totes and deliver them myself it is about $115 for the water and that's not even the cost of gas for us to drive back and forth 30km to and from the water source. I had someone do me a favor and deliver this water and the truck had unfortunately been sitting for while with some water in it. I may have the option to have another cleaner load brought, but it won't be for a couple of weeks, so I was hoping to just get this cleared up so my kids could swim! But if you think it is going to be a lengthy process, I won't waste my money and will wait 2 weeks for new water. Thanks for your help.
Some have had success in removing rust from water by adding paper towels in the skimmer or by wrapping them around your cartridge. Others have used old socks attached to the return where the water returns after being filtered. You end up with the orange color in the paper/sock that you can dispose of.
Your mileage may vary.
Your mileage may vary.
Ourlove said:
This was more my concern. It's not that it's just well water that has high iron content in it. What you are describing is contaminated water - so the concentration of iron, etc. in the water may far exceed the typical effectiveness of our methods here.
If you let it sit for a day (pump off) you may find the stuff settles to the bottom. If you can vacuum it all out and then filter as best you can and use sequestrant you may be in business.