New pool owner; just wanna make sure

[foamer01]

Greetings:
I filled our new/used pool 8-1-12 with a fire hydrant fed supplied by a well. We were hoping the water was better than our well and it was not so good. After our 18,000 gal fill in just over 2 hours we had what resembled dark ice tea. I am relying on local pool store until my testing supplies show up. Just wanting some opinions to make sure I am getting sound advice. The pool store is indicating that the iron needs to be cleared up before proceeding.

on 8-1-12
ph 7.9
iron 2.47
alkalinity 180
Added 1 gal Muratic acid, 1 qt Metal Magic

on 8-3-12
ph 8.2
iron 2.19
alkalinity 190
Added 2 gal muratic acid, 1 qt Metal magic

on 8-5-12
ph 8.0
alkalinity 160
iron 1.72
Added 2 gal Muratic acid, 1 qt Metal Magic, 1 qt of 12.5 liquid Chlorine and adding 1 qt of 12.5 liquid chlorine now daily.

8-8-12
ph 7.4
alkalinity 120
iron 1.33
They indicated at this point to Keep filtering 24 hrs a day and keep adding low dose of 12.5 chlorine until iron is cleared up. Water is clear however not much sparkle and not the blue color I am looking for. They indicate with the iron present if you hit it with to much chlorine it will make for some nasty looking water.

Chlorine levels presently:

FC 0.4
TC 0.6
CC 0.1
CYA Not Tested

Thanks for reading my results. any comments would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Foamer

 

[Bama Rambler]

With iron at the levels you indicated you're going to have to use sequestrant.

You're also going to ahve to keep the FC up. In order to know what the goal is you need to know what your CYA level is. Even if it's zero, your FC is way too low.

 

[foamer01]

With iron at the levels you indicated you're going to have to use sequestrant.



You're also going to ahve to keep the FC up. In order to know what the goal is you need to know what your CYA level is. Even if it's zero, your FC is way too low.

The metal magic that I have been using, is this the right sequestrant?

Is adjusting the FC levels with iron still present a good thing to do? They (pool store) advised against it.

Thank you very much for your reply.
Foamer

 

[Bama Rambler]

The sequestrant should be of the type listed in Pool School.

Once you've established a sufficient level of sequestrant you can adjust the FC to where it needs to be.

You should be very diligent about keeping the FC where it needs to be because it will be in your best interest to never have to shock.