Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need ideas

[4knights]

Hello,
We live in an area with high manganese and iron. The local water department installed a filter system in the pump station that has made it better but still develop scaling on dog water bowls, fountain, etc..

I'm about to pull the trigger on an inground fiberglass pool (Riviera 30) with the Pentair easy touch IC 20 salt generator. (total self install- dig to swim, cutting 1/2 off the price) my issue is even if we could get water hauled in it would have to come from another state So, what do I need to do to fill with local water and not get the huge scaling as seen on everything else?

We have a separate hot tub but use a liquid from the spa place in it. Cant imagine how many gallons we'd need for the pool since the spa is only 500 gal.
Thanks for any info
Ron

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need i

That's a tall order. You may not be able to do it with 100% success.

Take a sample of your fill water you intend to use to a pool store and post the results here........that will be a starting point.

 

[4knights]

Re: Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need i

I'll be using the two hoses from the house bib to fill to pool since the water Co won't let me use the hydrant. (asked about a meter so I could pay for what I used and they said it was for human consumption only) funny as I see the hydrants being used to put fires out, folks car washes and just flushing the lines wasting thousands of gallons- oh well.
I haven't purchased a test kit yet(or the pool) so I'll take a sample to the pool place in the next city to get tested. Any specific tests you recommend I ask to be done?

 

[dmanb2b]

Re: Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need i

CH, TA, PH, and any metals they can test for.

Calcium scaling can be minimized by always keeping PH below 7.8 and taking advantage of rainwater (lower pool level if strong storm is expected)

Our CH is at least 300+ and TA is high too...which leads to high PH, especially when using a SWG.

Also, you can test your water now an in early winter/spring to see if hardness levels drop while water is more abundant.

 

[Swampwoman]

Re: Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need i

Ask them specifically how many ppm of iron. The answer will dictate your approach.

You may wish to consider first setting up a whole house softener system and connecting one of the hose bibs. If the iron is really high, eg 2 ppm, you may want to add an iron oxygenator (eg iron curtain, iron guard) to pre filter out the iron before the softener. It would help to have a two tank system so that one can regenerate.

I know that sounds radical, but there are additional benefits beyond the pool. Those of us with iron in the pool will tell you that maintaining the level of sequestrate needed to avoid staining is not cheap either, so if you can avoid the headache, it makes sense to do so to preserve the life of your investment, extend it's life, and reduce maintenance.

Even with those measures, it's still possible to have .5 ppm in your water, which will still stain if ph gets too high or iron comes out of solution when shocking, etc. So in addition, using a hose pre-filter at al times is a good plan.

Sand filters will remove iron that comes out of solution, but will not remove all iron when it's in
the form that is in solution.

You referred to your hot tub product. For the pool, I use jack's magic pink stuff for iron. There are
different types for different metal combos and types of surfaces. Presently, I use approximately 3
bottles a month (about $70 worth -- more than I spend on bleach by far!) This product will also
cause, over time, very high phosphate levels. Phosphates, contrary to pool-store hype, are usually
NOT an issue to a BBBer because as long as you keep the chlorine to recommended levels, algae won't start. However, phosphates in the crazy range I have from using diphosphoric acid (which s the best at iron) would be great food for algae if it ever started. I have the option of doing a commercial remove treatment that will also cost a few bucks. I also maintain borates to 50 ppm to discourage alga and get really nice looking and feeling water.

So, you haven't built yet. I've shared all this to convince you to either truck in that first load of water from wherever and filter your fill, OR to equip you house with a good, preferably double softener unit and possibly an iron treatment system.

I became a pool owner earlier this year when purchasing a foreclosure, and I did not have the foresight at the time to proactively mitigate my situation -- which I am now methodically assessing and slowly attacking I still love my pool, even though she might sound less-than "trouble free" -- more like a chemical jezebel at times, but that's not her fault! That fault lies squarely with a very naughty well and an underpowered softener system I stupidly had installed in the winter that did not adequately account for the iron...coupled with water table issues that have made a drain/refill impractical for this season.

I hope you can benefit from my oversights!

 

[Slowpoke]

Re: Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need i

the water Co won't let me use the hydrant.

:idea: The fire department regularly flushes fire hydrants, and the water co. occasionally flushes the mains, usually by opening the hydrants. So if they decide to do so anytime soon, you might politely offer to make a donation to the Fire Dept. or their favorite charity (Fill The Boot for MDA, or a firefighters' benevolence fund). In return, they might be persuaded to "divert" the runoff into your pool. Besides, all that water running down the street could be misinterpreted as "Wasting water," especially if you live in a hot climate like Texas or Arizona where water is in short supply.



Funny side note: The fire chief in the town where I grew up would "divert" the runoff into his front yard (via a fire hose & nozzle in one hand, and a can of beer in the other) when it was time to flush the hydrant in front of his house. It was amazing how his grass stayed so green despite the watering restrictions we endure during these hot South Texas summers...

 

[4knights]

Re: Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need i

So have any of you heard about a product called mineral springs beginnings? Supposedly it has pure salt, other stuff like algaecide, borates, etc and only requires initial dosing then 1 bag a week? Just so new to all of this I want the real deal. Price difference for this versus pool salt for first fill is about $400.00

 

[Bama Rambler]

Re: Hard water and trucking water in is not an option need i

You don't need all those other things it's adding, and salt is a lot cheaper.

If you follow the guidelines here you won't have to add any "extra" stuff to the pool.