Need help now

[Donna326]

I am so glad I found a place to post this and hope I get a quick answer.

I have an intex pool and I filled it with well water. (Around 1780 gallons)

I watched videos over and over and thought I had a good idea of how to make it right. I was wrong.

First off I didn’t know that well water would be more of a challenge.

When I first tested it, everything was 0. I was under the impression I needed to get TA & PH balanced before adding chlorine. One of the reports told me to put in 68 pounds of Borax (i am using bbb method). (Maybe it read my 1780 gallons as 17k. I dont know. But, only had 4 pounds so I put 4 pounds of borax in. 2 pounds of Baking soda in.

I let the skimmer float with a couple tablets in but then took them out when i saw the filter turning brown.

I have put two 3 oz of ph decreaser because did not have MA.

Now I’m reading about iron. I have changed 3 brown filters in 2 days not used any chlorine and TA and PH still hi.

I read on here somewhere I should add chlorine. But I have also read don’t add chlorine till TA & Ph balanced.

I had some iron out and put a tiny bit in. The water is clear. Its just the filter getting brown.

Would someone please tell me what to do. Getting bad info on a test got me putting the wrong amout of b & b in to begin with. I am testing with strips and a test kit and still get different answers.

I need a person to help. I am new to all this chemistry stuff. So thank you for any help. (I am in NC).

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum.
With your small volume, we suggest considering following Guide for Seasonal/Temporary Pools
You still need a basic test kit. At least one that will measure pH and TC. No real need to bother with TA.
Read through the article and come back with questions. You may want to consider dumping this water and starting over. And if you have a source of water that does not have iron, that would be best.

 

[Donna326]

Thank you for your response but draining and refilling is not an option right now.

I did read over your article which I had read before. I think pool math was the one I used for amounts and I must have read the dosage wrong.

How can I fix it from where it is now? Can I add Chlorine?

 

[Mdragger88]

First off- chlorine is paramount & to protect the chlorine from the sun you need some cya (30ppm worth) or it will be consumed quickly.
FC/CYA Levels
You want ph in the 7’s
For the iron you can try the polyfill method to filter it out.

If you’ve got iron in your fill water, use Polyfill to remove it

EDIT: Found out this method only works if your iron is oxidized already, meaning it’s got a dull or bright green tint to the water, or a nasty brown tint. If you know you have iron in your fill water, but it isn’t oxidized yet, bring your pool to shock level and it’ll turn the telltale green...

www.troublefreepool.com

What are your current results with your kit - not strips
Fc
Cc
Ph
Ta
Cya
What kit do you have?
What iron out product did you use? Pic?

 

[Donna326]

First off- chlorine is paramount & to protect the chlorine from the sun you need some cya (30ppm worth) or it will be consumed quickly.
FC/CYA Levels
You want ph in the 7’s
For the iron you can try the polyfill method to filter it out.

If you’ve got iron in your fill water, use Polyfill to remove it

EDIT: Found out this method only works if your iron is oxidized already, meaning it’s got a dull or bright green tint to the water, or a nasty brown tint. If you know you have iron in your fill water, but it isn’t oxidized yet, bring your pool to shock level and it’ll turn the telltale green...

www.troublefreepool.com

What are your current results with your kit - not strips
Fc
Cc
Ph
Ta
Cya
What kit do you have?
What iron out product did you use? Pic?

Thank you for your quick response. I am going out now to check it. I thought the polyfill method looked promising. I know the filters on these little pools are not suppose to pic up the iron but I THINK that may be what is on them.

The test kit i have is a 5 way by pool master I think. I will check that too. Although after reading so much material it seems my pool is just a minnow in a pool of whales so I dont need to be as concerned about all the tests.

For past years I have only used Chlorine all year. This year i was trying to do a little better.

I will be back in touch in a minute.

 

[mknauss]

OK -- as Md stated, chlorine is paramount. Do your best to keep pH in the 7's. Add 30 ppm worth of CYA. Then keep your TC at the upper limit of your test kit. When the water turns cloudy/algae, you then need to drain, clean, and refill.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thank you for your quick response. I am going out now to check it. I thought the polyfill method looked promising. I know the filters on these little pools are not suppose to pic up the iron but I THINK that may be what is on them.

The test kit i have is a 5 way by pool master I think. I will check that too. Although after reading so much material it seems my pool is just a minnow in a pool of whales so I dont need to be as concerned about all the tests.

For past years I have only used Chlorine all year. This year i was trying to do a little better.

I will be back in touch in a minute.

The proper fc/cya
FC/CYA Levels
& ph in the 7’s are the most important.
You do need to know your ta for the purposes of adjusting ph but unless ta is below 50 you don’t need to adjust it.
Using pucks increases your cya & they are also acidic so their use will lower ph & subsequently ta so take that into consideration. The cya doesn’t get consumed like the fc. It stays behind.
you can use
PoolMath effects of adding to see each dissolved puck’s effects on all your parameters.
I believe 1” pucks are 3oz & 3” pucks are 8oz.
Many with small pools like yours use pucks until their cya is 30/40ppm then switch to liquid chlorine only. Or you can forego the pucks & use dry stabilizer/cya (via the sock method) to get to 30ppm & use liquid chlorine for daily chlorination.
The latter has less of an effect on ph - adding things separately helps things be more predictable.
Most who manually chlorinate with liquid chlorine have no need for borax or baking soda on a regular basis as it doesn’t have the acidic effects.
For the iron you currently have in the pool water you basically have 3 choices:
*mechanically remove it via filtering & polyfill while its visible
* use a sequesterant to temporarily hide it (this must be replenished when it wears off so it can get pricey)
* replace it with iron free water.
If you need to refill/replenish water on a regular basis you may want to consider pre filtering your water.
Here’s more info/details about your choices

Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Donna326]

Thank you for your quick response. I am going out now to check it. I thought the polyfill method looked promising. I know the filters on these little pools are not suppose to pic up the iron but I THINK that may be what is on them.

The test kit i have is a 5 way by pool master I think. I will check that too. Although after reading so much material it seems my pool is just a minnow in a pool of whales so I dont need to be as concerned about all the tests.

For past years I have only used Chlorine all year. This year i was trying to do a little better.

I will be back in touch in a minute.

Ok the iron out is called iron out. I only used a small amount. I saw a guy use it doung the polyfill method with it. Pool still looks clear. It is not real hot here yet thank goodness.

The kit is 5 way pool master.

Readings
Alk i had to use 30 drops to get it from violet to clear. Test strip read that at 240. (Just saying)

Clorine Free & Combined 0

Ph 8.2. Acid test took 11 drops to get it to 7.6

I have PH decreaser on hand but can get MA if i need too.

I have the chlorine tablets.

thank you

 

[mknauss]

Iron Out is Citric Acid as the active ingredient. And other stuff (soda ash as one) to neutralize it.

As you read in the Seasonal pool article, pucks, etc are difficult to manage. Up to you.

 

[Donna326]

Iron Out is Citric Acid as the active ingredient. And other stuff (soda ash as one) to neutralize it.

As you read in the Seasonal pool article, pucks, etc are difficult to manage. Up to you.

I understand that. I am just letting you know what I have on hand. From there i am willing to change things.

 

[Donna326]

I have had a pool if you want to call it that and only ever used Shock it/chlorine. I am trying to do it “right this year”.

 

[Mdragger88]

You can use the dry acid- use
PoolMath to target ph of 7.6

You need some chlorine asap (5ppm worth- use poolmath to calculate amounts) or you won’t be clear for long & algae will take hold. The fastest way to accomplish this is liquid chlorine. Should be about 12 oz. Of 10%
It can take a while for pucks to dissolve & acheive a decent cya to protect your fc from the sun.
The pucks have their place- vacations & small bumps in fc/cya.
Adding cya/stabilizer via the sock method gets you adequate cya today. A 4#package of stabilizer will last a long time as you only need about 1/2# to get cya in the 30’s.
Pool Care Basics

 

[Donna326]

You can use the dry acid- use
PoolMath to target ph of 7.6

You need some chlorine asap (5ppm worth- use poolmath to calculate amounts) or you won’t be clear for long & algae will take hold. The fastest way to accomplish this is liquid chlorine. Should be about 12 oz. Of 10%
It can take a while for pucks to dissolve & acheive a decent cya to protect your fc from the sun.
The pucks have their place- vacations & small bumps in fc/cya.
Adding cya/stabilizer via the sock method gets you adequate cya today. A 4#package of stabilizer will last a long time as you only need about 1/2# to get cya in the 30’s.
Pool Care Basics

Shock it? I have some of that too

 

[Donna326]

Shock it? I have some of that too

Oh shock not sock? Lol. I actually put polyfill in a sock. So it took reading it a couple times to get it. Thank you so much!!!!!

 

[Donna326]

Shock it? I have some of that too

 

[Mdragger88]

Be sure your volume is correct.
There’s a calculator at the bottom of this page PoolMath
Use your water height not the pool wall height for the calculation.

 

[Mdragger88]

You can use granular chlorine if that is what you have- be aware of its effects
Trichlor & dichlor are acidic & add cya along with fc
Cal hypo adds calcium along with fc
Use poolmath effects of adding to see the ramifications

How to Chlorinate Your Pool

Before chlorinating your pool, you should know these simple tips. Learn the best way to add chlorine to your pool.

www.google.com

 

[Donna326]

Thank you. I just enrolled in a chemistry class at the local community college!

I have seen people return their pools after trying to get this all straight so I appreciate your help.

I went to store and got MA and Liquid Bleach. However the MA I got does not tell you the % of the MA. Pool Math said 6oz for 29%. And 12oz. For 14.5%. I googled and closest answer I could find was 20%. So I put in 9 oz.

I got the polyfill method removing the iron so hopefully I can get better readings. It is my understanding I should not shock it for awhile after these chemicals. Is that right?

 

[Mdragger88]

Thank you. I just enrolled in a chemistry class at the local community college!

I have seen people return their pools after trying to get this all straight so I appreciate your help.

I went to store and got MA and Liquid Bleach. However the MA I got does not tell you the % of the MA. Pool Math said 6oz for 29%. And 12oz. For 14.5%. I googled and closest answer I could find was 20%. So I put in 9 oz.

I got the polyfill method removing the iron so hopefully I can get better readings. It is my understanding I should not shock it for awhile after these chemicals. Is that right?

If you always maintain adequate fc for your cya you should have no need to “shock”.
Shock is a verb- not a product. The act of reaching shock level.
You can use liquid chlorine, whatever granular chlorine product you have to increase fc or acheive shock/slam level just be mindful of its affects on your other parameters as mentioned above. Poolmath effects of adding in the hamburger menu will show you those.

There should be @ “baume” listing on the muriatic acid.
checking ph in about 30 minutes should give you an idea of what your strength is. Did you get any stabilizer/cya? Without cya in the water your chlorine won’t last long.