Brownish water

[consigliere08]

We just filled up our pool, but since we had some water outage during the night when i turned the hose back on, looks like some dirty sediment from the pipes ended up in the pool and now we have slightly brown and cloudy water. I turned on the sand pump to filter, now I'm wondering what should i do first to clear the water.
Is it safe to do chlorine shock after adjusting ph, of course? Or should i put some flocculant first? I'll post some photos later

 

[ajw22]

We never recommend using floc.

Flocculant - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Be patient and let your filter do it job.

Add a cup of pool grade DE to your sand filter to help it trap the dirt.

Add DE to a Sand Filter describes how to improve filtering by adding pool grade DE to a sand filter.

 

[Texas Splash]

when i turned the hose back on, looks like some dirty sediment from the pipes ended up in the pool

Any chance that sediment could be iron particles? Are you on a well? Old steel/iron plumbing? We'll watch for those pics later of your water.

 

[consigliere08]

We never recommend using floc.

Flocculant - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Be patient and let your filter do it job.

Add a cup of pool grade DE to your sand filter to help it trap the dirt.

Add DE to a Sand Filter describes how to improve filtering by adding pool grade DE to a sand filter.

I'll try to find it. So i just add a cup of DE directly to the sand?

Any chance that sediment could be iron particles? Are you on a well? Old steel/iron plumbing? We'll watch for those pics later of your water.

Could be. I'm on a city water supply, never had any issues. Except this time when they turned off the water for 6 hours due to maintenance, so the water was brownish for a while after they finished.
Here are the photos, not sure if you can notice brownish colors through photos. I think it looks a little cleaner now though after running a pump for several hours.
Should i add chlorine now or should i wait for water to become crystal clear?

 

[ajw22]

Add chlorine and CYA/stabilizer so you do not get an algae problem added to your troubles.

What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mdragger88]

Chlorine is ALWAYS king- get 5ppm worth in now.
Since this is a fresh fill you will have no cya (stabilizer)
You need 30ppm worth or the chlorine you add will be consumed quickly by the sun . Add it to a sock, tie a knot in it & hang the sock infront of a running return. Squeeze the sock to dissolve it.
Chlorinate accordingly
FC/CYA Levels
Use
PoolMath to calculate amounts.
The de is to be mixed with water in a bucket or pitcher & added through the intake/skimmer. If you don’t have a skimmer it can be a little tricky. It looks pretty good now so perhaps it’s not needed.
If upon the addition of chlorine the water goes brownish again you may be dealing with iron in which case you can use polyfill to remove it.

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.google.com

Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Pool Care Basics

 

[consigliere08]

I've just added chlorine, pump is running, beer is opened - now waiting and hoping for water not turning brown again.
Thank you all, I'll report back soon!

 

[Mdragger88]

I've just added chlorine, pump is running, beer is opened - now waiting and hoping for water not turning brown again.
Thank you all, I'll report back soon!

Where is Belgrade? Cuz it’s 7:30am in my neck of the woods. Not judging just wondering cheers

 

[consigliere08]

There's one Belgrade in Montana if I'm right, but this one is genuine and located in Europe (Serbia). It's 3:30PM over here and it's burning like heck, I'll probably get drunk before my water become crystal clear.

Good news it's not turning brown again

 

[Texas Splash]

It's always Happy Hour somewhere.

 

[consigliere08]

Water this morning
I used a sock method with chlorine and left the pump running during the night. It definitely did the trick.
Should i do backwash & rinse now to get that dirt out of the sand?

 

[ajw22]

Should i do backwash & rinse now to get that dirt out of the sand?

Backwash your filter when your filter PSI rises about 25% from the clean PSI.

 

[Mdragger88]

Water this morning
I used a sock method with chlorine and left the pump running during the night. It definitely did the trick.
Should i do backwash & rinse now to get that dirt out of the sand?

Did you mean you used the sock method with cya?

 

[consigliere08]

I have added chlorine granulate into the sock. Its chemical name is Sodium dichloroisocyanurate. It is a compound of chlorine and cyarunic acid, if i understood it right. Not sure how good is it generally speaking, but I've been using it for few years.
My pH usually jumps over 8 after chlorine shock, so i have to knock it down every time.
I've just tested water levels and chlorine is still pretty high. pH of course went into the sky.

 

[Mdragger88]

I have added chlorine granulate into the sock. Its chemical name is Sodium dichloroisocyanurate. It is a compound of chlorine and cyarunic acid, if i understood it right. Not sure how good is it generally speaking, but I've been using it for few years.
My pH usually jumps over 8 after chlorine shock, so i have to knock it down every time.
I've just tested water levels and chlorine is still pretty high. pH of course went into the sky.

Dichlor is stabilized chlorine.
The dichlor may eat through the sock & burn your hands, it is supposed to be broadcast into the pool.
its also very acidic & should lower ph.
The sock method is only for granular cya/stabilizer (it should state 100% cyanuric acid on the packaging)
Here’s what each pound of dichlor does to your water

Your chlorine level isn’t high.
You should always follow the
FC/CYA Levels lest nasties will grow
Your oto test only tests total chlorine, it doesn’t differentiate between free chlorine (good stuff) or combined chlorine (bad stuff) which is quite important nor does it measure above 3ppm.
To maintain proper fc/cya levels you need an fas dpd test & a cya test.
These are both included (+ other important tests) in the test kits we recommend (tf100 or taylor k2006).
Not sure if you’re able to aquire one of those or perhaps an alternative in your location.
Here’s some info on obtaining a proper kit outside of the USA

Pool Test Kits - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

We recommend using liquid chlorine or a salt water chlorine generator for daily chlorination.

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

 

[consigliere08]

All right, i can get DPD tests. But from what i have seen after thorough research on the web through various pool stores, the only tests that are available are for free chlorine and ph. There are no tests for CYA in any form in my region. Except digital ones intended for professional use which are quite expensive.
There's so many products that are common for use in the US for pool treatment that are not available or are not used in most countries in Europe. For example, you won't find muriatic acid designed to lower the pH of water in any pool store here because it is considered unsafe to use in water treatment. Most manufacturers offer Sodium hydrogen sulfate to lower the pH of the water. There is muriatic acid intended for household use in ordinary markets, but no one uses it to treat pool water. There's no such a thing like 100% cyanuric acid here neither.
Now I'm a little confused about the information that Dichlor lowers the Ph, since my Ph actually rises drastically after treating the water with Dichlor.
I've been treating the water the same way for a few years now: adjusting the Ph value after filling, shock treatment (Dichlor), algaecide, chlorine tablets are always in the pool, vacuuming the bottom every week, shock treatment occasionally... and I've never had a problem with algae, the water was always crystal clear. Except this last time, when dirt from the bloody pipes got into the pool.
The only thing that used to give me hard time was high pH during high outside temperatures, so during those periods I had to lower the pH more often than usual. Other than that, the water remained crystal clear and did not cause any irritation to swimmers, which would indicate if there was any problem with the water.
I'm going to get those DPD free chlorine tests at least, now I'm curious what they will show.

 

[Mdragger88]

All right, i can get DPD tests. But from what i have seen after thorough research on the web through various pool stores, the only tests that are available are for free chlorine and ph. There are no tests for CYA in any form in my region. Except digital ones intended for professional use which are quite expensive.
There's so many products that are common for use in the US for pool treatment that are not available or are not used in most countries in Europe. For example, you won't find muriatic acid designed to lower the pH of water in any pool store here because it is considered unsafe to use in water treatment. Most manufacturers offer Sodium hydrogen sulfate to lower the pH of the water. There is muriatic acid intended for household use in ordinary markets, but no one uses it to treat pool water. There's no such a thing like 100% cyanuric acid here neither.
Now I'm a little confused about the information that Dichlor lowers the Ph, since my Ph actually rises drastically after treating the water with Dichlor.
I've been treating the water the same way for a few years now: adjusting the Ph value after filling, shock treatment (Dichlor), algaecide, chlorine tablets are always in the pool, vacuuming the bottom every week, shock treatment occasionally... and I've never had a problem with algae, the water was always crystal clear. Except this last time, when dirt from the bloody pipes got into the pool.
The only thing that used to give me hard time was high pH during high outside temperatures, so during those periods I had to lower the pH more often than usual. Other than that, the water remained crystal clear and did not cause any irritation to swimmers, which would indicate if there was any problem with the water.
I'm going to get those DPD free chlorine tests at least, now I'm curious what they will show.

Can you show us a pic of the ingredients in your dichlor? Maybe it has something else in it too? Poolmath assumes that it’s 99% dichlor there are other adulterated versions.
Trichlor & dichlor are both acidic products & they also add cya along with chlorine.
The chlorine is consumed daily but the cya remains until the water is exchanged. This can cause a problem quickly if they are your sole means of chlorination since the cya buffers the effectiveness of the chlorine. To maintain a sanitary pool the fc level must increase as the cya level increases.


When looking for testing supplies you want an fas- dpd test not just dpd.
If you keep good records you can attempt to at least keep track of how much cya has been added via dichlor/Trichlor then switch over to liquid chlorine once you’ve reached around 40ppm worth of cya. Use
PoolMath effects of adding & write it down or pay for the subscription ($8/yr) so you can save your logs & it will keep track for you in the summary section.
That is crazy that there’s no turbidity cya test available! Especially since they sell stabilized chlorine. Here in the USA there are many online retailers that sell the testing supplies/kits we recommend but they are hard to find in brick & mortar stores. Amazon is one place to look if possible, not sure if you have that.

 

[Mdragger88]

I don’t see the full taylor k2006 available but all these say they ship to Serbia
Taylor Replacement Reagent FAS-DPD Refill Kit (Large) - Over 100 Tests https://a.co/d/izeGOyC
Replacement Comparators for Taylor 2000 Series (PART NO 9058)

Taylor R-0013 Cyanuric Acid Reagent (2 oz) (2 Pack) Amazon.com

 

[consigliere08]

Scuba II Electronic Pooltester | Testing Equipment | Lovibond

Ideal for testing Chlorine or pH sets, the Scuba II gives private pool owners accurate important pool parameter measurements. It is also waterproof and buoyant.

www.lovibond.com

This is the only kind of advanced test that measures CYA that is available to get here. And its price is about 200$.
I can order via Amazon, don't know if there is some replacement kit for K2006 since it's not available? I found on eBay 2OZ Complete FAS-DPD CL Professional Test Kit Taylor Technologies K-2006C for 250$ (including shipping) but its estimated delivery is 24th July - 07th August. The summer season here lasts until mid-September, sometimes even shorter.
Speaking about dichlor ingredients, this is what it's written on the package:
'Active substance of sodium dichloroisocyanurate dihydrate ≤100%
Content of free active chlorine: Minimum 56%
Type of formulation: Granulate'

The pool supplies market here is very scarce compared to the US market. When I asked about cyanuric acid in one store, they told me that it could not be found in retail stores. I was told that there are only a few importers who sell it wholesale for public pools mostly.

 

[Mdragger88]

You may need to buy the reagents & the comparator I linked & “make” your own kit. The cya reagent (r0013) said it was available- it only shows me US prices but I changed the shipping to serbia.
I couldn’t find all 3 of the TA reagents so I didn’t include those.


That’s 100% dichlor so it should have the effects that
PoolMath says.
Also, understand that if fc is above 10ppm it skews the phenol red ph test & can show falsely high so only test/adjust ph when fc is below 10ppm.
For now here’s a quick guide on attempting to interpret the oto colors.

OTO Chlorine Test

This test is the most reliable way to check for the presence of chlorine. If … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com