New liner filled with well water...to slam or not to slam

Jump to latest Follow Reply
J

jamesduffield1

0
Dec 5, 2016
35
Charlotte, NC
Hello having read thru several posts about well water refill I still have some questions newbie pool guy here:
I have a 26,000 gallon new vinyl liner installed pool.. I have it filled up and filtering for the last 2 days back washing every 12 hours. I've sucked out all the new leaves and debris and have brushes the side etc and am ready to treat. I do have a test kit and will be taking samples today after 5pm.
My question is generally speaking what do I need to do for well water, it has run thru a filter from the pump to the hose,I'm still concerned about high iron content. Is there a product or a procedure most would recommended when dealing with hard water from a well, should I get that under control before I slam or will slaming help clean the well water? Any ideas or advise would be greatly appreciated...
I will post my numbers shortly to give everyone an Idea of where my test are...
 
If you have iron, you don't want to SLAM the pool as the iron may oxidize and turn the water something between a pale yellow and dark red and maybe stain your liner. There is no simple way to deal with iron in your water. You can use a phosphonic acid based sequestrant, but that will require regular dosing.

If you could post a set of test results, we can give better advice.
 
My pool is much, much smaller than yours but we also have high iron and had a pea soup green mess of oxidized iron. We did a slam and used a 5gal bucket filter to filter out the oxidized iron. It worked great. we have only had to top off from the hose 1" (once) in 2 years. We tried a hose end filter for the top off, but it didn't do much. Our skimmer socks and filter still were pretty rusty for a few days. we get plenty of rain to keep it filled, and are thankful we don't have to top off with well water.

I love the filter idea, but admit it's not the best idea if you have to keep adding water.

Good luck!
 
Ok I did my test last night using the Taylor K2006 test kit and some test strips... again some background..I bought this house less than 2 years ago knowing the pool was in need of some rehab as the house had been a rental for quite sometime prior to the sellers purchasing it. So last summer I survived on ignorance and pool pucks knowing the original liner, and some filter parts and all the water were going to be replaced. This spring I have a new liner, new water(well) and am going to be my own pool boy and I am not relying anymore on my local pool store to sell me a bunch of over priced stuff....So here goes...

I have a new liner and water filled up for about 5 days now from well water thru a Rustco filter system into the pool. I have no FC and Chrlorine being straight from the well that's not surprising I guess..This is also my first test kit exercise with any pool and up til 2 days again didn't even know what CYA was.... so bear with me folks...also I've entered all this info into the Pool math app and the pool calculator ...

FC- 0.... didn't even register.. not unexpected
Chlorine - 0 ...again didn't even register on stick or Taylor test..again not unexpected
pH- 7.8-8.0
TA- 80
CYA- less than 20.. the CYA test tube was filled and the water was very clear..so I'm guessing its practically nothing
Hardness-400

So no major surprises I guess..Hard well water CYA low and PH high no chlorine but the water hardness has me concerned. The pool math says to drain 48% of the pool and refil I just did that so can I condition instead somehow?

Again this is my first results I will retest later today but for sure I think I need:

Muractic acid to lower my PH?
Bleach to add Chlorine and raise my FC levels?
some sort of conditioner to lower my water hardness and raise my CYA levels?

What should I do first get my CYA under control???

Also is pouring liquid bleach at 6% can that damage a new liner if I pour it in the deep end near the returns? I've read about diluting in a 5 gallon bucket and putting in the skimmer? I'm super paranoid about the bleach going to the bottom and sitting there and messing up the liner I just put in..is running it thru the skimmer ok going thru the filter( back washed prior to this of course) and out the returns already diluted prior to that process surly is a little safer?

Anyways thanks again in advance for all your help you guys are fabulous!!!
 
As a general rule, no chems through the skimmer.

Pour bleach slowly, a trickle, at a return, it's easy.

Throw away test strips, they will lean you in circles.

400 ch is ok, wait till 750 to drain, by then you will be a master and will drain when you want to.

Add ma just like bleach, but 30 mins apart

Have you added cya or pucks at all?
 
cfherrman said:
As a general rule, no chems through the skimmer.

Pour bleach slowly, a trickle, at a return, it's easy.

Throw away test strips, they will lean you in circles.

400 ch is ok, wait till 750 to drain, by then you will be a master and will drain when you want to.

Add ma just like bleach, but 30 mins apart

Have you added cya or pucks at all?
Click to expand...

I haven't added any chemicals at all yet going to Lowes and Walmart today for bleach baking soda and muratic acid..No pucks this year...how to add or raise my CYA and lower my CH?
 
Buy 'stabilizer' from Walmart, 99% cya, use pool math to add 30 ppm worth in a sock hanging in front a return, not touching anything but water.

Can only lower ch by a drain, your fill water is probably 400 ch so it will raise up fast, consider pluming your water softener for top ups or if you don't have one get a 64,000 grain one. Never use cal hypo in your pool.

Cya degrades about 3-5 ppm a month and can only be lowered by draining so be careful with products that add it, such as triclor pucks or diclor powder. Later you will figure out the uses for the pucks but for now do no use any, just bleach.

You probably don't need to buy baking soda, but if you have keep it sealed, you may have to add very little every year. Always keep bleach and acid on hand though.
 
Trying to get over my fear in adding chemicals like bleach and acid to my pool..:(.What about Muratic acid to lower my PH? Can I pour it directly over the jets in a vinyl lined pool with out damaging the liner? I know people seem to do it everyday but I'm scared as ^%** to...I've seen directive for the liner company that insist on filling a 5 gallon bucket with pool water and then adding the acid and then pouring it in the pool? Seems a bit redundant but doesn't the chemicals go straight to the bottom... seems like they would be heavier??
I also have seen where some people but the CYA stabilizer in a sock in the skimmer basket as well...any thoughts?
When they say don't add different chemicals at once do they mean same hour same day?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Hi James,

Muriatic Acid will burn your skin, so yes, dilute it in a 1/3-1/2 filled 5 gallon bucket and I slow pour it in front of the return in the deep end.

I had in previous years put the CYA directly into the skimmer and did not backwash for 48 hours, but I have used the sock method now several times and I do prefer it. I set mine in my skimmer basket and check it after 24hrs and start squeezing it, I have even cut the sock open once the CYA was mushy and then put it in my 5 gallon bucket, stirred it with a small cpvc pipe and then poured that into the skimmer to "speed things up".

Everything else I broadcast I believe, calcium hardness, baking soda, borax and then I sweep the pool with my brush.

I personally do not add multiple chemicals at the same time, I prefer to wait 2-3 hours between and let each product get a chance on it's own. I work from home and I tended to overshoot, so I found I got better results by making 1 adjustment at a time, test to confirm I got the result I expected and then moved on to the next adjustment. That is me, others will add and get things going in pretty short order.

I too suffered from the information cross of "pool chlorine" vs "bleach" however, IF you read the ingredients, you will see that regular bleach is 100% the same as Pool Chlorine other than the strength. Pool Chlorine is "typically 12.5%" where bleach is 6.25%, that is the only difference.

I did not know that Alkalinity rise is sodium bicarbonate which is 100% the same as the Material Safety Data Sheet for Baking Soda. Nice thing is big box wholesale clubs sell 13.5 lbs for Baking Soda for less than $9.00.

I suffered exactly what you are experiencing, the shock that labels & ingredients are different. What you/we all are after is lowest cost for the same item.

Short cuts can be great but some are not worth it and all of this is learning on the fly.

I remember being very nervous when I took over our pool, what if I ruin something, take small steps, make adjustments, retest and gain confidence that YOU CAN DO THIS!

Best of luck,
 
Thank you funandsun for the excellent advice any particular brand of stabilizer and the cost I should be shooting for?I just got some on amazon $14.95 for a 4 pound jug so I got a couple figure I'll need 6.8 pounds...thats a hug sock...how does it all fit..lol... I will use the dilute method for the acid and thank you for the confidence boost.. I swore today I was just going to call my local pool guy...I got this...I think
 
Sure thing james, all of us have been exactly where you are today. Some of us more recently than others but the results are the same. A sparkling pool that you can be proud of. Yes, I had to add a lot of CYA because I am in Indiana and my CYA is always zero when I open. I take a regular crew sock... it will all fit in, looks a little like a bloated python after it eats a small deer but it's in there.

I have a local pool guy that has worked out of his garage for 30 years, I go to him for my supplies because he has good prices and I get to hear old timer stories when I visit. Someone else may have a brand but any brand will work as long as the ingredient is Cyanuric Acid. Back to that label vs ingredient thing.

Again, this is all about small steps as you start out, go as slow as you are comfortable with, take your time, make the adjustments and test for the results, you will see very quickly that it is a process and not magic.

Nothing better than making an adjustment and nailing the test result. Silly but true.

Best of luck and post pics... we love pics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply