Well Water - To Soften or Not

[TomU]

Hi,

I am preparing to fill a new 18,000 gallon pool with well water. If I bypass the water softener, I can fill it in about 12 hours. The calcium level in the water is acceptable (for pools), but there is also iron and sulfer in it. The water feels very hard when not running through the water softener. I am trying to decide between filling the pool with hard water, or filling the pool much more slowly with softened water. The advantage of using softened water is I won't have to fight with any iron (or sulfer) in the water, and I can add exactly the amount of hardness I want. The disadvantage is that I will need to re-add the hardness that would then be missing. Based on this information, I have two questions.

1.) Will softening the water, and then re-adding the necessary hardness feel less hard than the unsoftened water does?

2.) Is it worth it to soften the water and re-add the hardness for the sake of removing the iron and sulfer from the water?

Tom

 

[JasonLion]

The iron can be a real problem and may lead to requiring frequent additions of sequestrant to prevent staining depending on how much iron there is. The hardness isn't a big deal either way as long as it isn't too high.

Keep in mind that home water softeners are not designed for the volume of water required by a pool. It is possible to use a home water softener but it will probably require frequent attention/recharging while you are filling the pool.

 

[257WbyMag]

Have you considered having presoftened water brought in by truck? That might be your best bet.

Craig

 

[duraleigh]

Tom,

Over the years, unsoftened well water is maybe the most difficult problem addressed here and on other forums. I would avoid filling directly from your well if there was ANY way I could work around it......you'll never regret the decision.

 

[TomU]

Have you considered having presoftened water brought in by truck? That might be your best bet.

The electricity used to fill an 18,000 gallon pool will cost me about $3.00 (yes, three dollars). It will obviously cost a little more if I have to cycle the water softener every 1000 gallons or so, and add calcium, and replenish the salt in the softener, but I'm still way below what trucking in city water would cost (and that's still not technically "softened"). Plus, that still doesn't address future water additions needed due to evaporation, splash out, and backwashing. I'm trying to decide if it makes more sense to use hard water and fight the iron, or use soft water and add calcium for future additions as well.

 

[Guest]

Use the soft water,fewer problem in the long run!

 

[NWMNMom]

If you can't find an alternative you can fill from a well with proper planning. We cannot have water trucked in and do not have a water softener. We have a standard whole house rust/sediment pre-filter to a charcoal filter in our well pump system and THEN proceed to run the fill water from there to two more (yes 2) sequential large rust/sediment filter systems inline on the hose (like the type for RVs) - these systems cost about $24 each with the replacement filters at around $3 each. We use a sequesterant at initial treatment level at initial fill for the spring and when we first filled. Topping off only requires a small amount of sequesterant. The filters must specifically state they are for rust as plain sediment filters do not filter down to a small enough micron level.

My water is crystal clear, rust free. We only had an issue at our initial fill because we shocked the half filled pool, forgot the inline filters and sequesterant for a bit more than 500 gallons - oops. It looked like chocolate water but cleared right up with proper treatment.