Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water(UPDATE)

[Lizzieann]

Timeline:
Tuesday-pool company calls & says we are pouring concrete ring for pool to set on today.

Wednesday- pool company calls, says setting up pool today. I said pool water delivery guy i was gonna use is out of town for 2 weeks. Pool company says, no problem, you can work on putting water in it off your well. I was hesitant and voiced this as have never run my well like that. They said " didn't think it was any problem as they said lots of folks do it that way. I voiced my concerns, but was eager to get the pool installled
Wednesday night starts forecasting moderate winds Thursday night. I HAVE to get water in this pool and well water started turning brown and well was taking too long to replenish. I knew the well was not going to be the solution.

Fire company no longer delivers pool water and no water delivery guy for hundreds of miles. Pulled some strings and got a midnight delivery of 3000 gallons delivered under the cover of darkness, from the local fire volunteer fire company with a fire tanker ( problem for first 3000 was it was somewhat rusty from sitting in the tanker). But, hey put a foot of water in the pool to hold the liner down.

Thursday- pool company was here to tie down anchors on pool legs and assured me all would be fine. Winds kicked up that night and i was scared.

Friday- this morning, looked out and small part of wall was leaning in, but liner was still attached to wall edge. Pool company was out first thing and said, wall had just come out of top ring on portion, but assured me all was good and they got it fixed right up. Said needed to get water in it before any more winds hit and said pond water was not a problem and can be cleared up. Came home from work and with help of a friend, he hooked up water pump to pond and we filled that thing in 1 hr & 20 minutes.

Pool company will be out to put in the skimmer and attach filter/pump.

Now, i have pond water and about 3000 gallons of fire tanker water that had some rust in it. Tis is what i am tackling. I have read pool school and saw the post about using paper towels in skimmer to help catch rust.

Where do i start???? Metal sequesterant (spelling?) how much? (Will have to get from pool store) i have bleach, baking soda, borax & CYA. What is my first steps and what do I focus on 1st.
I am up for this challenge!!

 

[Casey]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

I've never seen a concrete ring done around the pool like that. I like it!

 

[Lizzieann]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

The concrete ring is supposed to prevent the pool legs from settling unevenly over time as they would on just blocks and prevent any risk of sand getting washed out from underneath pool. Pic is from before they laid the final truck load of sand down.

Oh, yeah... I will also try a sock in front of the return (if i can get to it) and papertowels and skimmer sock in the skimmer. But where to start with chemicals and metal sequesterant?

 

[Isaac-1]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

At this point there should be no known metals in the water that need sequestering, rust suspended in water is not the same thing.

What you need to do now is get chlorine up to shock level and keep it there while filtering out all the suspended particles.

Do you have a good test kit you will need one, I suggest the TF-100 in my signature, secondly have you read the pool school link in the upper right?


Ike

 

[Lizzieann]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

I have the TF-100 test kit and i have read pool school. I did not know suspended rust was any different than some other sort of rust in the water. Okay i will start filtering as soon as filter is hooked up. Then i will get up to shock level and keep it there and (get my CYA dissolving in a sock and try for 30 CYA?) and don't worry about any other levels until i get it clear? Is this correct-don't add anything else at this point?

 

[Isaac-1]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Rust is a type of iron oxide, it is not metal ions in the water, so should filter out easy enough, but you don't want to leave it in contact with your liner for too long as it can stain and otherwise harm the liner. Your plan sounds close to right, but before doing anything I would suggest checking your pH since you will not be able to do that once you get the FC to shock level.

p.s. You may even want to run the filter for a few hours before raising the FC to shock level to remove as many of the particles as possible, you will likely need to vacuum or scrub the bottom to stir things up.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

I have the TF-100 test kit and i have read pool school.

Post test results and we can get you started. No need to post Chlorine or CYA because you don't have any. Post pH, TA and CH.

Iron is not nearly as prevalent in ponds as it is wells.

I filled from my pond, too, and it's a bit different but we can walk you through it...no problem. :lol:

 

[Lizzieann]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Pretreatment results of pond water.

PH 6.8
TA 40
CH 60

 

[Isaac-1]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Do you know when you will have the pump and filter connected so you can start the clearing process?

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Those results are fine for now. I would suggest you proceed with this approach.....

You have a lot of solids (dirt, debris, etc) in the pool and it will go smoother to filter out as much of them as possible before you start the shock process to get the water crystal clear. Getting those solids out goes like this....

Filter, vacuum, backwash....Filter, vacuum, backwash....Filter, vacuum, backwash....Filter, vacuum, backwash....Filter, vacuum, backwash....Filter, vacuum, backwash.... It may take days and you will have to backwash A LOT when you first start.

There's more to do but give us some more information first....

How many gallons in Pool?

Have you selected a filter yet and can you change it if need be?

What size pump did you select?

 

[Lizzieann]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

All those answers should be in my signature, is it not showing? All will be hooked up by Monday morning and running

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Sorry, I must've overlooked them. A sand filter is perfect for what you are going to do. Do you have a manual vacuum and hose yet? You will be needing it.

Just as soon as your equipment is hooked up, I suggest you begin to vacuum the pool and run the pump 24/7. Please note the pressure IMMEDIATELY on startup and remember it. You should backwash each time your psi gets 25-30% above that pressure. Don't be surprised if you have to backwash in the first 15 minutes. Keep doing it....the intervals will get longer.

Next, go to the Grocery store and get about 10 of the small jugs of Clorox. Plan on putting one jug in each evening until your pool is starting to look better. You can't get too much....it won't go to waste.

Last, purchase enough CYA to get to 50ppm....8 lbs worth. Don't put any in for the first day or so, but plan on adding half around day 2 or 3.

 

[Lizzieann]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

I will have the vac & hoses and a some type of auto vac/rover. Are you talking the manual vac i should be doing? How do you vac bottom when you cannot see the bottom due to water being so dirty?

 

[Casey]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Slowly as to not disturb the sediment. Each day, the pool will get clearer n clearer. This is going to take time n patience. You'll be a pro when you're done! It'll be okay!!!

 

[Leebo]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Do you happen to know if the pond water was treated with an algaecide?

 

[Lizzieann]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

No, the pond was not treated with an algaecide.

Seriously, how do you vacuum the bottom when you cannot see through the water? Do you just "blindly" go from one side of pool bottom to the other with vacuum, i'm guessing.

 

[Richard320]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

No, the pond was not treated with an algaecide.

Seriously, how do you vacuum the bottom when you cannot see through the water? Do you just "blindly" go from one side of pool bottom to the other with vacuum, i'm guessing.

Yep.

In the mid 1980s I worked at a Scout Camp that had a pool that was just left untended all winter. You couldn't see 2" down when we started clearing it. Vacuuming blind isn't that hard.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Just mentally make yourself a grid from side to side and follow it. Don't try to be too precise. It really doesn't matter if you miss some spots. It'll keep getting better and better and soon you'll be able to see what you're doing.

If I had a pond that close, I'd never buy water to fill the pool with. I'd buy a small DE filter and pump off Craigslist and use it to top the pool off with. My pond is 1/4th mile away from my pool.

 

[Lizzieann]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

Okay, need further help on the filter, vacuum, backwash.. Filter, vacuum, backwash method.

I have had the filter on 24/7 since installed yesterday morning. I tried vacuuming to waste but, as you know, that drops the water level down very quickly. My well takes too long turning water on/off to replenish and continue with the vacuum to backwash method.
Can i vacuum to filter so i am not losing so much water and then clean skimmer and backwash filter and repeat. This appears it would use less water? Wasn't really clear on this process?

I have zero CYA as have not added any but have been putting in Chlorine.

Here are evening results after setting for 18 hours with chlorine and pump running.

FC 5
PH 6.8

 

[bamaguy]

Re: Help me do 1st step, had to fill with pond water

I read Duraleigh's comments as filter, vacum to filter, then backwash filter when your psi goes up 25 percent.