I am a new pool owner and I live way out in the country and I use well water so we all have to have the local fire department fill our pools with water from the river to avoid running the well dry. Most of the time it only takes a few days to clear the water, but this time the first fun from the truck deposited quite a bit of rust from the tank along with the brown water from the river. It has been 1 week....4 bags of shock...5 gallons of bleach....and still not clear. What can I do??
HELP MY WATER IS BROWN AND RUSTY!!
- Thread starter Summer
- Start date
Welcome to TFP!
Can you post a complete set of test results and more detail about how the water looks? It would also be good to know what kind of filter you have and how often you have been backwashing/cleaning it.
There are probably several different things going on. Rust/iron usually either settles to the bottom or deposits on the walls of the pool as stains. If the water is still cloudy/murky then you either have algae that you haven't killed yet or a filter issue. It is also important to get any mud/muck out of the pool, either by skimmer net or by vacuuming (to waste if possible).
Can you post a complete set of test results and more detail about how the water looks? It would also be good to know what kind of filter you have and how often you have been backwashing/cleaning it.
There are probably several different things going on. Rust/iron usually either settles to the bottom or deposits on the walls of the pool as stains. If the water is still cloudy/murky then you either have algae that you haven't killed yet or a filter issue. It is also important to get any mud/muck out of the pool, either by skimmer net or by vacuuming (to waste if possible).
This forum is a little difficult to follow. I am not sure how to reply to an answer. I hope this is the correct way.
I don't really have all the information about my pool other than the chlorine level according to my test kit is still around 5.0 (if that means anything) and the water looks more like coffee now. When I get in the water and brush the sides and bottom and stir the water, then the filter becomes very red and dirty and I rinse it off every 2 or 3 hours. The size of the filter is very small. It came with the pool...the pool is one of those from Wal-mart 18' round and 4' deep with the metal frame. The filter size is A...it is approx 8" long and about 4" in diameter? I clean it often. When I called the 800 number on the test kit, they told me to let the chlorine level drop. It has been over 2 weeks and the level is still high. I am beginning to wonder if the color of the water is affecting the color after the chemical is placed in the tube. It has rained almost every day and we have drained a little water out of the pool, so I wonder if the chlorine would still stay that high? I don't have a vacuum for the filter. It didn't come with one other than a very small one that you attach to a water hose and then to a small opening at the bottom of the filter. We did that but it didn't seem to work. I am at a loss here.
I don't really have all the information about my pool other than the chlorine level according to my test kit is still around 5.0 (if that means anything) and the water looks more like coffee now. When I get in the water and brush the sides and bottom and stir the water, then the filter becomes very red and dirty and I rinse it off every 2 or 3 hours. The size of the filter is very small. It came with the pool...the pool is one of those from Wal-mart 18' round and 4' deep with the metal frame. The filter size is A...it is approx 8" long and about 4" in diameter? I clean it often. When I called the 800 number on the test kit, they told me to let the chlorine level drop. It has been over 2 weeks and the level is still high. I am beginning to wonder if the color of the water is affecting the color after the chemical is placed in the tube. It has rained almost every day and we have drained a little water out of the pool, so I wonder if the chlorine would still stay that high? I don't have a vacuum for the filter. It didn't come with one other than a very small one that you attach to a water hose and then to a small opening at the bottom of the filter. We did that but it didn't seem to work. I am at a loss here.
You replied correctly.
Anyway you can get to a pool store and have them test your water? TAke a bottle of it and ask them to run a full set of results. Then bring it home and post them here. Be sure they test for metals.
Then order yourself a TF-100 test kit, you won't regret it.
In the meantime, I would do a "search" (at the top right of your screen) for the word "Intex" and read as much of the results as you can, and you will see you are not alone with problems with those type of pools they can be tricky to maintain, but there is lots of good tips and advise, like vacuming, etc.
Welcome to TFP!
Anyway you can get to a pool store and have them test your water? TAke a bottle of it and ask them to run a full set of results. Then bring it home and post them here. Be sure they test for metals.
Then order yourself a TF-100 test kit, you won't regret it.
In the meantime, I would do a "search" (at the top right of your screen) for the word "Intex" and read as much of the results as you can, and you will see you are not alone with problems with those type of pools they can be tricky to maintain, but there is lots of good tips and advise, like vacuming, etc.
Welcome to TFP!
Thank you for the advice. I don't see a search box on my screen to search for intex. How do I do that? I would love to read a little more about this problem and to learn about caring for my pool. I am so lost to the pool world and to this internet forum!
There are most likely several different things going on. Without good water test results it is difficult to figure what they all are. The best thing to do would be to buy a top quality test kit. I recommend a kit from TF Test Kits. The Taylor K-2006 is also good. Wile you are waiting for that to arrive, you can go to a pool store and get your water tested and report the numbers back to us.
I am fairly sure you have algae. Killing the algae is going to take a fair bit of chlorine. At this point I think that your simple test is reporting combined chlorine (CC) levels, which don't help keep the water sanitized. The FAS-DPD test, in the kits I suggested, can distinguish free chlorine (FC), which does keep the water sanitary, from CC. Chlorine normally needs to be added daily. Even in extreme cases, with very high FC levels, you can only go a couple of days without adding chlorine.
The Intex filters are not very good at all. Unless you get a better filter, it is going to take quite a while to clear up the water. Plus the real clearing of the water can't really start until the algae, if any, is dead. Many people have problems with their Intex filters. They are just barely usable. With persistence you can get the water clear, but it is going to take a while and lots of cleaning and replacing of the filter cartridge.
Feel free to ask more questions. In the meanwhile, do some reading at Pool School.
I am fairly sure you have algae. Killing the algae is going to take a fair bit of chlorine. At this point I think that your simple test is reporting combined chlorine (CC) levels, which don't help keep the water sanitized. The FAS-DPD test, in the kits I suggested, can distinguish free chlorine (FC), which does keep the water sanitary, from CC. Chlorine normally needs to be added daily. Even in extreme cases, with very high FC levels, you can only go a couple of days without adding chlorine.
The Intex filters are not very good at all. Unless you get a better filter, it is going to take quite a while to clear up the water. Plus the real clearing of the water can't really start until the algae, if any, is dead. Many people have problems with their Intex filters. They are just barely usable. With persistence you can get the water clear, but it is going to take a while and lots of cleaning and replacing of the filter cartridge.
Feel free to ask more questions. In the meanwhile, do some reading at Pool School.
Summer said:
In the upper right, theres a pic of a swimming pool, and the word search is shown right below it, it says "to "Home*Newsletters Archive *Store*Pool School * FAQ *Members * Search"