How I stopped using Jack's Magic - The Pink Stuff

[twosocks90]

We live in the country and have struggled with iron (0.16ppm), manganese (0.298ppm) and high alkalinity (399) in our well water. Every time I added chlorine the water would turn green. I was spending $200-300/yr on the Pink Stuff. It worked, but it was expensive.

I tried filling the pool with soft water, but that was slow and also meant that the basement door was partially open so the garden hose could connect to the sink downstairs. It was a hassle.

In desperation during one rainy spring a few years ago, I rigged up a downspout so it drained into the pool. Total cost was about $30. That spring it rained and rained and rained, and the pool eventually overflowed. Then it rained some more. I think I diluted the pool water enough that most of the well water was gone. Suddenly, I had no need for the Pink Stuff any more!

Since then, every spring I capture rain water to bring the water level back to normal. I may have to top off the pool during July/August with a little soft water from inside every now and then, but overall this has worked really really well.

I used to take the downspout attachment on and off, but now I leave it on all summer to catch whatever rain may fall. I take it off in the winter and put it back on in the spring.

I'm posting this in hopes that someone else can benefit from what I've done year. TFP has been a great resource and I wanted to give back a little bit.

 

[kimkats]

SWEET! Well done!

You don't have any kind of filter on it? Do you find any gravel or such from the roof in the pool?

 

[twosocks90]

Nope, no filter. I have never found any significant debris from the roof in there, but we live on a dirt road so the pool gets vacuumed quite a bit anyway.

 

[duraleigh]

The idea of beating the iron laden well water is really smart.

I put a 50 gallon drum in between the downspout and the pool. I then fed the downspout water into the bottom of the drum and the pipe to the pool was hooked up to the top of the drum. This eliminated any debris from the roof.

 

[gonfishin]

I purchased a few rain barrels and a rain barrel pump to use for my garden. I've shrunk the garden but still use rain barrels to collect rain water to top off the pool when needed. A few teaspoons of bleach in each barrel prevents algae.

 

[Leebo]

Ive went a step further. We purchased 2 250 gallon chemical tanks that we’ve “hid” behind the pools fence. Normally we’ll fill them with either overflow pool water or rainwater from a pool house we’ve got and simply add a splash of chlorine every so often to them. This year however with all the rain we’ve had I’ve yet to even peak at them as extra water hasn’t been needed. ?

 

[twosocks90]

Before I did this, I looked around for possible complications of using rain water. The only thing I've noticed is that it dilutes the chlorine in the pool, and (as previously mentioned) there's a possibility of debris from the roof washing in. The pH seems pretty much unaffected.

Are there any other downsides to using rain water?

I never thought of capturing the rainwater in containers but that's a good idea. We have 250-gallon totes that I could use. That could help for the times in mid-summer when I need to add water.

 

[sufy74]

After a really long and devastating drought her in South Africa, capturing and using rain water has become the norm.
A pair of lady's hose clamped onto the end of the pipe keeps the dirt from running into the pool/storage tanks and can easily be removed to clean.

 

[ashtonfitzgerald]

Are there any other downsides to using rain water?

Like topping off from a municipal water source or well, knowing what's in the water will better help you manage it. Rain water is almost pure water (picks up stuff as it falls and runs off), so will dilute all the parameters we're concerned with managing in our pool. We had 4" of rain two days ago which I know affected my pool parameters. TA & CH dropped slightly. FC, PH were barely noticeable, but I'm watching them anyway. CYA I haven't been tested yet, but was elevated anyway from a vacation recently where I used trichlor to maintain the pool while we were gone. For a tiny body of water like my pool, I am aware that relatively small additions of rain can swing numbers fast. 4" is about 1/6 of my total pool depth.

 

[kcindc]

The only downside of using rain water is that you need to keep a closer eye on the pool water hardness if your pool is a non-vinyl lined pool.