If you’ve got iron in your fill water, use Polyfill to remove it

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You'd be a millionaire if you discovered something cost-effective to filter soluable iron pre-oxidization ;)
I'm rooting for you!

Even the greensand filters are only partially effective and are dependent on flow rate and concentration.
 
Thanks for the great posts. This idea is awesome. I’ve posted before about my on-going metal staining problems that continue to drive me nuts ?. I drained the pool down to one ft in the shallow end this spring and refilled with hose water using an RV filter. I have tried everything, and even though my fill water from the town has tested to have no metals, and the pool store tests show .1 or less iron in my pool, I still have issues. Every time I do the AA treatment I get re-staining as soon as the FC level gets above 2. I’ve been adding Jack’s Purple Stuff as directed. How can I manage my pool like this? I’d have to have 0 or really low CYA and keep the FC between 1 and 2, which doesn’t seem good using an SWG. The AA process is laborous, expensive, and doesn’t seem to work long term for me. If the polyfil only works for oxidized metals, the metals need to be in the water and tinting the water green or brown right? So if the staining has already taken place, I’m assuming this wouldn’t help? May need to have my heater checked as well. Also I have rocks and plants not far from the pool that creates run off into the pool when it rains thanks to the design flaw with the concrete sloping towards the pool. Thx for any tips!
 
Just to add to my previous reply, again, this is a great idea and wish it could work in my inground pool- I may try something similar if my pool turns green again from slamming with Chl. One thing I don’t believe anyone has mentioned is staining of the floor and walls. If I have metal oxidizing in my pool, I have to deal with removing the stains from the pool surfaces, which involves the Absorbic Acid treatment which can be a lengthy process. Thx for the great posts!
 
Assuming you have a skimmer, you can buy some hairnets from Amazon, 100 for like $5 (I'd advise anyone use these hairnets no matter what) and stuff your skimmer basket with hairnets full of polyfill. Pack it in good and set your pump to run continuously. This doesn't work quite as fast as the big bucket, but I found that when I switch from the dinky little pump that came with my pool to a 1HP Hayward pump, hooked into the return line, the Hayward would blast the lid off the bucket and I'd then spend hours fishing polyfill back out of the pool.

I can't confirm whether it works for anything other than iron, since that's all I've had to deal with, but yes, the iron must be oxidized and tinting your pool a nasty (but not algae) green or brown. If there is staining already, you would likely have to fix that too by scrubbing with ascorbic acid so it frees up that iron into the pool. Last time I had to de-iron my pool after I left the hose running for 12 hours (stupid me, lol), I also stuffed my Dolphin cleaner with polyfill and ran it a lot to help speed up pulling the iron out.
 
Thanks for this, Lightmaster! I posted this morning about my metal- green IG plaster pool - every time I add chlorine it turns green after Citric acid stain removal (I had to fill, seems the fill water had metals, which I was able to clear but then since I did the citric acid it turns green every time I add chlorine.) It's also milky -cloudy, still, after 1 week +. Maybe these hairnets full of polyfill will work to boost my 20 micron cartridge filters? How will it trap the metal- will the polyfill just turn green and then need to replace? -does it absorb the metal?? How to pull it out of skimmer without dropping metal back in poolwater?

Other thing is I don't want hairnets or polyfill getting into my pipes or filtration, right? My filter is strong, I can't pull out basket with the filter on.

Last ditch is to drain and refill entire thing from different source, $$$ but guessing I'll have to do citric acid again... maybe in all cases, though not sure I can redo citric acid on green pool water?.... as I've had ph and TA bounce and green-blue-green-blue (metal free- chlorine)
Kerry
 
ctmomo said:
Thanks for this, Lightmaster! I posted this morning about my metal- green IG plaster pool - every time I add chlorine it turns green after Citric acid stain removal (I had to fill, seems the fill water had metals, which I was able to clear but then since I did the citric acid it turns green every time I add chlorine.) It's also milky -cloudy, still, after 1 week +. Maybe these hairnets full of polyfill will work to boost my 20 micron cartridge filters? How will it trap the metal- will the polyfill just turn green and then need to replace? -does it absorb the metal?? How to pull it out of skimmer without dropping metal back in poolwater?

Other thing is I don't want hairnets or polyfill getting into my pipes or filtration, right? My filter is strong, I can't pull out basket with the filter on.

Last ditch is to drain and refill entire thing from different source, $$$ but guessing I'll have to do citric acid again... maybe in all cases, though not sure I can redo citric acid on green pool water?.... as I've had ph and TA bounce and green-blue-green-blue (metal free- chlorine)
Kerry
Click to expand...

The hairnets would keep any polyfill from getting to your pump, and my 1HP pump is strong enough with my 1.5" pipes that I had to install underwater inlets to keep the skimmer from sucking air. Hairnets remain in the skimmer basket though. A lot of people here use hairnets in their Skinner's to reduce the load on the filters and for easier cleaning, this is just further utilizing them.

I'm not sure how the polyfill physically traps the oxidized iron, but not other things like CYA or TA. I removed them when they started looking nasty mud brown, and kept replacing until they remained clear after 48 hours. Just had my wife shut off the pump and I pulled out the skimmer basket quickly so most of the water dripped on the ground.
 
Ok so maybe I'll try that loop thing with a house filter, the bucket might be beyond me! I have a couple little pool pumps (for pumping water off covers and such but if it falls in my pool it will pump the whole pool off,) assuming one will work ok? Steps:

1. Get filter set up and ready to go: pool pump, hosed in to filter and hose out (return to pool from filter.) Will need 3/4" inlet/ outlets on filter housing for garden hoses, right?
on Amazon, prime shipping
Housing: pentek 150469, 3/4" #10 Big Blue housing
Filter: Pentek spun poly filter 10" x 4.5" DGD 2501 looks like it filters down to 1 micron

2. Superchlorinate the pool/ oxidize all the metal, turn it very green. My CYA is now about 15. FC- .5 or so (waiting on my own test kit.) Thinking 4 gal. 12.5% liquid Cl will work for my 12k gal. Haven't been able to get to the pool math calculator yet but that's what I usually do. ? Will have more time to research all this later but kiddos have doc appts etc! If anyone knows off top of head whether this could work, would love to purchase filter setup and get it on it's way ...​
 
ctmomo said:
Ok so maybe I'll try that loop thing with a house filter, the bucket might be beyond me! I have a couple little pool pumps (for pumping water off covers and such but if it falls in my pool it will pump the whole pool off,) assuming one will work ok? Steps:

1. Get filter set up and ready to go: pool pump, hosed in to filter and hose out (return to pool from filter.) Will need 3/4" inlet/ outlets on filter housing for garden hoses, right?
on Amazon, prime shipping
Housing: pentek 150469, 3/4" #10 Big Blue housing
Filter: Pentek spun poly filter 10" x 4.5" DGD 2501 looks like it filters down to 1 micron

2. Superchlorinate the pool/ oxidize all the metal, turn it very green. My CYA is now about 15. FC- .5 or so (waiting on my own test kit.) Thinking 4 gal. 12.5% liquid Cl will work for my 12k gal. Haven't been able to get to the pool math calculator yet but that's what I usually do. ? Will have more time to research all this later but kiddos have doc appts etc! If anyone knows off top of head whether this could work, would love to purchase filter setup and get it on it's way ...​
Click to expand...

Iron issues aside, you need to get your CYA and FC up. Have you added any CYA to your pool since filling it? Fill water is usually 0 CYA, so the only CYA in it should be whatever you've added. We can calculate how much CYA is in your pool, and then we can use PoolMath to figure out how much more to add to get your pool into the proper range. I don't see any SWG in your signature, so I assume you dose with bleach by hand. You need a CYA of 30-40. Also, the CYA level is always rounded up to the nearest 10, so 15CYA should be read as 20CYA. Your FC is way to low at .5 and needs to be raise to 4ppm asap. With the water like it is, you're asking for algae green water. As far as superchlorinating for oxidizing iron, I'd just bring it up to your CYA's level's shock amount, so if you first raise your CYA up to 30, then you'd use an FC of 12. As soon as you get a test kit, definitely do a full round of tests to verify your CYA level and FC level, since Pool Store and test strips do a terrible job.


That filter might work, if its made of Polyester material like Polyfill is. I used cheap Polyfill pillow stuffing from Walmart, so I can't personally say whether or not it will work. You could use a setup where you have a utility pump connected to a garden hose, have the end of the garden hose that connects to the Pentek filter attached to your ladder so its hanging over the pool and ziptie the hose to the ladder's handle, so if the filter fails or gets separated from the hose, the hose will just pump your water back into your pool and you won't lose any water.

The female end of the garden hose should attach to your utility pump, and the male end of your garden hose should be 3/4" threading already, so you should be able to screw the hose directly into that filter housing. One review on Amazon mentions them using the filter directly with a garden hose. https://www.amazon.com/review/R14DN5CIWWEUUT/ref=cm_cr_othr_d_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8. That filter material looks kinda small, so you might want to order several.
 
Yes, I'm working on increasing cya with skimmer sticks, target 30, it was 0. Hoping test kit arrives tmrw but doubtful, though I've read that particular test tough to interpret.

No swg correct. Pour liquid chlorine. Yes I see that's a high level, assuming the theory is that I need all of it to oxidize all the metals? Tough because I don't know if this will work, or I'll end up draining it. So many people end up refilling their pool (600!) And that's alot of chlorine dumping into nature. ?
I added poly 60 algicide this morning.

Other thing I'm unsure of is whether the little pool cover -type pump will have enough force to push the water through the filter? Do I have to think about that? It's IG, there's nowhere to hang filter, I guess just hang on pool ledge.

Yes it's a poly filter=) btw I did get polyfill this am and stuff my skimmer, it's not turning any color & not seeing difference in water.
 

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The polyfill for me tended to get dark at the bottom and worked its way up to the top. Been a while now, but think my 6700 gallon pool took 48-72 hours to clean up and it was a dull green beforehand. I let it run an extra 24 hours after that and capped it good then.

I haven't used one of those Pentek filters, but from what I've hear, some people attach them to their hose when filling their pool and it works. My utility pump pumps faster than my well does, so I imagine my $100 generic brand utility pump would work with it. Know how fast your's is?

- - - Updated - - -

Just like with a SLAM, the key is patience. Your filtering microscopic stuff from a massive body of water, so it won't happen overnight. Let the pump and filtration and filter aids do their job, lol. Also, can you post a pic of the pool so we can see how it looks at the start and end?
 
lightmaster said:
Assuming you have a skimmer, you can buy some hairnets from Amazon, 100 for like $5 (I'd advise anyone use these hairnets no matter what) and stuff your skimmer basket with hairnets full of polyfill. Pack it in good and set your pump to run continuously. This doesn't work quite as fast as the big bucket, but I found that when I switch from the dinky little pump that came with my pool to a 1HP Hayward pump, hooked into the return line, the Hayward would blast the lid off the bucket and I'd then spend hours fishing polyfill back out of the pool.

I can't confirm whether it works for anything other than iron, since that's all I've had to deal with, but yes, the iron must be oxidized and tinting your pool a nasty (but not algae) green or brown. If there is staining already, you would likely have to fix that too by scrubbing with ascorbic acid so it frees up that iron into the pool. Last time I had to de-iron my pool after I left the hose running for 12 hours (stupid me, lol), I also stuffed my Dolphin cleaner with polyfill and ran it a lot to help speed up pulling the iron out.
Click to expand...
We filled up our pool with straight out of the hose well water, which has a bunch of iron in it. I tried the polyfill in a 5 gallon bucket and the lid kept blowing off and the polyfil was catching the gunk but the color stayed the same. We added all the pool store said to no avail...we are not sure what to do to remove the iron successfully and sorta quickly. Is this a slow process? Should we have not filled the pool with straight hose water?
 
Do you have a skimmer? How strong is your pump.

"We added all the pool school said"... I'm scared to ask what they got you to put into your pool...
 
If anyone is still watching this thread, all the videos I have seen online for the bucket poly filter like the one in this post are being used on above ground pools. For an in-ground, pool with only 2 return jets, would I just screw on the hose to one of my return jets, and run that to the bucket? This kinda concerns me, because the water pressure and flow, would likely be too great for the hose and bucket. Thoughts?
 
With an in-ground pool, the easier way to do it is to stuff the skimmer basket with polyfill. The old school way of doing it was to stuff the skimmer basket with polyfill and lay a calcium hypochlorite tablet on top of the polyfill and run the pump at low speed or draw most of the water from the main drain so that the flow through the skimmer was slow. The cal-hypo would locally raise the pH of the incoming water and cause iron to oxidize out into particulates that the polyfill would grab. Then, you could just toss out the polyfill once the cal-hypo tablet was done. It only works with cal-hypo though and the sources of tablet forms are hard to come by. I suppose you could try to add granular cal-hypo to a thin cotton sock and see if that works. Without the cal hypo, the polyfill will take longer to get all the iron out.
 
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Hi, I emptied my bucket to rinse the poly fill after 6 hours out of curiosity. It was disgusting 😂 but now I can't get my pump to push water hard enough through the poly fill, it's acting as though there is a clog. Do I need to allow the poly fill to dry before putting it back in the bucket and hooking the pump back to the bucket?
 
Jessi5712 said:
Hi, I emptied my bucket to rinse the poly fill after 6 hours out of curiosity. It was disgusting 😂 but now I can't get my pump to push water hard enough through the poly fill, it's acting as though there is a clog. Do I need to allow the poly fill to dry before putting it back in the bucket and hooking the pump back to the bucket?
Click to expand...

How does your polyfill look? Just like any filter material, it can become too clogged to let water through. Also, check your normal filter too. Anything physically clogging your hoses/pipes?
 
It looked gross. Brownish orange in color. I rinsed it out for over an hour and it all ran clear. How deep is the pipe into your bucket/poly fill? Maybe I have mine in too deep. I appreciate the quick response
 

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