Polyfill Returns?

[GaryParr]

Hi all,

I believe I have an iron issue. Water starts to take on a slight green tint if my FC drifts up and I've had iron staining in the past when filling from my well. I've got a decent filter on the fill water now, but I'm sure soluble iron is still getting through.

Anyway, with a SWG the highest concentration of chlorine is at my returns. Since that's what causes iron oxidation (right?) it seems logical to me that polyfill filtration at the returns would do the most to capture the iron. A perusal of the forum for polyfill threads doesn't show anyone talking about this option that I can find. Might have missed it though.

I'm wondering if the flow rate at the returns would be too high, essentially flushing out any iron the polyfill captures.This makes sense I suppose since most suggest just stuffing the skimmers. To me that suggests slow flow rate as long as the main drain is still in use.

If I'm correct about the problem with something like a polyfill stuffed mesh bag on the returns, then has anyone tried attaching a flex pipe to the returns that runs up and out of the pool into a bucket of polyfill or similar? I keep thinking the higher chlorine concentration immediately downstream of the SWG will promote the best iron capture but since I don't see anyone talking about that I feel like I'm missing something.

Thanks!
Gary

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Buy some SlimeBags and stuff them with poly fill. See if you can catch iron at the returns. You’ll need one for each return.

 

[GaryParr]

So my line of thinking has merit?

I'd want one for all 4 returns, and those things are expensive just to run an experiment. Do we think the 1 micron mesh is necessary or would a cheaper bag around 250 micron be sufficient? Never tried to catch iron before, but I'd assume the bag just needs to hold the polyfill together.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

So my line of thinking has merit?

I'd want one for all 4 returns, and those things are expensive just to run an experiment. Do we think the 1 micron mesh is necessary or would a cheaper bag around 250 micron be sufficient? Never tried to catch iron before, but I'd assume the bag just needs to hold the polyfill together.

Can’t offer much advice. Science is expensive sometimes. You have to decide if the knowledge you hope to gain is worth the cost of figuring it out with the risk of failure or a null-result being very real.

Maybe buy one slime bag and try to force all the water through one return in a safe way that doesn’t harm the pump. Then if you see a positive outcome you can consider upgrading to more Slime Bags.

 

[duraleigh]

Best of all solutions is to stop using iron laden water. Do you have a whole house water softener? If not, would you consider it?

 

[Lilypad]

If you do a search on the Forum for "iron polyfill bucket" you’ll see several threads.
They used the bucket idea when there was no skimmer (at least on the one I glanced
at), but you'll see how they rigged it for that application.

 

[GaryParr]

Can’t offer much advice. Science is expensive sometimes.

True enough! I was just hoping to understand the principals at play a little better before I started down the rabbit hole.

Do you have a whole house water softener?

I do not currently have one since, other than the pool, you would never know there was soluble iron in the water. Our current whole-home filtration system is perfect otherwise. I agree this is the only real long term solution.

If you do a search on the Forum for "iron polyfill bucket" you’ll see several threads.

Yes, I've looked at those ideas. May do it. Was really just asking about capturing at the returns because it  seems like the best place to attack the iron in a SWG system. Was surprised I couldn't find any discussion of it.


Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'll probably run a small experiment sometime within the next couple of weeks and let everyone know how it goes.

 

[AndyTN]

Here are pictures of my polyfil iron catcher. You can get some PVC attachments to hook up a garden hose to one of your returns and cap the others so there is enough pressure. Here is another thread where I have chimed in and gone into more detail about my process of mitigating (not eliminating) iron stains. Removing Iron