Pool almost full. I don't THINK I need to slam...advice?
- Thread starter oimamlion
- Start date
So, interesting note: We tested both the water from the creek and the well. Both tests are either 0 or .3 ppm of iron. I'm not sure what all goes into causing well water to typically have high amounts of iron, but I can tell you we've been told ours feeds from a natural spring and our water tastes and looks so good that we use it for drinking water at our restaurant on our property without issue. (It has to be tested every 3 months for the DNR to allow us to use it)
Actually, the reaction on both was the same, somewhere between 0 and .3. I’m not sure if there’s a better test. It’s test strips, and the color is virtually identical on both. I couldn’t find a test on TFTestkits.
I mistakenly suggested TFTest kits as a resource. They do not sell the test.
Test strips are completely worthless. A result of 0 is great but a result of .3 ppm is problematic. I will say again if you refill from an iron laden well, it will haunt you every swim season. If you refill from the creek (I don't know of surface water that contains iron) all you have to do is filter out the dirt.
Test strips are completely worthless. A result of 0 is great but a result of .3 ppm is problematic. I will say again if you refill from an iron laden well, it will haunt you every swim season. If you refill from the creek (I don't know of surface water that contains iron) all you have to do is filter out the dirt.
I figured as much about the test strips, but was having trouble finding a good test kit that wasn't crazy expensive. I don't really NEED to know, I guess. I have no problem filling from the creek and would rather not stress the well pump anyway. I just wanted to confirm that the well should not be an option. We don't have the telltale signs of high iron in our water, but I understand it may very well be there. I could always make the dreaded trip to the pool store and ask them to check the iron. Don't worry. I have absolutely no intentions of using the well water UNLESS we got a clean and reliable test result, and even then I don't know that I would.
So, let me ask this: when we do have to add water, is it likely we will have to shock again or is it possible that the creek water will be diluted enough to avoid that? What's your experience been with your pond?
Good question and the answer is, I don't know. If you refill about an inch, I think your existing chlorine could handle it. If you refill 6 inches, my bet is you would need to SLAM (not shock).
I would consider rigging up some kind of pre-filter for your refill from the creek. Craigslist is a good resource for unwanted pool sand filters and that would go a LONG way towards introducing much cleaner water into your pool. dubuque general for sale - by owner - craigslist
Makes perfect sense. We will just try not to wait to refill until it gets that low. So, we do run the water from the creek through the sand filter first and then through a duda. Do you think it needs more? I mean, more is better, but not sure how to add anything else. I do think if I could've been vaccuuming as it was coming in that might have helped, just to keep ahead of the silt.
No. I am pretty sure (now) I confused this thread with another thread that had really dirty, totally opaque brown water......sorry.
That said, were you still getting silt as you filled? My very big sand filter captured most of the debris and silt and you could probably see through the water a couple of feet when it went into the pool.
I mean, it looked great coming in, but obviously was not, judging from the brown water we are sucking up from the bottom. From the top it just looks kind of green and you can see down a couple of feet (but blurry). I think at this point, we just have to brush, brush, vaccuum, vaccuum, because I'm literally losing 0 FC overnight, but I tested after brushing earlier and dropped from 12 to 8.5 FC on an overcast, cool day. My fiance' just vaccuumed, so I'll be testing again shortly. I'm about to invest in a robot because using that vaccuum attached to your suction is for the birds!
We bought the pool for our daughter's water therapy, and I want to get her in there so bad, considering the end of summer will come too quickly, I know.
