Spring opening with well water

[sammismommy]

Hi all,

This is our 7th year with a 27' above ground pool that we use well water to fill, which is our only option as we live in the country and the town's Fire Department is not able to bring in water for us. The first few years with the water went pretty good, I used the BBB method without any problems and had to only add metal out on occasion. But the last 2 years have been a nightmare and I've tried just about every product on the market to combat the metals in our water to no avail. As we are looking at opening our pool again for this year we are wondering a few things.
1) Should we invest in a filter that goes on the end of your hose and is supposed to clear the metals from the water before it fills?
2) If we do #1 should we drain the pool and start over, is that really safe to do with an above ground pool, could it damage the liner?
3) Should we just continue to add metal out products and see how it goes?
4) Should we not use the BBB method and switch to something else that might be better with our well water?

I have read many posts that say to not even attempt to have a pool with well water, but we aren't willing to give it up at this point, but certainly would like to swim in a pool that's somewhat clear and doesn't change color all the time.

Thoughts?

 

[Texas Splash]

You may be getting to a point where the iron contect after 7 years has really grown to a point it's hard to manage - even with a good sequestraunt. Of course we don't know your exact iron content, and even if you took a sample to the pool store, it may not be accurate, either becaue of their poor testing or because the pool chlorine affected the test results. A water exchange may help if the new well water isn't over-saturated with iron. We know it will have some iron, but perhaps not as much as a pool with 7 year's worth. If you do exchange water, just don't lower any further than about 2 ft or so. You want enough water in there to keep the base from trying to lift and to keep the liner in-place.

There are DIY filters and such people have used with some success. Use our search feature above for iron removal and you should see several. One method was using a 5-gallon bucket between the hose and pool filled with a polyfill material among others. Some folks will also try to aggravate the iron on purpose with a high pH and/or FC level so they can catch it with a filter. That method can help to catch the metal, but there is always the risk of potential staining.

 

[sammismommy]

Thank you Texas Splash for your reply!
Yes, we used the bucket method last year and also invested in this large bag attachment that went over our return jet and would "catch" the metals as they went back into the pool, it would turn a bright orange color and we'd have to rinse it out once to twice daily, a pain, and a very slow process, but even with that our water was never where it used to be.
I am thinking we need to drain and start over, but leaving a few feet in there. Should we add anything to the remaining 2 feet of water before we add new water? I just worry that we're going to add new (and maybe better) water but since it'll mix with the 2 feet of water that's left in the pool we'll still have issues?!
Thanks again!

 

[Texas Splash]

I just worry that we're going to add new (and maybe better) water but since it'll mix with the 2 feet of water that's left in the pool we'll still have issues?!

Totally understandable. I'm afraid I don't have a good answer on that one though. All you can hope for is that the combination of new water (hopefully with lower iron content) and continuous filtering, the results will be more manageable. The orignal water remaining will of course be the same, but hopefully it will be more manageable once filled up again. I sure hope so. I imagine that is a real pain to deal with since trucking-in new water is not availabe in your area.

 

[BuckeyeMac]

Anyway to have water trucked in (non-fire truck)? I know you said you lived in the country but, figured I'd ask. How about collecting rain water as much as possible?

 

[DorsalSpine]

I live in the county and have a well. I had water trucked in by a water hauling company.

 

[mknauss]

Have never tried the water exchange process on an above ground pool. If your tap water is much colder than your pool water, it should work.

 

[sammismommy]

We called around to have water trucked in when we first installed the pool 7 years ago since we were worried about the wear/tear on our well and pump, and that was before we knew the headache we'd have to deal with regarding the metals in our water. There weren't any companies around that could do it. Our fire department is all volunteer and we know the crew pretty well, they use local swamps/small lakes to fill the tanker most of the time and are not willing to fill it up, altho I'm not sure that kind of water would be any better really. Since we did have pretty decent water once upon a time, the first 2 seasons, I think draining and adding new well water is the way to go. I am still wondering though about the attachment you can buy for your hose, it's spendy to start with but would save us money (and headaches) in the long run. Anyone have any knowledge on them?

Metaltrap Filters (available in 3 sizes)

Removes metals like iron and copper from fill water for up to 10,000/25,000/50,000 gallons.

www.hydropuretechnologies.com

 

[BuckeyeMac]

I'm also on well...I have HIGH iron content & overall hard water. Now granted I only ran my well pump for 2-3 hours, and used rain water the rest of the way to fill up my pool....this is the contraption I used. It's the same whole home filter that I have in my basement. Since my outdoor spigots bypass my softener and go from my pressure tank directly to the spigots, I HAD to do something. It's at least better than nothing. You can get various micron filters. I went this route because, A. It's the same filters that I have inside and B. I'ts cheaper to go this route than the filters you hook directly up to the hose. Those filters are only good for usually 7,500-10,000 gallons max.

 

[sammismommy]

BuckeyeMac,
Wow, neat contraption! It sounds like our systems are very similar and we are both in Wisconsin! Sometimes I wonder why we have a pool, summers seem to be getting shorter and shorter each year! We have one the bucket method with the fiber fill inside and ran the water thru that, so time consuming and really didn't notice much of a difference, also this thing we put over the return jet that we'd have to take off and rinse a couple times a day. I like your method though and will show my husband your design. Do you know which filter you have attached there? We have Culligan for our water system inside and use the rust-out pellets from them.
Thanks for all your advice, much appreciated!

 

[BuckeyeMac]

These are the products I used:

Culligan Filter HF-150A Whole Standard Duty 3/4" Inlet/Outlet Filtration System, Blue Housing - Replacement Pitcher Water Filters - Amazon.com

Culligan Filter HF-150A Whole Standard Duty 3/4" Inlet/Outlet Filtration System, Blue Housing - Replacement Pitcher Water Filters - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: Culligan SCWH-5 Whole House Advanced Water Filter, 15, 000 Gallons, 1-Pack, White: Kitchen & Dining

Shop Culligan at the Amazon Water Coolers & Filters store. Free Shipping on eligible items. Everyday low prices, save up to 50%.

www.amazon.com

I then went to Menards and got the correct 3/4" adapters for the hose.

And just to show, here's the picture of the filter after running it for 3 hours...Like I said - HIGH iron content.

Oh and I'm in Columbus, OH

 

[sammismommy]

Haha, I saw the Go Bucks and thought you meant our Milwaukee Bucks and saw the red colors so was thinking Badgers, oops! But I'm sure OH is a great place to live too!

Thanks for the information, definitely worth trying!

 

[sammismommy]

Also, do you think this would work to cycle through the water that is already in the pool, or do you feel we'd be better off draining down to 2 feet and refilling using this contraption? Sorry for all the questions, just really want to get things right this year!

 

[BuckeyeMac]

Also, do you think this would work to cycle through the water that is already in the pool, or do you feel we'd be better off draining down to 2 feet and refilling using this contraption? Sorry for all the questions, just really want to get things right this year!

The only way I could see you using this for your current water is if you use a submersible pump, and have it run through it that way.

You could try it, but not sure how well it will work.

 

[sammismommy]

I think we're just going to drain down to about 2 feet and refill using this contraption, that seems like the best choice. Will keep you posted... Thanks again!

 

[BuckeyeMac]

Good luck! Hope it works for you!

 

[BuckeyeMac]

Have you made any progress @sammismommy

 

[sammismommy]

Have you made any progress @sammismommy

Thanks for checking in @BuckeyeMac! We will be starting this process today!!! The weather here has not been the greatest, lots of storms and such, and we have a tree near our pool that sheds lovely things every spring, so we opted to wait until that was done before attempting this. I'm anxious to see if it will work, hoping so! We will be topping off the pool using the Culligan attachment you recommended, then we will run the configuration with a submersible pump so that all the existing water can filter through it. I'm not sure if that's going to work or not, but we just can't see draining all of the water in our pool, hope we don't regret that. Final question, the return pail that you have the water going thru before it re-enters the pool, is that filled with anything? We had done a similar contraption last year where you have that filled with the fiber-fill and figured we'd do the same again this time around just for good measure. Fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted.

 

[BuckeyeMac]

Thanks for checking in @BuckeyeMac! We will be starting this process today!!! The weather here has not been the greatest, lots of storms and such, and we have a tree near our pool that sheds lovely things every spring, so we opted to wait until that was done before attempting this. I'm anxious to see if it will work, hoping so! We will be topping off the pool using the Culligan attachment you recommended, then we will run the configuration with a submersible pump so that all the existing water can filter through it. I'm not sure if that's going to work or not, but we just can't see draining all of the water in our pool, hope we don't regret that. Final question, the return pail that you have the water going thru before it re-enters the pool, is that filled with anything? We had done a similar contraption last year where you have that filled with the fiber-fill and figured we'd do the same again this time around just for good measure. Fingers crossed and I'll keep you posted.

The return bucket is filled with polyfil (pillow stuffing) and multiple 1/4” holes drilled into the bottom. I did not notice a ton being caught in there as the culligan filter caught probably 95% of the metals/iron.

 

[sammismommy]

@BuckeyeMac , perfect, that is what we are hoping for too but will have it go through the bucket upon return for good measure, I'm double crossing my fingers that this works. Once we get everything connected I will post a picture and again as the process is happening. Thanks again!