Hello! I need major help! My brand new pool (only been set up for a week) turned very dark murky brown in the last 2 days. This is my first pool....I'm a newly single mom just trying to give my only son something fun to do this summer. Here is the breakdown of what I have and what I've done so far:
Coleman above ground 18'x48" (states 6,100 gal)
Regular Filter pump (I run this 8 hrs/day on a timer)
Purchased a Krystal Clear Saltwater System (this runs 4 hrs/day on a timer)
On the first day of fill I dumped 3- 50lb bags of Solar Salt around perimeter. The water took about 15 hours to fill up and it was a light greenish color to begin with. When the salt dissolved I ran the filter pump for a good 12 hours and the SWG 4 hours then set their regular timer cycles.
Everything was was fine for about 5 days.... I cleaned the filter every other day, nothing looked abnormal, just regular buildup. I ran my test strips and the only thing that looked off was the TA (2 different brand test strips gave me different readings, between 125-180ppm.)
Then yesterday morning when I went out to skim the top, it was turning darker greenish/brown and I noticed some sort of brown soot-looking stuff on the bottom and around the valves. I cleaned the filter and it was COVERED in the brown residue. I then turned the pump on to run constantly. I put about 1 1/2 lbs of stabilizer in a sock and hung it in front of return valve so it could help disperse. I put the SWG in Boost mode.
Today when I went out, the water was completely brown! Not green at all, but solid brown. And the brown residue is everywhere!!! Is that rust or something? I bought 5 gal of 6% bleach and poured them in just now and turned off the SWG but left on the filter pump.
I'm at a loss, I have no idea what to do. The nearest pool store is over an hour away (I live in VERY rural Texas). I will pack up and go today if I have too, but I need to know EVERYTHING I must get, because it's pretty much a once/week trip for me. Can't afford to run back and forth and get stuff everyday. PLEASE help me!!!
Coleman above ground 18'x48" (states 6,100 gal)
Regular Filter pump (I run this 8 hrs/day on a timer)
Purchased a Krystal Clear Saltwater System (this runs 4 hrs/day on a timer)
On the first day of fill I dumped 3- 50lb bags of Solar Salt around perimeter. The water took about 15 hours to fill up and it was a light greenish color to begin with. When the salt dissolved I ran the filter pump for a good 12 hours and the SWG 4 hours then set their regular timer cycles.
Everything was was fine for about 5 days.... I cleaned the filter every other day, nothing looked abnormal, just regular buildup. I ran my test strips and the only thing that looked off was the TA (2 different brand test strips gave me different readings, between 125-180ppm.)
Then yesterday morning when I went out to skim the top, it was turning darker greenish/brown and I noticed some sort of brown soot-looking stuff on the bottom and around the valves. I cleaned the filter and it was COVERED in the brown residue. I then turned the pump on to run constantly. I put about 1 1/2 lbs of stabilizer in a sock and hung it in front of return valve so it could help disperse. I put the SWG in Boost mode.
Today when I went out, the water was completely brown! Not green at all, but solid brown. And the brown residue is everywhere!!! Is that rust or something? I bought 5 gal of 6% bleach and poured them in just now and turned off the SWG but left on the filter pump.
I'm at a loss, I have no idea what to do. The nearest pool store is over an hour away (I live in VERY rural Texas). I will pack up and go today if I have too, but I need to know EVERYTHING I must get, because it's pretty much a once/week trip for me. Can't afford to run back and forth and get stuff everyday. PLEASE help me!!!