SOLUTION (for brown/iron water in small pools}

[Fisiosike]

I saw no solution to my brown/ferrous water problem that actually worked for me. I admit not trying any that were way out of my meager budget range.

This method works, remarkably so. It does not costs much; It does require some patience. And if your pool is much bigger than my 10'x32" Intex, you may or may not want to use this method.

Keep in mind, I had attempted many of the suggestions made in this forum with no satisfactory outcomes.

My pool, on sale, was around $75 and it came with the standard weak pump. There was another pool with the same dimensions for around $50 which did not include the pump. In hindsight, the second pool would have been an excellent ADDITIONAL investment as my method calls for a "holding pool." Instead, I purchased a small $18 pool that holds approximately 250 gallons of water. The pool that I now swim in holds a little over 1000 gallons, I believe.

My larger pool is set up on carpet and carpet padding that I already had. Out of padding, I put the cheaper/smaller pool just on carpet and have had no issues yet. The pools are side by side, relatively near to where the pump is placed while running.

I put 250 gallons in wading pool, treated it generously with a pool shock powder/crystal, and stirred this together with a broom. Now, the patience. Wait until near the end of the second day (48 hrs or so.) If ample enough shock treated was stirred in, the rust should have now settled to the bottom of the pool. The water on top of the rust may not appear crystal clear, but I think you will be pleasantly surprised by it.

You have probably figured out by now that I am going to transfer this good water over to the big pool. To clarify, had I purchase the $50 pool the same dimensions as my big pool, I would only need to transfer the treated water one time. As is, I had to transfer about 4 separate loads. I cannot say that a larger treating pool would work as well for sure though. There may be a working value to treating smaller batches. I just do not know for sure.

Using the pump that came with my original pool, I pumped the water from the treatment pool and began the process again. The little treatment pool I have is only about 18 inches tall. Pumping water out of that pool, without getting the iron sediments mixed back in is a little trick. I took either my had or a broom and gentle brushed a clear area. It doesn't take long for the heavy iron to sink back down. Using slow motions, and after priming the pump, I let the pump first draw in water directly to the hose. As soon as possible, once I knew the pump was drawing, I tied the cut-off end of a sock around the entrance of the hose. The sock material adequately prevented any suspended iron left in that area. I also tied a rather heavy lead weight to keep the hose in the position I wanted it. The closer to the bottom, the better.

Once your transfer(s) is/are through, treat your large pool water as you normally would. Same process is used for topping off.