Green Iron Water

[Law0414]

We just purchased easy set above ground 15x48 pool. Filled with well water that we new had high iron levels (house water goes through filter) but outside tap is straight from well.

Water of course is now green like everyone else's on this site. We have had water tested at local pool store - best advice is keep cleaning/changing filter and adding chlorine and eventually water will settle down. Any idea how long this will take??? But more importantly - does any one have the new Intex Salt Water System - wondered if it would help with our Iron problem or not???

Any suggestions to get water blue would be helpful. I've seen posting for product called Iron Out but can't find it here - I live in Toronto Canada.

[Guest]

I have used (Metal out) & (Metal Magnet). Both are sold at local pool stores.

Walmart sales (Metal and Scale Out). I haven't used, but it sounds like the same stuff.

[pool user 2]

Did the iron magnet work? I just put it in our pool this morning - it has turned the water from brown to green but it still looks bad from hard well water. I have intex 18 x 24 pool so I suspect it could take a long time for the filter to work through the mess - any idea how long and again does this stuff work?

[law0414]

I went to my local pool store and this was there advice. They told me to double shock the pool with chlorine shock and put 1 cup of stabilizer in the pool inside a nylon stocking and to tie the stocking to the ladder. He said this would keep the chlorine levels in the pools high. Apparently the chlorine at some point will get rid of the iron. Then just keep changing/cleaning filter as often as possible. Said would take about 4 days to get clean water. Last night I did the double shock and nylon stocking. This morning chlorine levels really high and water very green - can't see through it at all (worse than before). Filter is dark brown after only a few hours so I keep trying for a few days and hope for some improvement. If after 4 days no improvement I'm thinking I will empty pool and have water delivered from the city.
Hope this helps all in the same situation.

[POOL USER 2]

Okay, I am now 24 hours in to using metal magnet in my brown pool. It is getting much better - it is now green and you can see through it much better - it is translucent. Actually, when I take a buck of water from the pool it looks clear. The iron magnet coagulates the iron so that the filter can catch it - I have been cleaning the filter about every 4-6 hours - it has been gross but better in the filter than the pool. I am trying to be patient but part of me wants to empty and start over. I did also put in two cups of bleach this morning as my clorine levels dropped significantly and I did not want to create an algie problem too. My ph is too high now though but I think I just need to focus on the iron problem first and go from there - anyone else having any luck with getting clear water from well water?

[chem geek]

Just FYI. Chlorine will not get rid of nor break down metals in the water. There are two basic ways of removing metal or its visible effects from the water. The color in the water is from metal ions combined with hydroxide or sometimes other oxides (oxygen) and is more likely at higher pH which is why this sometimes only shows up when shocking a pool (especially for copper turning a pool green). With lots of metal, even at normal pH pool water will look colored.

One solution, which is more applicable when there are LOTS of metals in the water and the water is colored even at normal pH, is to coagulate or consolidate these particles using a clarifier. There are many on the market and most are effective and will let your filter capture these particles more efficiently (obviously, you need good circulation for this to work so an above-ground pool without a floor drain will be difficult to clear).

The other solution, which is more applicable when there is less metal in the water and it turns colored mostly at higher pH, is to use a metal sequestrant which will hold the metal ion in the water essentially having it dissolved in a way where it will not react with hydroxide at higher pH. This doesn't actually remove the metal from the water, but makes it less reactive thus preventing visible compounds from forming.

With lots of metal in the water, doing both steps makes sense -- first use a clarifier to remove as much metal as possible physically through filtration. Then, after that is complete, one can use a metal sequestrant to keep any remaining metal dissolved in the water.

Richard

[Law0414]

Haven't had any luck yet clearing up well water. At this point I've spent as much on chemicals and filters as I would have to have water delivered to fill pool. Next summer will definately have water delivered - would be worth every penny at this point. Can home tonight and water greener than this morning. Chlorine levels low - PH really high - filter full of brown stuff. Cleaned filter and backwashed and started again following pool store instructions. Hoping for clearer water tomorrow. I have already put an entire bottle of metal out stuff in and it didn't seem to do anything.

Should I just drain pool and start again - is there anyone out there who has successfully gotten clear blue water from well??

[Pool User 2]

This site seems to have the most knowlegable posts that I can find - however still no clear response as to whether I will ever see blue water from well water. We emptied our 18 x 48 pool tonight. We used an industrial pump as the pool outlet would have taken days. Pool was empty 5,000 gallons, in two hours. At least my dried up yard will be green again - or dead depending on what the chemicals do to it.

We are having water delivered from the city and never again will take the route of well water. Fortunately, my husband works for a company that has a water truck, knows of the hydrants that have been used often and has received permission from the city to get water. I will keep watching Law to see if he/she resolves problem. Good luck.

I will be back on site to get more info on levels as it seems like there are several knowledgeable people willing to help.

[law0414]

Just dumped a whole bottel of metal out in the pool. Here's hoping we get some results. Girl at pool store said to put whole bottle in at once. If that doesn't work I will drain pool and have water delivered. At this point, I should have paid for water in first place - chemicals have cost over $200

[Backglass]

This site seems to have the most knowlegable posts that I can find - however still no clear response as to whether I will ever see blue water from well water.

My pool is filled with well water...and it is crystal clear & blue.

[chem geek]

I think the answer you are looking for depends on the contents of the well water. If the well water is high in Total Alkalinity, (TA), then that is the easiest thing to deal with though forced outgassing of carbon dioxide via aeration at low pH. If it is high in calcium hardness (CH), then this is more difficult but can be reduced through a water softener (ion exchange resin, or equivalent). If it is very high in metals, however, then this can be difficult as you have experienced. But if it is that high in metals, it's probably not suitable for other purposes such as tap water for drinking, showering, etc. anyway.

Richard

[law0414]

I agree that it all depends on the water that comes out of the well. We knew our well had a very high iron content. Our house water is treated and has iron filter as well as UV filter and softener.

I have given up and am currently draining the pool. At this point I think it will be less costly to have the water delivered and treat the pool from that point on.

Thanks to all for your great suggestions. Nice to know people out there are trying to help.

[chem geek]

Do you have any specs or info (website links) on your iron filter for your home? We sometimes recommend using a water softener of filter for pool water though obviously it needs a LOT of recharging if the volume is high. Anyway, I'd like to take a look to see how it works and its capacity, etc.

Also, you should have your pool's fill water (from the automatic float valve) go through your house filter if possible so that you avoid adding more metals to the water (perhaps you're already doing that).

Richard

[law0414]

We just bought this house - century home - had company called Kinetico install Kinetico Mach 206of OD Birm Iron Filter. Dual Tank system so if one fails the other keeps going. Our house water is great - very clear no metals after testing.

Basically - we have two large tanks in the basement - the well water goes throught the tanks - filters out the iron then goes to softener and then through UV Filter and then distributed throughout the house. Unfortunately, the outside water is separate and has no filter which is what we used to fill the pool.

Also because it is well - we can't fill pool again from inside water as we run the risk of running well dry - I am in Toronto Canada and it is dry season here now.

HOpe that helps. We will have a water truck deliver city water for the pool, still waiting for it to empty.

[chem geek]

Thanks for the info. I found their website here which says that the iron is filtered using a special ceramic filter made by 3M which basically means they have some sort of special coating on the ceramic since 3M is all about coatings. That's cool. It's not easy to filter metals out of water and they apparently have that technology.

It also looks like you backwash these filters to regenerate them, but I would assume you have to backwash using purified water (without iron), don't you? If not, then that's really cool -- it acts like a DE filter trapping particles in one direction only, but allowing them to be removed going the other direction. For physical particles, it's easy to create such one-way traps, but for ion traps (coatings on ceramic) that's something I don't understand.

Richard