Filling a small pool with iron well water

[PoolDoc]

Iron doesn't affect much of anything, except pools and swimsuits -- those, it turns brown or orange. But it's harmless to people and doesn't really interfere with the chemistry. It CAN make the pool very cloudy.

If you are already up and running, do all these things, and you may find you can operate without lots of complexity:

1. Keep your pH on the low end of the scale (7.0 - 7.4) -- this minimizes the problems with iron.
2. Run your filter a lot, and keep the cartridges clean.
3. Very carefully, use a liquid clarifier, to help your filter remove the iron as particles form.
4. Try to avoid adding a lot of chlorine all at once -- it tends to make the iron drop out all at once. Raising it gradually is better.
5. As soon as you have a complete set of test results, please post them.

[newbiepool]

Thanks! We are using or trying to use BBB method. Just adding a little bleach every day. Today the water temp got up to about 70 degrees so no one has used it yet. We'll get a clarifier in and I will try to post some results tomorrow. Thanks for your help..

[newbiepool]

Test results today were pH 7.2, Chlorine 5, TA 220 (I added 17 drops and it was starting to turn red added more and it was mostly red when I got to 22 - I am new to testing so I'm just going by what the paper said to do). Should I add borax to lower the TA? How much?

[PoolDoc]

If you would, please enter your pool info in this form:

Pool Chart Entry Form
Pool Chart Results

Makes it much easier for us to give good answers.

+ Borax doesn't lower TA; it raises pH. Right now, you don't need to raise pH OR lower TA.

+ Filter, filter filter.

+ Don't let your chlorine get below 2 ppm.