You mentioned that you used a chemical to make the metal clump...what chemical did you use? I have well water and now it's so brown it's almost black. I also bought a salt water filter from Intex this year hoping it would help. It didn't. I use the saltwater filter to "shock" it...using their "boost" button. That is what turned my water so brown. I'm seeing little brown particles clinging to the walls of my pool....not sure if that's the iron or not. Maybe the chemical you used would make them clump together.