I had the same problem that Newguyjosh and Newpoolgirl had: cesspool brown water, as we have terrible well water. . We have an 18'x54" that holds approx 9,000gals. I have been reading everything in this forum, and it all worked! The water was brown right from the start, so I got busy filtering. Made up some filters out of old cotton towels and placed them in the skimmer. Used an iron and stain remover to isolate the iron. Kept changing the homemade filters and cleaning the cartridge on the Hayward filter. Did this for 24 hours and then shocked it with pool shock that came with the pool. Got a chlorine level of 15ppm. Added pH UP (Use Borax now), and Baking soda to get the pH and alkalinity in the ballpark. Hung a sock full of CYA next to the skimmer, and now my levels are awesome and the pool is crystal clear. Couldn't have done it with these folks.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.....

Bob