Help ME! Brown Water from IRON~

Stains on the pool surfaces, pool equipment
or on the swimmers, or off-color swimming pool
water. Discolored but clear pool water.
peete728

He is the best solution

Postby peete728 » Sun 23 Jul, 2006 09:26

I'm have been on every website trying to find answer to clear up this horrible brown rusty water. After days of frustration and money wasted here is what worked and worked fast.

A pool product called Bioguard Sparkle Up. It cleared my water up within hours. You can buy it at your local pool dealer, not wallmart, or any retail store. This product was amazing it cost me about $30 but worth every penny considering the $75 plus that I had already waisted on product that did not work.

Use the stain and scale solution, and the Bioguard Sparkle Up, and you will get clear water guaranteed, Also make sure that your PH is right my ph was very high so I had to use a ph balancer to lower it, and make sure that you check your filter if will need backwashing because the Bioguard Sparkle Up will remove everything.

Hope this helps, and saves everyone alot of time, frustration, and money.

Good Luck! :D


Guest

Postby Guest » Sun 13 Aug, 2006 10:16

If you've got an inflatable pool just dump it. Water is cheaper than chemicals many people don't realize that. For future filling: Buy some pool magnet, and a quart per 10k gal (I believe?). Let that circulate for a week. During that week you cannot have a chlorine level above 1ppm.
Iron-free Swimmer

Don't Panic!!

Postby Iron-free Swimmer » Sun 13 Aug, 2006 16:46

I'm just going to try and give a bit of a cohesive answer to give hope to any panicked pool owners or anyone trying to make sense of the various postings . So, don't worry! Most of the time it's just a minor inconvenience and it'll all be okay...

The iron in your water (especially well water) is being oxidized ("rusted") by the chlorine (like bleach in the washing machine). And, you may see different shades of color depending on the color of your pool liner.
The good news is that ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS FILTER IT OUT and you will eventually have "iron-free" water.
This process may be speeded up by adding solutions that drop the "floating" iron to the bottom for vacuuming (if anyone knows of "better" products, please let me know...), but I was able to clear my 12 x 20 x 4' pool (about 4,500 gal)--quite cheaply--in just a few days by simply rinsing the iron out of my filter cartridge a few times a day with the "shower" setting on my regular old garden hose attachment!! I actually alternated between 2 filters, but that's all the more it took, and my family actually had fun seeing how much bluer the water was each day.
Personally, I would not recommend dumping the filtered water, because I cherish my iron-filtered water (!), pool-sized quantities of metal-free water are not available in my area (anyone else?), &--for the unwitting--you will have to repeat the process anyway--to a lesser extent--if there is any iron in your future refills.

After that... chlorine and algae levels are a side matter. Free/available chlorine is extra, unused, or "available-TO-be-used" chlorine. As your chlorine is "doing its job" "killing" all of that iron--similar to how it works on bacteria and algae--it is getting "used up" (turning into other molecules) and there won't be much (if any) left over to register on your little test strips or kill algae etc. unless you add megadoses or wait until all of the iron is pumped through.

And, one extra little tip... the only problem with staining we had was on some of the white parts of our swimming suits and from some of the iron sticking to suntan lotion and collecting on the ladder, floats, etc. So, swimming in the pool as the iron content diminishes might be a matter of taste according to how patient your family members are versus how fair skinned, picky/grossed out they are, or how new/old your bathing suits are!

Happy Swimming!
kamkuda
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Joined: Wed 16 Aug, 2006 14:56

Postby kamkuda » Mon 04 Sep, 2006 09:36

The pool magnet was the part that probably helped. It is a sequestering agent that surronds the iron to be filtered out. You usually can use a filter aid to then help remove the metals thru filtration.

If you have a sand filter, you should chemically clean the filter to remove an iron that may have been trapped in the sand.

Be careful when you are trying to remove metals and then adjust chlorine, pH or Total alkalinity as this can cause the metals to percipate out of solution. I believe the first pool store gave you the right the course of action to take.
Some of the other products that you added afterwards helped and some did not necessarily help solve your issue.
Check back with the first store on how to continually prevent this problem from occuring as you will be adding more water from the well through out the pool season.
Guest

Pool Water

Postby Guest » Tue 17 Jul, 2007 14:22

Try the product CONQUEST. We pull our water from our pond which then goes through a filtration system. Everytime I add chlorine or PH Plus because our PH is always low - if I don't add CONQUEST along w/it - our water is going to turn any where from a green to a rusty brown . . . . the CONQUEST will clear it up over night. I want to know how to get rid of it so, that every time I add clorine - I don't have to add the CONQUEST . . . . any ideas?
stevet99uk
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Postby stevet99uk » Thu 18 Oct, 2007 23:53

HAVE 2 INTERCONNECTED POOLS AND A JACUSSI ALL WORKING ON THE SAME PUMP. IN THE DRY SEASON HAVE TO TOP UP POOL WITH WELL WATER. THIS INSTANTLY TURNS BROWN WHEN IT MEETS THE CHLORINE.
I HAVE A SAND FILTER, I JUST USE THAT, 1 PASS AND ALL THE BROWN IS REMOVED AS THE WATER RETURNS TO THE SECOND POOL AND JACUZZI NICE AND CLEAN. NO EXTRA CHEMICALS NEEDED, JUST TIME TO FILTER ALL YOUR WATER, AND A FEW BACKWASHES TO THE FILTER.
FLOCULATS SPEED UP PROCESS, BUT THEN U HAVE TO VACUUM THE BOTTOM OF THE POOL ALSO.
Himadri

Re: Pool Water

Postby Himadri » Sat 12 Jan, 2008 04:25

Please add alum with chlorine....the brown-green color comes fron the chlorine acting on the iron. Alum settles the iron which can be cleaned after 2 days from the bottom. All u have to do is have patience for 2 days. :D
AUSPoolman

Re: Pool Water

Postby AUSPoolman » Sun 27 Jan, 2008 07:14

Himadri wrote:Please add alum with chlorine....the brown-green color comes fron the chlorine acting on the iron. Alum settles the iron which can be cleaned after 2 days from the bottom. All u have to do is have patience for 2 days. :D


Hi Himadri. Good advice however I must point out that Alum should be vacuumed to waste, as it's toxic. So now swimming during treatment too! Alum is great for dropping anything out of water.

For removing stains Bicarb Soda (baking soda) helps but slowly.

Some metal stains i.e. magnesium stains can be removed by using vitamin C (calcium abscorbate). It's expensive though, so best way is about 20 grams in a sock dabbed onto the stain directly. They will dissapear instantly with magnesium stains 8) .
AUSPoolman

Re: Pool Water

Postby AUSPoolman » Sun 27 Jan, 2008 07:18

Sorry, should read:
So no :roll: swimming during treatment :roll:
Guest

Orange water in pools from well water

Postby Guest » Sun 11 May, 2008 10:00

MAKE SURE YOUR PH IS STABLE FIRST!!!

Buy some FLOC , around $20! Put it in the water (16 oz per 15,000 gal) and let the filter run for a couple of hours to mix it. Turn off the filter overnight. DO NOT DISTURB THE WATER! The metals will settle on the bottom then "vacuum to waste" the bottom carefully as not to disturb the water... at least as little as possible). Make sure it is going "out" of the pool! After its vacuumed out... clean your filter "or replace it" and turn it back on.


If you do not have a filter that will vacuum "out" then use a water bed fill kit and a water hose. It is best to use a large aquarium cleaning vacuum hose with a wide mouth on it.

It takes a while but works great! The orange is gone... Crystal clear water! Good Luck!!
mschimno

Help ME! Brown Water from IRON~

Postby mschimno » Wed 17 Jun, 2009 12:02

I can help you!!! I too have had a pool store say that there is nothing you can do but keep filtering. That is partially true. The ONLY way to remove iron is to physically remove it - thus the filter. However, you can speed this process up SO MUCH with a product called "SPARKLE UP". It is a very lightweight powder that you mix with water and then pour slowly into your skimmer so that it goes in and coats the filter. The filter then removes the iron so much more efficiently. If you pool store doesn't carry this, find it!!!!! You will be amazed. The other thing we've found is that we need to add a metal chelator at least once per week to prevent this problem from recurring. Also, when you fill your pool next year, do the metal treatment and sparkle up for several days before adding ANY chlorine at all!!!! Good LUCK!!!! I've been exactly where you are with brown water, but my pool looks great this year. Oh, the metal remover that I prefer is called seaquea-sol by GLB.
wannaswim!

Help ME! Brown Water from IRON~

Postby wannaswim! » Wed 01 Jul, 2009 11:58

having same problems...although i do not have well water and my ph is on the lower side.

just cleaned my filter good and threw in a box of baking soda and more metal out
trying to get it cleaned before my 4th of july party!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


let ya know what happens!!!!!!
heatherh1972

Help ME! Brown Water from IRON~

Postby heatherh1972 » Mon 06 Jul, 2009 19:45

how much biogard sparkle up did you use?
chem geek
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2381
Joined: Thu 21 Jun, 2007 21:27
Location: San Rafael, California

Help ME! Brown Water from IRON~

Postby chem geek » Mon 06 Jul, 2009 20:04

BioGuard Sparkle Up as shown in this MSDS is cellulose. It will help remove physical particles from the water, especially if you have a sand filter since that normally does not filter as well (many clarifiers will do this). When they say it will remove metal, they are talking about SOLID metal particles, not metal ions. You still need to use a metal sequestrant to hold metal ions in solution to prevent them from staining. The only way to remove such metal ions is with dilution of water that does not contain them.

Dosages are listed on the label and are shown here.
iron out

Help ME! Brown Water from IRON~

Postby iron out » Sat 11 Jul, 2009 09:09

In Michigan our iron is wet and you can even smell it when the softner needs cycled.
We have a 4000 gal pool and all we do is add 'IRON OUT' which can be purchased at the local grocery store, Walmart, Menards, etc. Very easy to find and very cheap $4.32 for 1lb,14 oz. I Just walk around the outside of the pool and sprinkle estimated 14 oz. into the water. Don't breath the dust, sprinkle very close to the water surface. Disolve 1/2 cup in gallon of water and pour slowly in front of filter intake. Then wait for 1/2 hour and check the results. You will be amazed. We swim in it at that time. Chlorine seems not to effect the life and our water is always crystal clear with no 'iron slime' at the bottom. Change your filter often, We spray the paper cartridge with the garden hose and reuse it again and again.

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