06/04/2026
A behind the scenes post. What an experience this has been 🫠 We converted to salt water this year, for many reasons, but really I just prefer a salt water pool for myself and the dogs. We also filled the pool with our well, well wouldn’t you know that salt water and wells don’t get along 😑 every time I feel like I learn something boom the pool says “what about now!?”
Memorial Day weekend we were out of town for two days. TWO days. We left with a decently blue pool and came home to a tan pool. Google told me liquid chlorine would be appropriate to fix it quickly, nope it turned brown brown 😑. I checked the water chemistry and it was pretty balanced so why the heck is it brown. Iron and salt are evil.
Filling the water with the well has introduced metals and now I have to get them out and rebalance the entire pool. So starting Monday morning I have broken my back to get this pool back to good. I went to 3 pool stores with no real answers on what to do. I’ve called pool boys and they don’t come out here. I called our salt cell manufacture to be told “you’ll figure out your sweet spot”😳. So then I had long conversations with chappy but guess what it sure has me on the right page, so there’s that. Countless trips to the stores and overnight online orders. Countless hours at the pool every single day. Add on 3 downpours to make things interesting. I’ve had to put our 26 foot ladder across the middle so I could really clean the middle and that was huge. Totally cleaned the sand filters. Backwashed more than I can count. Done numerous experiments with water in cups then adding different chemicals just to see what happens. Bought an instant water chemistry reader that wasn’t cheap but seems to be working well. Have done some TikTok hacks that are also working well. All to wake up and hope the pool is still clean.
I woke up at 5 am this morning to do a little bit of final research on what to do with it today and order a few more things. Well I’m happy to say it’s freakin crystal clear. There are still things I want to clean but I don’t want to risk it before the show this weekend. So it’ll wait till Monday. But I’m pretty happy with where it is! Do I have a solid idea of what to do every day / every week to keep it this way? Nope because even the pool sores didn’t know.
I have so many things working against me out here. Well water. Direct sun all day. DIRT. Wind. Dogs. Water that evaporates like its job. An aluminum ramp. So then we’re back to adding well water. And no pool experience to this size. But I’ll keep grinding and keep learning. It’s been mentally exhausting spending all the hours researching and making sure not to put in any chemical in the wrong order or else you get a brown pool, the physical labor I don’t mind one bit since I get to be out in the sun ☀️ Is there an easier way, sure! Make it a chlorine pool with purified water and have a bunch of grass around the pool or hey put it indoors ha, but somehow I always do things the hard way.
It wasn’t quick, easy or cheap. It’s not permanent and that’s what’s frustrating. But I sure hope to keep learning how to keep it this way with it being a salt water pool on a well. Knowing what to add and when vs guessing what to do. And doing it on my own 💪🏼 So, please come swim your dogs ha. Enjoy the pool while you can during our short Colorado season! 🌊🏝️
If anyone has any experience they’d like to share I’m all ears! Contemplating putting water filtration system on the well head by the pool just to avoid that part of the equation. Getting a solar cover on will help with the evaporation, it’s on its way! Some turf all around the pool too, just need some more time now!
NADD events always have room for day of show entry - https://app.northamericadivingdogs.com/public/facility/1d3e2584-4320-4372-aa90-ba39fe024b1e
Pool lessons / rentals - https://readyfreddydogsports.as.me/
