Green water

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harleygalsoftail1

Green water

Postby harleygalsoftail1 » Sat 30 May, 2009 00:05

Hi , We have a 16ft above ground pool. This year we decided to use the salt water system. We dumped 80 pounds of salt in and of course when we tried to start the system it didn't work. :( So while waiting for another system to arrive we where told by someone with Intex that it would be ok to put in sanitizer but we would have to resalt when we started the new system. Our pool water was perfectly clean and clear. Within seconds of putting the sanitizer in,the water turned green and kept getting greener. What would cause this to happen so quickly. We took a sample to the pool store and they couldn't tell us. Would you have any ideas why?
Thank you, Jackie


Denali
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Green water

Postby Denali » Sat 30 May, 2009 00:37

harleygalsoftail1 wrote:Hi , We have a 16ft above ground pool. This year we decided to use the salt water system. We dumped 80 pounds of salt in and of course when we tried to start the system it didn't work. :( So while waiting for another system to arrive we where told by someone with Intex that it would be ok to put in sanitizer but we would have to resalt when we started the new system. Our pool water was perfectly clean and clear. Within seconds of putting the sanitizer in,the water turned green and kept getting greener. What would cause this to happen so quickly. We took a sample to the pool store and they couldn't tell us. Would you have any ideas why?
Thank you, Jackie



Hi,

Normally when you get that type of reaction you have metals in your water. Get the water tested for copper and iron. I would also get your fill water tested to see what levels of metals it contains. Are you filling with well water by any chance?

If it is metals in your water then you'll need to use a metal sequesterant to clear it and prevent staining.

Hope this helps.
harleygalsoftail
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My Pool: Our pool is a 16 foot above ground. We had decided to use a salt chorintator this year. We put in the 80 pounds of salt and after 24 hour went to start the the system sand of course it doesn't work. While waiting for the new system to arrive , I was told by someone at Intex that I could put sanitizer in the water but would have to add more salt when system did arrive. Before putting the sanitizer in the water was perfectly clear. Within seconds of putting in the 8 teaspoons of sanitizer the water turned green and kept getting darker. What would cause this and what can we do to fix. Why would this make such a sudden change in the water. Our local pool store had no idea. PLEASE HELP :)
Location: virginia

Green water

Postby harleygalsoftail » Sat 30 May, 2009 09:19

Thank you for responding. My husband is going by this morning to get something for metal. When we took the water sample to the pool store, it showed ok for copper and something eles. However, the filter will be dark ,dark brown . The paper did say the water was corosive. Not sure what that means. Would that explain the brown filter? There are aslo little piles of brown stuff gatherd in spots on the bottom. Even after vacumeing the pool within just a short time they will come back. We have got the water back to a tint of green from trying different things. If you have any information on this please let me know and thanks so much for your help!
Jackie
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Green water

Postby Me... » Sat 30 May, 2009 09:49

Denali is probably right in that is was oxidation of a metal and a sequestering agent will be needed in that case. As for re adding salt, you add salt just like any chemical, as needed. Test the salt in the water and only add if you need to bump the level up. Not enough salt will burn your cell out prematurely and too much salt will cause it to overproduce for one. Years ago they were looking for numbers like 6000 ppm salt. They found that salinity level really promoted conductivity in the water.
Denali
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Green water

Postby Denali » Sat 30 May, 2009 19:59

harleygalsoftail wrote:Thank you for responding. My husband is going by this morning to get something for metal. When we took the water sample to the pool store, it showed ok for copper and something eles. However, the filter will be dark ,dark brown . The paper did say the water was corosive. Not sure what that means. Would that explain the brown filter? There are aslo little piles of brown stuff gatherd in spots on the bottom. Even after vacumeing the pool within just a short time they will come back. We have got the water back to a tint of green from trying different things. If you have any information on this please let me know and thanks so much for your help!
Jackie


Hi,

You said it showed OK for copper and something else. Do you know what the something else is? Brown in the filter would indicate iron to me. Are you are well water?

If you have the paper the pool store gave you, let us know the numbers they gave you. The corrosive comment may be the Saturation index reading. Corrosive water has the potential to dissolve metals and cause problems.

This is not an uncommon problem. Fill water is often high in iron or other metals. The trick is to treat for it before beginning chlorine treatments. That is why it's important to test your fill water so you know what you're dealing with out of the tap. I asked about well water because that tends to be loaded with metals and you need to know exactly what so you can deal with it.

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