What did I get myself into

[Moon_man99]

Hello all and thank you for the information in advance. Long story short, bought intex pool, did a darn good job putting it up, was all excited. Had water trucked in 6000 gal which took about 1/2 hour or so. Everything was looking good. needed to top off the pool (about 3000 gal) filled with garden hose (well fed) Turned off/bi-passed my water softener took quite a few hours 6+. next morning there is a bit of a tan-ish color to the water . put a chlorine tab (3") in the float and let it go, by next day.....GREEN.

Oh man, now I have algae I have to deal with (so I thought). Thought to myself "they make stuff for that, I'm on it." put some algegaside in there....next day, nope that didn't help still a crystal clear green. OK maybe I should take this to the pool people and see what they have to say. Head to local (30 min drive) Leslie's. They test the water...hardness low, chlorine a little high, stabilizer low. Mention how the water looked and said why don't we test metals being it was filled with well water......tested Iron and Copper. Iron .3ppm, Copper 1ppm. You got too much copper, put 1/2 bottle of metal free in the pool, that will clear it up, run the filter 24/7 (was a cartridge filter at this point).

Next day same results, took water in (1 hour round trip drive AGAIN) and tested. iron .1ppm copper .6ppm, making progress. Told to add other half bottle let it go over night and should be good. Next day same results, drove BACK AGAIN, different person at counter, iron not registering, copper between .3 and .6 (visual water color test). Told to go add more Metal Free. Buy another bottle and off I go. add the 1/2 bottle go to bed. next day same results.

OK well maybe someone at a different place will tell me something different, stop on way home from work and they said bring in the water and we can test it and get you going.....run home turn around and go back (before they close) only a 15 min drive this time. They test my water using a little disk deal that goes into a spinner and the computer tells them what the measurement are. little Iron, 1ppm copper. WTFrick, how did more copper get into the pool? Just running a filter, have added no other chemicals at this point just the metal free.

The new pool place didn't like how everything else was looking (Chlorine in particular) so they had me add 2 lbs of shock. Added 2 lbs of shock ran filter all night, next day still green. Back to pool place had test water again 1.1ppm copper its going up?!? UGH. Chlorine was still high because of shock, that has to come down before adding more Metal Free. That night (last night) my Intex 3000gph sand filter showed up WOOHOO:lol:. Filled that bad boy with 121lbs of sand and ran it all night. Chlorine still high first thing this morning and still green of course. Tonight when i got home from work, chlorine back down to under 2 but still green, so I could put metal free in it again. So 1/2 bottle in and filter running, and here I sit wondering WHAT DO I DO NEXT?

This would be where you all come in. What should be my next course of action. I chalk 90% of my issue to being inexperienced.....should have tested water first before I did any chemical treatments, but I have now made my bed and am laying in it. My big concern is staining my pool. I am just wondering when I need to possibly pull the plug (literally) and get some new water, or is this manageable with the right help and assistance. More metal free? CuLator? Should I try something similar but different brand. Jacks Magic gets good reviews, maybe its better. Would a clarifier help? (although that word seems like the devil on here), or am i just SOL? I do believe I will be getting a TF-100 they seem all the rage and necessity. (currently using clorox pool strips) THANKS ALL!

 

[Griswald]

How much did all of these "magic" pool store potions cost you?

$70 gets you a really good test kit so that you can tell EXACTLY what is in your pool water and EXACTLY what to do to fix it.

 

[Moon_man99]

I am $60 into just THOSE chemicals so far. I will agree that a good test kit will save me in the long run and is going on order tonight. I know my Copper is an issue, I just don't know what to do about it.

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!

Metals stay in the water, so you have to use a sequestrant to keep them from staining. Take a look at: Dealing with Metals in your Water

 

[DebbieO]

You won't regret getting the TF100. Best investment I ever made concerning my pool. Grab the Speedstir also if that is doable for you. Makes testing fast, easy and fun!

 

[C3Cl3N3O3]

I have a recent thread going on my battles with metals here. Know that they are difficult to test for and the basic kits being recommended here don't include the copper or iron test reagents. My guess is your issue is just algae. So yeah get a kit. You can come back around to managing the metals once the water is clear (if it's even needed at that point).

 

[Moon_man99]

Seems like an uphill battle.

Hello all. Very new to the TFP method/world. I have been fighting a green tint to my water since almost day one. Long story short, I have copper in the water. Pool store tested it between .6 - 1 ppm have added (not all at once) 2 bottles 67.9 0z of Metal free, no color change. Shocked (was no chlorine in pool) started again added 1 bottle of Jacks Magic (blue) and vacuumed. Color now a blue green, but from afar still looks green. It is a clear green, not an algae murky green. Got tired of going to pool store and got me a TF-100 with mixer and Copper test. Here are my results as it stands:

FC 1.5
CC .5
CYA 80
CH 75
TA 120
pH 7.2
Copper .5ish


I really want to get rid of the green, but know i need to get everything right in the world first. I just am not sure where to go from here. I feel like I need to dump and start from scratch, but that seems like such a waste....

Where do I start? How do I add what I need? All at once, one at a time. Do you wait 1 hour, 4 hours 24 hours?

Go easy on me I am a Noob.

 

[Texas Splash]

You have a couple immediate concerns right now.... obviously an elevated copper content in the water. Also, your CYA is elevated and your FC is nowhere near high enough to prevent algae. Problem is the higher your FC, the more color reaction you'll see with the copper. I have to ask ... do you know for sure the copper came from the well? Copper is not the most common ground-water mineral, and usually we see it introduced via pool store chemicals (i.e. algaecides). So we'd like to know to help advise you.

As you may know, the only way to remove metals is water exchange. From there, it's a matter of pre-filtering anything large enough to be filtered the using sequestrant and a lower pH & FC to help prevent the reaction in the water. Both of which you are currently doing. Curious to know about the copper source though.

 

[duraleigh]

Do you fill from a well?

Let us know that and meantime, you need more chlorine in there. Dose your chlorine up to around 4 ppm while we sort this out.

 

[duraleigh]

Re: Seems like an uphill battle.

Oops! I overlooked your well. Like Texas Splash, I question that copper came from your well. What does come from a well and shows the characteristics you are seeing is iron.

Did the pool turn green almost immediately upon addition of chlorine?

 

[Moon_man99]

I did use an algaecide at an early stage of startup (newbie mistake). Here is how everything went down. Put up pool. Filled first few inches with hose (well softener on) to get wrinkles out of liner. Had water delivered (6000 gal). Everything looked great. Filled rest off well. THIS MAY BE WHERE I SCREWED UP...I turned off/bypassed my water softener to fill the pool the rest of the way. Once done it had a "TINT" to it cant remember color. Put a tablet of chlorine into it. PRESTO CHANGO it's now green. Not knowing any better, I put in Algaecide (clorox brand) to battle the green what i thought was algae. Here I am today with 2 bottle of metal free and 1 bottle of Jack's magic, my pool is still green and I haven't been able to use it since I put the thing coming up on 2 weeks tomorrow (AND FORCAST TO BE IN THE 100s.) About to cut the losses, drain it off and have another 6000 gal added. ON A SIDE NOTE. I did test my tap water at pool store and at home with the Taylor copper test and i do have some copper in the water but only about .2 ppm no where near the 1ppm I was seeing in the pool water test. (I have lousy well water I know this)

 

[Texas Splash]

You might have a buffet of metals in the water (iron and/or copper). The well certainly produced some (iron or copper), and so did the algaecides (copper). No doubt as soon as you increased the FC with those chlorine tablets it confirmed your metal content. This is one of those stinky spots where you know the only way to eliminate metals from the equation is to drain and replace the water. It's a shame because you had that one truck delivered already. If you attempt to maintain what you have, there's no way of knowing how well the sequestrant will work based on the metals content. Your CYA is a bit high for a non-SWG pool, so it demands a higher FC level to compensate for the manual additions of bleach which I fear will accentuate the color changes with the metal. FYI - We generally hope to see copper under .3 and iron under .4. Anything over those numbers and it becomes a real bear to manage.

 

[Moon_man99]

Ugh, not the answer I wanted to hear, but I fear it might have been my only option. Has anyone tried or recommend recycling the water through a filter? Run submersible pump to a hose to a prefilter back to the pool? Should I drain the whole thing, or just the 6K i can get delivered? Just looking at some of my options. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Texas Splash]

Pre-filtering has helped some pool owns who battle iron, but I'm not so sure about copper. Any water exchange is better than none though, so 6K should help for sure. I was actually surprised earlier when you said you had 6K trucked-in and only filled the last 3-4K with the well, but then the algaecides probably didn't help either. But along with the water exchange to lower metals, the good thing is it will also lower CYA as well which in-turn should allow you to maintain a slightly lower FC target which is good in a metals pool.

 

[duraleigh]

A bit of a guess, but I believe the green is from iron, not copper. If so, it will gradually lessen and go away.

Keep your FC at acceptable levels and do not add it in big doses but rather in small increments of 1-2 ppm. Run the pump 24/7 until it clears.

Your best hope is to start running your refill water through that softener so you never have the metal in your pool in the first place.

Your next step is to stop being at the mercy of others and start doing your own accurate testing. Stop letting Pool Stores manage your pool and start taking care of it yourself. You'll get the help you need on this forum.