Water badly discolored

[Neo337]

Just started to open the pool yesterday. It was a little dirty on the bottom, but water was clear. So I filled it up, got the pump started, and vacuumed out the dirt. I had to leave for my son’s soccer game, so I put some shock in it until I could check everything. A couple hours later we got home and the pool was a brownish yellow color. You can still see through it, it’s not cloudy or green, and I am not sure what caused it. Here are the results when I tested everything:
FC - 12
CC - .5
pH - 6.6
TA - 30
CH - 60
CYA - 40
What could have caused the discoloration? I believed it might just be algae, but the FC would start dropping I thought. I tested again this morning after balancing a few things and here are the numbers:
FC - 12
CC - .5
pH - 7.2
TA - 60
CH - 60
CYA - 40
Our neighbor has several pecan trees that are dropping tons of crud in our yard and pool, and I was wondering if all those pollen strands could cause it? I attached a couple of pictures, one of the pool and one of the mound of pollen we have to continually remove. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[Texas Splash]

A couple hours later we got home and the pool was a brownish yellow color.

Iron, that would be my guess. If you're not on a well, then your local supply must have a good amount of iron in it. You should see our Stains in Your Pool - Trouble Free Pool page.

 

[Neo337]

Ok, so I have been doing the SLAM for a few days and the pool is changing slightly, water is very clear, but still discolored. I looked into it and I believe it is all the pollen (we have a ton). So would some DE in the filter take the pollen and discoloration out of the water?

 

[Bob_Funk]

If your water is still very dirty DE in your filter will almost instantly run the pressure up & you will just have to backwash it out.

I have great results using skimmer socks to keep the pollen & cottonwood out of the filter, you will be surprised how often you will have to rinse them out.

 

[JoeSelf]

Plus 1 on the skimmer socks or hairnets ( search the site). I'm having to change twice a day with filter running 24/7 until OCLT.

 

[JamesW]

I think that it's probably iron. I think that if you added ascorbic acid, the pool would clear instantly.

 

[Neo337]

I will check again when I get home. I have been losing very little FC, and almost 0 overnight. I put DE in last night and checked this morning and it was better, but still discolored. The water is very clear and loses very little FC each day. I am going to keep SLAMing it and using the DE. If it has not cleared up in the next few days, I will try ascorbic acid. I just am unsure if it is iron, because we didn't have this issue last year. Thanks for the help!

 

[Texas Splash]

I just am unsure if it is iron, because we didn't have this issue last year.

Keep a close eye on anything that may begin to discolor like white steps, trim, the skimmer, etc. Odd staining too. If you see something that does, apply some crushed vitamin C tablets in a thin sock or nylon on the area. If it gets white again, it's iron.

 

[Neo337]

Awesome, thanks for all the help. The pool looks much better now after using the DE, but still has a slight discoloration which I think is now due to stains on the liner. We bought this house last year and it had a very old, stained liner that always made the water not look its best, but not as bad as it was. I will try the chlorine tabs and vitamin C to try and see what kind of stain it is and fix what I can. We are planning on a new liner next summer.