Newbie here: Pool water color dark and stains

[TFPmoiz]

Hi guys

I am a new pool owner who has been following the threads. I moved into this house couple of months ago. I have couple of questions if someone can help me out.

1) Is my pool water color too dark or is it just the shade coming from the ground that makes it appear too 'dark'. During the night with pool lights on, you can see the floor easily but during the day, this is the shade. I was just wondering if I am missing something? Image

2) I am seeing a lot of these white stain buildups. Is this calcium deposit or something else? What would be the best way to clean it up? Stain 1 Stain 2

These are my most recent test results from TF Test kit:

FC: 3.5, CC: 0.5, pH: 7.8 (or 8), TA: 110, CH: 325, CYA: 90, Temp (from intellitouch system so no idea of accuracy): 87, CSI: 0.49

My CYA got high as pool company once recommended I had low CYA and had to put more stabilizer in and using tablets. I have now moved to liquid chlorine to prevent CYA from getting higher. Adding chlorine basically daily (~0.5g or so).

Thanks for your help

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
Please post your pictures to the forum instead of a third party site.
I suggest you read through Pool Care Basics - Trouble Free Pool and even look at a few of our videos TFP-TV - Trouble Free Pool

 

[TimZ]

1. From what I can tell it looks like you have a colored plaster or pebble surface. Depending on the color, it makes the water look darker. You can see some of the different effects here Pool Finish and Color Viewing Room...PICTURES & details only please

2. Those look to be efflorescence from the masonry. See Efflorescence - Further Reading

Read through the pool school links. Your CYA is higher than recommended, and at this CYA you will need more chlorine.

 

[TFPmoiz]

Thanks @TimZ for your response. I think its pebble surface but too bad I dont know what exactly it is. At least it is working as intended so I am relieved.

My CYA is high and I have been wanting to naturally lower it with weekly addition of evaporated water - its 100+ every day so I need to fill in around 3-4 inches per week. I was hoping to avoid draining considering the water situation in my area but maybe need to rip the band aid quickly and use the water for landscaping.

@mknauss Thanks for the links. I have reviewed pool school instructions. I tried uploading in the forum but it gave an error of file size.

 

[JamesW]

The water does look dark, but that might be due to dark plaster or just the lighting etc.

Can you show the whole system?

The scale near the scupper style fountains is probably just scale from calcium carbonate and other TDS as the water dries.

The scale near the sheer descent is probably efflorescence, which is water coming from behind the wall through the grout.

This might be due to a leak in the plumbing going to the sheer descent.

Efflorescence typically originates at the grout lines because that is where the water can get through.

Scale that is widely spread without originating at the grout lines is usually just from the water drying and leaving scale.

You can also have a combination of drying scale as well as efflorescence.

 

[TFPmoiz]

Thanks for your response.

Do I need to get a leak checked or would the leak like this be part of life and no action is required? I am reading about Efflorescence and how to remove it. I think pressure wash should remove it.

Attached are more pics of the pool and equipment.

 

[JamesW]

Do I need to get a leak checked or would the leak like this be part of life and no action is required?

I suspect that the plumbing to the sheer is probably dripping, which is not a big deal now, but it might get worse.

There is no easy way to pressure test a sheer because you cannot plug the sheer.

You would probably need to cut into the wall from the front or back to see if you can find a drip.

It's really up to you if you want to cut into the wall and see what's going on.

I am reading about Efflorescence and how to remove it. I think pressure wash should remove it.

Pressure washing is probably not the best choice.

You can try some acid or some type of non-abrasive media blasting.

The plaster surface is difficult to see with the wind on the water surface.

If you can get some pictures while the wind is calm, that would help.

The plaster might have originally been dark or it might have some stains like copper stains, but that is difficult to tell one way or the other.

Is the plaster one even color of different colors?

Do you know the original color of the plaster?

Copper might be coming from the heater if the tab feeder is backflowing chlorine into the heater.

It looks like you have a check valve, but it might not be working correctly.

 

[JamesW]

Can you remove the filter cartridges and show them before and after cleaning?

 

[TFPmoiz]

I can post more pictures later in the evening when the sun is not directly above head. Also 1 at night where it is easier to see the floor. Unfortunately I do not know the color of the plaster. I think its 2 color - one at the shallow end looks different from the main pool (although it can just be the way light reflects at shallow depth).

When I moved in, I did have to deal with algae issue and did dunk in quite a bit of algaecide in the pool - maybe around 2-2.5 quarts over a 7 day period. If it is copper, then could that have an effect? Incoming pics would help.

I replaced the filters on 7/5 with brand new ones after I got algae under control.

 

[JamesW]

I replaced the filters on 7/5 with brand new ones after I got algae under control.

Was there any blue color?

dunk in quite a bit of algaecide in the pool - maybe around 2-2.5 quarts over a 7 day period. If it is copper, then could that have an effect?

Was the algaecide blue?

 

[TFPmoiz]

Here are some better pictures without the pump on. First few are in sunlight and last ones are at night with pool light on.

Ill try an acid to remove the scaling. Thanks for the suggestion. There are some stains on the bottom also - most likely calcium (see zoomed in image).

The filters were green-ish in color during initial clean and during removal. the algaecide was Suncoast All In One Algaecide which says it is non metallic

I can clean the filter tomorrow and take pictures of the filter if you think that would help.

Thanks for your help and time @JamesW

 

[JamesW]

Be careful with acid because it can damage certain materials.

Try a diluted solution and use on a test spot before using it everywhere.

Do you have any spare tiles that you can use?

The plaster does not look too bad, but it is hard to tell for sure.

It might just be naturally dark.

Green in the filter is usually algae.

Copper is usually turquoise color.

 

[TFPmoiz]

Thanks for your reassurance.

I'm thinking about doing partial drain which should help with CYA, TDS and maybe even copper if it is there.

For scaling, think I might wait a few months or even a year before attempting anything so I can get a handle of things more fully and have better idea of how much scaling/leaking is there.

Appreciate your time and your insights!

 

[JamesW]

Is this a cell cleaning stand?

If yes, did the system have a SWG?

 

[TFPmoiz]

Yes. Per my understanding, this pool used to have a SWG and the previous owner removed it after freeze couple of years ago and moved to chlorine.

The ScreenLogic software also gives an error 'pH/ORP: Communication Lost' which I think is the SWG controller error.

 

[JamesW]

Disable the chlorinator and the Sense and Dispense.

I would recommend that you switch back to a SWG as it should only take buying a T-cell 15.

 

[TFPmoiz]

So do I just need a salt cell to move it back to SWG (so around ~900+install cost or time if DIY). I assume I would need a Pentair equivalent of T-cell 15?

 

[JamesW]

So do I just need a salt cell to move it back to SWG (so around ~900+install cost or time if DIY). I assume I would need a Pentair equivalent of T-cell 15?

I was thinking Hayward, so ignore that.

Did you have an IntelliChlor cell?

What happened to the power supply for the SWG?

Is the power supply in the IntelliTouch box?

 

[TFPmoiz]

It used to have IntelliChlor as I was able to find a manual for that in the docs the guy had left behind. I did not see any broken hardware though.

In the EasyTrouch box, I do see a circuit breaker for IntelliChlor in the panel.

 

[JamesW]

You would need to open the box to look for the transformer and the control board.