Entire pool surface has changed Color

[Floridapoolguy34224]

I started service on this pool about 8 months ago and this pool for some reason that I can't figure out has been changing color.

When i first started service it was a dark gray pebble tec pool. Over a 3 week period the entire pool turned from dark gray to whiteish blue except for the deep end which seemed to have darkened. It seems to be some kind of film because on the pool tile you can scrape it off revealing the original color. In the picture of the tile you can see where I scraped some off. There is also a lot of this film floating in the pool and hanging off the tiles in the pool. It is also extremely hard to remove. I originally thought it was calcium but it has a smooth feel when you rub your hand across it. The white film stops right at the water line.

In all the years I serviced pools I have never seen this. I had the water tested at Leslie's and everything looked good. Any idea what this is and how to remove it?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

What test kit do you use to test pools?

Looks like scale to me.

Show us the water chemistry from your test kit, not Leslie, in the format…

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
SALT
WATER TEMPERATURE

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Any copper products in use? PoolRX?

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

Welcome to TFP.

What test kit do you use to test pools?

Looks like scale to me.

Show us the water chemistry from your test kit, not Leslie, in the format…

FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA
SALT
WATER TEMPERATURE

Pool Care Basics Archives

Your one-stop shop for all things TFP to include: ABCs of Water Chemistry, Recommended Chemicals/Levels, Test Kits, Troubleshooting, and much more!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

Fc-7
Tc-7
Ph 7.3
Ta-90
Calcium-270
Cya-75
Salt-0
Copper-0
Water temp-83 degrees

Thank you for the reply but I dont think its scale because it is smooth to the touch and it comes off in pieces and floats in the water and looks like a film. My water chemistry is pretty good so i dont think this is a commom water chemistry problem. Ive never seen this and i have service over 300 different pools. Customer does have plants that dangle into the pool maybe that could cause this some how?

 

[Mdragger88]

Possibly white water mold? Usually looks kinda like tissue paper. Easily remedied with the SLAM Process & proper sanitation.
That fc of 7 is very close to minimum for the cya of 80 (75 counts as 80)
Perhaps they have fallen below minimum at some point? This is fairly easy to do if using tabs for chlorination.
It’s time for this pool to go on the liquid chlorine diet..
FC/CYA Levels

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

Any copper products in use? PoolRX?

No copper or pool rx. Copper tested at zero as well. i thought about trying a pool rx to treat this because im thinking maybe it is some kind of rare form of algae. Idk.

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

Possibly white water mold? Usually looks kinda like tissue paper. Easily remedied with the SLAM Process & proper sanitation.
That fc of 7 is very close to minimum for the cya of 80 (75 counts as 80)
Perhaps they have fallen below minimum at some point? This is fairly easy to do if using tabs for chlorination.
It’s time for this pool to go on the liquid chlorine diet..
FC/CYA Levels
View attachment 527849

Thank you for the response. Doesnt white water mold float on the top of the water? Ive never seen white water mold cover an entire pools pebble tec and tile like this. Liquid chlorine will not last a full week here in south florida till the next service so i have to use tabs.

Tbh back when i serviced pools in California i had many pools with a cya as high as 200-300 cya with no issues. At a certain point you do not have to continue to increase the chlorine to match the cya. I know this isnt what most people say on here but i worked for three different good sized pool companies in California and they all would let cya get as high as 400 and only do a partial drain if the pool was having any algae issues.

 

[JamesW]

It looks like copper stains.

They might have used copper algaecides.

Get a stain ID kit to see what that shows.

Stain ID Kit | Jacks Magic

jacksmagic.com

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

It looks like copper stains.

They might have used copper algaecides.

Get a stain ID kit to see what that shows.

Stain ID Kit | Jacks Magic

jacksmagic.com

Hi James if you read through the post and thread you would know that these are not copper stains. This is a film that is covering almost the entire pool. Can you please explain your reasoning on why you think its copper stains?

 

[JamesW]

Hi James if you read through the post and thread you would know that these are not copper stains.

I don't know that and neither do you.

Can you please explain your reasoning on why you think its copper stains?

It looks like copper.

You do not know everything that has been added.

Can you show the system?

If they have a cartridge filter, pull the cartridges to see if they have any turquoise color.

A 0 for a copper test does not mean that it is not copper.

Copper tests are not reliable and they test only test for copper in the water.

If all of the copper is in the stains, then there might be zero or very low copper in the water.

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

Thanks for the help so far guys!

 

[Newdude]

You do not know everything that has been added.

+1. I can attest that customers lie regularly. Especially when they have a 'person for that' and DIY because they feel bad for not hiring them again. Or they're ashamed they screwed up and don't want a lecture. Or Mrs doesn't know what Mr did on the sneak. Or they had someone watch their pool on vacations and the well meaning neighbor took it upon themselves to help.

I'm not saying it is or isn't, but I learned to take every morsel of info from a customer with a 40lb bag of salt.

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

I don't know that and neither do you.

It looks like copper.

You do not know everything that has been added.

Can you show the system?

If they have a cartridge filter, pull the cartridges to see if they have any turquoise color.

A 0 for a copper test does not mean that it is not copper.

Copper tests are not reliable and they test only test for copper in the water.

If all of the copper is in the stains, then there might be zero or very low copper in the water.

This is a whiteish film that covers the entire pool and comes off in pieces that look like tissue paper. It is also smooth to the touch.

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

This is a whiteish film that covers the entire pool and comes off in pieces that look like tissue paper. It is also smooth to the touch. Does that really sound like a copper stain to you?

I'm guessing that you think the black spots are the stains but that is actually the color of the pool. The whiteish blue on the entire pool is what I'm trying to diagnose. The pool is supposed to be a dark grey pool.

 

[JamesW]

Over a 3 week period the entire pool turned from dark gray to whiteish blue except for the deep end which seemed to have darkened.

The darkened parts looks like copper.

You might also have some other issues with the white film.

I do not know what the white film is.

Maybe scale or some type of mold.

What happens when you brush the pool?

Has phosphate remover been used?

Can you show the system?

If they have a cartridge or DE filter, pull the cartridges and show what they look like.

If they have a sand filter, what does the effluent look like during backwash?

I had the water tested at Leslie's and everything looked good.

Why are you having Leslie's test the water?

What test kit do you use?

 

[Floridapoolguy34224]

The darkened parts looks like copper.

You might also have some other issues with the white film.

I do not know what the white film is.

Maybe scale or some type of mold.

What happens when you brush the pool?

Has phosphate remover been used?

Can you show the system?

If they have a cartridge or DE filter, pull the cartridges and show what they look like.

If they have a sand filter, what does the effluent look like?


Why are you having Leslie's test the water?

What test kit do you use?

They have a cartridge filter with no staining on filter. The darkened part is the color of the pool. Brushing will not remove the film. This has nothing to do with my testkit I am using. No phosphate remover used . Tested at Leslie's because this was a unique issue and wanted to compare the test result against mine. Are test result were very similar and does not seem to be a basic water chemistry issue.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

...except for the deep end which seemed to have darkened

This statement from your original post is why we are keying in on a potential copper issue. 

 

[JamesW]

Over a 3 week period the entire pool turned from dark gray to whiteish blue except for the deep end which seemed to have darkened.

The darkened part is the color of the pool.

You said that the deep end darkened.

Is this accurate or not?

It might be scale, which might be calcium carbonate or maybe calcium phosphate.

Did you test for phosphates?

Can you show the system?

Is the pool SWG or tabs?

Can you show a sample of the white film stuff?

Put a drop of acid on the sample to see if it bubbles up, which would indicate calcium carbonate.

Put 1 gram of the white material into 4 liters of distilled water and allow the stuff to dissolve and then test the water for calcium and alkalinity.

If it is calcium carbonate, then the TA and calcium will be about 250 ppm for each.

 

[JamesW]

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