New Water that's green??

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R

robertmee

Well-known member
Jun 26, 2015
385
Raleigh
Hey gang! This time last year with the help of TFP I had a crystal clear pool after a rough installation that included a mud slide. You may remember my dash to SLAM before our July 4th party with only a week to do so, but we did it! During the year, the concrete under a section of our pool collapsed, so the pool installer had to remove the liner, repair, and this week put in a new liner. Part of that install included delivery of 23,000 gallons of water by truck. The truck filled up at the local grocery store using their fire hydrant.

So, the water came in green and a little murky. Now we have full blown pollen season going on here, so I figured maybe enough pollen and **** had blown into the empty pool while installing the liner that turned the water greenish, and a SLAM was in order. I haven't put my salt or CYA into the pool yet, so for a test, I balanced my pH and TA (7.2 and 70), and added bleach for a FC of 10. I tested at 8:00pm last night and had a positive FC of 10 and a CC of maybe .5.

This morning, the water is clear as I can see the deep end drains, but not crystal clear. And it's still greenish. Also, there is a ring around the entire pool that looks like pollen to me. It easily brushes off and dissipates into a cloud. I ran another FC/CC and it is still 10 and 0! So by all accounts I would have passed a SLAM but obviously something isn't right.

Am I dealing with metals? This pool was filled from the exact same source last year and while I had to SLAM due to mud, I never had to add any sequestriants for metal.

Please help me experts. Attached are pictures of the deep end, and the film that's around the pool and on the hose to our cleaner.
20160330_073921_zpsj7yxori4.jpg

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That looks a LOT better than yesterday! Good news. While it is likely that the water composition is the same as ladt year you never really know for sure. Things change. I think it might be good to take a sample to the pool store and ask them to test for iron and might as well test copper while you are there. Then we'll know.
 
From a clarity standpoint, I think so too. But it is still greenish and all that (what I think anyway) pollen...

I think I'm going to add a skimmer sock and some DE...vacuum up some of the pollen too. Keep the FC around 10 today and start adding my CYA. See if the green tint gets any better. I'll try to get a sample to the store.

PS....I was hesitant to start a new thread, but my other thread was a kudo's thread to TFP and I didn't want a potential problem thread that others might learn from to get lost in the other thread. Hope that's ok.
 
I would add your CYA to 30 and leave it at SLAM level for a couple days while filtering the whole time and see how it looks.. I bet your right and there is gunk, pollen or whatever in the water and just needs filtered out and SLAM levels will not hurt anything :)
 
robertmee said:
From a clarity standpoint, I think so too. But it is still greenish and all that (what I think anyway) pollen...

I think I'm going to add a skimmer sock and some DE...vacuum up some of the pollen too. Keep the FC around 10 today and start adding my CYA. See if the green tint gets any better. I'll try to get a sample to the store.

PS....I was hesitant to start a new thread, but my other thread was a kudo's thread to TFP and I didn't want a potential problem thread that others might learn from to get lost in the other thread. Hope that's ok.
Click to expand...

Sure, no problem with starting a new thread. Your plan is good. Run your pump 24x7 at a low rpm, maybe 1200-1500. Let's see what happens.
 
Took samples to two pool stores. Both read 0 copper and .1 ppm of iron. So, I guess the good news is no metals to deal with. It is funny, that the Alkalinity read 37 to 65, hardness 0 to 150, pH 6.8 to 7.4. About the only number that matched was FC at 9 vs 10, although one store had CC at 1.26 and the other at 3.4!!, whereas I'd measured 0.5 last night and 0 this morning.

So, just going to treat as if organics, add my CYA to 30, keep my FC between 12 and 14, and see how it goes.
 
don't you just love going to pool store and see what crazy numbers they come up with :) and then the recommendation of 200 bucks of stuff to fix your good looking pool...

I wonder how many thousands of tests they have used that 1 25ml tester for :)
 
As Patrick_b said, you likely had iron in your pool. When you put in the chlorine, the iron precipitated out to yellowish particulates. Combined with the blue color of your water, green is the result.

You didn't test very high for metals because the iron has mostly precipitated. If that's the case, just ignore it and it will clear up in a day or so......keep running your pump[ 24/7

What is the source of your fill water?
 
duraleigh said:
As Patrick_b said, you likely had iron in your pool. When you put in the chlorine, the iron precipitated out to yellowish particulates. Combined with the blue color of your water, green is the result.

You didn't test very high for metals because the iron has mostly precipitated. If that's the case, just ignore it and it will clear up in a day or so......keep running your pump[ 24/7

What is the source of your fill water?
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Except it was green straight off the tanker truck. I didn't put chlorine in it until hours later. The source is City of Raleigh water from a fire hydrant at the corner of Tryon and Lake Wheeler rd where the truck fills up. For what it's worth, the trucker said they've been having this problem for the past two years because of high phosphates in the city water supply. I didn't say anything, but it does point to a water supply problem. He said most don't notice because in a glass it's crystal clear, which is true. My water samples were clear as a bell. But when you look through 8' of it, it's definitely greenish.
 

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jblizzle said:
There is no question that it is iron.
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Yep....Looks like indeed iron, based on what my Dolphin is picking up....The iron precipitate.

20160330_131055_zps8a1rekrz.jpg


- - - Updated - - -

So, the question now, is what to do? My current FC is around 12, CYA is dissolving for a 30, pH and TA balanced.

I could see some of this brown crud on the bottom, so I just vacuumed to waste the entire pool, dropped the level about a foot and refilling from my garden hose. When I did this last year for the mud event, it worked out well...Maybe I had iron too, but the clay mud compounded it, and my continuing to vacuum to waste got rid of the mud and the iron.

So, do I do the same, or go with a metal sequester?
 
A metal sequestrant is for when you have to live with excessive metal. Yours has precipitated out and should not be a concern.

Treat your pool as a normal pool and you should have good success.

1. I wouldn't vacuum to waste, but that's your call. Your sand filter should catch and flush everything just fine.

2. The "trucker" has no idea what he is talking about.....iron and phosphates are unrelated.

3. What is your fill source? Have you tested it?

4. Can you post a full set of test results?
 
duraleigh said:
A metal sequestrant is for when you have to live with excessive metal. Yours has precipitated out and should not be a concern.

Treat your pool as a normal pool and you should have good success.

1. I wouldn't vacuum to waste, but that's your call. Your sand filter should catch and flush everything just fine.

2. The "trucker" has no idea what he is talking about.....iron and phosphates are unrelated.

3. What is your fill source? Have you tested it?

4. Can you post a full set of test results?
Click to expand...

3. The fill source is a Hydrant at the local grocery store about a mile from my house. The water/trucking company has an agreement with whoever to use it. It's part of the City of Raleigh water system. I presume the origin of the water is Falls Lake.

4. My measurements using TFT kit.....FC = 12, CC = .5, TA = 60, CH = 75, CYA = 30 (Dissolve calculated level added roughly 7 lbs), pH = 7.2, Salt = 0 (won't add until I clear this up, new fill)
Pool store 1 measurements....FC = 9, CC 1.2, CYA = 0 (took sample before I added), pH = 7.4, CH = 0, TA = 37, Copper = 0, Iron = .1, Phosphate = 165, Salt = 164
Pool store 2 measurements....FC = 10, CC 3.4, CYA = 0, pH = 6.9, CH = 150, TA = 67, Copper = 0, Iron = No Test
 
Robert I remember you pool and work from last year. I want to say it is SO neat to hear you talking about your tests and working on your pool. You are doing great!

OUCH on the problems with your pool and liner! landslide BEHIND the liner????? I bet it took a while for you to figure out what your eyes were seeing!

Kim
 
kimkats said:
Robert I remember you pool and work from last year. I want to say it is SO neat to hear you talking about your tests and working on your pool. You are doing great!

OUCH on the problems with your pool and liner! landslide BEHIND the liner????? I bet it took a while for you to figure out what your eyes were seeing!

Kim
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Yes Kim, I remember your encouragements well!! It's kind of funny, I've been away in the offseason from the board due to travel for work, but I came here a couple of days ago to relay what the pool crew said about my pool: Compliments to TFP!!

Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the green water from the supply truck arrived and here I am again :)
 
3. The fill source is a Hydrant at the local grocery store about a mile from my house.
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Your everyday fill source, not the initial. Well water? City water?

Your test numbers are fine. I suggest you continue to vacuum and filter and run the pump 24/7 until your water is crystal clear.
 
duraleigh said:
Your everyday fill source, not the initial. Well water? City water?

Your test numbers are fine. I suggest you continue to vacuum and filter and run the pump 24/7 until your water is crystal clear.
Click to expand...

Community well water...we're in the county. I have a whole house carbon, cartridge and softener system, so our source water is pretty good.

I'm going to continue to vacuum to waste, and refill from our tap...That'll dilute it somewhat over time. Yesterday, I had to vacuum three times, as you could clearly see the iron 'dust' (a reddish brown dirt) collect on the seams at the bottom of the deep end, as well as on the steps. Today, it's much reduced and the water is only greenish in the deep end. I'll probably only have to vacuum the one time today (this morning), as I just checked it, and there's a couple of spots, but not as bad as yesterday. Beyond that, the water's crystal clear...can see the screws in the deep end drain (that's my marker for clarity). It doesn't help that our liner is brown/sand, so our water tends to have an aquamarine tint anyway.

In the meantime, I've been keeping FC at SLAM level...I figured that will continue to help precipitate the iron out? Probably tomorrow or the next day, I'll add my Salt, the rest of my CYA, let the FC start to drop and turn my SWG back on. That's assuming I continue to pass OCLT which I did last night.
 

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