green water when I filled the pool.

[lettesgo]

I have an Intex 16x48 ultra frame pool and filled it up last weekend. Our water had a slightly green tint that worsened when we added chlorine. I took a water sample to the pool store and thet informed me it was a metal. I was sold Bioguard pool magnet and some powder to coat my filter with to catch the metal. I followed the directions for the next 24 hours and the pool cleared up almost pretty good.

I felt it still looked slightly discolored, but they said it wasn't and was safe to swim. YEAH!!! After a day in the pool, I did a check on my chemicals and noticed by chlorine level was barely registering. I thought this was odd because before taking a water sample in to the pool store, I had shocked the pool twice and loaded it with chlorine in an attempt to rid the pool of the green color, which I thought might be algae. When they tested it, the chlorine levels were very high and we had to stay out for a couple of days for it to come down.

Now, after only 3 days, the chlorine was barely registering. So, I added a chlorine tab. The next day, the chlorine test showed no chlorine. I then added two chlorine tabs. This morning, still no chlorine. Again, I take a sample in to be tested and was told I now have a chlorine demand. Something was attaching chemically to the chlorine. So...I was sold 7 bags of Burn out 35, which I have been administering all afternoon. And guess what! My pool is back to that lovely clear green color again.

After some research, on the dreaded internet of course, I found where some people get a chlorine demand from metal removers. Iron OUt was one that had such complaints. I think I am having the same problem. Each time I go in, the pool store is selling me 50-70 dollars worth of chemicals and I seem to be flipping back and forth.

I also read that HTH metal control does not interact with chemicals like many metal products. Does anybody have any suggestions please! At this rate, considering the chemicals bought when the pool first went up, I am going to go broke before getting my water right LOL! Any help would be greatly appreciated by me and my 7 yr old who has spent more time looking at the pool than in it !

 

[Richard320]

Welcome!

Well, for starters, you're going to have to get used to feeding that pool every day, just like a kid.
Also accept that the pool store stays in business by selling chemicals. That free testing isn't really free.

My advice is to settle in with a drink and start reading Pool School, especially the article on metals.

With the right sequestrant and your own test kit, there's no reason your pool has to cost a fortune to maintain and stay clear and sparkly all summer long.

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

I suggest you do some reading in Pool School, there is a link near the top right of every page.

There are several things going on here, but they are each fairly simple. Metals in the water sometimes turn green when you add chlorine. This does not interfere with swimming, but the metals can cause staining of pool surfaces. Adding sequestrant will hold the metals in solution, so they can't form stains or color the water. Unfortunately, sequestrant breaks down slowly, and needs to be replaced, some brands far more quickly than others.

I also suspect that your CYA level is too low. If I am correct, simply raising the CYA level to something appropriate will solve the chlorine going away quickly problem and might well help with the green color as well.

By the by Burn out 35 is just about the most expensive form of chlorine there is. It is far less expensive to use bleach, which is simply liquid chlorine, the same as what Burn out 35 turns into once it is dissolved in the water.

 

[lettesgo]

Thanks for the welcome and reading material. By the way, I just did another chlorine check after dumping what was suggested, and my chlorine level is now so high it is off the chart! My drop test turned a dark red orange and my pH purple! I hope this chemical stew doesn't eat my liner.

 

[Charlie_R]

How long did you let the pool circulate before testing? If not 1/2 hour or better, you could have sampled a pocket of unmixed.

 

[lettesgo]

It was probably 30-45 minutes. I will test again in a couple of hours. It seems a lot of product for a 5k gallon pool, but they are the experts, right? Hopefully I did get a pocket of mix. Thanks, I never thought of that.

 

[Charlie_R]

Pool store and expert should never be used in the same paragraph, let alone sentence. The only thing they are expert at is removing $$ from your wallet.

The suggested reading in the Pool School will bring you to a section on test kits. Forget the wally world kits, they don't give you a complete story on your pool. Test strips are bad news as well. Most are already bad when you buy them, VERY short shelf life of the reagents on the sticks. Best would be to buy the Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100. You will NOT regret purchasing either one.

With the proper testing and maintenance of your water, there is NO reason that your pool can't be the envy of your neighborhood. And with the methods taught here, won't eat you out of house and home.

 

[lettesgo]

Two hours and forty-five minutes later and my chlorine and pH are still off the charts. My Chlorine tester only measures up to 5 and pH up to 8.2, so I can only imagine what they are sitting at right now. I am going to order the Taylor kit, thanks for the recommendation. However, my C-test came out a dark reddish orange with a bright beautiful purple pH color. I should have known better than to dump all that in the pool. I'm really sick after discovering that bleach is the same thing, which is MUCH LESS expensive. The pool is a teal green shade at the moment that is pretty if it wasn't for the fact that it suppose to be clear. I am going to start a metal control product tomorrow, which will be the rest of what I had been sold before. I think I will also order some of the recommended metal removers for upkeep. We have county water, but it obviously has metal in it. Other than that, I guess I have to wait for my chlorine levels to drop naturally, don't know how long that will take. I'm contemplating going back to the pool store just to thank them for this roller coaster they have put me on. I am thankful I found this site, thanks everyone. I will keep you updated.

 

[Richard320]

Two hours and forty-five minutes later and my chlorine and pH are still off the charts. My Chlorine tester only measures up to 5 and pH up to 8.2, so I can only imagine what they are sitting at right now. I am going to order the Taylor kit, thanks for the recommendation. However, my C-test came out a dark reddish orange with a bright beautiful purple pH color. I should have known better than to dump all that in the pool. I'm really sick after discovering that bleach is the same thing, which is MUCH LESS expensive. The pool is a teal green shade at the moment that is pretty if it wasn't for the fact that it suppose to be clear. I am going to start a metal control product tomorrow, which will be the rest of what I had been sold before. I think I will also order some of the recommended metal removers for upkeep. We have county water, but it obviously has metal in it. Other than that, I guess I have to wait for my chlorine levels to drop naturally, don't know how long that will take. I'm contemplating going back to the pool store just to thank them for this roller coaster they have put me on. I am thankful I found this site, thanks everyone. I will keep you updated.

Don't panic about the pH yet!

High FC can react with the pH indicator and shift the colors. Taylor reagents are good to 10; I don't know about the other brands. Check for yourself: accurate-ph-test-during-shock-levels-with-r-007-t61076.html

 

[durandetto]

Just keep reading this site and stop listening to the pool store and you will get clear water soon enough. I started with brown dirt and iron filled well water and now have a crystal clear pool with very little iron settling to the bottom, less everyday. I used an organic De media to help trap the iron in my sand filter and that has helped immensely, because the sand just couldn't trap the iron by itself. If your chlorine is getting eaten up so quickly you might need some more cya or you have algae in your pool. Wait till you get a real test kit and find out what's really in your pool before spending any more money.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[JohnN]

Those 7 lbs of Burn Out 35 raised your FC to about 59 ppm. That's the pool store definition of shock, which won't help clear the pool. That is why we have the shock process. Keep that in mind and you will have a clear pool.