Pool still greenish since May!

[colleeninohio]

We have a 20,000 gallon in ground pool. We use Bromine. It was green at first so we have been shocking and using algaecide for two months. The filter has sandy colored residue no green. We use the aquabot and we get the same return- sandy. We are unable to maintain our bromine levels. Does this sound like discoloration of the water- which is murky greenish brown it is due to high copper now and the algae is dead?
Bromine .84 PH 7.2 Alkalinity 110 Calcium 242 Copper 0.9 Phosphates 100 Sat index 0.4. Any other suggestions?

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

Is it an indoor or outdoor pool? Please add your pool details to your signature and location to your profile as described HERE as it will help us help you.

I think generally bromine is not a very good choice for outdoor pools that are exposed to the sun. This is because the bromine can not be protected from the sun like chlorine can.

I am not too familiar with the methods required for bromine. But here is a link that may help figure out what is going wrong:
how-do-i-use-bromine-in-my-spa-or-pool-t102.html

Here is a quote from Pool School:

Bromine:
An alternative to chlorine, most commonly used in hot tubs. Bromine can not be effectively stabilized against sunlight, so is not normally used outdoors. Bromine is more stable than chlorine at high temperatures, so it is often used in hot tubs.

 

[JohnN]

A murky color is usually algae. Metals are clear, but just change the color of the water. It does sound like you have algae. I wish I could help, but I am not familiar with how to do the SLAM process when you have a bromine pool.

 

[colleeninohio]

Is there a way to SLAM a pool with Bromine? We have been shocking the pool for months using different methods and amounts. We have been using copper based algaecides. We used Pool First Aid and it seems less murky today and more light green. I was seeing green in the filter and aquabot container was green but it is now sandy. If the algae was in bloom would the filter still be green? I wasn't sure If I should leave the 0.9 high copper alone since copper helps kill algae or use a product to decrease the copper. Shocking and algaecide aren't working.

 

[jblizzle]

We never recommend the use of copper as it can cause expensive staining. And, there is not product to decrease the copper, you would have to drain water to lower the copper concentration.

We have very few people here that use bromine in a pool as it is just not the best option, so we will have to wait for some of the experts that will know how to advise you.

 

[colleeninohio]

Thanks. We have been thinking about converting to chlorine, but that sounds like something to be done at the start of the season. We have owned this pool for 12 years and never had a problem like this. The previous owners used bromine so we just followed suit. I'll wait to see what others have done. Thanks!

 

[RobbieH]

You should maybe post pictures of your water. Since you've been using copper based products, this may very well be the reason your water is green.

 

[JohnN]

From what I understand, converting from bromine to chlorine requires either draining all of the water to get rid of the bromine, which is not usually a good idea, or waiting a while (something like a few years or so) for the bromine level to slowly come down.