Purple pool

[Kyna]

My pool is purple. 6 years in and that’s new!! The waterfall and waterline are all purple.
What has changed ?? I had a chemical imbalance and added a bag of alkalinity up. Done that before and it didn’t turn purple. The difference this time is this summer I put a poolrx basket over in the pump to help with algae. Is that why?? Had anyone seen this or know how to resolve ?? I’m not interested in paying a weekly pool service. I am my own pool girl.

 

[Texas Splash]

Kyna, welcome to TFP! Purple, while not the most common color we see, can be indicative of metals. Sometimes manganese, but also can be copper. Sometimes it's from the use of copper based algaecides, other times equipment that may have copper.

Since you are new, I would suggest the following so we can better help you:
1. Post a full set of water test results.
2. Update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info. Include which test kit you are using.
3. Tell us how you normally chlorinate the water
4. Besides the Alk Up (baking soda), tell us what other chemicals you may have added the past few months.
5. Are you on a well?

Let's start there and see what we can do to help.

 

[Leebo]

How long have you used the “PoolRX” basket?

 

[JamesW]

Likely to be copper cyanurate.

High copper combined with high cyanuric acid can result in purple stains.

 

[HermanTX]

I got the following from the PoolRx website. So if this has combined with other minerals or more copper then it could be reason for the color change. Similar to what JamesW said above.
"PoolRx is adding the right amount of specially chelated copper, at the right time, the minerals are rejuvenated when they pass over the specially treated alloy cylinder and the minerals are used up and filtered out over time, so we never get to a saturation point when used as directed. Keep in mind, if you do saturate the water, it won’t be the chelated minerals that fall out do to pH
fluctuation or over oxidation, it will be the free non chelated copper that will cause the problem. Once PoolRx
is ‘in solution’ it will not ‘fall out’. Understand that if you ‘overdose’ the pool with PoolRx, the minerals will not
have room to dissolve ‘into solution’ and can stay in granular form. They will settle to the bottom or stick to the
scale. "

 

[JJ_Tex]

I’m not interested in paying a weekly pool service. I am my own pool girl.

We like hearing that. Short term listen to the experts here on how to get rid of the purple, likely caused by metals in the PoolRx and any other pool store magic potions.

Long term, we hope you will stick around. We can help you get yourr own quality test kit and be your own pool girl who has crystal clear water, who only uses what her pool needs (liquid chlorine and MA for the most part), and keeps $ in her pocket instead of Leslie's cash register.

 

[JamesW]

I had a chemical imbalance and added a bag of alkalinity up.

Sounds like a continuous use of tabs is causing the pH and TA to crash and that's why you have to keep correcting the imbalance.

Tabs contain a lot of cyanuric acid.

You need a good test kit and you need to monitor and manage the chemistry much more carefully and no more copper.

TF-100 Test Kit

tftestkits.net

ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry