Slow Discoloration On The Pool Surface & Now Metal Turning Black On the Light Rings

[Gatortail]

Hello all,

I have started getting discoloration on the pool surface. It is a slow process and it seems like the surfaces where the water flows are affected. On the stairs and on the sidewalls of the spa.

The pool company decided it is some kind of metal and we don’t know how metal got into the water. They asked me to but metal free. They used that.

Now I noticed the metal around the pool lights are getting dark. There is a black coat on the metal or it is rusting. I cannot tell.

Generally the only recurring issue is that the calcium levels get high. They can get as high as 500. At that point I empty the pool 1/3 or so and add fresh water. However tap water here has high calcium as well.

I just had pinch a penny test the water. Calcium at 500, and all other readings are a little off. The usual stuff.

This is a salt water pool with spa and a gas heater.

What could be causing this? Any ideas? Recommended actions?

Thank you.

 

[1poolman1]

Looks like a lot of copper in your water. May be coming from your heat exchanger.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Have you been using any copper containing algaecides?? How about pucks, such as Clorox XtraBlu ones?? They contain copper.

If your pH has been too low it could cause the copper in your heater to be damaged and come in to the pool. Any pH problems?

Have you thought of taking over from the pool guys and doing your own testing... to get quality test results? To monitor the health of your pool water which in turn helps maintain your pool and equipment best.
Even if I used a pool service I would not allow them to use just any chem they wanted and would follow up on them with my own quality test kit to monitor my pool's health. I would suggest you get your own test kit.
Test Kits Compared

Stains in Your Pool

The stained pool is beyond embarrassing. Our in-depth Guide to remove stains in your pool will help you to remove the stains and prevent them in the future.

www.troublefreepool.com

Maddie

 

[Gatortail]

I will double-check with the pool company on the chemicals, but they said they don't know where it is coming from. All the ph levels and everything has been good. If this is coming from the heater, what needs to be done now? Is the heater damaged, will it continue releasing copper? Do I need to change the heater? I am struggling with the next steps.

 

[wireform]

Can you bypass the heater?

 

[JohnT]

I’m thinking this might be an electrical issue. If you know how to use a meter or have an electrician friend, a voltage reading of pool bond wire or metal pool fixtures to the ECG would be interesting.

 

[1poolman1]

I will double-check with the pool company on the chemicals, but they said they don't know where it is coming from. All the ph levels and everything has been good. If this is coming from the heater, what needs to be done now? Is the heater damaged, will it continue releasing copper? Do I need to change the heater? I am struggling with the next steps.

Whatever damage there may be to the heater (if any) will stop with proper chemistry if that is the cause. Then, if no leaks, don't worry.
What filter pump do you have?

 

[Mdragger88]

I will double-check with the pool company on the chemicals, but they said they don't know where it is coming from. All the ph levels and everything has been good. If this is coming from the heater, what needs to be done now? Is the heater damaged, will it continue releasing copper? Do I need to change the heater? I am struggling with the next steps.

No offense to the service company but they likely aren’t going to tell u they routinely tanked your ph or improperly managed your pool - mainly because they probably think there’s nothing wrong with how they do it. It would also make them responsible for any damage to your surfaces/equipment caused by their negligence.
The only way for you to be sure of your water chemistry state is to regularly test yourself with a
Taylor k2006 (@ amazon etc.)
or
Tf100/pro (@ www.tftestkits.net )
The only way for us to help u figure out & remedy any possible issues is to have reliable data from one of those kits to go on.
Did pinch a penny actually test for copper or iron? If so, what were the results.
(Metals testing is actually the only testing tfp recommends having done at the pool store because it’s generally impractical for the homeowner to do themselves )

 

[Gatortail]

OK. My pool/spa is not huge. It is about 9400 gallons of water. I replaced about 1/3 of the pool with fresh water. After that, I had the water tested at pinch a penny. It has about 0.2 ppm copper and 0.1 ppm iron. I don't know where the iron is coming from, can that also come from the heater? They told me copper should be lower, and there should not be any iron ideally. Is that right?

I again replaced about 1/3rd of the water. I bought metal free to hopefully prevent the metals from sticking.

I was told that there are treatments I can do to rip the stains off. Preferably in the winter. They add a solution and filter out the metals (mixed results?). Or I guess I can empty the pool at that point in the winter.

I am color blind. A unique kind, I does not prevent me from seeing all colors, but it causes enough hesitation for me to hate the testing. Therefore the plan is to remove the servicing company and test at pinch a penny, I will service myself.

All after my vacation.

Thanks for your help folks.

 

[Mdragger88]

The iron can come from your fill water.
There are ways to remove iron from the water if it shows up & changes the water color/causes problems

Iron Fill Water Filter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The copper was either added with copper containing products (stabilized shock, tabs, or algaecides) or may be from your heater.
The only way to rid yourself of it is to exchange the water & not add anymore back -
Not using any more copper containing products
&
Maintaining proper ph balance to prevent further deterioration of the heater

Copper in Pool Water - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Sequesterants only hide the metals in the water they do not remove them.

As far as the testing goes- with the 2 recommended kits (Taylor k2006 salt & tf100/pro salt)
The only color matching test is PH & the OTO test - the oto test is really not used much for more than a quick “do i have chlorine or not?” & is just kinda there because it’s on the comparator block. The fas/dpd (fc/cc’s test) should be used primarily on a day to day basis.
The ph test is used more frequently & is quite important however there are some color blind people who use a digital ph tester - the Apera ph20 is one that is recommended if u go that route.
All the rest reach a distinct endpoint which is either clear or a completely different color
Here’s the videos of all the tests being done so u can understand what I mean

https://youtube.com/user/TF100TestKit

Relying on pool store testing & their recommendations can lead u astray just as the pool service has. Their testing is free because it is a selling tool for the products they carry in their store.
Fc, cc, & ph need to be monitored more frequently than once per week. This alone makes relying on the pool store impractical.
For instance they say u need acid on Saturday so u add it - did u reach the target or overshoot? Who knows By next Saturday when u go again everything may be completely different (including the person doing the tests & how they perform them) so u have no idea what actually was going on with your water all week.
I won’t even go into the inaccuracies.