14,000 Gallons Of Creek Water..Turned Brown Then Green
by Jeff Ritchie
We rented a pump and pumped our new pool full. Intex 16' x 32' x 52". I'm sure when we added the shock it, it attached to the iron in the creek water and turned it brown. Then added some metal out, should of probably did that in reverse order, but didn't know at the time. After metal out, been filtering with a towel in skimmer and socks over the outlet hose, getting as much of iron out as possible Been doing this for 3 days cleaning filters every 2 or 3 hours. Also added some clarifier, pH down to get my levels where they supposed to be. Chlorine level is very high and pH is perfect. Can see the bottom and some stuff on the bottom, which I think is the iron particles. The water is now a green color? Is their anything else I should be adding or doing to help clear up quicker? Chlorine is 5.0+ and ph is 7.2. Help please! Thanks for the question Jeff If I'm reading the question correctly, after you chlorinated the water turned brown, then green. I was wondering if it was an emerald green? If the water turns this color after chlorination, 99 out of 100 it's a high metal problem. You'll probably need more than 1 or 2 applications of metal sequestrants. A metal sequestrant does not remove metal from pool water. It holds it in solution until it can get filtered. Then you backwash the metal out. Because metal sequestrants break down over time and get filtered and backwashed out, you need to weekly dose your pool if you have high iron and copper. Metal sequestrants that are based on HEDP, phosphonic acid or something similar are the most effective. Jack's Magic Blue, Purple, and Pink Pink Stuff, Metal Magic, Metal Free, & Metal Klear are very good. You could be lucky and have the copper and/or iron still hold in solution, being formed into larger particles, and be able to be back washed out. If it is metal, you're going to need to weekly dose your pool with one of the sequestrants mentioned above. If the metals are still present after a few applications and back washing, you might need to do a 1/2 drain and refill because if you're adding more metals into the pool through the creek, you're going to be fighting this for a long time. The best thing to do is what you're doing right now. Keep filtering and keep the chemical readings in the correct range. You can find your post in the "Well Water Problems/Iron & Copper" category on the Q&A page: Swimming Pool Questions and Answers Hope this helps and have a fun and safe Summer. Robert |
