COLORED WATER (ODD TINT TO THE COLOR OF THE WATER): The presence of excess minerals will lead to colored water if not properly treated. Excess minerals are either the result of the tap water that is used to fill your pool or poor water chemistry (whereas the water will begin to dissolve metallic materials from your pool). Before treating for colored water, the first step is to determine the color of the tint to the water. Only by determining the color can proper treatment follow.

For more specific information on colored water, select from the following topics:

• CAUSES OF COLORED WATER
• HOW TO TREAT GREEN (OR BLUE-GREEN) WATER
• HOW TO TREAT BROWNISH-RED WATER
• HOW TO TREAT BROWNISH-BLACK WATER
• METAL SEQUESTERING AGENT

CAUSES OF COLORED WATER (DISCOLORATIONS/ODD TINTS): The presence of excess minerals in the water will lead to colored water (discolorations/odd tints). There are a number of possible causes for the presence of excess minerals in the water:

• These minerals may have been present in the tap water that was used to fill your pool. This is known as hard water.
• Poor water chemistry will cause the water to dissolve metallic parts of your pool (walls, floor, hand rails, ladders, light fixture, and equipment-primarily the internals of the pump and heater). Here are 3 examples:
  • Heater: contains a copper heat exchanger as an internal working part. If water chemistry is off (primarily due to low pH), the water can dissolve the copper from the heat exchanger. Once the water dissolves this copper in excessive amounts, the water will deposit what it can no longer hold. The result will be copper deposits, which will lead to green water, or perhaps green stains.
  • Light Fixture: Contains iron. If water chemistry is off (primarily due to low pH), the water can dissolve the iron from the light fixture. Once the water dissolves this iron in excessive amounts, the water will deposit what it can no longer hold. The result will be iron deposits, which will lead to brownish-red water, or perhaps brownish-red stains.
  • Older pools were sometimes plumbed with either copper pipes or iron pipes instead of the PVC piping that is typically used today.
• The use of a Metallic Algaecide (which contains copper). Although copper is superior at killing ANY type of algae, it is a very corrosive mineral. NOTE: if you use a Metallic Algaecide, make sure to also use a Metal Sequestering Agent within one week of adding the Metallic Algaecide in order to rid the water of the copper.

HOW TO TREAT GREEN (OR BLUE-GREEN) WATER: The initial chemical to test and adjust when a green tint is present in the water is the chlorine (or its alternative) level. If the chlorine (or its alternative) level is low, a green tint will occur in the water. If this occurs, and if it is indeed due to a low chlorine (or its alternative) reading, then simply add more chlorine (or its alternative)-either manually or via an automatic chemical feeder-and shock the pool, using 2 LBS per 10,000 gallons of water.

If the chlorine (or its alternative) is in range, then the green (or blue-green) tint is due to the presence of copper in the pool; typically, if a low chlorine (or its alternative) level is the cause of the tint, it will be a green tint. If the presence of copper is the cause of the tint, it will be a blue-green tint. Copper is not desired in the pool water due to its corrosive and aggressive nature. Typically, the green (or blue-green) tint of copper is a direct correlation between acidic water (either low pH, or perhaps low Alkalinity and/or Hardness) and the use of a pool heater. Referring back to the concept of "demand and balance", the acidic water will dissolve any metallic material (the copper internals of a pool heater, or perhaps, other sources containing copper; some older pools used copper pipes instead of PVC to plumb the pool) that it comes into contact with until it can no longer store what it has previously dissolved. Then, the acidic water must rid itself of the excess of what was dissolved, resulting in the green (or blue-green) tint of the pool water. If the water is allowed to remain acidic for an extended period of time, an actual blue-green copper stain very well may present itself on the pool walls or floor.

In order to rid the pool water of the green (or blue-green) tint, or perhaps the blue-green stains, the pH (or the Alkalinity and/or Hardness) will have to be adjusted into its ideal range and a Metal Sequestering Agent will need to be added to combine all suspended copper particles so that they can be filtered out of the pool.

HOW TO TREAT BROWNISH-RED WATER: A brownish-red tint is due to the presence of iron in the pool water. Iron is not desired in pool water due to its corrosive and aggressive nature. Typically the brownish-red tint of iron is due to acidic water (either low pH, or perhaps low Alkalinity and/or Hardness) that dissolves iron off of the light fixture inside the pool; iron is used to manufacture many brands of light fixtures. Referring back to the concept of "demand and balance", the acidic water will dissolve any metallic material (the iron of an in-pool light fixture, or perhaps, other sources containing iron; some older pools used iron pipes instead of PVC to plumb the pool) that it comes into contact with until it can no longer store what it has previously dissolved. Then, the acidic water must rid itself of the excess of what was dissolved, resulting in the brownish-red tint of the pool water. If the water is allowed to remain acidic for an extended period of time, an actual brownish-red iron stain may present itself on the pool walls or floor.

In order to rid the pool water of the brownish-red tint, or perhaps the brownish-red stains, the pH (or the Alkalinity and/or Hardness) will have to be adjusted into its ideal range and a Metal Sequestering Agent will need to be added to combine all suspended iron particles so that they can be filtered out of the pool.

HOW TO TREAT BROWNISH-BLACK WATER: A brownish-black tint is due to the presence of manganese in the pool water. Manganese is not desired in pool water due to its corrosive and aggressive nature. Typically, the brownish-black tint of manganese is due to acidic water (either low pH, or perhaps low Alkalinity and/or Hardness) that dissolves manganese from various metallic materials in the pool. Referring back to the concept of "demand and balance", the acidic water will dissolve any metallic material (that contains manganese) that it comes into contact with until it can no longer store what it has previously dissolved. Then, the acidic water must rid itself of the excess of what was dissolved, resulting in the brownish-black tint of the pool water. If the water is allowed to remain acidic for an extended period of time, an actual brownish-black manganese stain may present itself on the pool walls or floor.

In order to rid the pool water of the brownish-black tint, or perhaps the brownish-black stains (not be confused with black algae), the pH (or the Alkalinity and/or Hardness) will have to be adjusted into its ideal range and a Metal Sequestering Agent will need to be added to combine all suspended manganese particles so that they can be filtered out of the pool.

METAL SEQUESTERING AGENT: Metal Sequestering Agents can either be liquid or granular. Metal Sequestering Agents are used to treat odd tints to the color of the pool water, stains, or scale. These odd tints, stains, and scale can either result from the minerals that are present in the tap water that is used to fill the pool (such as copper, iron, manganese, calcium, or magnesium) or result from poor water chemistry. If an odd tint, any stains or scale are present, the condition can easily be rectified by re-attaining and maintaining proper water chemistry and by using a Metal Sequestering Agent. Read the instructions on the label to determine the amount to add, how it should be added (either diluted in water or poured/broadcast straight from the bottle/container), and other precautions.