Pool Liner Color Bleeding

[gems2jim]

First post.

I have a pool liner (6 years old) that has just started bleeding its blue color off. I noticed this with my Polaris turning blue and also the hoses. I took a white rag to wipe the sides and the rag was turning blue. This is the first time I have ever seen this. I have added 5lbs of Borax in the last week and have not seen hardly any rise in pH. What could it be?

Pool size 38x18 about 20,000 gal. Water is clear. Temp 82 in am 88 in pm.

Pool test strips show:

pH 6.8 (using Borax to raise)
Free Chlorine ppm 5.0 (No Chlorine used in las 7 days)
Alkalinity ppm 180
Stabilizer ppm 150

I also use a Natures2 unit in the supply side. It is 1yr old and has had about 3 months of tota l run time.

Pool has had no swimmers in 2 months and the pool pumps run about 12 hours a week.
We have done it this way for about 16 years. I know the last 3 readings of the test strips are high but want to get the pH to around 7.6 or so.

Thanks for any suggestions.

[aylad]

My guess is that your pH is so low that it is causing the bleeding, but that's simply a guess. If your test strips max at 6.8, and you haven't been able to move it at all with 5 lbs of Borax, then it's probably a whole lot lower than 6.8. I gather you're using trichlor pucks or dichlor powder for chlorination? If so, it's time to stop using those, since they both raise your CYA, which is pretty high, and drive your pH down. However, you really, really, really need to get a drop-based test kit. You can pick up one of the cheapie OTO chlorine and pH kits for less than $8 in most places (uses red and yellow drops for pH and chlorine), and they will be WAY more accurate than the test strips you're using, which are mostly unreliable.

Also, you need to up your chlorine a bit--with a CYA of 150, you really need to keep your chlorine at 8 ppm or higher.....

Welcome to the forum!

[gems2jim]

Thanks Janet for the suggestions. I will get a new 4way drop based kit for truer readings. I stooped using these kind of testers years ago as one of my children ruined the pool and it took me 2 weeks to correct it.

Yes, you are correct that I am using trichlor pucks or dichlor powder for chlorination. I have thought about using Lithium and Di-Chlor but the prices are almost double. I have not had to use any shook for last 2 months.

You say to keep my chlorine at 8ppm, is that Total or Free chlorine? I try to keep it 3ppm or less (w/strips). Since I'm using Nature2 cartridge in the supply, they recommend a chlorine level of 0.5ppm Free Chlorine. I find this hard to achieve at times, but my water is always clear, even at the high numbers I stated above.

What is the best way to decrease my Stabilizer from 150ppm to about 80ppm or will time take care of it.

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

CYA levels drop only by dilution (evaporation doesn't count!) or by bio-degradation (pool slime).

But, you can't simply let your pool get slimy for a couple of weeks, because the end point of the bio process can be nitrogen gas, which is no problem, nitrates, which aren't good but aren't an immediate problem, OR ammonia, which is a HUGE problem. We don't know why sometimes it goes one way, and sometimes another. MOSTLY, it does NOT go to ammonia. But, on a occasion, it does. We had a lot of pools with zero CYA and high ammonia early this pool season, and they are a nightmare to clean up.

So . . . the safest route is a partial draining. You'd need to drain about 1/2 the volume of your pool, to go from CYA=150 to CYA=80 However you must be VERY careful with a liner pool. Your liner is held in place by the water, and if you drain it, you can lose it. When the liner is first installed, it's very elastic, but over time, it loses it's stretchiness.

With a liner pool, you can usually safely drain it to 8" above the HIGHEST horizontal liner covered surface. On most pools, this is the floor of the shallow end. But, if you happen to have liner covered steps, you can NOT drain the pool at all, without professional help.

Your other option is an in-place draining, which is safe, but a time-consuming, fidgety process.