Pool Water slightly yellow
Hi, I just installed a 15 x 42" Intex Easy Set Pool in our back yard. (3,700 gal.)This was two days ago. I have been slowly attempting to balance out the CH and pH in the water and I have filtered it once so far for 4 hours. My pool water had a slightly yellowish color to it after the first day and I would like to remedy that. It's not really dark yellow, but even a little yellow isn't very attractive for pool water. I would like advice on how to clear it up.
Here is what I purchased so far to maintain this pool:
Regular laundry bleach
20 Mule Team Borax
Baking Soda
HTH Clarifier (Balance)
So far I've only added 4 cups of bleach to the water and 4 oz. of Clarifier. My current test results are CHL 1.5, Br 2.5 and pH 7.3
Any suggestions about the yellowy water? Also, do I need to get anything else to maintain this pool water?
Help is appreciated :)
Re: Pool Water slightly yellow
First of all, welcome to the Pool Forum!
You are going to need a better test kit that can also measure CYA. We recommend the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C that you can get through the test kit link in my signature below.
It would probably be helpful to follow our 'recipe' for starting up small pools. Take a look at the sub-forum called 'Pool Chemistry for Intex-type pools and read the second thread with the 'recipe' in it. Until your registration is completed, you will need to log out first to be able to see the rest of the forum.
I'm not sure what the cause of the yellowish water could be. What was your source of water when you filled the pool? You need to be running your pump and filter way more than 4 hours in 2 days. Probably more like 8 hours per day which you can split into two 4 hour sessions. However, while you are trying to clear the pool up, you should run it 24/7.
Do some reading on the forum and also on our sister website www.poolsolutions.com and then come back when you have more questions.
Hope this helps!
Re: Pool Water slightly yellow
Yellow-ish could be iron. Or it could be something weird.
Usually, careful chlorination + sunlight + filtration will clean it up. As WaterMom said, getting a K2006 will help. However, if it's iron, better filtration will help, too. I stuck my usually 'boiler-plate' text, about better cartridges below.
+ The OEM cartridges in Intex / Summer Escapes / etc. filters are not high quality. The Intex manuals recommend replacing them completely every 2 weeks. A BETTER option is to replace them permanently with 2 - 3 Unicel cartridges, and rotating them through a cleaning solution. Properly maintained, the Unicel cartridges will last all season AND will filter better. So even though they cost more per cartridge, they cost less per season! Learn to maintain them, by reading this post, Cleaning-your-Cartridge-Filter-wiithout-Damaging-It!
But, purchasing them is tricky. Amazon does not consistently stock them, and some of the 3rd party sellers are charging high prices and/or high shipping. So, check the Amazon link, but watch out for the prices and shipping costs.
It would be nice if you could just buy them elsewhere, but many of the online pool stores are listing Pleatco or other Asian made low quality filters, as "Unicel C-4607 type" or "fits Unicel C-4607". So shop carefully!
Here are the Amazon links:
Unicel C-4607 Replacement Filter Cartridge (Easy Set Size A or C) @ Amazon
Unicel C-5315 Replacement Filter Cartridge for 15 Square Foot Intex B Filter @ Amazon
Re: Pool Water slightly yellow
Dichlor already has CYA in it so if you use the 'recipe' I mentioned above, you will take care of adding CYA along with chlorine.
Here is a link to the startup recipe for small pools:
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...p-routine-care.