Green pool. Lap swimmers angry
We just reopened our lap pool after being shut down for a full 5 weeks. Once the contractors who were doing renovations to the roof got out, the pool had 0 chlorine and pH was low, 6.9. The filters ran intermittently during this shut down, but the pools remained filled. When we first got everything back up and running, I was looking at a slightly cloudy pool. After a couple days I had the chlorine up (~3.5) and the pH was slowly rising. We added clarifier and the cloudiness went away over the weekend before opening. We've now been open for a week and the pH is up to a 7.3/7.4 and chlorine is maintaining ~3.5 but my water has taken on a green-blue tint. Alkalinity is 70 and Calcium Hardness is 325 as of this morning. The only thing that is different from before the shutdown is that we have a new heater system. My only thought is that maybe the low initial ph was corrosive to copper in the new heating system and that has led to the color change. I'm thinking we should add a chelating agent to clear it up but wanted to get some input before I go and spend the money. The pool is 100,000 gallons.
Re: Green pool. Lap swimmers angry
I've moved your post to the commercial pools section. Managing commercial pools is different -- it's what I do, locally.
There are several reasons why it's different from home pools:
1. Unlike home pools, commercial pools have transient supervision and staffing, making consistent care difficult.
2. Commercial pools typically have MUCH heavier bather loads, per gallon of pool water.
3. Commercial pools are often indoors, and have recirculating ventilation systems.
4. Multiple people often manage the chemistry on commercial pools, meaning there is no single person to instruct.
You're welcome to read and apply what's present at the forum. Good testing, consistent treatment and adequate ventilation will solve most problems. BUT . . . we can't work out the problems that result when multiple people are responsible for managing a pool's operation.
Good luck!