Green tinted water - Intex 15' X 48" Salt water system

[Watermom]

You should order a good kit. The one we recommend is the Taylor K-2006 or 2006C (test kit link in my signature below.) For now, get some distilled water and test your chlorine again using half pool water and half distilled water. Then, multiply your result by 2. Post the reading here.

You cannot trust that pH reading. A pH reading taken when chlorine is really high is typically reads higher than it really is. Wait until the chlorine level drops below 5 and then test pH again and report it here.

What kind of tabs are you using. Some tabs have copper in them and you do NOT want copper in your water!

Go to the section of the forum called "Dealing with Stains & Metals." There is a stickied thread called "Bucket Test for Metals" at the top of that section. Read it, do a bucket test on your well water and report your findings here.

Welcome to the Pool Forum, by the way!

[Xevious2001]

I did the test with 1/2 distilled water and 1/2 pool water and while the color was not orange, it was still a dark yellow and beyond the scale. I then repeated the test with 1/3 pool water and 2/3 distilled and it was still a darker yellow (but not by too much) than the top of the scale. Since the highest it can measure is 5 ppm, this would mean I have at least 15 ppm (5 x 3) and probably more like 20 ppm?

I will read up on the bucket test and let you know my findings. I will also order one of the suggested testing kits.

Not sure what you mean by what kind of tabs that I am using? Chlorine tabs? I dont put any Cholorine in the pool (other than what is generated by the chlorinator). I have never needed to do a shock or anything.

[Watermom]

OK. When you say chlorinator, you are referring to an SWCG (Salt Water Chlorine Generator) and not a chlorinator that you put chlorine tabs in. Gotcha.

[Xevious2001]

Yes, I use a SWCG system, sorry about the confusion. I am also not able to access the 'Dealing with stains & metals' section, so I can not read up on the bucket test yet.

[Watermom]

Until new members have their memberships upgraded, it is always necessary to log out first in order to see the rest of the forum. (Sorry I forgot to tell you that part when I wrote the post above.)

[Xevious2001]

K-2006 kit ordered (used the amazon link from the forum). I have also started the bucket test.

Initial results -
Well Water is clear with slight blue tint
Pool Water is slightly murky with yellow tint

After adding bleach and waiting 15 minutes I saw no noticeable change in color or clarity.

I then added the Borax and will check them again in 24 hours.

The other thing that is happening is that I have now changed the filter twice in a few days and both times the water in the filter chamber was quite brown and the filters themselves had picked up quite a bit of brown material, so there is clearly some minerals or something in the water. My SWCG system is 6 or 7 years old now...is it possible that there is corrosion inside the system and is the source of the minerals? The pool water was fine until I first turned the system on (both pump and chlorinator).

[PoolDoc]

I have now changed the filter twice in a few days and both times the water in the filter chamber was quite brown and the filters themselves had picked up quite a bit of brown material, so there is clearly some minerals or something in the water.

It's iron.

There are apparently some low-grades of salt that contain quite a bit of iron, being sold to pool owners for pool use. If there's not iron in your well water, then I'd check the salt out as a source.

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