Why did my swimming pool turn brown?
March 18/2020 This is caused from iron or rust that is in your swimming pool water.
What caused it?
Either recently filling your entire pool with hard water (normally well or rural water is high in metal content) or if you have topped off your swimming pool with hard water. This also means that not enough metal control (if any) has been added to the water to suspend and coat the metals in the water, prior to adding additional chemicals. This will then cause a reaction between the metals and your sanitizer, causing this color.
Either recently filling your entire pool with hard water (normally well or rural water is high in metal content) or if you have topped off your swimming pool with hard water. This also means that not enough metal control (if any) has been added to the water to suspend and coat the metals in the water, prior to adding additional chemicals. This will then cause a reaction between the metals and your sanitizer, causing this color.
What do I do now?
It’s important o keep your filter system on all the time to insure that your filter can pull out as many of the particles in the water as possible. If you have not been using a clarifier (such as Clear Blue) we would recommend doing so in order for your filter to help pull out these small particles. We will also need to add additional metal control, to compensate for the hardness in your water to prevent this from re-occuring again. Depending on how hard your water seems to be, you might need a single QT bottle of Sequa Sol or Super Sequa Sol, or you may need multiple. You cannot add too much of this product so therefore it is much better to add extra, just in case you are unsure of how hard your water really is. Once more metal control has been added, you will want to refrain from shocking the pool or putting excessive amounts of chlorine in the pool for at least 24 hrs. You can rely on these steps alone, along with a little bit of time (sometimes a few days), for the color to improve in the pool, or we also do have Ferri Iron Tabs which will speed up the process and remove the color much quicker in the water. These Ferri tabs get placed in your skimmer basket, 1 per 3,000 gals. You will then wait a few hours and if the color is still present, repeat the process. It’s not uncommon to go thru a couple containers before the problem is resolved. The rest of the process will still need to be completed even if you are using Ferri Iron Tabs.
It’s important o keep your filter system on all the time to insure that your filter can pull out as many of the particles in the water as possible. If you have not been using a clarifier (such as Clear Blue) we would recommend doing so in order for your filter to help pull out these small particles. We will also need to add additional metal control, to compensate for the hardness in your water to prevent this from re-occuring again. Depending on how hard your water seems to be, you might need a single QT bottle of Sequa Sol or Super Sequa Sol, or you may need multiple. You cannot add too much of this product so therefore it is much better to add extra, just in case you are unsure of how hard your water really is. Once more metal control has been added, you will want to refrain from shocking the pool or putting excessive amounts of chlorine in the pool for at least 24 hrs. You can rely on these steps alone, along with a little bit of time (sometimes a few days), for the color to improve in the pool, or we also do have Ferri Iron Tabs which will speed up the process and remove the color much quicker in the water. These Ferri tabs get placed in your skimmer basket, 1 per 3,000 gals. You will then wait a few hours and if the color is still present, repeat the process. It’s not uncommon to go thru a couple containers before the problem is resolved. The rest of the process will still need to be completed even if you are using Ferri Iron Tabs.
To prevent this in the future:
ALWAYS add a metal control to your swimming pool water each spring, prior to adding any additional chemicals. If your water is extremely hard with metals and minerals, it is recommended to do a maintenance dose of this product after a rainfall or after adding make up water. A quick test that can be done to see if all the metals have been coated prior to adding any other chemicals is as follows: Scoop a 5 gal bucket of water out of the pool after the metal control has been added and circulated around for at least 24 hrs. Place half a bag of pool shock in the bucket OR a 3 inch chlorine tablet and let it dissolve. After an hour or two, if the water in the bucket has not turned brown (it will more than likely be milky/cloudy which is normal) then it should be safe to add that bucket of water back to the pool and continue on with the rest of your chemicals. Keep in mind, this is not a 100% guaranteed test, but it has helped a lot of consumers in the past to catch this potential problem before it starts.
Call Aqua Palace Today (712) 329-4180!
Want more information? Contact us Aqua Palace is family owned and operated, offering above ground and in ground pools, hot tubs, spas and saunas specializing in pool design, installation and repair to local (Omaha and Council Bluffs) and long distance residents (within the US). We are the only Marquis dealer in the Omaha Metro Area with the largest showroom east of the continental divide. Not located in Omaha? No worries, check out our online store for pool and spa chemicals, supplies and accessories.
ALWAYS add a metal control to your swimming pool water each spring, prior to adding any additional chemicals. If your water is extremely hard with metals and minerals, it is recommended to do a maintenance dose of this product after a rainfall or after adding make up water. A quick test that can be done to see if all the metals have been coated prior to adding any other chemicals is as follows: Scoop a 5 gal bucket of water out of the pool after the metal control has been added and circulated around for at least 24 hrs. Place half a bag of pool shock in the bucket OR a 3 inch chlorine tablet and let it dissolve. After an hour or two, if the water in the bucket has not turned brown (it will more than likely be milky/cloudy which is normal) then it should be safe to add that bucket of water back to the pool and continue on with the rest of your chemicals. Keep in mind, this is not a 100% guaranteed test, but it has helped a lot of consumers in the past to catch this potential problem before it starts.
Call Aqua Palace Today (712) 329-4180!
Want more information? Contact us Aqua Palace is family owned and operated, offering above ground and in ground pools, hot tubs, spas and saunas specializing in pool design, installation and repair to local (Omaha and Council Bluffs) and long distance residents (within the US). We are the only Marquis dealer in the Omaha Metro Area with the largest showroom east of the continental divide. Not located in Omaha? No worries, check out our online store for pool and spa chemicals, supplies and accessories.
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