# Green pool water-Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346 "2004-06-20T21:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/1 "2004-06-20T21:09:00Z")
I bought the kids a little soft sided pool with a blow up ring on top. It’s about 26 inches deep and 8 feet in diameter. It hold 500 gallons of water. It also comes with a little filter. I set it up and filled it with water. I hooked up the filter to make sure it ran properly, it did. The water was clear. At the advice of a friend, I added 1/4 cup of chlorine. The water is now green. It’s not dark, it’s clear green. Everything I find online talks about cloudy green water and algie(sp?). I doubt that this is the case. Any help on clearing it up would be appreciated. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/2 "2004-06-20T23:19:54Z")
Why do you doubt the case? Algae and cloudyness don’t necessarily go hand in hand. I recommend to go to any pool supply store in your area and get chlorine and ph test kits and talk to the salesmen there as they will know exactly what you need to keep your pool clean and safe. The filter will remove particulates, but it won’t remove algae and bacteria. You don’t want your pool to become a staph breeding ground. ---
**Author:** ![dragongirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b38774/32.png) [@dragongirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dragongirl)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/3 "2004-06-20T23:32:01Z")
I doubt it’s algae only because I just filled the pool and it was only an hour later that it turned green and only after I put the chlorine in it. I could certainly be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/4 "2004-06-20T23:36:50Z")
WAG: Is the water circulating and filtering properly? How long are you running the pump daily? I have seen pools start turning green and actually go completely green because we had pump problems. It starts with light green…or kind of a clear green. Without a test kit, it’s hard to make a call. Your ph could be too high, chlorine too low, or you could have a circulation problem. Maybe a combination of these. I doubt that what you are describing is due to too much chlorine. The pool looks milky in this case. You can take a water sample in to the pool supply folks and they can give you better advice. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/5 "2004-06-20T23:54:36Z")
I would take a sample to a pool store. While you’ve added Chlorine, they might not be enough to make any effect on the algae. The Ph has to be correct, there has to be enough free chlorine in the water, etc, etc. If the pool is in direct sunlight most of the day the sun will burn off the chlorine quickly without a buffer (cyneric acid) in the water. ---
**Author:** ![daffyduck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ec9cab/32.png) [@daffyduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daffyduck)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/6 "2004-06-21T01:34:23Z")
Ok an hour is not enough time for enough algae to grow to color the water. In that case I would suspect that something is leaching into the water from the pool that is causing the color or perhaps something in the water itself is reacting with the chlorine. Try filling a clear glass tumbler with water from the same spigot as the pool water and add some of your chlorine to it. If it too turns green, then it is something in the water. If it doesn’t turn green, then something from the pool is leaching into the water and reacting with the chlorine. Did you get the chlorine you added from a pool supply store? I agree with **Seven** and at this point I would take a quart or so of water from the pool to a pool suppy store for analysis. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/7 "2004-06-21T01:58:22Z")
Yep…this is the time to get ALL the lessons out of the way. Did you actually add **chlorine?** …as in sodium hypochlorinate or calcium hypochlorinate? Chlorine is damn near useless unless you have added cyuranic acid (stabilizer/conditioner). Why? Well, if there is any light from the sun, kiss the chlorine goodbye. I’ve never seen chlorine react with anything and instantly turn water green. pH must be in a specific range, or chlorine doesn’t work. (small pools are often much more difficult to control than larger ones. **For maintenace:** You’ll need to get some calcium hypochlorinate shock, algaecide (well, optional), chlorinating tablets, pH controllers, cyuranic acid/stabilizer, a test kit and some baking soda to boost the alkalinity. Each of these products does something essential that makes other products work. It’s a loop of one product needing the other. It’s actually best to suspend thought here and just listen.) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/8 "2004-06-21T02:31:40Z")
There’s a lot of “art” to keeping pool water crystal clear. But for starters, check the following: 1. Chlorine level 2. Ph level 3. Ph stability 4. Mineral content (The later caused one of my pools once to be a lovely “green KoolAid” color. Got rid of it with a “mineral removal ball”. A hollow ball with Magic Stuff in it that I put in the filter basket and it slowly leaked out and did its job.) ---
**Author:** ![tonsil\_fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@tonsil\_fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tonsil_fan)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/9 "2004-06-22T15:19:55Z")
High levels of copper can turn the pool water green when it’s shocked with chlorine. Your pool store will sell a metal sequestrant to fix this. They can also provide better advice should you prove to have some other problem. ---
**Author:** ![wenonahbone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wenonahbone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wenonahbone)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2004, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/green-pool-water-help/251346/10 "2004-06-22T15:53:07Z")
I was in the pool business for quite a while, FWIW. Usually when water turns emerald green with the application of chlorine, it indicates the presence of iron, or another mineral found in your tap water. This is especially true when you have a private well. Your local swimming pool dealer will have a product to chealate the minerals, called “Iron Out” or Mineral Eliminator.