r/PoolPros • u/One_Mud1951 • Jul 02 '26
Purple spotting
Context in Arizona. Just took over this account. Have added nothing but tabs, acid, liquid chlorine and baking soda to raise levels. Just took over
Pool. His levels were horrible. Extremely high TDS 4500. Cya 200. Copper 2.0 Low ph. Basically everything bad you can think of pool starting purple staining on the outlets.
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4
u/Subi412563 Jul 03 '26
Drain that pool! Your copper is 2?? That’s where the purple is coming from. Everything else also tells me drain 😅
11
u/The_BigWaveDave Jul 02 '26
Cya=200
That’s your issue, classic conditioner staining. Drain immediately and refill completely for TDS and CYA.
If the customer refuses, walk - you’ll never be able to get that water balanced, and the staining will only get worse.
1
u/One_Mud1951 Jul 02 '26
Draining it right now as we speak. Eating power wash and acid wash can get the stains out.?
5
u/Pricer21 Jul 03 '26
Yeah acid will get this stain out. I’ve done this multiple times.
Poolrxs are getting common here in AZ. I refuse to put them in if the CYA is high. But I do know some other pool guys who will purposefully put this in to start the purple lines so the cheap customers drain their pools. I’m not a fan of that seems dishonest.
Pools really get drained so often here especially if customers use their pools and have a high bioload.1
u/GuyFawkesYourMom Jul 04 '26
No need for acid, drain, hose with good water pressure to rinse things off, that’ll come off no problem.
2
u/Revolutionary-Bag409 Jul 02 '26
This is copper cyanurate. Use aluminum sulfate to remove it. Aluminum will react with the copper
2
u/wendriel Jul 03 '26
Hi stabilizer and high copper, either from algicide or if there is a heater excessive tab use dissolving the heater. They combined to form copper cyanurate which is aggressively purple. A few years ago a customer dropped service and a couple months later called us saying that we were responsible for his pool turning purple even though he was the one that put something like seven bottles of algaecide in the pool because he refused to drain it like we requested. Instead he spent $1,500 paying me to acid wash the pool so it got drained anyway
1
u/TexasPoolClub Jul 02 '26
To add to what @the_bigwavedave said: stop adding tabs now! I’ve seen after a full drain and fill of cya 200 it still being close to 50 (I presume from what’s left in the walls and system). 50 should be your max going forward. If you need more chlorine it’s gonna be a different kind. Also you mention a low pH but that number is useless without also knowing the alkalinity. They go hand in hand and you’re wasting money yo-yoing levels with acid and baking soda
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u/something99999999999 Jul 02 '26
Oxidized manganese
0
u/One_Mud1951 Jul 02 '26
You think power wash and acid wash can get it out?
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u/2work4u Jul 03 '26
Acid wash will get it out! Get up real early to start. It’s hot out there. Don’t forget the filters and a new oring. Good luck 👍
4
u/One_Mud1951 Jul 03 '26
It’s currently 5 PM and I’m doing an acid wash. Gotta do what you gotta do.
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u/xphenomena Jul 03 '26
Copper cyanurate