[Bennett]

When you fill a pool up with tap water at the beginning of the season. Why does it look green (the pool it self is cleaned), but after you add the chemicals why does it turn crystal clear?

What's in tap water to cause this?


Thanks,
Bennett

[resonance]

One possible guess is copper oxide from the copper pipes. The green color of the Statue of Liberty is copper oxide. The reaction with the Chlorine will change the color. If this is an outside water tap, filling the pool may be taking off the CuO scaliing inside the pipes and valve, which formed over the fall and winter. This is just a guess without knowing about the water in your area.

[Borek]

The green color of the Statue of Liberty is copper oxide.

Nope, it is basic copper carbonate.

[enahs]

Are you talking about when immediately put the water in, or within a few days?
If it is a few days, it is algae and the chlorine (or possibly other chemicals, depending on what you use) kills the algae.

If it is green looking when you immediately put the water in....you need to filter your water before you drink it!

[UnintentionalChaos]

I don't know where you live, but the issue may be chloraminated water (yes I think that is a word). Supposedly there was supposed to be a shift toward using chloramine (the noxious gas that you get with a little bleach in ammonia, although NHCl2 and NCl3 are also possible) instead of chlorine gas for decontamination. The reason for this is that chloramine is more stable in water and won't react to form trace amounts of chloroform like chlorine gas can. Read the wikipedia article on chloramine. It has a picture of a green pool and covers (albeit briefly) why the pool chemicals can clear out the color.

[billnotgatez]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloramine