What color should water be?

[Max78]

I have heard that good, clean water in you spa should be blue.  I've had my hot tub a couple of weeks now and don't remember what "cast" the water had to it when first filled.  Last Sunday, my water was clear but had a definite "bright" green(Spa Defender color) cast to it.  I shocked and it seemed to help.  Didn't turn it a noticeable blue but took a lot of the greenish out.  To me, it still looks like it has that green cast.  Color reminds me of the glass in the replacement windows in my house or car windows...you know, how it has the hue to it.  The tub had very little use this week and I made sure the chemical readings were correct each day (and have everyday since I got it).  Should I drain and start over or is this a normal color?

[Roborph]

Ummmmm,
Might need to know what you're using, dichlor or bromine etc..how often it is added and things of this nature. My tub is always clear ( I have a light colored interior), unless I miss adding the chems...
  Give us some more info and I'm sure you'll get some good responses.......

[CalicoskiesNC]

My water has never been a color.  Its always clear.  I know this from doing my water test every other day and bringing tester of water inside, its always clear, never green or blue.  

[Warkovision]

Clear, unless your tub was 15-50 feet deep---and then it would APPEAR blue due to all colors of light longer than ultraviolet being filtered out.

[Max78]

I am using dichlor after each use (about 1 tsp. per person), I've used dichlor to shock and MPS to shock, Spa Defender 2 oz weekly, 1/2 cap GLB Natural Clear (an enzyme cleaner) weekly.  My water is clear but has the greenish cast.  It is clear and has no cast in the sample bottles.  This may sound dumb but could it be a reflection from my windows?  Spa sits about 4 feet under and 3 feet out from the kitchen windows.  They're not big windows.

[Max78]

Okay...nevermind the hairbrain "reflection" theory!  When I lift my cover from the opposite side away from the windows and the spa is shielded from any reflection by the other side of the cover, there's no change.  So, just forget I ever suggested that one!!

[empolgation]

Not a hairbrain theory at all! That's just good thinking and problem solving. And it is true that the water will "reflect" color. That reminds me of a story when I was a kid...

Our in-ground pool made of Gunite and plaster (very white) was complete and the fill began. I was standing next to my mother when she asked the pool man "So how does the water get blue? Don't you need to paint it?" The pool man chuckled and said - "the sky will paint it blue for you".

hmmm... what color is the sky above your tub? you have lots of trees surrounding your tub?

[Max78]

Sometimes our brains are just on vacation I think.  I just wish my body could join it!

Sky above it is blue and no trees nearby.

[keesterdog]

is your tub shell green?

[Max78]

Tub shell is sienna (white w/ grey & tan flecks)

[HotTubMan]

How is the metal content in your water? Copper will give a green hue to the water.

I am a D-1 dealer. I have seen and have received reports from customers that the water turned green after adding bromine. This reaction is much more obvious in the UltraLife shell (white) This reaction, I have since learned is the result of adding bromine to the body of water that contained no sanitizer. The reaction is green and or yellow most often and goes away provided you do not allow bromine level to reach zero again before adding more.

Hope this helps.

HTMan

[stuart]

Typically if it is a cloudy green it is an organic issue and just needs a shock. If is a clear green it can be just a reaction of the minerals in the water with the oxidizers.

You can add solution like Protect plus and then shock with a bit more Di-Chlor, leave the cover open a bit to let the spa breath and it should go away.

[bethshar]

My water has a slightly torquise refective tint to it.  It is clear when I take a container of water out of it.  I was told by a dealer that against a white or light tub, the water will look blue - other colors it will look clear.  The pictures I've seen of others tubs that are white show b lue tinted water.

[Max78]

Beth:  Yes, my water has the same reflective tint to it.  Water has no tint when put in a sample bottle.  I'm glad to hear it is not just me.  Does your dealter say this is normal?  Mine is an Optima also (Sienna shell).  

Stuart:  What is Protect Plus?  Is it like Metal Gone?  Also, does anyone know how to determine if Metal Gone is necessary?  I have municipal water and am not sure of the metal content.

[stingfan]

On my first fill my water also turned bright green. Now I believe that it was algal growth due to the fact that we received our hot tub and it had been left out in the rain (yikes!) before delivery, with the cover open.  There was not enough sanitizer on that first fill to get rid of all the garbage from the stagnant rainwater. Second fill a lighter green on the 2nd day.  Third fill I kept thinking it looked green......was I paranoid by that point?  It is now our 4th fill and I noticed **AS I WAS FILLING IT** that it has a very faint green tint to it.  It has never changed since the fill.  We have well water, so maybe it is high mineral content reacting with the dichlor.  I only use dichlor, and also Minquest upon fillup.  

Also, my tub is platinum which actually means white with gray streaks in it, similar to what you are describing.  My water is clear and definitely properly sanitized, but as I said, when I filled it from the well it had a very light green tint to it and still does.