Mustard Algae

[Mdragger88]

@noobnoob
Please understand that eradicating the algae (mustard or not) will require Maintaining slam level fc. At your cya level this is impractical to attempt.

Also, clear water doesn’t automatically = sanitary water otherwise you would only get boil water alerts when your tap water looked bad.
It’s highly likely that algaecides have also been used to maintain somewhat clear water.

3-6ppm fc with a cya of 200 is unsanitary.
The minimum your fc should ever be with that cya is 15ppm.
This is also somewhat impractical to maintain for any length of time as accurate ph testing is hard to achieve at fc levels over 10ppm.

.... "Min FC" is 7.5% of the CYA level
.... "Target FC" is 11.5% of the CYA level
.... "Yel/Mstrd Min" is 15% of the CYA level
.... "Shock FC" is 40% of the CYA level
.... "Yel/MstrdShock" is 60% of the CYA level.

Chlorine/CYA Chart

EDIT: You will find a simplified and standardized version of this chart at Pool School, Chlorine / CYA Chart. Chlorine/CYA Chart by Chemgeek FC = Free Chlorine in parts-per-million (ppm) CYA = Cyanuric Acid in parts-per-million (ppm) CYA ........... Min FC3 ..... Target FC ...... Yel/Mstrd...

www.troublefreepool.com

The only practical move is to exchange approximately 3/4 of your water to get to a reasonable cya level of 50 or below.

 

[noobnoob]

@noobnoob
Please understand that eradicating the algae (mustard or not) will require Maintaining slam level fc. At your cya level this is impractical to attempt.

Also, clear water doesn’t automatically = sanitary water otherwise you would only get boil water alerts when your tap water looked bad.
It’s highly likely that algaecides have also been used to maintain somewhat clear water.

3-6ppm fc with a cya of 200 is unsanitary.
The minimum your fc should ever be with that cya is 15ppm.
This is also somewhat impractical to maintain for any length of time as accurate ph testing is hard to achieve at fc levels over 10ppm.

.... "Min FC" is 7.5% of the CYA level
.... "Target FC" is 11.5% of the CYA level
.... "Yel/Mstrd Min" is 15% of the CYA level
.... "Shock FC" is 40% of the CYA level
.... "Yel/MstrdShock" is 60% of the CYA level.

Chlorine/CYA Chart

EDIT: You will find a simplified and standardized version of this chart at Pool School, Chlorine / CYA Chart. Chlorine/CYA Chart by Chemgeek FC = Free Chlorine in parts-per-million (ppm) CYA = Cyanuric Acid in parts-per-million (ppm) CYA ........... Min FC3 ..... Target FC ...... Yel/Mstrd...

www.troublefreepool.com

The only practical move is to exchange approximately 3/4 of your water to get to a reasonable cya level of 50 or below.

Thank you for your input. I will certainly lower the CYA to acceptable levels soon. I do not intend to use the pool until that time and just want to prevent the algae from spreading. Will I be able to use any type of algaecide until that point in time? I do intend to switch over to TFP methodology after reducing the CYA level.

 

[proavia]

The only practical move is to exchange approximately 3/4 of your water to get to a reasonable cya level of 50 or below.

Given the CH reading of 1000, a full drain and refill is warranted.
Time to start fresh.

As @Rancho Cost-a-Lotta suggested, a tap water CH of 400 is highly unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.

@noobnoob -
Are you swirling by hand or using a SpeedStir device? It makes testing SO much easier and consistent.
Are you holding the reagent bottle perfectly vertical?
Are you allowing the drops to fully form on the tip and not forcing them off?

 

[Mdragger88]

Thank you for your input. I will certainly lower the CYA to acceptable levels soon. I do not intend to use the pool until that time and just want to prevent the algae from spreading. Will I be able to use any type of algaecide until that point in time?

Algeacide doesn’t kill algae- its a preventative at best. Many also add copper which you don’t want. This can cause stains.
Algaecides can also cause foaming.
Keep adequate fc (above minimum) until you can exchange water & complete the
SLAM Process

 

[noobnoob]

Given the CH reading of 1000, a full drain and refill is warranted.
Time to start fresh.

As @Rancho Cost-a-Lotta suggested, a tap water CH of 400 is highly unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.

@noobnoob -
Are you swirling by hand or using a SpeedStir device? It makes testing SO much easier and consistent.
Are you holding the reagent bottle perfectly vertical?
Are you allowing the drops to fully form on the tip and not forcing them off?

I'm already looking into buying a submersible pump. Will be doing the drain when temps cool down to consistently below 80. Was nor researching if I have a GFCI outlet for the submersible pump. I do have outlet installed close to the pool pump and filter but have no way of knowing if it's GFCI or now. Research continues.

 

[noobnoob]

Given the CH reading of 1000, a full drain and refill is warranted.
Time to start fresh.

As @Rancho Cost-a-Lotta suggested, a tap water CH of 400 is highly unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.

@noobnoob -
Are you swirling by hand or using a SpeedStir device? It makes testing SO much easier and consistent.
Are you holding the reagent bottle perfectly vertical?
Are you allowing the drops to fully form on the tip and not forcing them off?

I don't have the speed str. I will go ahead and measure tap water again making sure I keep the the bottle vertical and let the drop form instead of squeezing it out. Be back after the test.

 

[Mdragger88]

I'm already looking into buying a submersible pump. Will be doing the drain when temps cool down to consistently below 80. Was nor researching if I have a GFCI outlet for the submersible pump. I do have outlet installed close to the pool pump and filter but have no way of knowing if it's GFCI or now. Research continues.

It may be on a gfci breaker. If it is a gfci receptacle it should have a button on it.

 

[proavia]

I'm already looking into buying a submersible pump. Will be doing the drain when temps cool down to consistently below 80. Was nor researching if I have a GFCI outlet for the submersible pump. I do have outlet installed close to the pool pump and filter but have no way of knowing if it's GFCI or now. Research continues.

Check Harbor Freight or Amazon for a sump pump.
I think @Newdude had a line on one and will share once he sees this.

Post a few pics of your equipment pad from a few different angles. Also, show us pics of the pool panel and the receptacle.
In a simple setup like mine, there is a GFCI outlet at the pad. Others may have a separate GFCI circuit breaker in the pool panel or at the main house panel.

 

[noobnoob]

I did the 10ml when I reported CH to be 400. Also, I didn't add R-0012 prior to R-0010 and R-0011.
I just did the 25ml test, and I believe CH is around 300. Here are the pictures from 25 drop, 28 drops and 30 drops total after adding 5 drops of R-0012 to start off the test.

 

[proavia]

I did the 10ml when I reported CH to be 400. Also, I didn't add R-0012 prior to R-0010 and R-0011.
I just did the 25ml test, and I believe CH is around 300. Here are the pictures from 25 drop, 28 drops and 30 drops total after adding 5 drops of R-0012 to start off the test.

And you add the 5 drops you put in at the beginning to your calculation?

 

[Newdude]

I think @Newdude had a line on one and will share once he sees this.

Mine is out of stock but these work

1.5 HP stainless
1 HP

 

[noobnoob]

Check Harbor Freight or Amazon for a sump pump.
I think @Newdude had a line on one and will share once he sees this.

Post a few pics of your equipment pad from a few different angles. Also, show us pics of the pool panel and the receptacle.
In a simple setup like mine, there is a GFCI outlet at the pad. Others may have a separate GFCI circuit breaker in the pool panel or at the main house panel.

The outlet is within the housing which is circled in the picture. It does not have the TEST/RESET buttons.

 

[proavia]

The outlet is within the housing which is circled in the picture. It does not have the TEST/RESET buttons.

Open the outlet cover - there should be 2 outlet and 2 rectangular buttons (usually "test" and "reset") between the 2 outlets. Is that correct?

 

[noobnoob]

Open the outlet cover - there should be 2 outlet and 2 rectangular buttons (usually "test" and "reset") between the 2 outlets. Is that correct?

I did open the outlet and checked that there are no TEST/RESET buttons.

 

[noobnoob]

Mine is out of stock but these work

1.5 HP stainless
1 HP

Thanks. I will go with the 1HP version.

 

[noobnoob]

Open the outlet cover - there should be 2 outlet and 2 rectangular buttons (usually "test" and "reset") between the 2 outlets. Is that correct?

Attached is the picture of what is in the housing. But, I have a door 5-6ft to the right of that outlet for downstairs bathroom and it has a GFCI outlet with TEST/RESET buttons so worse come worse I can run a 12 gauge extension cord from it to the pump. GFCI is not an issue anymore.

 

[proavia]

I did open the outlet and checked that there are no TEST/RESET buttons.

What is in the panel directly above the outlets?

If there is no GFCI circuit breaker in the panel above the outlets, you really should have the outlet changed to a GFCI one.

From the looks of the equipment area, it appears there was a heater installed at one time and possible solar pool heat as well.

 

[noobnoob]

What is in the panel directly above the outlets?

If there is no GFCI circuit breaker in the panel above the outlets, you really should have the outlet changed to a GFCI one.

The panel above the outlets is the breaker box for the pump. I am going to be doing a remodel soon and will switch all outside outlets to GFCI compliant outlets.

 

[noobnoob]

And you add the 5 drops you put in at the beginning to your calculation?

Yes, I did add the initial 5 drops. If I didn't my CH will be even more.

 

[proavia]

Yes, I did add the initial 5 drops. If I didn't my CH will be even more.

I've test my CH with and without the SpeedStir - I usually see about 2 drops less (so lower CH) when using the SpeedStir and concentrating on letting the drops fully form.
The SpeedStir is a game changer for most everyone who has one. If mine broke today, a new one would be ordered tomorrow.