I have a customer with a swg an a black algae break out. The liner is new, after I check to make sure all the levels are good should I just maintain a shock level and scrubs spots with tri-tab? Or do you think I risk damaging the liner ?
Black algae break out
- Thread starter X-PertPool
- Start date
Black algae is almost completely unheard of with a vinyl liner. Black algae survives chlorine by digging into the plaster. It can't dig into vinyl, so gets brushed off and killed by chlorine. Are you sure it is black algae?
I know they had it last year and got rid of it through brushing and black treat ( which made bromine for quite a while). I'm going to check it personally this time, find a chunk and do that smear test. I'm worried that it can dig into vinyl too, for example a magic marker will eventually bleed through the vinyl from the back to front; similar to that vinyl "plaque" where the stain is mirrored on the back of the vinyl. I'll let you know come Monday 
The Dots of algae in the pool
a green scab of algae
the "smear test", the brown on the right side of the paper turned out to be a chunk of dirt or fertilizer.
This algae looks different from what was in the pool last year. Although this stuff is strange on it's own. Let me know what you guys think.
By the way I did place that scab in a bottle of highly chlorinated water and it turned yellow then white and then disintegrated.
Good pics. It is clearly algae of some sort and you have already discovered the cure....chlorine.
Shock the pool according to the article in Pool School and, during that shock process, you are going to have to devise some method of physically removing all those nodules to get them exposed to the chlorine.
Shock the pool according to the article in Pool School and, during that shock process, you are going to have to devise some method of physically removing all those nodules to get them exposed to the chlorine.