I have been killing myself lately with my pool. I found TFP and started using the BBB back in July. I only wish I would have found this place so much sooner. I have been a pool owners for 2 years after purchasing a home with an existing pool. I was so new to pool care and totally trusted the folks at the pool store. I think they must have been laughing every time I walked out of the store. It seemed like every time I went it I was spending tons of money for all types of different chemicals.
Well flash forward to this summer and a problem that I had where it seemed my pool would not hold chlorine. Well after some Google searches I found this place and found that the reason my pool was not holding chlorine was because of a very high CYA. I was not even reaching my target chlorine level. The 3 bags of dichlor shock the pool store had me putting in the pool every week was not even cutting it and was only making matters worse.
I think back to the past two summers and how the pool store would have me pour buckets of stablizer into my pool. I cringe now and have been dealing with a high CYA (90) because of them. Finding all this out in July I decided it was just easier to keep the chlorine levels up through the summer and do a significant drain at the end of the summer when the pool was closed. We have gotten a ton of rain here in the NE and I have been backwashing and draining off water so I am sure it is helped. The good news is that my pool has been sparkling all summer with no major issues except one.
Anyway...I purchased a Taylor K2006 test kit and test my water religiously just about every other day if not every. DAS-FPD for chlorine, PH, and CC. I am pretty careful with the chlorine levels due to my high CYA. Recently I started to notice this material that seemed to be growing on my steps. For the life of me I could not figure out what it was. I was passing the OCLT, my CC was 0, water was clear, chlorine level was good but I couldn't understand if this was mold, black algae etc. I was really starting to stress out over this. I have a vacation coming up and the last thing I wanted to come home to was a massive algae bloom. I have people lined up to add chlorine when I am away so I figured I had things under control.
One morning I went and found more spots and that the possible algae had small leaves in it and broken up twigs. Parts of it even smelled like fecal matter. What the heck was this stuff. I searched on the internet, looked for pictures, etc. The possible algae was only growing or found on the step in my deep end and the first step in my shallow end. It would only be seen first thing in the morning and never during the day.
I suspected that possibly that a small animal (fox, rabbit, duck) might be getting into the water. The material in the water was even leaving small brown stains on my plaster. I finally put a board over the step to see if it was an animal getting into the water or if the possible algae would grow under the board. Following morning I go out and find more stuff underneath the board...WTH !!!!
Well time to add more chlorine. I brought the pool up to shock level (about 37 ppm) and kept it there.
Last night I go out to the pool and walk around to check under the board to see if anything is growing. Nothing...
So I do a walk around the pool and what do a see? A MASSIVE frog about 6 inches across swimming in the pool. This thing was huge !!!! I have no doubt that the material on the pool steps was excrement from the frog and not algae. The frog was quickly removed last night, no new growth this morning, and I passed the OCLT test today. I am hopeful that my problem has been solved.
I can't tell you how relieved I am....
Well flash forward to this summer and a problem that I had where it seemed my pool would not hold chlorine. Well after some Google searches I found this place and found that the reason my pool was not holding chlorine was because of a very high CYA. I was not even reaching my target chlorine level. The 3 bags of dichlor shock the pool store had me putting in the pool every week was not even cutting it and was only making matters worse.
I think back to the past two summers and how the pool store would have me pour buckets of stablizer into my pool. I cringe now and have been dealing with a high CYA (90) because of them. Finding all this out in July I decided it was just easier to keep the chlorine levels up through the summer and do a significant drain at the end of the summer when the pool was closed. We have gotten a ton of rain here in the NE and I have been backwashing and draining off water so I am sure it is helped. The good news is that my pool has been sparkling all summer with no major issues except one.
Anyway...I purchased a Taylor K2006 test kit and test my water religiously just about every other day if not every. DAS-FPD for chlorine, PH, and CC. I am pretty careful with the chlorine levels due to my high CYA. Recently I started to notice this material that seemed to be growing on my steps. For the life of me I could not figure out what it was. I was passing the OCLT, my CC was 0, water was clear, chlorine level was good but I couldn't understand if this was mold, black algae etc. I was really starting to stress out over this. I have a vacation coming up and the last thing I wanted to come home to was a massive algae bloom. I have people lined up to add chlorine when I am away so I figured I had things under control.
One morning I went and found more spots and that the possible algae had small leaves in it and broken up twigs. Parts of it even smelled like fecal matter. What the heck was this stuff. I searched on the internet, looked for pictures, etc. The possible algae was only growing or found on the step in my deep end and the first step in my shallow end. It would only be seen first thing in the morning and never during the day.
I suspected that possibly that a small animal (fox, rabbit, duck) might be getting into the water. The material in the water was even leaving small brown stains on my plaster. I finally put a board over the step to see if it was an animal getting into the water or if the possible algae would grow under the board. Following morning I go out and find more stuff underneath the board...WTH !!!!
Well time to add more chlorine. I brought the pool up to shock level (about 37 ppm) and kept it there.
Last night I go out to the pool and walk around to check under the board to see if anything is growing. Nothing...
So I do a walk around the pool and what do a see? A MASSIVE frog about 6 inches across swimming in the pool. This thing was huge !!!! I have no doubt that the material on the pool steps was excrement from the frog and not algae. The frog was quickly removed last night, no new growth this morning, and I passed the OCLT test today. I am hopeful that my problem has been solved.
I can't tell you how relieved I am....
:grrrr: it all leaves stains on the steps which I too at first thought were algae spots trying to crop up! I'm glad it wasn't algae in your pool. Now to just keep his friends out of the pool so it doesn't show up again 
