Guys, with moving in to a new home with salt water pool I had a couple issues early on where my calcium levels were low and I had next to nothing of Chlorine, since fixing the issue my chlorine was a bit high at about 5 for a while untill I lowed my SWG enough so it started dropping, I think its about 3 right now. What I did notice just today, though, while adding muriatic acid to lower PH that my light covers had a greenish looking substance on it. I am still new to pools and ofcourse first thing came to my mind is algae, but chlorine is high enough, the pool water looks crystal clear. The substance come right off the covers, I dont even have to wipe it, its enough that I run my hand across the water in the area of the lamp and the stuff comes right off the glass. Does anyone have any idea if it just some kind of dirt or is it some other problem? It does look greenish while looking from above but cant really tell for sure.
Possibly Algae?
- Thread starter RafaelS
- Start date
Green almost always means algae. Do you have a set of test results to share with us? You will likely need to shock the pool but we need the test results to get you started.
By the test results what results are you talking about ? I just use the test strips, do not have one of the advanced test kits you guys talk about on the forums. I can only imagine some kind of test for algae? I did not have anything like that done, but the test strips show everything at the right level. I guess I might go into town and test but with Irene in the area it will probably not be possible till next weekend, dont really get out from work early enough to come back home get water and go head back into town, all the places around me close pretty early and the one that is open late (Leslie's) does not know how to test for anything.
Yep, best thing to do since you currently don't have a good kit is to have the pool store test it for you. Dave is right though. Green usually means algae.
Crud, guess I will have to get the water tested. Any reason why it would only show on the glass of the lights ? I mean water is very clear other than that, and it comes off without any effort, wouldnt algea tend to stick to the glass? The only experience of algea for me was in the aquarium I had when I was young, and that stuff was not that easy to clean off. I shocked the water last time when I had no chlorine and the local shop had me do it, so since chlorine was higher then it should since then why would the algea start growing? I mean I had all my levels checked in the shop a couple of times since the shock and always came back fine outside of high chlorine. Am I doing something else wrong?
Read the shocking process: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool. If the shocking you did was a one time application, you probably have continued to have algae and it is just becoming visible on your lights. To shock a pool you hold the FC at above the required shock level(which depends on your CYA level) until you meet the three criteria in my sig.RafaelS said:
Rafael,
As you read more and more on the forum, you'll find we preach accurate testing and dosing...more accurate than test strips will ever give you and likely more accurate than pool stores will provide.
I suspect you have algae because you chlorine has been too low when compared to your CYA level. However, without test results it's just a guess so it's hard to go much further. You can always go ahead and shock the pool but, to do so correctly, we can't really tell you how high to bring the FC without your test results for CYA.
As you read more and more on the forum, you'll find we preach accurate testing and dosing...more accurate than test strips will ever give you and likely more accurate than pool stores will provide.
I suspect you have algae because you chlorine has been too low when compared to your CYA level. However, without test results it's just a guess so it's hard to go much further. You can always go ahead and shock the pool but, to do so correctly, we can't really tell you how high to bring the FC without your test results for CYA.
Thanks guys, I guess I will have to have the water tested, what worries me is that I will not have a chance to test till saturday, yesterday I did not run the filter at all cuz we had no power, its running now but I noticed chlorine dropped and i think CYA because of all the rain and me draining some water out. Since clearing the lights off though I do not see anything appearing on them, they are clean and the water is still crystal clear. I am planning to have it tested and whatever is needed added but can this wait till saturday? Also I am planning to close the pool in another couple of weeks so I am not sure if I should be even balancing the levels anymore if they are not that far off?
My personal opinion is that you should keep the pool balanced right up until you close it. Why fight algae whan opening? If you close it correctly it'll be crystal clear when you open it and you won't spend time trying to clear it up at opening.
I closed my pool last year and when I opened it, all I had to do was vacuum a few leaves off the bottom and adjust the chems and we were ready to swim. Our water was still just as clear as the day we closed it.
I closed my pool last year and when I opened it, all I had to do was vacuum a few leaves off the bottom and adjust the chems and we were ready to swim. Our water was still just as clear as the day we closed it.
Hey Guys, I think I know what the problem might be, I just balanced my water, the shop did not mention anything about algae. I went to turn on my filter to add stabilizer and noticed that the basket for the pump that is used for the hot tub is full of green stuff, I can only imagine its algae. The situation is we never use the hot tub and maybe turned this thing on once the whole summer for 30 seconds to check that its working. That basket was clean about 3 weeks ago but now it isnt. I can only imagine it grew because water there is stagnant and doesnt circulate. Two questions is should I be turning this pump on every so ofter to circulate the water through the filter ? It is not run on timer like the pool filter is so it would be manual. The second question is how do I get rid of this algae now a couple weeks before closing ? My pool water is still crystal clear. I am afraid to just turn it on for it to circulate into my pool, can i just shock the basket water somehow?
Hey RafaelS,
I am not real familiar with attached hot tubs (I assume yours is attached?), they are less common up here. Can you isolate it's water from the rest of the pool? If you can then do the shocking process on just the hot tub (http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool). If you can't then you need to shock the whole pool. From my perspective, if you do have to shock the whole pool, get as many water "exchanges" as you can with hot tub.
Note: you can not leave water standing without FC in it, or you will get what it sounds like you got, algae.
Let us know some more details about what isolation, etc.
I am not real familiar with attached hot tubs (I assume yours is attached?), they are less common up here. Can you isolate it's water from the rest of the pool? If you can then do the shocking process on just the hot tub (http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool). If you can't then you need to shock the whole pool. From my perspective, if you do have to shock the whole pool, get as many water "exchanges" as you can with hot tub.
Note: you can not leave water standing without FC in it, or you will get what it sounds like you got, algae.
Let us know some more details about what isolation, etc.
The way my pool is setup the hot tub is attached and it has an opening for water to spill into pool. Basically I run my filter and let the water flow back into the hot tub and the pool, the water in hot tub always rises higher and spills back into the pool. There are three motors total, one for pool, one for the robot and the last one is for the hot tub. I think that motor is only designed for the blower, but it does have a basket right in front of it just like the motor for the pool filtration. I think the only way to isolate the pool would be to put salt bags or something like that between the pool and the hot tub, thats how the pool guys did it to lower the water level in hot tub. However, I am not sure if the motor is fast enough, the water might still rise higher and spill over, I guess it might be worth a try ? if it does spill then i need to shock the entire pool. The pool and the hot tub water is crystal clear since that part of circulates every day. The water is below the spill over level when filter is not running, so possibly if i just run the hot tub blower and pull water only from hot tub it might do the trick?
If the motor (and pump) has a basket on the front like the main pool motor/pump, then it is a water pump. Typically, most attached spas have a separate pump to give some boast to the water jets. What I am unsure of is if that spa pump routes/or is able to route water through the filter. Could you post a pic of your tub and your equipment pad? Since you will be killing algae, you will want the filtering.
Hopefully someone with an attached spa is watching this and has an idea
Hopefully someone with an attached spa is watching this and has an idea
Sorry for the delay Linen, I have been swamped with work last couple of days. I will upload a pic tonight when I get home or first thing tomorrow morning. I did think about it and I am pretty sure I can separate the tub from pool. There are 3 lines comming back from the pool and one line comming back from the hot tub, I can close the 3 pool lines with the valve and just let water come from the hot tub. Then I am sure I can set the return to only go to the hot tub as well, which should isolate the system ? The water will still pass through my main filter pump and filter but what I am a bit confused about is how the hot tub glower motor will be involved in all this, I guess if I just turn it on it will pump the water with algae into the hot tub which will then be sucked out into the filter. How much shock should I use for a hot tub sized water supply?
No problem on the delay.
Again, I am out of my element here since my hot tub is not attached to my pool (two total separate systems/filters for me). But here are my thoughts:
So it sounds like you can isolate the spa from the pool, and can you still run through the filter? If you can then you can just follow the shocking process for pool: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool . It will be hard to meet the 1 ppm FC drop overnight criteria, so for the spa I would follow a less than 25% drop in 24 hours...see answer to a question I asked chemgeek in this thread: http://www.troublefreepool.com/bleach-cya-and-skin-irritation-t38410.html#p314599, though that is assuming a covered spa, and I would think you want to leave yours uncovered (you probably don't have a cover?) during shocking. I am confused by your "blower" comment...I thought you had said there was a leaf basket on its input side. I there is, it a water pump for you jets and you will will want this running during the shocking process. A picture would be great, I will be watching for it.
The problem I see with doing the above is that your pool is not filtered during this process. I might switch the back to having the filter just filter the pool at least once a day until I turn the pool water over 1 time. If you were to do it this way, I would backflush the filter before doing switching to the pool to minimize any algae in filter being introduced into pool. This might be overkill..
Lot of stuff here...do not hesitate to ask questions!
Again, I am out of my element here since my hot tub is not attached to my pool (two total separate systems/filters for me). But here are my thoughts:
So it sounds like you can isolate the spa from the pool, and can you still run through the filter? If you can then you can just follow the shocking process for pool: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool . It will be hard to meet the 1 ppm FC drop overnight criteria, so for the spa I would follow a less than 25% drop in 24 hours...see answer to a question I asked chemgeek in this thread: http://www.troublefreepool.com/bleach-cya-and-skin-irritation-t38410.html#p314599, though that is assuming a covered spa, and I would think you want to leave yours uncovered (you probably don't have a cover?) during shocking. I am confused by your "blower" comment...I thought you had said there was a leaf basket on its input side. I there is, it a water pump for you jets and you will will want this running during the shocking process. A picture would be great, I will be watching for it.
The problem I see with doing the above is that your pool is not filtered during this process. I might switch the back to having the filter just filter the pool at least once a day until I turn the pool water over 1 time. If you were to do it this way, I would backflush the filter before doing switching to the pool to minimize any algae in filter being introduced into pool. This might be overkill..
Lot of stuff here...do not hesitate to ask questions!
I do have a couple Q 
one thing is that the pool runs on a timer so it comes on 7am each day and turns off at 3PM, I can not really work on the hot tub untill I get home around 6pm and this effort would be all manual, meaning I have to turn it off and on before I go to sleep. Also for CYA level would they not be relevant here? I mean I guess I can read the CYA for the hot tub which should be around 75-80 which is what I added the chemicals for last weekend as per pool school instructions and local pool place. Problem is I can not really measure the CYA or the FC levels as I do not own a test kit, just the regular strips and there is really no way for me to take the water to pool place each day. I will probably have to guesstimate by checking the water each day untill its clear and hope for the best? Second thing I Can imagine there is no chlorine or CYA in the water where the algea is in the basket as it has been stagnant for a while? Should I go by CYA level in hot tub and use the 75-80 number? From what I can see my shock FC should be around 30, can I use the pool calculator to figure out how much shock I need for this? I have no idea how to measure my hot tub capacity though
one thing is that the pool runs on a timer so it comes on 7am each day and turns off at 3PM, I can not really work on the hot tub untill I get home around 6pm and this effort would be all manual, meaning I have to turn it off and on before I go to sleep. Also for CYA level would they not be relevant here? I mean I guess I can read the CYA for the hot tub which should be around 75-80 which is what I added the chemicals for last weekend as per pool school instructions and local pool place. Problem is I can not really measure the CYA or the FC levels as I do not own a test kit, just the regular strips and there is really no way for me to take the water to pool place each day. I will probably have to guesstimate by checking the water each day untill its clear and hope for the best? Second thing I Can imagine there is no chlorine or CYA in the water where the algea is in the basket as it has been stagnant for a while? Should I go by CYA level in hot tub and use the 75-80 number? From what I can see my shock FC should be around 30, can I use the pool calculator to figure out how much shock I need for this? I have no idea how to measure my hot tub capacity though 
I don't know... guessing without test results can lead to disaster (damage). No one here will be able to answer your questions about the water with any surety without some kind of valid results (test strips don't qualify, do not trust them). Did you have a CYA value for the hot tub before you added CYA to 80ppm? What is the pool's CYA value? At some point, you're going to mix all this water up right?
Is there some reason you're not getting a proper test kit? You have 34,000 gallons of water. For why oh why would not want to care for all of that water without the only tool that can enable you to actually do so?
Is there some reason you're not getting a proper test kit? You have 34,000 gallons of water. For why oh why would not want to care for all of that water without the only tool that can enable you to actually do so?
I am planning to buy one but with season almost ending I decided against buying this season, we just moved into the house in april and had way too many expenses, we didnt even open the pool till mid june. The water in hot tub spills into the pool so I can only imagine the CYA level is the same as the pool? its the water from pool that goes into the filter then back to pool and hot tub. my CYA was 40 after the hurricane and rain falls, I just addeded stabilizer to raise CYA to 75-80 this saturday. That's what it should be now, is there any reason why hot tub should have it different? If I run the hot tub at night and then pool filter during the day then yes each day the water from hot tub will mix with pool water as it spills over.
Regarding why I have not purchased the kit, I didnt really get into reading about pools and testing till last month or so, I thought strips would be ok. I am hoping to close out the pool next week so buying a test kit now wouldnt make sense, I will probably receive it after closing.
Regarding why I have not purchased the kit, I didnt really get into reading about pools and testing till last month or so, I thought strips would be ok. I am hoping to close out the pool next week so buying a test kit now wouldnt make sense, I will probably receive it after closing.
My pool is set up like yours it seems. I run the spillover from the spa all the time the pool is running just so that it stays chlorinated. When the spa is on and heated, it should be isolated from the pool. Otherwise you'd be heating the whole pool. So you ought to be able to turn on the spa circulation without the heater on and then add bleach to the spa. My spa is about 700 gallons and 1 1/2 cups of Clorox is enough to go from 0 FC to 8.0 FC
In the winter, after using the spa, I run the whole pool for an hour or so just so the water from the spa spills over into the pool and is refreshed with chlorinated water. All the heat and bodies and bubbles uses up a lot of chlorine. If I don't refill the spa it is the first place to get algae, seemingly overnight sometimes. The other choice instead of dumping the heated water is to just put a cup of bleach in the spa after use.
In the winter, after using the spa, I run the whole pool for an hour or so just so the water from the spa spills over into the pool and is refreshed with chlorinated water. All the heat and bodies and bubbles uses up a lot of chlorine. If I don't refill the spa it is the first place to get algae, seemingly overnight sometimes. The other choice instead of dumping the heated water is to just put a cup of bleach in the spa after use.
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