Algae is starting to come back

Jump to latest Follow Reply
JasonLion said:
Try to keep FC above 20 at all times. Given the problems you have been having, FC at 30 might be a good idea.
Click to expand...

Last night before I went to bed I raised the FC level to 24. Then this morning when I seen your post I raised it to 30. I am assuming that I need to hold my FC level at 30 until I have .0 of CC and continue brushing everyday.

Thanks for the help and I hope this will solve my algae problem.
Eddie
 
AnnaK said:
I'm surprised at the CYA reading of 70; you initially reported 80 and then had to refill because of the liner damage. I take it this was much less than half the volume that was lost?
Click to expand...

Thanks to my brother I only lost about a foot of water from the pool. Tonight when I get home I am going to take another complete set of number including salt and borate level. The directions that came with my Taylor K-2006 test kit states that when you perform the CYA test you should "fill tube until black dot on bottom just disappears when viewed from top" so do you stop right before you can't see the dot anymore or is it when the dot is not visible at all from the top?

Thanks for your help
Eddie
 
Here is my lastest set of numbers

FC 24
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 140
CYA 60

The pool water looks great it is nice and clear. There is just algae around the bottom of the wall, under the stairs and around the return jet. I was going to bring my FC back up to 30 and brush. Please let me know if that is what I should do.

Thanks,
Eddie
 
Yay! Those numbers are much better, especially the CYA. The TA is a little high, check the Sticky on how to bring that down a little. I run my pool at 90 - 100, also an above-ground. Keep the FC at "shock" level for CYA = 60 until you have no more algae.

You will likely always have some algae under the steps, that may be unavoidable due to minimal circulation there, but as long as they don't creep out into the rest of the pool you're ok.

The other Sticky you need to get familiar with is the one about the relationship between chlorine and CYA. It will tell you your target FC for your CYA level as well as "shock" FC for that level.

Bottom line: keep the FC at shock level for your present CYA reading until there's no new algae; keep the pump running; keep brushing. Don't stress over algae under the steps. I'm guessing you'll be done in two days and can let the FC drop to maintenance level.

You did a good job, Eddie. You stuck with it. Just a day or so ago you were ready to get rid of the pool and here you are telling us about your nice, clear water. You have a great pool summer to look forward to.
 
Kind of an off post question.

When shocking at levels above 15-30,45ppm whatever ... In order to clean pool thoroughly of algae. Is it safe to go into the water and scrub/brush?

What number would it not be safe say for possible inadvertent bleaching of hair, bleaching bathing suit, other possible health issues? Burning skin?

How about swimming?

Thank you?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
It is my understanding that some public pools maintain chlorine levels of 40 ppm. The caveat here is that I read this on one of the forums - it could just be forum lore.

Chlorine is hard on elastic and spandex which is why we're told to rinse our bathing costumes :) after swimming. Don't know about bleaching hair.

I brush from the outside because it's more effective that way for me. I can put more pressure on the pole that way. I do brush the waterline from inside; rarely do I brush the sides, they don't seem to need it.

The one time I had a green pool due to an extended absence you couldn't have paid me enough to get in there and brush no matter how much chlorine I had poured in it.
 
dannybye said:
Kind of an off post question.

When shocking at levels above 15-30,45ppm whatever ... In order to clean pool thoroughly of algae. Is it safe to go into the water and scrub/brush?

What number would it not be safe say for possible inadvertent bleaching of hair, bleaching bathing suit, other possible health issues? Burning skin?

How about swimming?

Thank you?
Click to expand...
The shock levels of chlorine we recommend for getting rid of green algae are around an FC level of around 40% of the CYA level. This is roughly equivalent to an FC level of 0.6 ppm with no CYA so is less than is found in most indoor pools that do not usually have CYA. It is no question harsher on skin, hair and swimsuits, but it's not dangerous in that regard. My wife experiences this problem every winter season when she swims in an indoor community center pool that has no CYA but has around 2 ppm FC. She swims in our own outdoor pool with 3.5 ppm FC and 30 ppm CYA during the summer and the difference in swimsuit degradation, skin flakiness, hair frizzing is huge -- probably due to the factor of 20 difference in effective chlorine concentration.

The only issue with high FC levels independent of CYA level is if you were to drink the water as the chlorine will get released from the CYA quickly as the FC gets used up (and your saliva and digestive system contains lots of compounds that can react with chlorine).

So while I wouldn't recommend making swimming in high FC water where the CYA is higher, it's reasonably safe to do so as long as the FC level is remaining relatively stable overnight. If the pool is still consuming FC at a high rate such as fighting an algae bloom, then I'd stay out of the pool as all of that chlorine consumption fighting algae makes it more questionable as to chlorine's speed at killing other pathogens -- besides, I'm not sure I'd want to get into a green or very cloudy pool anyway. As for just getting in to do more brushing, that's OK for a short exposure, but you can just get a pool brush with a long enough pole unless you are talking about scooping things up and need more leverage by being in the water.

Richard
 
I have kept my FC level at 30 since Friday and at night it has been holding steady. My CC level is at 0. The algae for the most part is gone except for a few stubborn spots. Those spots in question will not break apart when I brush them. I have even taken my fingernail and tried to scrape a couple of spots and that won't do anything to them. What do I do to get rid of these spots? Do I continue to maintain the FC level of 30?

Thanks
Eddie
 
Hey Jason

Thank you for your response. I have not tried either one those options yet but I will try them tomorrow after work. Do you think that this could still be a algae problem and if so can algae be that resistant to FC levels as high as 30. My FC level has been holding steady at night but it drops around 5 points during the day is this normal? Here is what my numbers were tonight

FC 24
CC 0
PH 7.8
TA 140
CH 380
CYA 60

Thanks agian,
Eddie
 
JasonLion said:
Wow, that stuff is persistent. You might try a scrubby sponge or a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
Click to expand...

Hey Jason,

Thanks for the suggestion of the Magic Eraser it worked great but it did not go very far, scrubby sponge worked pretty good. The stuff that is around the return jet would not come off with either one. What should I do now? Do I need to continue to maintain a FC level of 30?

Thanks again,
Eddie
 
At this point I suspect that you have some really persistent organic stains in those areas from all the time that algae was growing there. You have been at high shock level for some while and that should have killed everything off (and is also enough to remove most organic stains).

Try letting FC fall naturally into the 5 to 9 range and then maintain it there. Keep an eye out of any issues for a couple of days, but I think you have taken care of it.
 
Hey Jason,

Thanks again for your help! Should I go back to running my pump at normal times? I was running my pump for eight hours during the day but after reading a few other threads should I run it like maybe four hours during the day and four hours at night?

Eddie
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply