I've been noticing the accumulation of what I thought was dirt/debris at the junction of my walls, slope and bottom this week. I've had the solar cover on and at first suspected it was somehow making its way into the pool along the edges where there are gaps. FC levels have been steady at 5-5.5. Pulled cover off for kids to swim on Wednesday and brushed the debris (it has a brownish yellow color and poofs up into a cloud when brushed). Was suspicious of algae but was hopiong for the best. Did an OCLT on Wednesday night and had no FC loss on Thursday morning. Got home from work yesterday only to see the dirt/debris had returned. I also noticed some on the steps. There is no pollen on the solar cover or furniture, so I'm assuming I have algae. I SLAMmed last night and brushed everything (including pulling the ladder and popping the light from its niche). Another OCLT check this morning revealed that it held at 24, but with the pool light on I could see that whatever this is was reforming (it was about a 3rd of what it was last night, about 9 hours after I had SLAMmed and brushed). The pool water isn't as sparkling as usual, but I wouldn't call it cloudy either. I can see my main drains and would still be able to tell heads or tails on a quarter in the deep end. In a bit of a panic, I decided to bring my FC up to mustard shock level (35) this morning, rebrushed and now am at work. Here are my SLAM levels:
FC: 24
CC: 0
PH: Was 7.4 before SLAMming
TA: 100
CH: 150
CYA: 60 - 70 (I struggle with this, but I swear I can see hints of the black dot until I reach 60)
I'm really perplexed since I've passed the OCLT 2 nights in a row at different FC levels (5.5 on Wed night and 24 on Thurs night). Does this sound like mustard algae or is it something else? Being in PA, do we even see mustard algae up here (I was always under the impression it was mostly a Sunbelt state problem)? Does mustard algae not consume chlorine?
With realistically only having 2 swim weekends left in the season, should I consider just living with it, let my FC levels drop back to normal, see what happens and fight it (if I have to) when I don't have to worry about an angry wife and kids?
FC: 24
CC: 0
PH: Was 7.4 before SLAMming
TA: 100
CH: 150
CYA: 60 - 70 (I struggle with this, but I swear I can see hints of the black dot until I reach 60)
I'm really perplexed since I've passed the OCLT 2 nights in a row at different FC levels (5.5 on Wed night and 24 on Thurs night). Does this sound like mustard algae or is it something else? Being in PA, do we even see mustard algae up here (I was always under the impression it was mostly a Sunbelt state problem)? Does mustard algae not consume chlorine?
With realistically only having 2 swim weekends left in the season, should I consider just living with it, let my FC levels drop back to normal, see what happens and fight it (if I have to) when I don't have to worry about an angry wife and kids?