Invisible algae?

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pepsiholic

pepsiholic

0
LifeTime Supporter
May 23, 2009
365
Fairmont, WV
Hi all! I have been following the Slam method since converting my pool from baquacil to chlorine This is my 4th summer using chlorine.. I have never had to slam except upon opening until tonight. The water has been crystal clear and I have never let my chlorine levels fall below the min. levels. I test nightly and dose accordingly for the next day.

Today I decided to get in and give it a good brushing, the walls, floor and ladder. Imagine my surprise when I tested this evening and I had a significant drop in chlorine. I normally dose to 8 at dusk and lose between 2.5-3 ppms during the day, leaving me at about 5 the next evening. I tested tonite and only had about 3 ppm's of FC and 1cc. That's quite a drop for my pool.

I know what to do thanks to this forum and started the SLAM.

My current numbers are: FC 21.5
CC .5
TC 22.0
CYA 50 (pool in full sun all day)
Ph 7.5
TA 90

I have been dosing to my shock number of 20 every hour until midnight and will check it first thing in the morning. The first hour I lost 6 ppm's, the second hour I lost 3 and the third hour I actually gained about 1.5 (freshly bought chlorine).

I am wondering if all the brushing could have stirred up something that has been there all along, just refusing to show itself? Maybe I had some bad bleach that just wan't quite as strong as it said? I dunno. The water has always remained crystal clear and sparkly. Oh well, thanks to everyone on this site I know what to do and I GOT THIS!!
 
pepsiholic, When was the last time you brushed before this last time? Biofilms protect algae and once brushed (like you did), that knocks the film off of anything that could have been growing, hence the increase in FC demand. It is certainly possible to have this happen, especially since you gave the whole pool a good brushing. A lot of pool owners don't brush enough. It should get a good brushing at least 1 time a week and twice a week at the most unless there is a problem with algae, then daily is best in that situation until cleared.
 
Casey, I brush the pool at least once a week, but I must confess, been kind kind of neglectful of the ladder. Although there was no visible algae, that is the only thing I can think of. I passed the OCLT, but think I'm going to pull the ladder completely out and give it a good scrub down. Again, thanks to everyone who makes learning to take care of your pool a breeze.
 
Just found the source to my problem. I pulled the ladder out and it was algae free, but when I turned it over to drain it, OH MY GOSH, the stuff that came pouring out! I don't even know how to begin getting bleach in there to see if I can kill it, or if it would even be worth it. The ladder is the one that came with the pool, it was a typical A-frame ladder that we cut the back of of, bought the deck mount kit and mounted it. It also looked to have some orange stuff in it. Residue from the baqua? Any suggestions out there or should I just scrap it for a new one?
 
Well, I just placed on order for a new ladder, not even going to try to deal with it. It's 7 years old and had it's fair share of use. My dear hubby replaced some screws and didn't use the right kind, so they are all rusted and the ladder won't come apart anyway.
 
pepsiholic said:
Well, I just placed on order for a new ladder, not even going to try to deal with it. It's 7 years old and had it's fair share of use. My dear hubby replaced some screws and didn't use the right kind, so they are all rusted and the ladder won't come apart anyway.
Click to expand...

:shock: How dare that algae get in your pool :hammer:

Aw, heck! You wanted a new ladder anyway, huh! :D

Do some searches around here for ladders and algae. Lotsa folks put some holes in them to allow FC to get inside and kill. Also, be more aware of adding a little extra FC around the ladder and brushing that area a little more. Using a smaller plastic brush, toilet brush/bottle brush, etc could help. :wink:
 
I had spotty "dust spots" that would just poof up when I brushed them, my chlorine always read accurately and never showed any cc's from where I was pulling my test water from, The water always remained crystal clear and sparkly, but there was always "dirt in the divots and creases. scrubbed every thing down not a stitch of algae in sight, but I started noticing that my chlorine that usually held to 5 by the evening was barely holding on at 3- 4. I went ahead and pulled the ladder out. There was no sign of visible algae anywhere. My ladder had a few pre drilled holes in it, I guess to let the water in to hold it down, and when the water started to drain out, it was disgusting, green, pink and orange crud was flowing freely out of it. Did a slam with the ladder out and guess, what? After 2 days no poofy "dust" on the pool floor. My chlorine must have been enough to keep a full blown algae attack at bay, but I now believe my "dirt" was dead algae.

So, my new question is this. I ordered a new ladder. My old ladder was placed to the left of the skimmer, so it was the furthest away from circulation, I was wondering if i placed it to the right of my skimmer, if that would help. The only problem is the way the deck is built it would be almost directly in front of the return eyeball thing. Would this cause a problem?
 
I posted this over on another thread after reading your post there. I thought I'd add it here too. I haven't had my ladder very long but I'm hoping this is going to help with maintenance. I haven't added it again but I'm thinking I should probably do this once a week maybe as a preventive measure...

---------------

A random hint for those of you with a ladder with the holes in it...I bought my ladder from craigslist and was scared to death to put it in the pool. I cleaned it as best I could on the outside. It was mainly dirty from just sitting in someone's yard not being used.

What scared me was that it has the holes to fill it with water from the top and each step also has a small hole or 2 in it. Unlike pepsiholic's experience, the water seemed clear and clean coming out but I was still scared.

I found an old syringe that I had laying around from some medication I had for my cat or something and found that it was the perfect size to "inject" some chlorine right into those holes. Before I put the ladder in the pool I made sure each rung that would be submerged had a couple squirts of chlorine in it just in case. I plan to squirt some in every now and then just to be safe as I can't see any way that water will circulate properly through those tiny holes.

If nothing else it sure made me feel better to shoot straight bleach into those holes and know that the FC inside the ladder rung would be nice and high for a while.
 
That sounds like a great idea!! Thanks! Just went and checked, my idea of moving the steps isn't going to work anyway. The person who I had build my deck didn't do it quite right (cheap labor, trying to help someone down on their luck), it isn't sqaure, more of he tried to get all fancy and follow the curves of the pool, and not a very great job at that. My hubby and I spent last summer squaring it up as best we could short of tearing it all down and starting again. So I guess they will remain where they are and I will start with your suggestion =)
 

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