Cloudiness and Yellow dust comes back within a few days of stopping Slam

[mmedulan]

I did two weeks of slamming my pool, until the water was the clearest I've seen for a couple of years. No drop overnight of Chlorine, and .5 CC level.

After a couple days of starting to lower the chlorine, I've gotten back to a cloudy pool. I'm wondering what I should do now. I just ran all the tests, with the following results.

FC - 3.0
CC - 0.5
CYA - 45-50
PH - 7.8(up from 7.5 yesterday)
TA - 90
CH - 550

I'm going to bring the PH down right now, and then bring up the Chlorine to 6 after 30 mins.

CH seems a bit high, but consistent with the water being hard in this area, I believe.

 

[tim5055]

Well, your FC is too low for your CYA. You may have had a little algae sneak back in there.

Or, pollen maybe.

Bring the FC up around 10 and do another OCLT tonight to see if anything is growing.

 

[jblizzle]

For a CYA of 50ppm, the minimum you should EVER let the FC get is 4ppm ... so you should be targeting about 7ppm every day.

 

[mmedulan]

The FC only got down to 3.0 over the last night/morning, I had been keeping it between 5 and 7 once it moved down from SLAM levels. I didn't get a chance to add chlorine this morning because of a rainstorm. I had upped it to 8 last night, so I was not expecting it to go down that low by this afternoon.

 

[mmedulan]

Looked back over my notes, and I raised the chlorine from 5 to 8 yesterday morning, not night. I expected it to be back around 5 today.

- - - Updated - - -

There is for sure a lot of pollen in there, with two thunderstorms in the last three days. I assumed if I kept FC from 5 to 8 it would keep everything at bay. I definitely did not expect the level to get down to 3 in one day.

 

[pooldv]

Yes, 6-8 will keep it at bay, but dropping to 3 it will start growing fast. Have to keep it above 4 or 5 at all times. Good job having some notes! I like it.

 

[mmedulan]

The pool passed the overnight OCLT test, and CC is around 0.5.
I guess the cloudiness is just from lots of pollen(rained again overnight). I've got the FC around 13.0, and will try to keep it above 10 for a few days.

 

[Patrick_B]

Won't hurt anything, but doesn't sound like you need too.

 

[mmedulan]

I've kept the chlorine above 10 for the past two days, and things keep getting worse. I can barely see the bottom, and every time I sweep the pool there is a layer of yellow powder that is stirred up. This layer keeps getting larger every day.

Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[jblizzle]

How much are you running the pump?
How big is your filter? (add to your signature)
How often are you needing to clean the filter?

 

[mmedulan]

I'm running the pump 24/7 right now. I added the filter model to my signature. I'm not sure what the sizing of a filter is. Is it the flow rate? If so, it says 150 gallons/minute.
I cleaned the filter on Saturday, and it was not dirty at all, other than being yellow. There wasn't much, if any, particles in the filter fins.

 

[pooldv]

Starting to sound more and more like algae. I think you might need to read up on SLAMing Your Pool

 

[mmedulan]

From this thread:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/36527-Pollen-Dust-in-the-pool-ready-to-throw-in-the-towel
I think maybe it is yellow mustard algae. Maybe I should bring up to mustard shock level for a couple days?

- - - Updated - - -

I did a regular SLAM, and the water was clear, but as soon as I started to move the chlorine down, the water started to get cloudy.

 

[pooldv]

That sounds just like Mustard Algae. Here is an article on that, http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/148-mustard-algae

 

[jblizzle]

Mustard algae does not typically make the water cloudy. It just grows in the shade: http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/148-mustard-algae

You have a big filter, so I am surprised you are not filtering anything out. I too am thinking maybe you should SLAM again.

 

[pooldv]

Haven't read a lot on mustard algae before. Looks like some bad stuff! Good luck.

 

[mmedulan]

hmm, the more I look up about mustard algae, the less it seems that's what it is. I have a shallow ledge, and the yellow color accumulates around where I have a small fountain. That whole area is in the sun most of the day, so I would think that this wouldn't be where mustard algae would be the thickest..
I'm going to try a skimmer sock to see how much pollen it collects daily.

 

[pooldv]

Well, it would be good news if it isn't! Is there yellow stuff on the pool deck? Furniture? Cars? When we were in prime pollen season a couple of weeks ago I got our old truck out from the barnyard to haul some stuff and it was green and fuzzy! Also, hosing off the pool deck and it was greenish.

 

[mmedulan]

yes, it is prime pollen season here. I'm hoping that the last few days of rain have finally cleared the air.

I just wish there were a quick way to get the water back clear, if it is pollen.

 

[pooldv]

skimmer socks and 24x7 running the pump (on low if you have VS or 2 speed) to filter it our are really the best options for that. Careful with the skimmer socks, I've had them clog completely and shut off all water flow through the skimmers before.