Persistent Algea with successful SLAM?

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With yellow/mustard algae, you have to completely eradicate it or it will come back because it takes higher minimum FC/CYA levels to keep it from growing because it's about twice as resistant to chlorine as green algae. You need to get behind light niches, under removable ladders, put in poles and other cleaning equipment, etc. and expose all of these to higher yellow//mustard SLAM levels. It is not generally blown in from air and usually comes from swimsuits used in lakes/ponds that have this algae. So be sure and thoroughly wash your swimsuits if you have used them elsewhere.

Also, when adding any concentrated chemical to the pool, you should do so slowly over a return flow and then brush the side and bottom of the pool where you've added the chemical. If you do not do this, then the concentrated chemical that is denser than water (until thoroughly mixed) can accumulate at the bottom of the pool and cause problems with vinyl. Though this is particularly true with acid, it can also happen with chlorine (though usually wrinkling of vinyl is associated with low pH, not with high chlorine). The regular SLAM level is around 10 times higher than the minimum FC/CYA level so a day at that level is like 10 days at the regular chlorine level while one week is like 10 weeks. The yellow/mustard SLAM level is around 23 times higher. So you don't want to do a SLAM for many weeks on end if it can be avoided.

If the yellow/mustard algae continues to come back in spite of your best efforts, then you can do last-resort methods: 1) maintain a higher 15% FC/CYA ratio, but that uses more chlorine and is 2.3x as much active chlorine, 2) use a phosphate remover to lower phosphates to 100 ppb or below (Orenda PR10,000 is more cost effective than most), but this can get expensive (though with your only 4600 gallon pool it probably won't be that much, or 3) use an algaecide, but many do not work well against yellow/mustard algae (not sure if Polyquat 60 would be effective and while copper is effective it can stain plaster surfaces and turn blond hair greenish). Note that some yellow/mustard algae products are sodium bromide and can turn the pool into a bromine pool which has its own set of issues so is not recommended.

Since you have such a small pool, changing the water would be an option, but then there's the question of where the algae nutrients got into your pool in the first place. Did you use metal sequestrant or other products in your pool? According to the New Orleans water quality report, they add lime (calcium carbonate) to raise the pH and calcium levels to lessen corrosion and they don't seem to add phosphates. So you should make sure that you actually do have yellow/mustard algae as opposed to either pollen or dirt. Is this dust only on the shady side of the pool or is it everywhere? If it's everywhere, then it's probably not algae and instead you just need better bottom circulation to get the material to the filter or you can just ignore it if it's not slippery.
 
Take your brush, and where you see what you think is algae, brush next to it, creating some small turbulence. If you see it just blow up from the floor - THAT's POLLEN NOT ALGAE. Green algae (which I had plenty of this year since I opened late) doesn't do that. Green algae literally sticks to the floor until you physically brush it off, i.e. the turbulence created by brushing near it doesn't budge it, you have to literally brush over it to get it to break up.

What you wrote is true for green algae vs. pollen, but yellow/mustard algae is also dust-like and will not clump and instead will brush into a cloud. One clear distinction is that pollen will settle anywhere while yellow/mustard algae almost always prefers the shady side of the pool since it does not like direct sunlight. A more definitive way to know if one has pollen vs. yellow/mustard algae is to carefully collect some and look in a microscope. Pollen is generally solid and spherical looking often having spikes while yellow/mustard algae is translucent where you can see the cell's interior chlorophyll and other organelles and it's usually not spherical. Also, if you feel it, pollen is generally squishy, yellow/mustard algae is slimy, and rocky dirt is hard (and in a microscope is solid and jagged).
 
Re: Maintaining recommended water balance not good enough to keep algae at bay

I'm sorry you are having problems with your pool. We have to ask the test results because we need the precise numbers to rule out possible causes of your problem. Case in point, currently you say the liner is developing wrinkles, that is usually caused by pH problems, not high chlorine levels. There is no pH information in your post, so we have no information on which to base a recommendation. You have a very small pool and say you are maintaining CYA of 40-50. How often are you testing your CYA? If you have not tested since the last heavy rain it may be significantly diluted. Also how often are you dosing the pool with chlorine? Are you using liquid chlorine, dry chlorine, or a combination of the two? It really helps us troubleshoot your problem when we have not only complete, current test results, but also information on how often you test and dose the pool.

As to how often you have to vacuum, that will vary based on the individual pool. In my case my neighbor's Crepe Myrtles drop "pink snow" in my yard all summer long. The stamen are crumbly and collect on the bottom of my pool to the extent that I would have to vacuum every other day to keep it spotless.

What occurs with pH levels during the SLAM process? I will send the test info when I get back from my trip this week.
 
You can't test the pH at SLAM levels. A SLAM raises the pH, but the high FC will make the pH test look like it's higher in pH than it may be.

You say the dust is "green", but is your pool blue vinyl? If so, then the "green" may indeed be yellow which on blue looks green. However, being in full sun and having this show up everywhere and not just on the shady side of the pool makes me think it more likely to be pollen. If you use a skimmer sock, you may be able to collect some if more gets blown into the pool. If it's pollen, then it's a waste of time to try and SLAM to remove it. It's fairly hardy and easier to physically remove or to collect via a skimmer sock. Do you ever notice "dust" on the surface of the pool?
 
This thread is hopelessly tangled and confusing. I am going to lock it.

Fostercontractors,

If you still want advice on your pool chemistry, simply start a new thread.....do not refer back to this one. TFP and you need a clean start.
 
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