Black Algae take over! New home owner/first time pool owner struggles against invasion!

[JamesW]

Remove the heater's front panel and then open this valve to see if water begins to leak and then close the valve.

Make sure the heater is turned off.

 

[JamesW]

Is the heater under a deck?

It is not safe to have a heater below a deck, so if it is, it needs to be moved.

The heater is probably destroyed anyway.

 

[Zmurk]

Remove the front panel on the heater and open a bypass valve to see if you can see water leaking.

Also show pictures inside the heater.

I would get rid of the tab feeder.

What are all of the chemistry readings?

I will have to get back to you on those photos!

 

[Zmurk]

Is the heater under a deck?

It is not safe to have a heater below a deck, so if it is, it needs to be moved.

The heater is probably destroyed anyway.

Well that’s fun! Haha who needs a heater anyways! I’ll check this after dinner

 

[Zmurk]

@JamesW @jesse-99
Hey Guys, i have an update. the heater definitely does not work as water was spraying all over the place. then the vitamin C Tablets did nothing after sitting on a step for a few minutes. What's next?

 

[JamesW]

I think that it is probably copper.

Try the stain ID kit.

The heater is probably a total loss, but you can have it checked out if you want.

 

[JamesW]

Read through these threads for more information about copper stains.

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Blue green stains

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Black Algae and High Copper

I used the Copper Ionizer and did not notice copper went high 1.5. Pool wall and bottom is black color now. It looks like black Black Algae. Please advice how to control the Copper or black Algae. I used No Metal from Leslie pool and cleaned the filters, no luck.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[nanoflower]

Hey everyone! Wanted to reach out for some advice/ comments on my current process. I am a new pool owner 3 weeks in! Pool was stagnant for a few months prior to moving in (a lot of issues with closing but they cancelled all their maintenance services at original date). We moved in with a swamp in the back yard.

After using the pool stores advice for 2 weeks, I decided to reach out online. I got tons of helpful advice but everyone directs me to TFP so I finally decided to try here for a progress review/advice.

I have a 35,000 gal gunite chlorine pool with sand filter. It’s currently sitting at 10.5 FC, .5 CC, and 0 CYA (using k-2006). I’ve been running pump 24/7, and back flushing filter every morning. There is a pretty bad black algae invasion that I just started scrubbing with a stainless brush (against the pool stores opinion). One day after it’s definitely cleared up some, maybe 5-10%, primarily on the walls as the floor seems more difficult to scrub. I am trying to maintain 12 FC just to kill the algae but I am not sure if that’s the right thing to do. Any guidance is greatly appreciated! Also is it safe for me to swim in to scrub the floors better? Thank you all!

You need an iron cobalt remover. We would try that first and worst case scenario, drain pool and acid wash it.

 

[JamesW]

You need an iron cobalt remover.

What chemical is this product?

Why do you recommend it for this application?

 

[Zmurk]

What chemical is this product?

Why do you recommend it for this application?

Thank you for following up with his recommendation! I am still waiting on my stain kit! Expecting it to come in Wednesday. Stains are not getting worse.

 

[JamesW]

You need an iron cobalt remover. We would try that first and worst case scenario, drain pool and acid wash it.

Sodium Erythorbate or Erythorbic acid is a stereoisomer of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).

So, it is basically equivalent to ascorbic acid.

The main products to remove metal stains are Ascorbic acid, Citric acid, Oxalic acid and Sulfamic acid.

In my opinion, sulfamic acid is the most effective on copper stains.

 

[Zmurk]

I think that it is probably copper.

Try the stain ID kit.

The heater is probably a total loss, but you can have it checked out if you want.

I have been maintaining a slam, one of the parameters is 1-3 ppm fc… and I’m sitting at 10. Do I need to lower my fc prior to testing? Everything else within parameters.

 

[JamesW]

https://jacksmagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Stain-Id-Kit-Literature.pdf

 

[Zmurk]

Hey All,

So the Stain Test did not reveal any winners. Meaning none of them removed the discoloration. The first step on the test though was to rub a chlorine tablet on the wall (which i did in the photo by spelling "but". it seems this is organic and not a stain. My plan is to make a rig to hold a number of tablets and scrub the entire interior. Is there any concern with me being in the water during this? I have a FV level of 5 right now. any guidance is greatly appreciated.

 

[JamesW]

It might be organic based on the tests, but I really don't know what it is.

I would do a SLAM with lots of brushing to see what happens.

If you have copper and black algae, the stains will probably get worse and better.

A SLAM will clear black algae (eventually) but it will make copper stains worse.

Overall, they left you with a mess that will be difficult to deal with.

 

[JamesW]

It doesn’t really scrape off or rub off.

If it was black algae, then you should be able to scrape some off like scraping off black mold.

Yeah it definitely does not scrape off.

Are you sure that you cannot scrape any off at all?

 

[Zmurk]

Using my fingernail I cannot scrape anthing off. Sorry, i dont really have a reference. When you mention scrape im thinking it should come off like peeling up moss from the ground. if i take the stainless brush to it, it clouds up but doesnt necessarily come off. It has a waxy texture to it prior to brushing. I scrubbed my first 4x4 section today. will share what happens.

 

[JamesW]

It does not look like black algae exactly but not exactly like copper either, so I really do not know what you have.

The scrape test does not indicate black algae and the stain ID does not indicate copper.

You might need someone to come out and take a look.

Maybe an acid wash will work.

You can try a SLAM or maybe a sulfamic acid treatment or a zero alkalinity treatment to see if something works.

 

[JamesW]

It has a waxy texture to it prior to brushing.

Waxy might be black algae.

It seems to be deeply embedded into the plaster.

Maybe take the system offline and hit it really hard with liquid chlorine and a lot of brushing.