*Filter was down for a week, back up and now have green stuff settling on pool floor... thoughts?

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BsPool

Well-known member
May 13, 2015
149
Cincinnati, OH
Hi all!

It's been a while since I've posted. All has been going well with our pool for the most part - except for one thing. I remember fighting the green stuff settling on the surface last year and it's back. I assumed it was from our DE filter not being super clean last year. Now after taking the filter apart, cleaning the "fingers" and soaking them, recharging the DE and all... the green stuff (which I assume is algae) is back (see pic below).

I had to repair a pvc connection that I broke on accident, so the filter was down for a week. The odd part is - there wasn't any green stuff the whole week the pool wasn't running. Temps were cool (50ish) and partly cloudy for the most part. After getting the filter running again (just yesterday) the green stuff is starting to show back up. Knowing that the filter is clean - what might be causing this and how do I prevent it?

Of course you're going to ask what my numbers are and I can post those if need be. It's just odd that the water stayed clean, UNTIL I started running the (clean) filter again.

Any tips or suggestions are appreciated!Green_Stuff.jpg
Thanks!
 
Algae is not caused by nor is it helped by your filter. Your filter is simply a storage location for particulate matter captured from the water column. You do not have enough chlorine in your water. Can you post a current full set of water tests?
 
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PoolGate said:
Algae is not caused by nor is it helped by your filter. Your filter is simply a storage location for particulate matter captured from the water column. You do not have enough chlorine in your water. Can you post a current full set of water tests?
Click to expand...
Ok - thanks! I was just odd that it started to appear as soon as the filter was back up and running - but no algae showed up for the week that it wasn't running. It just seems like the filter is almost was the reason for it showing up. So I was curious if something else was going on or if I was doing something else wrong with the DE filter, or possibly something wrong with the filter itself (maybe not catching and storing the matter). Is that possible?

I can check my numbers again tomorrow. Even though the water is clear, I may need to SLAM.

Thanks again!
 
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So I ended up having to replace the PVC fittings that I thought were good to go and my pool was down again for another week. I went ahead and threw the vacuum in to pickup the green stuff on the pool surface. While the pool was down, no algae reappeared. I had to get the fittings from the pool store and while there, I mentioned the algae issue. They suggested adding a bottle of Algaecide to the skimmer. I figured why not? So after fixing the fittings and getting it up and running again, I added the Algaecide and since then no issues with Algae. I also added a gallon of 10% shock (chlorine). I'm going to check my numbers again later - but I have to say my water is CRYSTAL CLEAR!

Curious what you guys think and what your opinions are on using Algaecide (I haven't checked for it on here yet)...

Figured I'd follow up in case this helps anyone else out.

Thanks!
 
BsPool said:
Oh - ok. Thanks for the heads up!

Here's a pic of what I used... I don't see any metals listed (but are they normally?)

View attachment 488597
Click to expand...

Copper is traditionally used in algaecides. But it can stain pool equipment and in extreme cases turn blond hair green. Algaecide also really isn't a substitute for simply adding more chlorine. In your case, it is an appropriate use of the product. I use it once a year, an entire bottle, when I close.
 

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PoolGate said:
Copper is traditionally used in algaecides. But it can stain pool equipment and in extreme cases turn blond hair green. Algaecide also really isn't a substitute for simply adding more chlorine. In your case, it is an appropriate use of the product. I use it once a year, an entire bottle, when I close.
Click to expand...
Ok - got it. The guy at the store suggested only using it once a year too.

Thanks again!
 
Water is looking good!

Here are my numbers... should I do anything about the CYA or let it ride? If I'm correct it should be 30 -60.

FC: 10 (1G was added yesterday after getting a read of zero - so wanted to see how well it would hold)
PH: 7.7ish
TA: 60
CYA: 65
 
BsPool said:
Water is looking good!

Here are my numbers... should I do anything about the CYA or let it ride? If I'm correct it should be 30 -60.

FC: 10 (1G was added yesterday after getting a read of zero - so wanted to see how well it would hold)
PH: 7.7ish
TA: 60
CYA: 65
Click to expand...

CYA is fine although it is not "65". You should count that as "70" due to the logarithmic nature of the CYA scale.
 
BsPool said:
Water is looking good!

Here are my numbers... should I do anything about the CYA or let it ride? If I'm correct it should be 30 -60.

FC: 10 (1G was added yesterday after getting a read of zero - so wanted to see how well it would hold)
PH: 7.7ish
TA: 60
CYA: 65
Click to expand...
If your FC was zero then it was almost certainly algae and very likely the gallon of chlorine cleared it up.
 
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