I am not looking for an argument. Just trying to get my pool blue so my kids can swim. I did forget to mention the Floc. I am human and have other things on my mind. In all fairness, it has been the single thing that has cleared my pool and made the most progress so far. I definitely did have copper. We tested for it. There was copper present. We are fairly new to all this and just trying to figure things out. I am not sure why you don't think that nothing indicates mustard algae. There are brown sand-like spots on the bottom of my pool. That seems to point to possible mustard algae, do it not? If I do in fact have mustard algae, from what I can tell, I will need to do something different to get rid of it. Right now, I am just continuing to slam until the water clears.
Help! Pool Mystery
- Thread starter sedwards368
- Start date
No worries, I saw your note about the floc before you posted. Pool care can get frustrating when it’s new and you are trying to figure out why a giant bowl of water all of a sudden turns weird colors.
The issue is that everyone new seems to think they have mustard algae but they really don’t. The SLAM process can take a while and so some people try it for a couple days and still see green water and think there must be some kind of special algae that’s resistant to chlorine. It can take a few weeks to totally clear up a green pool. The SLAM process really works so stick with it. The floc and other potions are expensive and can cause lots of trouble if they aren’t used right even on the very rare occasion that they are useful.
Side note: if you really had copper and didn’t change out the water, you still have copper in the water, it’s just sequestered. And it’ll eventually become unsequestered unless you keep adding the fancy sequestrant. It’s why they aren’t recommended. Keep going with the SLAM.
Thanks for all the info. That makes sense in regard to the mustard algae. My pool is pretty much blue but cloudy. Is it safe to let the kids swim? I realize the chlorine is high, but I am thinking hotels must keep their pools just as high.
Also, I was wondering that about the copper. I read something about not being able to get the copper out without changing out your water, but of course, the pool store people said it will "take it out". I guess time will tell on that on whether or not I actually had copper or not.
Thanks for help and encouragment!
It sounds like things are moving along nicely. Great!
For what it's worth, metals cannot be removed from the water. They can be sequestered but will eventually fall out again and you're back to the same problem. 90% of stuff that comes out of a pool store employee's mouth is wrong, a blatant lie, marketing department babble or some combination of all three.
You are safe to swim up to SLAM FC level as long as you can see the bottom (purely for safety).
For what it's worth, metals cannot be removed from the water. They can be sequestered but will eventually fall out again and you're back to the same problem. 90% of stuff that comes out of a pool store employee's mouth is wrong, a blatant lie, marketing department babble or some combination of all three.
You are safe to swim up to SLAM FC level as long as you can see the bottom (purely for safety).
dBsooner
Gold Supporter
Great advice everyone! It’s nice to read through the thread and see everything start to come together. As many have said, mustard algae is exceptionally rare. Especially that far north. In the humid southern and southeast states it is more common, but even then rare. Also some pools are just more susceptible to having it.
I hate that pool stores sell so many products with metals (copper) in them, the algaecides, then turn around and sell you a sequestrant to help mask the problem they created to begin with. Then you are at the mercy of the pool store buying the expensive sequestrant in cycles for a long time. Water replacement is the only way to get rid of the metal.
I hate that pool stores sell so many products with metals (copper) in them, the algaecides, then turn around and sell you a sequestrant to help mask the problem they created to begin with. Then you are at the mercy of the pool store buying the expensive sequestrant in cycles for a long time. Water replacement is the only way to get rid of the metal.
Thanks, everyone for all the help! We are definitely moving in the right direction.
In the end, I guess it wasn't a mystery after all...(unless you are a pool store employee, then it still is) lol
I gained a lot of information from all of you for the future as well. I truly appreciate you all taking the time to help!
In the end, I guess it wasn't a mystery after all...(unless you are a pool store employee, then it still is) lol
I gained a lot of information from all of you for the future as well. I truly appreciate you all taking the time to help!
One bit of clarification on the chlorine level. It’s not actually very high, even at SLAM level. The stabilizer has bound a bunch of it up so it’s not active, but the chlorine test doesn’t know that and reports back all of the chlorine. So the safe chlorine level is inextricably linked to the stabilizer level.
clambert1273
Gold Supporter
- Jun 13, 2013
- 1,493
- Pool Size
- 12000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
And as far as hotel pools. I won't get in them or any public pool lol I also will rarely get into friends pools. I know how my water looks and feels & I don't trust others 
dBsooner
Gold Supporter
Normally I don’t like to go off topic for a post, but I can’t help myself. Would it be rude to show up to said friends pools or public pools with your TF-Pro in hand? Leave some business cards from TFP and TFT for them after?And as far as hotel pools. I won't get in them or any public pool lol I also will rarely get into friends pools. I know how my water looks and feels & I don't trust others
clambert1273
Gold Supporter
- Jun 13, 2013
- 1,493
- Pool Size
- 12000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
It is safe to swim at slam level, however we don't recommend swimming until the water is clear enough to see the bottom of the pool. We want you to be able to tell if someone gets in trouble in the deep end so you can find them easily and get them out. Not trying to employ scare tactics, but there have been documented cases of drownings in murky public pools where you couldn't see someone who had sunk to the bottom.
The dusty piles you see are the dead algae. Think of them as little piles of victory! If you slowly vacuum to waste every day (or as close to daily as you can) you will help the water to clear. All that dead algae must be filtered out for the pool to clear. One great way to document progress is to pick one location in your pool where there is a landmark like looking down the pool steps and take a photo at that spot every day. You may think you are not making much progress day to day, but when you compare the photos you can see how the water is slowly clearing.
As for copper, TFP has collected anecdotal evidence and some of our members with extensive chemical knowledge have experimented with various copper removal methods. The bottom line is that there is no filter that removes copper from water. There is no chemical that removes copper from water. Sequestrants will temporarily bind the copper and keep it in suspension so it doesn't deposit stains on pool surfaces. Sequestrants gradually break down in chlorinated water in about 4-6 weeks and must be re-applied to keep the copper suspended. To get rid of copper permanently the water needs to be replaced with a partial to full drain, depending on how high the original copper level was. To avoid future problems with copper, check all the active ingredients of any pool chemical you use. Almost everything that has "blue" in the name has copper as an ingredient. Many algaecides contain copper (one reason why we don't usually recommend them). Mineral products that tout lower chlorine use usually contain copper or other minerals you don't want in your water. Copper can also be introduced into a pool via extremely low pH water eating away at the copper heat exchanger from a pool heater. Copper is not usually found in city or well water.
You have reached the cloudy blue stage and that is great! This is were POP (pool owner patience) pays off. Stay the course with the slam until all 3 criteria are met.
The dusty piles you see are the dead algae. Think of them as little piles of victory! If you slowly vacuum to waste every day (or as close to daily as you can) you will help the water to clear. All that dead algae must be filtered out for the pool to clear. One great way to document progress is to pick one location in your pool where there is a landmark like looking down the pool steps and take a photo at that spot every day. You may think you are not making much progress day to day, but when you compare the photos you can see how the water is slowly clearing.
As for copper, TFP has collected anecdotal evidence and some of our members with extensive chemical knowledge have experimented with various copper removal methods. The bottom line is that there is no filter that removes copper from water. There is no chemical that removes copper from water. Sequestrants will temporarily bind the copper and keep it in suspension so it doesn't deposit stains on pool surfaces. Sequestrants gradually break down in chlorinated water in about 4-6 weeks and must be re-applied to keep the copper suspended. To get rid of copper permanently the water needs to be replaced with a partial to full drain, depending on how high the original copper level was. To avoid future problems with copper, check all the active ingredients of any pool chemical you use. Almost everything that has "blue" in the name has copper as an ingredient. Many algaecides contain copper (one reason why we don't usually recommend them). Mineral products that tout lower chlorine use usually contain copper or other minerals you don't want in your water. Copper can also be introduced into a pool via extremely low pH water eating away at the copper heat exchanger from a pool heater. Copper is not usually found in city or well water.
You have reached the cloudy blue stage and that is great! This is were POP (pool owner patience) pays off. Stay the course with the slam until all 3 criteria are met.
Thank you for all the info! It is super helpful going forward in the future!
I like the idea of taking the pic for progress. Thanks for that!
Do you see any accumulations of pollen on outside surfaces? Run a white paper towel across and outside furniture or objects that stay outside. Any yellow there? If it is only accumulating at the water line it is probably pollen. Is it evenly distributed around the pool or just in one area?
Doesn't look like anything on the surface. Using a paper towel, nothing off the picnic table or rails on the ladders. There is none visible now. It seems to only accumulate at the deep end in the morning when I check. Once we brush and stir the water, there is none that is visible. I am still slamming as the deep end is still cloudy. But it does seem to be getting better each day.
Just keep at the slam then. Sounds like you are making good progress.