Mustard Algae - New Pool owner

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Few questions for after I pass the OCLT (hopefully soon)....what level should I let my FC reduce to? It would seem like a good idea to keep it high, 8-10? The pool gets direct sunlight all day...

Also I have some black stains...a few decent patches that looked originally like fibreglass was fading? But I assume it's from Algae....also a small black spots....I'll take some photos tomoro and post up here.
 
Keep going mate.

You need POP :)

Once SLAM is over, make sure you have an accurate reading of your CYA using your CCL test kit then follow the CYA/FC chart for recommended FC levels.
I believe the chart recommends FC at 7.5% of your CYA. I keep my FC at 10% for peace of mind (Aussie sun and lots of kids in the pool)
However FC levels between minimum recommended and SLAM level are safe levels but unnecessary above 10% of your CYA level.

Also you should Keep your FC under 10ppm otherwise your PH readings will not be accurate.

Hope it helps, good luck achieving your SLAM.

One more thing. When I SLAM, which is probably once a season, after I pass the OCLT 2 nights in a row (a bit OCD) I raise FC to 60% CYA for 24h then let my levels drop to 10%. I read somewhere here it gets rid of any stronger nasties that may still be floating around....
 
So I've been happy with the results so far but then I went to get water tested at better pets n gardens just to see what they'd be (compared to my readings) and somehow they're telling me it's got worse?

FC 12
CC 6.27!!!!!!

It's telling me it worse than before???? All my manual readings have been ~0.5ppm ...I'm going to test the water soon and see....I am so Dang confused :/ :/ :/
 
Yes trust your results.
Pool $hops equipment is usually poorly calibrated, or calibrated in such way they make you buy something to fix the problem.
Operators are usually poorly trained, you can get cross contamination from previous tests..... too many reasons for their results to be inaccurate
 
yann said:
Yes trust your results.
Click to expand...

Listen to the man, he speaks the truth.

Trusting my pool store I ended up with a TA of over 200. It turns out their test goes wonky over ~110 and indicates it's low, so they kept selling me more buffer and I kept adding it.

The Clear Choice Labs (which uses the Taylor chemistry) FAS-DPD test is excellent for FC & CC. If your figures look good, and a re-test indicates the same thing (so you didn't duff it) then I'd trust that over anything you get from a pool store.

I can say this now, but having just done my first SLAM I was absolutely skeptical about being able to maintain an FC of 28 overnight (CYA 70) until I saw it with my own eyes (and tested it 3 times). The stuff taught here works. Trust your test kit. Double check if you are not confident. Put extra DPD powder in. Whatever you have to do to convince yourself it's actually on the money.

When I need to buy chemicals, I pop into my pool store with a sample just to see what they say. To determine their TA test was wonky, I went in every fortnight for months with samples I'd tampered with to see how their tests correlated with mine. I trust my numbers. You should trust yours.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
With CCL kit, a 5ml sample will give 1ppm/drop which is fine for SLAM monitoring, saves your reagents.
For OCLT and daily FC testing you need precise measurements so 10ml sample (to the line) will give you 0.5ppm/drop

My understanding is you can’t , to an extent, put too much powder in your sample. You want enough powder for all Cl molecules to bind.
On regular FC testing with expected FC < 10ppm a scoop is enough. When doing OCLT with high FC > 25ppm I use a scoop and a bit just to be sure to bind all my Cl molecules.

Maybe I’m wrong on this so I’m happy to be corrected.
 
Worked for me. If you doubt it, try that. Then repeat with 2 scoops. If the result is the same you're fine. I'm a terrible skeptic. I've never been so glad to be wrong.
 
Great, sounds like I've been doing that right. When testing my FC and it goes clear after one drop, if I then leave the sample while I attend the pool...Come back and it's a little pink...is this normal or mean I'm not measuring FC properly?
 
AussieSwimmer said:
Great, sounds like I've been doing that right. When testing my FC and it goes clear after one drop, if I then leave the sample while I attend the pool...Come back and it's a little pink...is this normal or mean I'm not measuring FC properly?
Click to expand...

I've never seen that, but then I never do that. I'm going to leave it next time I test and see if I have the same thing. Either way. Pop another drop in. If it does the job then you're off by at most 1ppm (which at >20ppm is well within the margin of error). So no biggie.
 
Anyone think I may have mustard algae (see photo from original post), pool has never gone green at all. If mustard, does it require higher FC levels for 24hrs post successful OCLT?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply