Hey! I have some Brown Algae in my pool that doesn’t brush off easily with a nylon brush. It has a slimy consistency and proliferates upon low chlorine and reduces when I shock the pool. The guys at two different stores said they’d never seen something like it. They recommended treating like Black Algae, because it doesn’t brush off. They game me some Algaecide for Black Algae (at Leslie’s). It has copper and I’d prefer not to use it - they didn’t seem to really know what they were talking about.
I just bought a wire brush and was able to remove one big spot completely with a lot of brushing.
Other info that might help:
- my pool is really old (over 30 years) and apparently has never been replastered.
- I try to add 1gl of liquid chlorine and test in the following morning - all chlorine is gone. I tested CYA and it was about 90. At the store, they tested twice and it was about 30.
- My phosphate test says it’s low, their said it was super high.
- pH increased to almost 8.0 with no apparent reason. Never seen this in the past 3 years maintaining my pool. It’s always stayed at 7.2. Alcalinity is around 100.
I’m attaching photos that seem to represent the color very well.
I need help figuring out what to do here. Should I really add copper to my pool?
I just bought a wire brush and was able to remove one big spot completely with a lot of brushing.
Other info that might help:
- my pool is really old (over 30 years) and apparently has never been replastered.
- I try to add 1gl of liquid chlorine and test in the following morning - all chlorine is gone. I tested CYA and it was about 90. At the store, they tested twice and it was about 30.
- My phosphate test says it’s low, their said it was super high.
- pH increased to almost 8.0 with no apparent reason. Never seen this in the past 3 years maintaining my pool. It’s always stayed at 7.2. Alcalinity is around 100.
I’m attaching photos that seem to represent the color very well.
I need help figuring out what to do here. Should I really add copper to my pool?