Mustard Algae Battle…

[DallasPoolMom]

My first season as a pool owner was great. Followed pool builder's advise. Kept the pool balanced with my little test kit he gave me. Pool was algae free, bright & clear. I was quite proud of myself. This spring things headed south...after two months of being told by local pool store that I just had pollen in the pool. "Just brush more," he said. Now, I've got a full blown mustard algae bloom. Went back to store, told to shock with 5 bags of shock and put 1 tab in each skimmer basket. But y'all know exactly what happened...that's why I'm here. Just sprung for the two day shipping on the test kit, so I can start SLAMMING this week. Currently "going" to pool school, so wish me luck. First hurdle, cleaning the slime off the filter cartridges.

Brief Saga Synopsis
Pool has had yellow dust on floor during brushing for about two months. Started clinging to sides about 1 month ago. Pool store guy said it was just pollen dust.

Large patches on walls would no longer brush off. So last week, I purchased the copper algaecide that he recommended. Algae on wall still present. Shocked the pool like he recommended. Algae still present.

Went to clean filters again, and found dark gray slime between folds. Won't just spray off. Pool store guy says it's dead algae. So, now I'm dealing with live algae in the pool and dead algae in the filter cartridges. Unbelievably, I'm still taking the pool store guy's advise at this point.

Last night's pool store test results prior to shocking with 5 pounds of Power Powder Plus (per pool store guy )
FAC 0
TAC 0
CH 200
CYA 60
TA 90
pH 7.6
copper 0
iron 0
phosphates 1000

Shocked pool at 7pm. Started reading about mustard algae. Found this site and discovered how important CYA value is. Used the Pool Calculator and determined that I needed higher shock level for mustard algae, so I added 5 more pounds of shock at 10pm.

Started Cleaning Filters this morning and found them coated in light blue gunk???

Today's values per my "little test kit" at 5:30 pm.
FAC 12 Best Guess using 1:3 dilution…totally winging it here!
pH 7.5
TA 100

So, my TF100 test kit will be here this Wed. I've got 15 gallons of liquid bleach ready to go. Do I have to wait until Wed. to start the SLAM or is there anyway to start without having the test kit?
Also, any recommendations for the slime on the filters? Site says muriatic acid solution. Not looking forward to that. Any other recs?

 

[AimeeH]

Ok...welcome. You've been through a lot I can see.

Every time you say "shocked it" is concerning as that might be granular "shock" which is stabilized chlorine with CYA normally. Stick to plain bleach from here on out or plain liquid chlorine.

You've been reading in pool school and I'll bet your head is spinning. Keep reading. It will click. When you get your Test kit post up a full set of numbers and we can help. In the mean time, you should be safe to add a half gallon of bleach a day until your kit arrives. And brush. And brush. And brush.

And I'd be surprised if this is mustard algae. Don't focus on that detail. It's most likely just green algae.

Please keep reading and post your questions.