Algae in pool

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clmsntiger1

clmsntiger1

0
Apr 10, 2016
22
Lexington, KY
I have been following the methods described on this site since I opened my new pool the first of May. I've had no problems at all maintaining crystal clear water, that is until today. I just took the solar cover off and found a lot of algae in the pool. The cover was put on Sunday evening and it was on until just now. I've been testing the TC, CC, and pH everyday and maintaining the proper levels. Water temp is 90. I have a VS pump that runs for 2 hours at 2350, 4 hours at 1100, and then finishes with 2 hours at 1600. I'm trying to figure out what might have caused this. My current numbers are as follows:

TC 6
CC 0
TA 100
CYA 55
pH 7.6

Any advice or suggestions would be helpful also. As a side note we were planning on going out of town tomorrow thru the weekend, should I try and handle this now or wait? My plan was to raise to shock level tomorrow and keep the cover on til we came back, with the pump running its normal schedule everyday.
 
Hello fellow Clemson fan!

There is one answer, the FC fell too low at some point. That's the bottom line, either through testing error, circulation or some pump issue. It is possible/probable that algae was introduced from the solar cover and with the super warm water the races were on.

I'm thinking ... if it's my pool, I raise it to SLAM, load up 2 floaters before I leave and lower the CYA when I return, if nothing else to keep it at bay. It's going to be hot the next 5 days, that stuff will grow like crazy unchecked.
 
I don't think I'd leave it on filter 24/7. I'd either leave it on the schedule you have on filter, or recirc 24/7.

I sympathize with you, it is a difficult problem to face when you feel you've been doing everything right and this problem springs up right before a trip. :/
 
Re: Algae Bloom

Definitely don't want to wait and give the algae more time to reproduce. You mentioned that you had 0.5 FC loss and 0.5 CC, how does the pool look? Is it clear?

The cover might not be the best idea while you're away. The extra heat and sunlight might encourage algae growth and burn off more chlorine. The challenge for you will be keeping the chlorine at acceptable levels while you're gone so the algae doesn't grow back.

I'd get it up to shock level before you go away, and add a few pucks to the pool. Yes, it will raise your CYA to about 60, which is not ideal, but it's better than coming home and discovering the algae have taken over.
 
Re: Algae Bloom

The pool is clear in the shallow end and has a slight green tint in the deep end. I can still see the main drain in the deep end though. I was only considering using the cover so that my FC loss wouldn't be as high each day, but I see what you're saying. I bought some pucks yesterday in anticipation of possibly needed them for this trip, I was just hesitant to use them because of the CYA gain. But replacing water is easier to deal with than algae I suppose!
 
Yep, I know that slight green tint. If you weren't going away, I'm sure you'd have that cleared up in no time. Is there a neighbor that can add bleach to your pool while you're away?

I don't think the cover will make a huge difference either way. It could prevent some FC loss if it's keeping UV rays out of the pool. I always think of the 'greenhouse effect' of solar covers, but I suppose the benefit of blocking the UV rays can make that a wash. I've searched different threads here about the impact of solar covers on algae. Some people have done ok, but others seem to have problems. It's probably the cover itself getting algae and not being cleaned when put in the pool.
 
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