To SLAM or not to SLAM

[Rocketfish]

I moved into my new house with 20+year old pool in June and have been doing the TFP method ever since. The pool water finally became crystal clear a couple of weeks ago.

However, I have been noticing what appears to be dirt OR mustard algae on some of the walls (near the bottom, never near the top) and the floor of the pool. oh, it ALWAYS seems to be prevalent over this one large mosaic on the pool floor. I usually brush the brownish looking dirt and it comes off in a small cloud.

Is it possible this is dirt from some construction I am having done on the house? They have been tearing out drywall, knocking out fixtures, and creating a lot of dust, AND they are adjacent to my pool (and that mosaic too). OR, do you think it is the beginning of mustard algae? I did an OCLT after I first noticed the paint and some of the dirt, and i lost no more than .5 FC. My CC is constantly zero. I HAVE allowed FC to drop to as low as 2.5 a couple of times but have added chlorine immediately to bring up my FC to 6 or 7 (CYA is 40), which I normally maintain.

I also have a "solar" cover and have been maintaining temps around 88 degrees (I always thought warmer water was ideal for algae growth).

Knowing all of this, do you think I have mustard algae? I have NEVER SLAMmed my pool yet, so maybe I should? OR... should I wait until the construction is complete and see if this dirt / algae stops appearing? Since my filter seems undersized for the pool, I have had to rinse it out every 1 or 2 weeks. Each time, that brown stuff is definitely caught and evident on the cartridges. If it was mustard algae would I be seeing it on the filter cartridges?

I don't like seeing the brown patches every few days and I know a proper slam and MA slam would eliminate it IF it were algae, but wanted your two cents about this matter.

I just read the topic on SLAMming. maybe I don't need to SLAM, but just bring my FC to MA levels for 24 hours and during that time, brush EVERYTHING, including the light niche?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Texas Splash]

I'm not totally convinced you have an algae issue (yet) based on your descriptions and ability to pass an OCLT with next to no CCs. I wonder if this isn't just that .. dirt ... that is settling-down around parts of the pool with no circulation to disturb it. I'm a bit out in the country, and if I don't sweep my entire pool every 2-3 days I see a noticeable amount of brown/dirt collect in various places.

Speaking of your solar cover though, how does it look underneath? Clean with no signs of algae? At this point, I would simply monitor it for now and continue to watch your FC level for any indication of excessive use.

 

[cj3737]

+1

I get the same thing in Utah... High desert winds pick up dust we cant see then its thrown into the pool... Mine gets really noticeable next to the wrinkles in my liners..
The stuff puffs up like algae when you touch it but quickly settles in a diff location

 

[duraleigh]

That's some form of algae....dead or alive. You can probably get rid of it by elevating your FC to double the normal range and holding that for 24-48 hours. Brush it up into a cloud every time you see it form. Run the robot as much as you can.

If that doesn't get it, you will need to SLAM.

Recheck your FC often. This HOT time of year is when even the best pools get algae because your chlorine needs increase. What was working in May-June, is simply inadequate in July-August (and September for us in the deep South)

 

[Rocketfish]

Speaking of your solar cover though, how does it look underneath? Clean with no signs of algae? At this point, I would simply monitor it for now and continue to watch your FC level for any indication of excessive use.

Underneath my solar cover it is perfectly clean. you know what though? the TOP of the cover is very very filthy with brown dust. Maybe I ought to take my cover out to the front lawn and hose it down. then start over. That dust could be indicative of what is falling into my pool.

- - - Updated - - -

That's some form of algae....dead or alive. You can probably get rid of it by elevating your FC to double the normal range and holding that for 24-48 hours. Brush it up into a cloud every time you see it form. Run the robot as much as you can.

Thanks duraleigh. Increasing the FC for a short time is easy to do. I'll try that and see what happens, although it's sounding like this is just some sort of dirt / dust.

 

[Rocketfish]

I think it's going away after bumping up the FC a bit and brushing, but I still think the dirt is because of the construction and gardening I'm doing around the pool. For the record this are what the brown dust / algae / dirt looks like (I know the plaster is bad - more pics of that in another thread).