Constant Uphill Battle

[flygirl516]

Hello all,
We have been in a constant uphill battle with algae blooms. We have direct sunlight all day and the pool stays at about 86, and it's difficult to maintain FC levels, but we always keep it above the min (or it only dips below briefly, because ive been having to check it morning and afternoon to maintain). Even though our numbers are within the correct ranges, we still get minor algae blooms. I've slammed 3 different times, passed the three tests, and within 4-5 days we have another algae bloom.

Is it the heat/sunlight? Is my CYA too low, so would increasing that help maintain the FC level? I'm assuming the drastic dips in FC daily is causing some algae to sneak in and bloom, in the brief time it dips too low.

And to boot, Walmart ran out of liquid chlorine for a few days, so i had to use the dreaded tablets. I was finally able to get a few bottles, so I'm starting another SLAM to clear up the cloudiness in my pool. ugh. My question above is for after i clear up the current issue!

FC 6
CC .5
PH 7.6
TA 80
CYA 40

Thank you!

 

[Vickery]

Brush, brush, brush! Do you have a ladder that could harbor algae under the steps? A light alcove? Any place that a little algae can hide, safe behind its slime, waiting for the FC to drop? Even a small wrinkle can provide a harbor for it. Algae in water is like mold in the air - it can be anywhere and has proven to be prolific.

 

[flygirl516]

Alrighty then! I shall brush more than I've brushed before.

Any way I can try to stabilize my fluctuations in FC levels? It fluctuates 3-4 daily. I need to bring it up to an 8 or 9 every morning so it doesnt dip below 5 throughout the course of the day.

 

[max2k]

Alrighty then! I shall brush more than I've brushed before.

Any way I can try to stabilize my fluctuations in FC levels? It fluctuates 3-4 daily. I need to bring it up to an 8 or 9 every morning so it doesnt dip below 5 throughout the course of the day.

It would be interesting to see how much you lose overnight? Your CYA is already high enough IMO. Just for reference- I'm losing 1.5 ppm FC during day with water temp 82 and CYA 30.

Could you please add test kit name to your signature?

 

[flygirl516]

Right now I'm dealing with an algae bloom.. but when everything is crystal clear, I don't lose FC overnight but I lose a good 3-4 throughout the day. We have direct sun all day and water temp is sitting at about 90.

I think I've gone through about 50-60 bottles of 10% chlorine so far this year. 20 of those bottles were to clear up the green swamp, so I'd say about 30 bottles to maintain and now I am in the process of a SLAM again because we dipped too low. I think this is my third SLAM this summer, but I pass the 3 tests in 2-3 days.

Is this normal? Should I constantly need to be adding 1/2 gal of chlorine daily to keep my FC level, and if it dips too low one day I have an outbreak?

edit:
simple math tells me that 1/2 gal a day would be more than 30 bottles so far. I've honestly lost count, and I'd get 10 bottles at a time from Walmart. But about a half gal a day is accurate to maintain target FC. I actually usually add enough chlorine to be about 2-3 OVER target FC, so when it falls throughout the day, its only 2-3 under target, and not creating a breeding ground for algae. Although, obviously, that has happened yet again. I'm frustrated!

 

[duraleigh]

Over and over, we read about people having algae they cannot shake. The answer is ALWAYS not doing the SLAM properly.

There is something that is not being done correctly. Please reread the SLAM article and make sure you are following it to a "T".

Are you brushing? are you vacuuming? Are you keeping chlorine at proper level after you finish your SLAM?

Thousands of pool owners use what we teach and their pools are crystal clear. We'll help get yours their, too.

 

[jeffchap]

The only way algae can grow is if your FC is too low relative to your CYA. How confident are you of those readings? Something has to be off, or you are dropping below your minimum FC more frequently than you think you are.

 

[flygirl516]

I will reread! My FC dropped from 16 to 10 from 7am to 5pm, so I bumped it back up to 16 and will check again when i get home later at 9:30. pool has been brushed and will be vacuumed.

Once SLAM is completed, I think I will need to find a number higher than the target FC that I can chlorinate to in the AM so it doesnt drop farther than target throughout the course of the day.

i am also going to watch videos on CYA tests too, to make sure those are being done correctly

 

[duraleigh]

I think I will need to find a number higher than the target FC that I can chlorinate to in the AM so it doesnt drop farther than target throughout the course of the day.

Once you get the algae all the way out, I think your FC consumption will drop to about 2 ppm daily or less.

 

[max2k]

I will reread! My FC dropped from 16 to 10 from 7am to 5pm, so I bumped it back up to 16 and will check again when i get home later at 9:30. pool has been brushed and will be vacuumed.

Once SLAM is completed, I think I will need to find a number higher than the target FC that I can chlorinate to in the AM so it doesnt drop farther than target throughout the course of the day.

i am also going to watch videos on CYA tests too, to make sure those are being done correctly

re- confirming CYA reading is a good idea as if you read it too low which is common you'd pick your target FC too low and the rest will follow. 1 day below min should not get you in trouble if the pool was algae free. 5 days will do that so so somewhere in between is the break even point . Please note that FC demand drops as temperature decreases so you won't be adding 1/2 gal a day all the time.

 

[flygirl516]

I lost 6ppm overnight, so I'm nowhere near done with SLAM. It's looking clear though until we brush, so it's improving! I will check CYA today when I get home.

 

[Chrissykr]

I have pretty much the same conditions as you.

I have found adding some chlorine in the middle of the day has really helped. We were adding 56 oz about 3 pm. Now it is cooling down here I have dropped to 40 oz about 3 pm. It helped keep the chlorine levels more level and we never dropped below our target. I also had my pump running about 14 hors a day to keep the water moving.

I also made sure to brush any spots that can lead to problems every couple of days.

 

[flygirl516]

we are out of the house from 7am - 5:30/6pm, or else I would check during the day!

 

[mgmoore7]

we are out of the house from 7am - 5:30/6pm, or else I would check during the day!

You don't need to add during the day. You just need to add enough the night before or in the morning to cover the daily loss. Once you pass a slam start adding somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 5 ppm each day and see if it maintains. Once you're good with that you can adjust from there and maybe decrease.

 

[flygirl516]

Happy to report that we have passed all three tests! SLAM is over! (and i tested the FC twice to make sure!) Once we're back down to normal levels, i will be experimenting to see how much i should add in the AM to hold FC throughout the day.

as always, thank you for guiding me through!

 

[Texas Splash]