5 year dedicated TFPer totally stumped!

[kimkats]

Let us know how it goes.......

so no main drain and you took the ladder out and cleaned it...........I am very hopeful this MA levels do the trick....

Have you looked REAL close at the skimmer door? One time someone had a tiny split in the plastic that allowed water to get in to the Styrofoam and it had turn into an algae farm that was cause them the problem.

 

[Catanzaro]

How often do you clean the cartridge filter? Maybe this could be one of the problems. My friend has a pool, about your size (IG) and if he goes a few days without brushing, no mater what, algae starts to form in certain areas. Even when I went to close his pool, the water did not look crystal clear, like it usually does. Maybe it was because this year it has been real hot. Please keep us posted!

PS: Personally, once you have this cleared up, I would recommend running the filter a little longer. I run my filter from 6 a.m.-9 a.m. and from 12 p.m.-8 p.m, which may a little over kill, but this is only in the summer when the temperatures reach the 90's. Maybe something strange is going on your pool, but it was probably a combination of many things, especially the hot weather.

 

[Pauls234]

Update:

Tested about 8:30 this morning and still passed the OCLT, zero loss overnight, so raised to mustard level and brushed again.

Checked the skimmer, no cracks and Styrofoam is bright white. Keep these ideas coming!

Catanzaro - I probably clean the cartridge every 4-6 weeks, depending on whether or not the cotton wood is flying or if I've had to SLAM (which has been rare). My pressure gauge breaks within a few weeks every season and can't find the good liquid filled ones in the right size, so have to kind of go by above mentioned variables, passage of time, and how the pressure feels on the return. I did clean it today and though it did not look especially dirty there was a material increase in return pressure. I also brushed and sprayed down the inside of the filter housing, because why not?

There was some dead algae on the floor this morning, which is not surprising. Am I right to think that if it were the same dead algae just going through the filter for weeks that it should eventually bleach out to white, as opposed to the darkish green brown that I continue to find?

 

[Catanzaro]

Are you 100% it is dead algae on the floor and is there any on the walls? Remember that most things settle to the floor. Maybe trying to vacuum to waste?

 

[Pauls234]

I've never had any algae on the walls, ever. Unfortunately, I do not have vac to waste option, wish I did as that would rule out (or not) my filtration suspicions.

Do you mean am I 100% it is dead algae vs. something else such as dirt/sand/dust? Or do you suggest that it is possibly live algae? If the former, I kind of touched on that in my initial post, but it would not seem to be dust or dirt - it piles up way too quickly and I am not in a dusty area at all, nothing shows up on my railings or car or anything like that so I think it is internal. Also, when I swim down and look closely, it is definitely greenish, feels slightly slimy, not at all grainy, and disappears into a cloud if I try and grab a pinch.

 

[Catanzaro]

You do not have to be in a dusty area to have dust and dirt blowing around. Think about the interior of your home behind closed doors, as dust accumulates. It appears to me that maybe we are not dealing with algae at all but stuff settling to the floor. Personally, I know less dirt settles to the floor of my pool when the main drain is open all the way. I am assuming you can hook up a vacuum to the skimmer (hopefully). Try placing a skimmer sock, maybe doubling up for now. Vacuum everything off the floor and nothing will bypass the skimmer sock. When I vacuum everything from the pool floor is caught in the sock. This will help us figure exactly what you are dealing with. Thanks!

 

[Pauls234]

I'll give it a shot next time I vac, but I really really doubt it is external dust or dirt, mostly because within a few days the volume of junk on the floor is significantly greater than I've ever experienced with even a month of no vacuuming over the past 5 seasons. It just doesn't seem plausible that the external environment could have change that dramatically, basically overnight.

And also, it is extremely fine, and not at all grainy feeling as dirt is.

But, I rule nothing out.

- - - Updated - - -

It looks almost exactly like the pics in this thread, and matches JamesW's description of MA almost perfectly.

Any idea what this is? How to remove?

 

[Catanzaro]

Let's assume that it is algae settling on the floor of your pool. If so, then clearly we can rule out a chemistry issue, which now leaves you to only 2 other items, that is filtration (your filter), and circulation (the movement of water) inside your pool, working together with the pump and filter, etc. Only items that I can think of. It reminds of me of AC units in a home that are not set up right, the amount of air intake is not balanced with air output (return and supply).

I know you are saying this is your first time after 5 years, but we went 6 years without really knowing that our AC units were not designed properly because of certain conditions. We have had to replace duct work on both levels and both AC units. Still, even in hot humid weather, the system struggles without a dehumidifier as there are other external factors that come into play (high ceiling, windows, brick, where the sun is, etc.). Why I am using this analogy is because the overall factors that go into your pool may have changed, thereby not creating the efficiency needed to filter out algae. Hopefully this makes sense. If I had to take a guess, something has to be going on at the filter. Hopefully you will get this figured out!

 

[Pauls234]

Update - I've been at mustard shock level since Sunday morning and brushed 3 consecutive days. I am not quite ready to declare victory, but it appears what was gathering on the floor stopped accumulating around Sunday night. I work from home tomorrow so will be able to vacuum, and then will let my FC start to drift down.

Signs are pointing to the dreaded mustard algae as the source, but I will report back again in several days.

 

[pabeader]

One thing I noticed it that you mentioned having only one return and one skimmer and that they are close to each other. It might be a good idea to look into finding a way to direct the return as far away from the skimmer as possible. I've read of folks using 90 degree fittings and things like that to help direct the water.

 

[Catanzaro]

I've read of folks using 90 degree fittings and things like that to help direct the water.

Good call Pabeader. Post # 17 is in this thread is where I recommended the 360* degree fittings to redirect water all over the pool.

 

[pabeader]

:blush: How did I miss that???

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Update - I've been at mustard shock level since Sunday morning and brushed 3 consecutive days. I am not quite ready to declare victory, but it appears what was gathering on the floor stopped accumulating around Sunday night. I work from home tomorrow so will be able to vacuum, and then will let my FC start to drift down.

Signs are pointing to the dreaded mustard algae as the source, but I will report back again in several days.

Glad to hear you're making progress. Mustard algae is often misdiagnosed or "over prescribed" but it is always possible. Given your pool's configuration with only one return (as others have pointed out), you need to be more vigilant when it comes to brushing and mixing the water. A pool as large as yours, with only one return, will have circulation dead spots where the FC will easily be depleted to low levels that can allow algae (of any variety) to grow. One possible option would be to get a robot pool cleaner and run it very regularly in order to mix the pool water up better. If possible (and within your skill set), you might look to modify the pool's plumbing to add an additional return to the other side of the pool. Anything you can do to promote better water mixing will help greatly to reduce instances of algae growth.

 

[Pauls234]

thanks all, because I've been so trouble free the past few years I may have gotten a bit lax on brushing. But, I think the origination of my problem was that I was treating my CYA as more like 30, when it was actually closer to 45-50 (thanks to the R7605 I re-calibrated my eye), and thus kept my FC a bit lower than I should have. As a result, I had a minor algae outbreak, SLAMed, passed all 3 criteria, but never thought to go to MA levels.

pabear - from outside the pool, my return is to the right of the skimmer and blasts water directly away from it, I can adjust the angle that it does so, but it does not blow straight out. So, I think I am directed as far away as possible if I understand you correctly.

Catanzaro - my return is not standard, it is one of those with the lights (forget the name at the moment - aqua luminator maybe?) so it does not appear that those attachments will work for me.

Matt - I do have a suction side cleaner that I can run more, but I am fine with more regular brushing. In the off season I will look into what it takes to adding a second return though.

I'll report back with confirmation that this all worked in the next few days.

 

[Catanzaro]

Catanzaro - my return is not standard, it is one of those with the lights (forget the name at the moment - aqua luminator maybe?) so it does not appear that those attachments will work for me.

They have fittings or adapters. I do not know the manufacturer as my rotating heads came with the pool. The PB made it sound like I was getting something. The "Octal Circulation System" is nothing more than $120 in parts. They may have even shorted me 2 of them (who knows), but 4 of them work great. If you have the standard threads, like other pools, they will fit.

 

[JoeSelf]

The aqua luminator throws water out 90 +/- degrees to the side wall of the pool. Mine S+R are about 3 1/2 - 4' apart and I have great circulation when the steps are out. Not so much when there are in. Work in progress.