Dead algae/pollen mix or mustard algae?

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Re: Check inside my filter?

singerteacher said:
How do I check inside my filter? I've never opened it up!
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I have a cartridge filter...I don't know much about a sand filter. It does not look like what I have in my pool, does it brush away easily? I would almost say it does look like some kind of algae...From what I have read about mustard algae, it doesn't happen that frequently...But that does not look like that pollen dirt I have in my pool. If you think it is algae just raising your FC will not do it you will have to take it to shock level. I think I saw on your earlier post that your CYA was at 50...then you would have to shock up to 20 ppm FC and keep it there. Have you done that? It can't hurt if you think it is algae.
 
One way to be completely sure is to go up to shock level for a day or two. Mustard algae will "go away" while you are at shock level, so if you sweep/vacuum it up it won't come back until the FC level goes down. Pollen, on the other hand, will continue appearing over and over regardless of the FC level.

If you post a picture of your filter we can explain how you open it up. Some are much easier to open than others. However, I don't think this has anything to do with the filter. Either mustard algae or pollen could explain everything you describe without any filter problems at all.
 
singerteacher said:
No, it doesn't look like sand. On the steps it looks like yellow powder, and on the bottom of the pool it looks like teaspoons of green/brown/yellow-colored slurry. It seems like the teaspoons "multiply" -- in the early morning, there's one small one, then by mid-day there are more. It does seem to accumulate in the step texture and bottom seams.

I've attached a few pictures. Keep in mind that I vacuumed thoroughly last night and the night before. :x

If this is dust/pollen, how do I get rid of it? I've vacuumed two nights in a row, backwash often, and use skimmer socks, but it doesn't seem to be reducing the amount of stuff that I need to vacuum. Honestly, pretty much the same amount of stuff eventually returns. Is there something wrong with my sand filter? I've vacuumed with a skimmer sock and without one, and it doesn't seem to make any difference.

I'd almost prefer that it were mustard algae, because then I could shock the heck out of it and be done!
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Singerteacher...have you noticed a lot of dust on your car or patio table or windows for that matter. We were having dinner on the deck tonight and I noticed our glass pattio table was covered with dust...I wiped my hand across it and it came up with a soft dirty dust on it...I remember gettins some off the bottom of my pool last year and then drying it out...It was exactly the same as I have now...gritty when wet but dusty when dry...It is pollen and dirt in the air...You should notice it all over any shiny or glass surfaces...As well as the bottom of the pool. If you don't then it may just be algae.
 
JasonLion said:
One way to be completely sure is to go up to shock level for a day or two. Mustard algae will "go away" while you are at shock level, so if you sweep/vacuum it up it won't come back until the FC level goes down. Pollen, on the other hand, will continue appearing over and over regardless of the FC level.
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I did already shock to regular shock level, when I had what I was sure was green algae alone. My water went from yellow-green to yellow to clear, and it seemed to drop these puddle-things on the bottom while it was clearing, which I thought was dead algae mixed with pollen. I vacuumed them up, then more appeared, so I vacuumed them again. What does dead algae look like, anyway?

We do have dust -- even though it's been raining, the backwash leaves dirt in the drain. We also have cottonwood pollen, which looks like dead dandelion heads floating in the air, falling into the pool so quickly that I can't even skim them out. I'd be skimming all day long. I imagine they're excellent little pollen sponges!

I did not vacuum tonight, thinking that if it's pollen I might be just more mixing it up than vacuuming it ... and then it falls down to the bottom again. I'm going to test FC/CC tonight and tomorrow again, and will post results tomorrow morning, just in case something is different.

If I have a pool bottom (yes, it's just the bottom) covered with funny puddles tomorrow morning, I will try the shock and see if it takes them away. Should I just go up to regular shock level, or all the way to mustard algae shock level?
 
It sounds like you are dealing with pollen/dust. Your pool is a big air filter right now...the water takes it all out of the air and deposits it on the bottom of your pool. Jason's advice sounds like good advice...and worth a try just to make sure. If you find out it is just pollen and dust...then the only thing you can do is keep vacuuming and live with it. I have 7 trees around my pool in my yard and my neighbors yards. They are dropping a lot of pollen right now. It is harmless but irritating to those of us with sparklypoolitis...frustratedpoolmom prescribes vodka to get through the anxiety...I am in agreement. It is irritating but really nothing to worry about if you find you have no mustard algae...If it is all over the bottom as you say I am guessing it is just pollen...mustard algae tends to grow in the shade and up the walls...In two years I have never had anything growing on my walls.
Just where is Prescott Wisconsin. I am a closet cheesehead...have been spending summer vacation up north since I was 5, Iam not quite sure where it is...I have heard of it...but at a loss for where in the state it is. My parents live way up north in Bayfield County...in the national forest...Going up next week. I love Wisconsin...A wise man once said...Hawaii is nice but Wisconsin is beautiful!!!
 
After sunset, FC was 5.5 and CC was 0. Before sunrise, FC was 5.0 and CC was 0. (I will be upping to 6.0 today to stay safe, since I have unstable water.) Happily, the bottom of my pool wasn't covered with little "paint puddles" of pollen/dust/cottonwood ... although there were a couple more than last night, it wasn't a complete splatter-zone like before. They could easily just be more pollen settling to the bottom.

Here's a recipe for sparkly poolitis: Get algae, return your water to perfect condition, hold it there for a few days, vacuum every last thing off the bottom, and prepare to swim ... then the next afternoon, the bottom looks like someone shot a paintgun filled with green/yellow paint at it. Or is it a recipe for temporary insanity? :wink:

Prescott is on the Minnesota border, at the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, southeast of the Twin Cities. We're just off the famous Highway 61, for any Bob Dylan fans out there, and for motorcycle or driving enthusiasts we're on the Great River Road. It's in farming country, as opposed to the Big Woods where your folks live, which is equally as beautiful, if not more so! Planning to attend the Cheese Curd Festival in Ellsworth in a couple weeks -- if you haven't had them yet, try deep fried cheese curds next time you're here! :cheers:
 
singerteacher said:
After sunset, FC was 5.5 and CC was 0. Before sunrise, FC was 5.0 and CC was 0. (I will be upping to 6.0 today to stay safe, since I have unstable water.) Happily, the bottom of my pool wasn't covered with little "paint puddles" of pollen/dust/cottonwood ... although there were a couple more than last night, it wasn't a complete splatter-zone like before. They could easily just be more pollen settling to the bottom.

Here's a recipe for sparkly poolitis: Get algae, return your water to perfect condition, hold it there for a few days, vacuum every last thing off the bottom, and prepare to swim ... then the next afternoon, the bottom looks like someone shot a paintgun filled with green/yellow paint at it. Or is it a recipe for temporary insanity? :wink:

Prescott is on the Minnesota border, at the confluence of the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, southeast of the Twin Cities. We're just off the famous Highway 61, for any Bob Dylan fans out there, and for motorcycle or driving enthusiasts we're on the Great River Road. It's in farming country, as opposed to the Big Woods where your folks live, which is equally as beautiful, if not more so! Planning to attend the Cheese Curd Festival in Ellsworth in a couple weeks -- if you haven't had them yet, try deep fried cheese curds next time you're here! :cheers:
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OK I know what you're talking about now...We are at the north end of the St.Croix...Up where we are it is such a beautiful river...cold water, fast rapids, pine trees. We go up to Tomah and then to Eau Claire, then north on 53 to 63. That is where we get into St Croix country. I love it up there. Can't wait to leave on Friday morning...I will be fishing Friday evening if I am lucky...Oh and I love cheese curds...except for the squeeking when you eat them...that is a little weird! Sounds like Pool is getting better... :party:
 
We thought we had mustard algae since last June. We vac'd to waste a few times last year, leaving the pool spotless (no lights or ladders in pool and only one return and skimmer at the time) and next morning, it was right back in there - only not as much.

We're now convinced that it's pollen, because we're using a solar cover for the first time. After the last big rain, I went out to service the pool and found LOTS of this stuff on top of the cover. It was all dried up today and looks just like the stuff I got out of the pool last year. I'm convinced that Texas gets heavy pollen year round :rant:

There are lots of posts on here which include pics of what we perceive to be mustard algae - even a youtube video. But as for us, we're now convinced it's just pollen :? and we let our bot pick it up. Of course, we're now trying to figure out how to roll our cover back without getting water on it and washing the stuff into the pool :roll:
 

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Singer, in April, we bought a very, very old used (but well taken-care-of) Aquabot Turbo. The young lady's grandfather bought it new and used it for several years, then passed it on to her. And now we have it! And I've got to tell ya, I absolutely love it! Is it perfect? Of course not! But until we got it, I had no way of vacuuming that poofy stuff up that it didn't come right back through the sand filter and into the pool. The bot doesn't cover the entire pool and I have to highjack it as it's coming up the walls sometimes to redirect the little booger to the dirty spots it missed. But other than that, we have absolutely no problem with it, although we would prefer that it stay off the walls and just stay on the floor. It doesn't even try to eat its cord (which seems to be a common problem with these). In fact, I've been putting it under the solar cover and letting it do its thing...without the pool noodles on the cord and have been very impressed with the performance. When we first got it, in anticipation of it trying to devour its floaty cord, I sliced pool noodles and wrapped them around the cord. But I'm convinced now that we don't even need to do that. And it worked just fine in very, very cold water too - which is another common complaint.

So I think we may have gotten lucky with this old fella, because it's very well behaved. Probably if we had the money, we'd go for a remote-controlled bot.

Oh, and the bag we use (which came with it) is one that filters down to minute particles.... 2 microns, I believe. It uses a couple of different types of bags. So we're glad it had the bag that we needed already.
 
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