I have an algae-dust-pollen question, and am feeling pretty frustrated. Pool is a 22 x 52 Intex ultra frame that has been up about four years now. There is foam under the bottom, but the foam is starting to separate a little bit and causing little crevices and wrinkles. Trying to get one more season out of it.
The pool was not maintained well over the winter due to family issues, and then in March the pump died so it was time to get serious about cleaning up the pool. The water never turned green but did have some spots of algae growing, and there was some dust-pollen-algae settling in those little crevices made by the foam bottom. We replaced the pump with an Intex 3000 gph pump and new filter/sand. We pulled the confer stairs, took them apart, soaked them in a strong bleach solution, and cleaned them well before putting them back in the pool.
In early April we slammed the pool and have had crystal clear water every since. We have very low chlorine loss during the day and none at night and no CC’s. We have brushed, scrubbed, vacuumed, vacuumed to waste, ran Wanda the Whale, used a battery operated vacuum, and manually vacuumed and even added DE to the sand filter but have never managed to get rid of this nasty stuff that settles in those crevices on the bottom for more than a few hours at a time
.
Hanging my head in shame, towards the end of April I made a trip to Leslie’s and was convinced to do a treatment with Yellow Out, thinking it must be mustard algae. We actually did two treatments. Followed the instructions to the letter, and the only thing it accomplished was screwing up our chlorine levels and causing a whole bunch of high CC’s for a few days. Never got rid of the stuff settling in the crevices.
The first week of May, we slammed the pool again for five days, even though the water was crystal clear. Four days ago, we passed (we think) the overnight tests. No free chlorine loss, water clear, no CC’s. But there is still the issue of that stuff – whatever it is – in the crevices. We then brought chlorine up to above Mustard Algae shock level, and held it there for 48 hours. The whole time I have been brushing every few hours, vacuuming, vacuuming to waste, testing the water, and keeping the chlorine levels where they should be for the shock. The chlorine is now drifting down from Mustard level. The water looks amazing. But still have NOT gotten rid of whatever it is that is settling in those crevices.
Last night we again did the overnight tests. Water crystal clear. No overnight chlorine loss. No CC’s. We have the Taylor 2005 test kit but have been using a borrowed powder - chlorine drop test kit, and now have our own that we bought from this site.
Here are our current numbers as of last night and this morning.
FC 17
CC 0
TC 17
CYA 30
PH 8.0 (But was tested when the chlorine was very high.
TA 100
CH 600
Salt 3000 (We have an SWG but have not turned it on yet)
Is this a lost cause and we should just tear the pool down and replace? Any ideas?
Here’s what it looks like.
Crystal clear water. diana fritz has shared 1 photo with you! | Flickr
And the junk in the crevices. You can see some of it in the upper left corner.
diana fritz has shared 1 photo with you! | Flickr
This was taken before the sun hit the pool so you can see it better.
diana fritz has shared 1 photo with you! | Flickr
The pool was not maintained well over the winter due to family issues, and then in March the pump died so it was time to get serious about cleaning up the pool. The water never turned green but did have some spots of algae growing, and there was some dust-pollen-algae settling in those little crevices made by the foam bottom. We replaced the pump with an Intex 3000 gph pump and new filter/sand. We pulled the confer stairs, took them apart, soaked them in a strong bleach solution, and cleaned them well before putting them back in the pool.
In early April we slammed the pool and have had crystal clear water every since. We have very low chlorine loss during the day and none at night and no CC’s. We have brushed, scrubbed, vacuumed, vacuumed to waste, ran Wanda the Whale, used a battery operated vacuum, and manually vacuumed and even added DE to the sand filter but have never managed to get rid of this nasty stuff that settles in those crevices on the bottom for more than a few hours at a time
.
Hanging my head in shame, towards the end of April I made a trip to Leslie’s and was convinced to do a treatment with Yellow Out, thinking it must be mustard algae. We actually did two treatments. Followed the instructions to the letter, and the only thing it accomplished was screwing up our chlorine levels and causing a whole bunch of high CC’s for a few days. Never got rid of the stuff settling in the crevices.
The first week of May, we slammed the pool again for five days, even though the water was crystal clear. Four days ago, we passed (we think) the overnight tests. No free chlorine loss, water clear, no CC’s. But there is still the issue of that stuff – whatever it is – in the crevices. We then brought chlorine up to above Mustard Algae shock level, and held it there for 48 hours. The whole time I have been brushing every few hours, vacuuming, vacuuming to waste, testing the water, and keeping the chlorine levels where they should be for the shock. The chlorine is now drifting down from Mustard level. The water looks amazing. But still have NOT gotten rid of whatever it is that is settling in those crevices.
Last night we again did the overnight tests. Water crystal clear. No overnight chlorine loss. No CC’s. We have the Taylor 2005 test kit but have been using a borrowed powder - chlorine drop test kit, and now have our own that we bought from this site.
Here are our current numbers as of last night and this morning.
FC 17
CC 0
TC 17
CYA 30
PH 8.0 (But was tested when the chlorine was very high.
TA 100
CH 600
Salt 3000 (We have an SWG but have not turned it on yet)
Is this a lost cause and we should just tear the pool down and replace? Any ideas?
Here’s what it looks like.
Crystal clear water. diana fritz has shared 1 photo with you! | Flickr
And the junk in the crevices. You can see some of it in the upper left corner.
diana fritz has shared 1 photo with you! | Flickr
This was taken before the sun hit the pool so you can see it better.
diana fritz has shared 1 photo with you! | Flickr
