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Vegasmom

Vegasmom

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Aug 16, 2007
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Hi everyone,

Been away for awhile..revisited last week and was going to take some photos to finally post in the sparkling pool thread, only...my pool isn't so sparkling right now :(

My own fault, we went and hired a pool guy after ours was completed last summer. I did invest in a TFP test kit and my plan was to keep watch and make sure they were doing their job. Long story short, had some health problems and it didn't work out that way. Now I fear I have dreaded mustard algae and want to see your opinions to decide on a course of action. Aside from maybe firing the pool guy? :|

Here are my #'s:

It appears I have 0 CL and when I did the FAS/DPD test, it didn't turn pink, only cloudy white and never went clear with the R-0871

CYA= 28 :shock: Had no idea it was that low!
TA= 140
CH= 7-800 range. An absolute joke, but I'm in the hard water capital of the world.
Temp= 88F


Pool calculator says add 4 gal bleach but that is not for mustard shock level, so here is a photo I just took. As always, your help is appreciated! If it matters, both areas face north. The other spot are yellow dots.

Pool009.jpg
 
That does look quite a bit like mustard algae. I would expect mustard algae to brush off (though it just grows back). If it doesn't brush off, it might be a stain of some kind instead of algae.

Assuming it is mustard algae, I would start with normal shock level and lots of brushing. Then, when everything looks perfect, raise it to high/mustard algae shock level, for two nights. You need to brush everywhere and soak all pool equipment in the high FC level water and wash all bathing suits, or you will probably just get it again.
 
Yes, does it brush off?

Ideally you do want your CYA higher for your SWG - but I wouldn't increase it, yet. First kill the algae (if it's algae) by shocking at your currently low CYA level. Then when that's tackled, increase your CYA. :wink:
 
Thanks, guys...just got back from the store. I finally got a wall whale! 8) I'm going out there now to do the first round of shocking and I will see if it brushes off.

I bought a few Trichlor pucks to throw in the skimmer..figure they can't hurt right? I don't know how much to expect them to raise the CYA..thinking that's more a long term use result?
 
As I said, you will use less chlorine to shock the pool with a lower CYA. I wouldn't use the pucks right now.

FYI, you never want to put pucks in the skimmer unless your filter runs 24/7.

You can put one of the pucks on the spots on the wall, if it's algae they will go fade away.

Do they brush off?
 
Hey Vegasmom! I did try and warn you about pool services. The good news is that that does not look like mustard to me but your common, garden variety (pool variety?) green algae. Nothing a bit of bleach and brushing won't take care of. My concern would be the condition of your salt cell. With your very high CH high TA and what I suspect to be high pH conditions (based on your low CYA and obvious lack of proper care from the pool guiy) I would inspect and clean the cell. That might be one of the reasons you have algae. It might not be geerating any chlorine right now, in addition to the algae consuming what little is in the pool.
 
Hi Waterbear :p Yes, I clearly remember that conversation, lol. *shuffles feet* I truly did have every intention of keeping up on the testing, but I am easily distracted and had some stuff going on (still smoke free, though!)

Was strange, last week the pool smelled funny (I can smell everything now!) but I thought it was the dog..it was kind of a wet dog smell. But there was a ? over my head and I should have tested the water then.

Also my 14 yr. old has an ear infection. Coincedence? :?

Couple of questions,,thanks FPM. I was going to put it in the skimmer but the package said not to so that was going to be one of my questions. If I don't put it in there, where do I put it? One of those floating things, right? I will wait on them for now anyway. Yes, it does brush off.

The majority of the algae is visibly in the spa, so because it's a spillover, should I be running the spillway so it's constantly circulating? I have the pool set to run 24 hrs. but it seems the way the system is that they are separate? I am confused by the way it operates but I only know that I can't simultaneously heat the pool and spa.

Also, the brush doesn't reach into the corners, but it's not safe to be in the water with such high levels to hand brush, right? How do I remove it from there? I saw one of those toilet bowl brush looking attachments at Leslies..should of bought that!
 
Waterbear, I was concerned about the salt cell a month or so ago..I mentioned to the Pool guy to look at it. I need to follow up to see if he did or not. I have a lot of calcium buildup on the pool tiles. It doesn't seem there would be a fix for our water trouble, does this mean I will constantly have problems with the cell? It shows that everything is fine..why wouldn't the 'clean cell' light come on? Hmmm...same thing happened to my brother and he got frustrated and disconnected his SWG and went with an inline chlorinator. I love the salt water, though!

I've got the FC at 8, I will check it in the morning before the sun hits. CC's are .5

I have turned on the spillway. I guess that was kind of a duh question!
 

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Good, then..that's what I thought. WB, I think you're right, my cell light is flashing to inspect..I am waiting for Pool service to return my call. I am a little intimidated to take the thing apart myself but I may wind up tackling that later.
 
Vegasmom said:
Good, then..that's what I thought. WB, I think you're right, my cell light is flashing to inspect..I am waiting for Pool service to return my call. I am a little intimidated to take the thing apart myself but I may wind up tackling that later.
Click to expand...
It's not hard and we are here to hold your hand. Once you learn to master your pool you will be much better off. I'm gonna tell you a secret about the service guys. Most of them need to buy a clue and most of the ones that actually have one really could care less.
Bottom line, the only person that really is going to take care of your pool properly is YOU!
As far as the high CH, there are ways to make it livable so don't despair. Are you using a sequsterant (preferably one that is 'spcific' for calcium, often called calcium hardness reducer) on a regular basis? You should be. That's step one that you should start right now!

you KNOW we can help you and hold your hand along the way. Just look how far you have come since you had the poo built!
If nothing else, you need to stay on the service people and tell THEM what needs doing and watch over them to make sure they do it. That's just the way it is.
 
I spoke with the pool guy a few minutes ago..he's out of town like I suspected but he did tell me his employee has been calling him and telling him there is no chlorine in the pool each week. Apparantly, they knew there was a problem, he just didn't relay it to me. He's taken the cell out personally for inspection/cleaning 3 times so he said he would try and get in touch with the rep but I should keep doing what I'm doing for now.

I don't think he uses a calcium reducer..I will have to check. Thanks, WB...you guys have taught me everything I know, that's for sure! See, if I could wrap my head around the equipment side of it more, I would feel better. It's just so greek to me. The chemistry is a little easier to grasp for some reason. At least after speaking with my guy I am more confident but I know if I want full control with the #'s I'll need to check myself. The stabilizer should never have been allowed to get so low. Probably not helping the situation plus I was heating the pool up until recently to 90F. Next week I'll want to throw ice in there!

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be home after I added this morning's round. I did test before I left and it had gone to 17.5 FC with no CC's. At 3pm I tested and it was 5.5 FC. That seems like a lot of loss. I added more bleach. I think I'll need to head back to the store later....
 
After my last post, I added bleach 2 more times to keep the level up, but the filter keeps shutting itself off at night. I have it set on the Easy Touch 12p-12p so it should run continuously. I had another drop of 9 ppm overnight.

With the SWG not producing chlorine, should I add the floating pucks now?
 
You would be better off getting CYA separately and using bleach to raise FC.

You can use a few pucks if you want but they will lower PH. I don't see your ph listed (FC above 10 will make PH read false-high).

The pucks won't build your CYA level quick enough to make the SWG operate properly....they won't provide enough FC to defeat algae.
 
I do have a problem of high PH, it consistently runs high even after a year it needs acid almost daily. The number from my first post was before shocking. I believe it was 8.2

I figured I would need to keep supplementing with bleach until my SWG is fixed, I just wondered if the pucks would help.

*edit* thought I posted the PH but I guess not! It was off the chart, basically
 
Still waiting to hear about the SWG, but with the floating chlorine in the pool, and the bleach I've added, I think I've got everything stabilized. I haven't added anything since last night around 11pm, this morning FC was 8 w/ no CC's. Just now FC was 7.5 still with no CC's. I think that's normal for a day with off and on sunshine, right?
 
Yesterday I tested FC after the pool service left (waited 2 hrs.) and it was 10. This morning, it's 15 and I didn't add anything. Maybe the salt system is working? I bumped it up to 60% when I began shocking, but it didn't seem like it was generating anything.

Is it safe to swim with it that high? Please say yes, I've got 18 people coming over. :|
 

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