Ack...I think I've got algae....AGAIN!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
hlemon

hlemon

0
LifeTime Supporter
May 22, 2008
143
I have really been struggling the last few days. I had gotten our water so clear and sparkly...but woke up the other morning to some slightly cloudy water. Afraid of a repeat of earlier this season, I started shocking. Raised the CL up to around 20 for a few days, no change in water. Raised it up to 31 one night, to have a huge decrease in my overnight test and keeping the pool at about 14 hasn't been able to remedy it. We got a HUGE rain today and now I feel like I'm back at square one. Here's the latest numbers:

TC 11
FC 10
CC 1 (Ack!!!!)
TA 120
CYA 30
pH purple...seriously, it was purple. I think it is well over the 7.8 or even 8.2 mark

Just to recap, water is clear. I can see to the bottom just fine but it doesn't "sparkle" anymore.

So, I'm adding more CYA tonight. I know I lost it all through backwashing, etc. I am going to have to go get acid tomorrow, I'm out. I know my TA is on the high end of acceptable, but its been that way all season.

Does anyone else see anything that might be causing me to have so much trouble erradicating this? Per my pool calculator stats, 13 should be getting me to shock. The only other thing I can think of is the wedding cake stairs...maybe?
 
Tizme- what kind of stairs did you go back to? We are at a disadvantage in that our inground is buried with a concrete deck around it, making a lot of the other step options unfeasible. I like having the wide wedding cake stairs because it is easier for my LARGE father to get in and out of the pool, but not at the expense of being unable to get our algae under control....kwim?

Yeah Reebok....now I'm just at a loss as to what level of shock to bring it up to. I really wish I had a few days of vacation time left to just hyper monitor it for about 72 hours.

Also, now that I have CYA in socks, at what point do I start assuming with the pool calculator that the CYA level has risen? Experts??? :mrgreen:
 
Bring your ph down.

As to your steps. Someone in another post mentioned they put several holes in the sides of their steps in order to improve circulation. If you at least put a couple of holes in you could perhaps use something like a turkey baster to put a good dose of liquid chlorine directly inside the steps.
 
Ok, I balanced the pH down to 7.5...maybe a little lower, but not much.

We pulled out the cake stairs yesterday and I've got the CL at about 19. I'll check it again at lunch and bring it back up.

If I had mustard algae, would I know it? Like would I have visable algae somewhere? The only thing I see is the transparent dead algae on the bottom of the pool that I keep brushing after it settles.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
ok, the water is starting to clear and I have kept the chlorine level up well above my minimum.(Though not always at shock) I STILL wake up in the morning and find "dust" gathered in my liner seams. Does this mean that I still have active algae? It isn't green, its a brown color. I just keep sweeping it to disperse and running the pump.

I guess its now safe to go ahead and do my overnight test or do I have to wait until I don't get so much of this stuff gathering in the seams?
 
I've got the same issue with algae and the steps. Thinking about buying a puck to install under steps; I'd like a really slooooow release one.

I think that the dust is dead algae. I swept my pool this morning and had a mostly grey-ish or white dust. There was one area that was greenish even though I'm keeping my pool around 30 FC yesterday and today.

I think mine must be mustard as it keeps sneaking back although I've kept the chlorine level fairly high this year. Just need to keep it higher. My water looks clear and sparkly; it's just the steps and sidewalls that periodically have green on them.

Let me know if you figure out a good solution for those steps.

Sue
 
Will do tonight pool mom!

I know Shorelover....the cake steps from Hades! We're tying to figure out how many holes you could drill in the sides without losing any or much of the structural integrity.

I resisted last year, but I really think that we need to add borates. I think we have such a hard time because of the size of our pool and the fact that it gets NO shade.
 
My pool mostly gets sun all day. It gets a little shade in the morning, and then very late afternoon. I have pines in the yard and lots of trees in the woods across the street, so I thought that I was having a pollen problem this year.

I thought about drilling the steps also but am afraid that it would hurt them. Mine have holes in the back and are raised about 2" across the back but that's clearly not enough for proper circulation. I like being able to sit on them, and they're safer for guests but I had no idea they'd be so much trouble. There was another pair for half the price that probably got great circulation but I bought these thinking they'd be so much better! Wouldn't make that same decision today!

Sue
 
It will be a rich person that invents cake steps for above grounds that are not algae incubators! If I was smarter, I'd develop one myself! Or some self contained fan type contraption that would use solar power to circulate the water underneath the stairs or something. Hmm....If only I had more brain power! :lol:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply