sand/dead algea in bottom of pool?

[helpmeplease]

The skimmer sock has been on for a while now but doesn't seem to be trapping much. What about the center drain?
I haven't figured out how to rig a sock on the water line to the pool.
I vacuumed last night, curious to see if any build up occured during the day. Is it possible that dead algea doesn't get trapped in the sand filter?

 

[cubbybeave08]

The skimmer sock has been on for a while now but doesn't seem to be trapping much. What about the center drain?
I haven't figured out how to rig a sock on the water line to the pool.
I vacuumed last night, curious to see if any build up occured during the day. Is it possible that dead algea doesn't get trapped in the sand filter?

it would seem to me that if your center drain were working properly you would have that sucked right off the bottom anytime you were using it. Is the centerdrain working properly?

 

[helpmeplease]

Well there's no reason for me to believe that it isn't.. when I walk over it, I can feel the suction

 

[helpmeplease]

Been three days since I vacuumed to waste. Chlore levels have maintaned at 3 yet the bottom of the pool have re-filled with stuff in the cracks... Beginning to think Macrosill is right..

Read this thread : fighting-algae-for-weeks-t16486.html

your situations sounds very familiar!

 

[DCAG]

a stabilizer was used early in the pool season

How much CYA did you add?

if i remember correctly it was 1.5 kg of stab for 40000L.

It seems to me that since, in the past, you have not needed more than 2 or 3 ppm of Cl, you are now reluctant to keep your pool any higher, therefore you're seeing algae forming on the bottom.
If your CYA was measured at 25, it could actually be 35 or 40 (+-10 on that test). Earlier in this thread (quoted above) you said you added 1.5 kg of CYA to 40000 litres, that would have brought your CYA up to about 40. Try keeping your FC at 5. Brush the pool everyday for a few days to stir up the algae that's there, and filter the water at least 10 hours/day for a couple of days.

Dan

 

[helpmeplease]

Thanks for the tip Dan!
Will the water be safe to swim in at a chlore level of 5?
The pump runs 10 hours a day so far during the day, from 10 am to 8pm, should this be adjusted?

 

[DaveInPhx]

Thanks for the tip Dan!
Will the water be safe to swim in at a chlore level of 5?
The pump runs 10 hours a day so far during the day, from 10 am to 8pm, should this be adjusted?

People have reported safe water at 20ppm.

What's not safe is the pathogens that develop when the the water is not properly sanitized.

5ppm may or may not be able to properly sanitize your pool, but you need to look at the whole picture to be sure. CYA, CC and FC.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Thanks for the tip Dan!
Will the water be safe to swim in at a chlore level of 5?
The pump runs 10 hours a day so far during the day, from 10 am to 8pm, should this be adjusted?

People have reported safe water at 20ppm.

What's not safe is the pathogens that develop when the the water is not properly sanitized.

5ppm may or may not be able to properly sanitize your pool, but you need to look at the whole picture to be sure. CYA, CC and FC.

My pool stays between 5 ppm and 9 ppm all summer long...Usually I target at 7 ppm. But if I am leaving it alone for a couple of days I go higher...but no one has actually never complained about my chlorine...Not to worry.

 

[helpmeplease]

Hello to all my friends who have taken the time to help me with my algea problem this summer.

My last attempt was done 2 weeks ago, basically what i did was shock the pool at a chlore level of 35 for 7 days straight of scrubbing and maintaining it at that high level. At the end of this 7 days at 35ppm, I wasn't surprised to see crystal clear water, walls and floors. Unfortunately the liner got completely bleached and just looks silly now. Thought I had my problem taken care of and lord behold the same stuff started to reappear at the bottom of the pool one week later. So much $$$ later for chlorine and pump running time this was once agian a complete failure. I don't like to repeat myself on what levels my pool are.. it has, is, and always will be the same levels posted earlier.

Now that beeing said, there will be no more shocking the pool from my end cause the season is fast ending. Is there any other way other than shocking to remove such a problem, ie: draining pool completely and scrubbing liner like a maniac with cleaning products.

 

[dmanb2b]

I don't like to repeat myself on what levels my pool are.. it has, is, and always will be the same levels posted earlier.

I have re-read your posts and if you choose to follow the levels that you previously did (1.5-3ppm FC) and your CYA is around 40, you'll continue to have problems, whether you shock again, drain the pool or not. It's just not enough FC to keep alagae at bay. Yes, the money you spent on shocking was unfortunately wasted if you decided not to follow the recommended FC level based on your CYA...sorry

Also, sorry to hear about your liner, but why would you shock your water to an FC of 35 for 7 days straight when the recommended shock level for a CYA of 25-40 ppm is right around 16FC?

 

[helpmeplease]

you are right about the chlore level and it was adjusted to 7 since about one month now

as for why i did it was because of this:

Read this thread : fighting-algae-for-weeks-t16486.html

your situations sounds very familiar!

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

At this point I would recommend you try to collect a sample of the crud and look at it under a microscope to confirm if it is algae or pollen/dust/dirt.

We don't recommend a MA shock level for more than 1-2 days because of the risk of liner damage....

 

[cubbybeave08]

Just re reading this post...and one question I have to ask is where does helpmeplease live? I learned last summer that I did not have sand, (cartridge filter) and I do not have algae...I checked it under a microscope and it was exactly like a dust mite...or pollen. Then I realized where I live...The armpit of the USA...I live in Northwest Indiana...25 miles from the steel mills of Gary Hammond and Portage Indiana. Then I read the post that Microsil wrote about his battle with the mystery dust...Then I saw where he is from...Long Island New York...I gotta wonder...what is the air polution like on Long Island and New York City? Trust me on this...I have allergies almost all year long except when I go up to Northern Wisconsin. For 10 days I don't take allergy medicine. I come back and it immediately comes back. FPM...YOu may live further away from the smoke and haze of the steel industry and don't get this dust. But all of us can't be wrong when we tell help me that shocking until the pool is clear and the FC holds over night...Yet the stuff keeps coming back...I have noticed when my filter isn't running and the pool is uncovered and no one is in it...basically calm water...the surface of my pool is laced with tiny dust particles...Just like the windshield of my car which does not go in the garage. So when the pump doesn't run at night the dust collects on the surface gets waterlogged and sinks to the bottom...Even if the pump is on it collects in the dents and valleys in the floor because the circulation doesn't reach the the divets and move it around...My pool always holds...Never climbs above .5 CC and I add Chlorine in the evening to replace the used Chlorine from the days swimming and sunshine...It always is betwen 5 and 7 ppm...It holds overnight and needs to have more added each evening unless I have solar cover on. When I go on vacation I shock to 12-15 ppm and cover with solar cover...when I come back water is crystal clear and I have no dust...but if I leave the cover off the dust comes back...I gotta believe it is dust and dirt in the air...AIR POLLUTION...it just doesn't act like algae...as many have pointed out. What do others think about this threory of location and proximity to pollution sources?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

Well, Beave you and I have discussed this and I've always felt that most of the reported/suspected "mustard algae" claims on the forum are most likely dust/dirt/pollen and given your "armpit" location (You aren't exactly tempting me to move bTW ) I would suspect its certainly part of the problem.

I get the dust too. That's my point - it isn't algae. When my pool is used, the bottom stays for the most part clear. When swimming is rare it seems worse - because it's not getting stirred up and filtered out - it's just sinking. I know it' not algae because it doesn't grow up the sides and it doesn't get worse when my FC levels drop.

 

[cubbybeave08]

Well, Beave you and I have discussed this and I've always felt that most of the reported/suspected "mustard algae" claims on the forum are most likely dust/dirt/pollen and given your "armpit" location (You aren't exactly tempting me to move bTW ) I would suspect its certainly part of the problem.

I get the dust too. That's my point - it isn't algae. When my pool is used, the bottom stays for the most part clear. When swimming is rare it seems worse - because it's not getting stirred up and filtered out - it's just sinking. I know it' not algae because it doesn't grow up the sides and it doesn't get worse when my FC levels drop.

FPM,
Whats more interesting, is that the last time I swam was the week after labor day...after that I covered with solar cover, and brought chlorine up to 12. I added chlorine twice in that Since Sunday Sept 13. And at that it was just a maintenance dose. Last weekend when I took the solar off it was covered with rotting leaves, and the bottom was covered too. Yet I HAD NO ALGAE...JUST THE DUST...vacuumed it up, and shocked and put the winter cover on. On Wednesday three days after covering I had nothing on the bottom of the pool. WHY? Because I had the winter cover on. I could bring my shock up to 20 ppm and have done that in the past and the stuff still settles in the nooks and crannies regardless. So unless it is green and slimy, I don't worry about it. It gets in when my solar cover is on because I cut my cover into 4 pieces, and it settles where the covers come apart slighly...And about moving here...Porter County doesn' get it as bad as Lake County...There are only two Steel mills in Porter as opposed to like 10 different plants in Lake...air is lots cleaner. SO COME ON OVER...besides...taxes are lots lower too. We actually got a rebate on our taxes this year...because they went down so much...escrow paid us back.