Is it algae or is it dirt?

[Red]

When I brush the flat surfaces on my pool (steps, benches, floor), I get some brown-looking cloudy stuff coming up. It's been this way for a while. I have chlorine, so I've just brushed and ignored it. However, swim season is coming up, so I'm paying more attention now. I'm trying to figure out if it's just dirt, dead algae, DE, or what? I have a blue/green pebble finish, so it's not as easy to determine the color of cloudy things as it was several years ago when I had white plaster.

I did an overnight chlorine test: no chlorine loss overnight

Here's the chemistry test:
Temp: 64 F
FC: 5.5
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.6
TA: 80
CH: 225
CYA: 25

* We live in an area with hard water and a drought. I finally changed all my water last year. Since I often have problems with CH being too high, I haven't wanted to add anything to raise it. Instead, I've been playing with pH and TA to keep things in balance. I just added baking soda after my tests today to get the TA up.

Anyway, I'm trying to figure out what I keep brushing up. How do I differentiate between dead algae, dirt, and CYA? I don't know how CYA behaves in the water if it escapes the grids...does it settle on the bottom or stay mixed in with the water?

 

[mknauss]

If it 'poofs' away when you brush, it is most likely dead algae.

OCLT is one of the three items to pass a SLAM. Clear water and less than 0.5 CC are the others. You do not have clear water.

I suggest a SLAM Process.

Are you using your SWCG at this time? If so, you need to raise your CYA after your SLAM. Get it to 70-80 ppm soon.

Take care.

 

[Red]

Thanks for the info. My water is clear unless I'm brushing. "Poofing" away might be a good way to describe what's happening.

I've give a SLAM a try. I held off on adding conditioner in case SLAM is the answer, as I can do it with less chlorine if CYA is low.