So I wanted to post this as my experience these past few weeks may help someone out. I only use the BBB method and this site along with its predicessor are like the bible to me.
A few weeks ago I had to work from early morning hours through midnight. I would come home and just go to sleep, wake up and go to work. This lasted about 3-4 days. During that time due to lack of time I did not maintain my pool and I received no help from the rest of the clan. So as you can imagine the FC dropped and the problem started.
I noticed the pool appeared slightly cloudy. So when I had a chance I shocked the pool to 12 ppm as my alk is 100, ph 7.2, its always low but stable, cc .5 and cya 25. I also noticed what looked like sand gathering in the depressions on the bottom of the pool. I vacuumed that up and a few hours later I would see it collecting again. I figured my filter was on the fritz. I went in circles with this process for about a week. I vacuumed to waste about 3 or 4 times trying to get the sand out. I then went in the pool trying not to disturb these collections of sand. I dove down and felt them, they were not gritty but somewhat slippery and they dispersed like a powder. I then took a sample of it with a turkey baster. Wifey yelled at me for that one. Anyway it was green algae. I continued to shock the pool for about another week with no relief. I slowly brought the shock levels higher and higher to about 18 ppm. Again nothing changed. I knew something was wrong here. I started searching and reading and I started to surmise that I had mustard algae. Now it was not yellow or brownish but it acted like mustard algae in every other way. I started reading everything I could find about mustard algae but it seems it is always yellowish or brown. I was at my wits end, I had not had any issues with my pool for about 3 years now, since I started the bbb method. Now I am ready to throw in the towel. Everyone I know is telling me to try the products they use. I resisted like a kicking and screaming kid. Its the chemicals you use, they would tell me. Theirs are better because they are made for the pool. I stuck to my guns and dug in. I was in a battle now. According to the charts I need 15 - 18 ppm of chlorine to kill the the mustard algae. I was already up to 18 and it did nothing, not even slow it down. I decided to bring my levels up higher, much higher. I shocked up to 36ppm and maintained that for 2 days and brushed to collection of algae on the floor as well as the walls, even though they looked clean. This morning I am happy to say the there are no more algae pockets on the floor and the water is almost crystal. This morning I am starting to let the chlorine levels drop as I do not want to bleach my liner. Now my CC never went above .5. That was very puzzling.
Not only did I go through about 18 bottles of 96.oz and 6 bottles of 128oz bleach I used up all my fas/dpd testing supplies. I had to buy more the other day. I was using about 60 drops of r-0871 a few times a day for testing.
Keeping my fingers crossed that I have won the war and this algae, what ever kind it was, will never raise its ugly head again.
I wanted to post this for people to read and realize that the theories we follow on a daily basis are not set in stone. Sometimes we may do things the "right way" and it may not work. We need to go outside the set boundaries sometimes to see results. I had what looked like green algae but acted like mustard or yellow algae. Even the suggested mustard algae shock levels were too low.
edit: I forgot to add that my filter has been running 24/7 for weeks now.
A few weeks ago I had to work from early morning hours through midnight. I would come home and just go to sleep, wake up and go to work. This lasted about 3-4 days. During that time due to lack of time I did not maintain my pool and I received no help from the rest of the clan. So as you can imagine the FC dropped and the problem started.
I noticed the pool appeared slightly cloudy. So when I had a chance I shocked the pool to 12 ppm as my alk is 100, ph 7.2, its always low but stable, cc .5 and cya 25. I also noticed what looked like sand gathering in the depressions on the bottom of the pool. I vacuumed that up and a few hours later I would see it collecting again. I figured my filter was on the fritz. I went in circles with this process for about a week. I vacuumed to waste about 3 or 4 times trying to get the sand out. I then went in the pool trying not to disturb these collections of sand. I dove down and felt them, they were not gritty but somewhat slippery and they dispersed like a powder. I then took a sample of it with a turkey baster. Wifey yelled at me for that one. Anyway it was green algae. I continued to shock the pool for about another week with no relief. I slowly brought the shock levels higher and higher to about 18 ppm. Again nothing changed. I knew something was wrong here. I started searching and reading and I started to surmise that I had mustard algae. Now it was not yellow or brownish but it acted like mustard algae in every other way. I started reading everything I could find about mustard algae but it seems it is always yellowish or brown. I was at my wits end, I had not had any issues with my pool for about 3 years now, since I started the bbb method. Now I am ready to throw in the towel. Everyone I know is telling me to try the products they use. I resisted like a kicking and screaming kid. Its the chemicals you use, they would tell me. Theirs are better because they are made for the pool. I stuck to my guns and dug in. I was in a battle now. According to the charts I need 15 - 18 ppm of chlorine to kill the the mustard algae. I was already up to 18 and it did nothing, not even slow it down. I decided to bring my levels up higher, much higher. I shocked up to 36ppm and maintained that for 2 days and brushed to collection of algae on the floor as well as the walls, even though they looked clean. This morning I am happy to say the there are no more algae pockets on the floor and the water is almost crystal. This morning I am starting to let the chlorine levels drop as I do not want to bleach my liner. Now my CC never went above .5. That was very puzzling.
Not only did I go through about 18 bottles of 96.oz and 6 bottles of 128oz bleach I used up all my fas/dpd testing supplies. I had to buy more the other day. I was using about 60 drops of r-0871 a few times a day for testing.
Keeping my fingers crossed that I have won the war and this algae, what ever kind it was, will never raise its ugly head again.
I wanted to post this for people to read and realize that the theories we follow on a daily basis are not set in stone. Sometimes we may do things the "right way" and it may not work. We need to go outside the set boundaries sometimes to see results. I had what looked like green algae but acted like mustard or yellow algae. Even the suggested mustard algae shock levels were too low.
edit: I forgot to add that my filter has been running 24/7 for weeks now.