Where am I going wrong.....algae outbreak

[Judge]

Hi Everyone,

I am having an issue with algae when I open my pool. For the last two years within an hour of pulling off the safety cover I get an outbreak. At first the water is a bit cloudy but I can see the bottom that has a thin layer of silt/dirt. I start the pump, get the water circulating, start vacuuming & brushing then boom........the water is cloudy/green & I can't see the bottom. From then on in I have to SLAM the pool for the next week to get the water sparkling. Is this normal?

These are the closing/opening test results:

Closing: October 15 (followed TFC closing pool instructions)
FC: 16 (shocked a few days before)
CC: 0
PH: 7.8
TA: 90
CH:250
CYA: 55
SALT: 4000
WATER TEMP: 60

Opening: April 30
FC: 4
CC: 0
PH: 7.3
TA: 65
CH: 250
CYA: 45
SALT: 45
WATER TEMP: 45

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

[jblizzle]

Re: Where am I going wrong.....algae outbreak.

You do not seem to be doing anything wrong. You are still showing FC at opening so you should not have an algae problem.

Are you sure it is not just stiring up the dirt and dust that is getting through the cover?

When you start to SLAM are you actually getting high FC losses? Perhaps it just takes your filter a long time to get all the dirt from the previous 6 months out of the pool.

 

[Judge]

Re: Where am I going wrong.....algae outbreak.

During the SLAM process there is FC loss.

Are sand filters known to take longer to filter the water? Would a cartridge filter do a better job?

 

[woodyp]

Re: Where am I going wrong.....algae outbreak.

Where are you located. Maybe you're waiting too long to open and the water is warming.

 

[Judge]

Re: Where am I going wrong.....algae outbreak.

Just outside Toronto, Canada. The weather hasn't been that great lately, below 60. It just started to warm up so I decided to open the pool. I live in a rural area. I'm wondering if the dirt/silt has a higher organic matter due to the surrounding fields. Not sure if that would increase the chance of algae or not?

 

[jblizzle]

Re: Where am I going wrong.....algae outbreak.

Sand filters are in fact the slowest to filter out fine debris