Algae bloom - How!? Everything going so well

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casedit

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Jul 29, 2009
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I just started the BBB method in July with 100% new water after a new liner, 30k gal pool, vinyl liner.

Everything went great for 2mos, my numbers were always as follows:

FC: 3 to 5 (generally averaging between those but usually 3ish, maybe a dip here or there for a day to 2)
CC: 0
PH: 7.4 to 7.6
CYA: 40

I followed everything perfectly, using trichlor to get my cya up to 30-40 and then switching to 100% bleach, adding approx 3qts of 6% bleach a day.

I haven't done any shocking because my #'s were fine so as I understood this wasn't' needed, also didnt use any polyquat.

All of a sudden I see about a hundred or so dreaded light brown "spots" in the deep end. What went wrong here? A little history, prior to the new liner I always battled algae but thought it was due to my incorrect understanding of CYA and it was prob through the roof... now I had everything perfect and algae again!!! I'm at a loss now..
 
Sorry to hear about the algae... Happened to me a few months ago too. So, I'd say do what I did: Shock to clear it up, then set your personal target a notch higher--4 instead of 3, so the occasional dips are to 3 instead of 2.

The guidelines are just that, guidelines; tweak as needed to accommodate how your pool behaves. There's still no need for shocking on a schedule, or for algaecide; you shock when the pool tells you it needs it, and only then.
--paulr
 
I agree with Paul, shock to get rid of what you have, then bump your normal FC level up a bit and maybe run your pump a bit longer. Those dips to 2 were probably a bit lower where you're seeing the spots. The circulation in the deep end probably isn't perfect.
 
I was thinking bump it up.. but who doesn't have the occasional dip here or there by a point or so :wave:

I will try keeping it up higher as you guys have suggested.

I also do usually have at least a small patch of say 50-100 leaves usually in the deep end due to a cherry tree that is located too close. I vacuum and within days there are more leaves..never a lot but always a constant patch until I vacuum again.

I'm sure that will add to the problem but if my FC was pretty level i'm not so sure... I've heard the polaris's don't work so well but maybe leaving one running in there would help?? It would stir the water at least

thanks for replies
 
I don't know where you heard Polaris doesn't work well but I will give them a big recommendation. I run mine while my pump runs and the pool is always clean and ready to use.

Be sure to brush your pool as well, you may have a dead spot at the bottom (as someone else noted) that gets little circulation and thus less chlorine.
 
Really - I was looking at the 360, since I have a dedicated return line and a couple people had told me they didnt really do much for them...this was even coming from my pool service guy whom I trust and would've been selling it to me..he said save your money.

Which model do you have and does it have the booster pump?
 
casedit said:
I also do usually have at least a small patch of say 50-100 leaves usually in the deep end due to a cherry tree that is located too close. I vacuum and within days there are more leaves..never a lot but always a constant patch until I vacuum again.

I'm sure that will add to the problem
Click to expand...

That will definitely add to the problem. With organic matter sitting in the bottom it's consuming chlorine and therefore those spots are prone to be a little lower than the rest of the pool while that's happening. So if you're at 2ppm then there could be spots that are less than 1. As it's being consumed the higher concentration will migrate toward the lower but it takes some time. And of course once something gets started it takes more and more chlorine to keep up with it.
 
casedit, does your pool have floor drains? If not, then the circulation can be very poor in the deep end. If this is the case, then pointing the returns more downwards might improve that circulation. Getting a pool cleaner that would pick up those leaves better would also help.
 
I will second the recommendation for Polaris. I have a 280 with a booster pump that I run for 4 hours a day. I put the sand/silt bag on it and it keeps my pool spotless despite the many trees surrounding my pool that are constantly dropping stuff into it.
 
chem geek said:
casedit, does your pool have floor drains? If not, then the circulation can be very poor in the deep end. If this is the case, then pointing the returns more downwards might improve that circulation. Getting a pool cleaner that would pick up those leaves better would also help.
Click to expand...

I do have the main floor drain in the deep end and it is active.

I'm curious of your thoughts on "the pool cleaner" vs. the polaris?
 

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I have the Polaris 280 and it cleans my 20 X 40 pool slick in about 2 hours. I have several oak trees around my pool and I'm always getting leaves. I also get a lot of earth worms and millipedes every day. It would be next to impossible for me to keep the pool clean without the Polaris - it never misses a thing.
 
The Pool Cleaner 4-wheel pressure-side unit is great if you want to save on energy costs and have a dedicated line for it with a variable speed pump. As for cleaning capability, it's OK with lighter loads, but I suspect it may not do as well as a booster-pump style pressure cleaner. I used to have a Letro Legend and I think it did a slightly better job of cleaning the pool, but it cost a lot more in electricity costs. For my pool, The Pool Cleaner works great, but I have a pool cover on the pool most of the time so it's only blown in cedar needles and some leaves when the pool is open that have to be dealt with.
 
casedit said:
Really - I was looking at the 360, since I have a dedicated return line and a couple people had told me they didnt really do much for them...this was even coming from my pool service guy whom I trust and would've been selling it to me..he said save your money.

Which model do you have and does it have the booster pump?
Click to expand...


I have the 380-not 360- and, yes, I do have a booster pump that goes through a dedicated return line. The kids pull it out before they swim and put it back after. I empty the bag when it is full and thats it. It was recommended to me by three guys in my neighborhood who all have the same setup. I was hand vacuuming and they told me how the polaris was worth every penny (my reluctance was based on cost). It has been great for me and absolutely worth the cost. That is my experience...I have not heard negatives but then again I am not out researching it either. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.
 
casedit said:
I do have a dedicated line but no variable speed pump.. is that a neccessity? I like what the website has to say. It seems if I go polaris i'll need a booster pump
Click to expand...
For The Pool Cleaner, it is designed to operate at lower flow rates of around 15 GPM and at lower pressures. So one can hook it to a normal return assuming there is more than one outlet (since more flow will end up going out of the other returns). On a dedicated line, you'd have to have a valve that only put part of the flow to this line and the rest to the other returns; otherwise without a variable speed pump the pressure would be too high and the pressure-relief valve at The Pool Cleaner would be throttled open way too much.

Though I love my The Pool Cleaner, your situation sounds like a traditional booster-pump pressure cleaner would work better. If you didn't have such a heavy load of junk to clean, then The Pool Cleaner could just get hooked up to a regular return and probably do a reasonable job. I suppose if you were able to borrow a unit from someone you could just try it out for a week to see how things go. Perhaps a pool store has a demo unit that can be loaned for this purpose. At least with The Pool Cleaner it doesn't require installation of a booster pump so such a test would be easy to do.
 
Hey Case...I know you posted FC and CC, but can you confirm how you are testing for those? Just want to make sure you are using a fas-dpd test...sorry for the basic question but you would be surprised how many folks think the can test for both using the yellow OTO drop test. Also how did you measure chlorine over the past two months? The OTO is really not accurate other than testing for presence of chlorine.


Finally as Chemgeek mentioned maybe you have a circulation issue in the deep end?

With a CYA level of 40 3ppm is your minimum and 5ppm is your target. This has worked for me...algae free all summer...I usually use the target number as my minimum, this way I have 2ppm as insurance for those lazy days :shock:
 
casedit said:
I think circulation could be an issue.. although I have a floor drain in the deep end that i keep activated, i'm not sure how much it's pulling. Thats why i think a polaris would be good to help circulate.
Click to expand...
FWIW, circulation is the primary reason I run my Polaris 4 hours per day. It would probably keep the pool clean in half that time.

I like to use my returns for surface circulation and feel that the Polaris does a good job of stirring up the deeper water.

YMMV,
Dave
 
Also if you are having problems with leaves and they sit there for several days...they do break down into a fine slime...or so they have in my pool...It looks bad but if your chlorine levels are holding there probably is not a problem...it is just organic matter that as you say is not being filtered due to circulation issues in the deep end. My pool seems to get this in the late summer and early fall as in right now...but it just needs to be vacuumed. I try to tell people not to jump to the conclusion that it is algae...if you are using fas-dpd...trust your numbers...if the FC holds, then you are probably just dealing with a little bit of dirt and crud...it is harder to keep ahead of it this time of year due to falling leaves increased pollen and dust!
 
I'll add to the Polaris 280 recommendations. I run my 280 4 hours per day to pick up hackberry (sheds all summer) and pecan leaves. Right now it is busy picking up pecan shards thrown by squirrels. It really does do an amazing job of picking up leaves.
 

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