From the Boston Globe. I don't know if this also applies to pools, but since swimmers like to swim everywhere, chances are you may dip in a contaminated pond. FYI and be careful.
One would hope that whatever cyanobacteria happen to fall in or develop in pool water would be sanitized/oxidized by appropriate levels of hypochlorous acid. Eeewh. :grrrr:
To clarify, the article says that cyanobacteria is often misnamed blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria IS blue-green algae, the stuff that grows in our pools if the chlorine gets too low.
Cyanobacteria is also known as blue-green algae though it is technically a bacteria and not a plant. Because it uses photosynthesis it acts somewhat like algae. Some forms can do nitrogen fixation so can use nitrogen gas as a nutrient (instead of nitrates).
Green algae is different and is a plant, not bacteria. It is green algae that is the most common kind found in pools.
Sufficient chlorine relative to Cyanuric Acid (CYA) will prevent the growth of either.
The film on top with a blue-green algae bloom is composed of the dead cyanobacteria. Yes it is different from green algae, which is a true algae. "Black algae" is a form of cyanobacteria, and the cyanobacteria that are known as blue-green algae are found in the soil and air virtually everywhere. I believe that the BG algae prefers the water to be stagnant, which may explain why green algae is more common in pools that haven't been abandoned or neglected completely.
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