Constant Algae like me, you may need to clean your filter

[WestSidePool]

Over this past summer I was getting constant algae growth in my pool.
I couldn't understand why. The algae would appear every day. My chemical levels were correct, i had my auto cleaner in there, but it would still bloom.

Since my brand new liner is getting replaced today (stupid deer) I decided now is the best time to clean my filter out before winter.
Especially since i didn't want all that old stuff in the filter going through the fresh water in the pool.

Well when i opened up the filter, my first thought was...That's where my Algae problem is coming from.

So after a couple hours of taking the filters out and hosing stuff off my filter now looks like this.

With that being said, especially to new members like myself, you might want to check your filters if you are constantly getting algae blooms.

 

[chem geek]

Yikes! I would have expected that amount of algae to create a higher-than-normal chlorine demand. Also, the apparently the very low flow rates through any specific filter area don't seem expose the algae to high enough chlorine levels to kill it. Interesting.

 

[duraleigh]

Just to keep you on the right path, your algae resulted from a long period of too little chlorine and/or too much CYA in your pool.

That it got to your filter in the first place indicates a lack of chlorine in your pool.

There's a good chance that that plugged filter was restricting your circulation so you ended up with some spots of poor circulation which allows the lagae to thrive even when higher levels of chlorine are present but, nevertheless, it is a lack of adequate chlorine that is the root cause of algae in a pool.

The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry, How to chlorinate your pool, and the CYA/chlorine chart are all good articles in Pool School that will help.

 

[gtm]

Maybe this is a "Deep End" question, or maybe it's just an "Ignorant" question, but don't most algal species need light to stay that green and healthy looking? This doesn't look like just some spores that found a place to hide. How are they getting light inside the filter?

I did a google on "algae", and didn't find any that didn't need light, so I'm a little confused.

I'm obviously missing something. Would appreciate info, as I'm tempted to go out tonight with a flashlight and tear apart my filter.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

ewww!

 

[jkalan]

Was there DE in the filter? The algae appears to be on the grids and there is no or little DE in sight.

I haven't tried algae as a filter media, and from the report above I guess the problem with it is that it doesn't flow enough water.

 

[WestSidePool]

Oh, there was DE in there.
But i think my problem arose when my pool builder thought you put 4 scoops of DE powder directly into the skimmer without mixing it first.
Which i covered in another post awhile ago.

I found all that DE powder here.