Mustard Algae, Pollen, Dirt???

[jasonknox]

I have brown powdery substance that is getting into the indentions on the floor of my pool. This brown stuff is in the areas of the return jets giving me the opinion that this stuff is going thru my system filter and all and being redistributed into my pool. We have had allot of pollen this year, however wouldn't the filter catch this? At lease the backwash water was yellow indicated that pollen was filtered out. I can vacuum this stuff up, backwash the filter, and it re-appears a few days later in the areas where the return jets are aimed. I have been trying to keep my pool at shock level for the last five or six days because of an algae problem but that is a separate topic. Seems like I heard somewhere that Mustard algea was smaller than standard algae and that to truly get it out of your pool you needed to vacuum to waste?

FC-14 added 364oz. of 6% bleach this morning after test. Should raise FC to 18
CC-0
TC-14
PH-7.5
CYA-50
TA-120 I was trying to hit 100 so I could put borax in but ended up overshooting it.

 

[TravisD]

I have the same thing and have asked myself the same questions. I have researched on the site a bit and it seems that everyone deals with this problem. I have come to the conclusion that in my case it is very fine dirt and maybe some pollen but not algae. In my case, however, I do not think it is going through my filter and being reintroduced to the water. A few things you can do to try and determine if it is in fact passing through your filter is use a skimmer sock in front of your return eye. Unscrew it and put a piece of the sock there so it will catch any debris that may be passing through. Also, put a skimmer sock in your skimmer basket. I have done this and it really does cut down on the amount of debris that actually makes it to the filter.
I think it is just fine particles of dirt and such that get in your water from different sources, like nearby roads, wind, cutting the grass, etc., that settle to the bottom of the pool.
Unfortunately, it seems to be something that most people with an open air pool have to deal with.

 

[duraleigh]

I have been trying to keep my pool at shock level for the last five or six days because of an algae problem but that is a separate topic.

My belief is that it is the same problem. I think you are still killing some algae (yes, in that clear pool) and that is the dead algae dropping out and collecting in the low spots of your floor.

The conclusive way to determine that is an overnight FC loss test. How to perform that test is in Pool School but post back if you have any questions about it.

 

[fuzzy_dba]

I have brown powdery substance that is getting into the indentions on the floor of my pool. This brown stuff is in the areas of the return jets giving me the opinion that this stuff is going thru my system filter and all and being redistributed into my pool. We have had allot of pollen this year, however wouldn't the filter catch this?

My FC level doesn't drop overnight, my CC is 0.0, and I still have the light powdery stuff (light grey/brown). Like you it settles in the indentations in front of the jets.

I found that some DE added to my sand filter helped clear it up, but I still have some... That's what the daily brushing and weekly vacuum jobs are for!

Terry in NC