White flakes in pool

[TarheelPool]

These strange white flakes appeared in my pool this weekend. Does anyone know if this is algae or mold or is it more likely something windblown. A friend of mine noticed the same thing in his pool over the weekend so I'm wondering if it's something falling from trees but I don't want to take any chances. The stuff is hard to capture in your hand, it just kind of dissolves. Here are my numbers and some pics. Sorry about the picture quality but it was all I could do just to get it to show up in the pictures. As always, I appreciate any help I can get on this.

FC - 3 (I added bleach to take it back to 6ppm which is where I have been keeping the chlorine level)
CC - 0
TA - 60
CH - 40
CYA - 35
PH - 7.4

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[JohnT]

Can't see your pictures, but white flakes that dissolve when you try to pick them up sounds like calcium precipitating out of solution. Except your CH is at 40. :? I can't imagine anything precipitating with such low CH and TA and good pH.

If your numbers are trustworthy, I think I'd just up the filter run time and run the pool cleaner or vacuum a little extra.

 

[TarheelPool]

Thanks JohnT for the lightning quick response. Is anyone else having troubel viewing the pics? Maybe I did something wrong.

Kevin

 

[SeanB]

Any chance it's undissolved cya (stabilizer)? That stuff is really slow to dissolve. Looks kind of big in the picture to be that though - more granular.

 

[TarheelPool]

I haven't added CYA since last fall except through the use of a few pucks on opening this year. To respond to JohnT, the numbers are from the Taylor K2006 test kit and have been repeated with the same calcium numbers so I think they're accurate. Part of my nervousness about this stuff came from a post at PF where someone identified a similiarly described substance as white mold. I've been diligent about not letting the FC get below 3ppm and normally closer to 6 so I hope the environment hasn't been there to allow mold to grow but I've seen enough algae posts to know that you can never be too cautious or proactive.

Kevin

 

[JohnT]

Thanks JohnT for the lightning quick response. Is anyone else having troubel viewing the pics? Maybe I did something wrong.

Kevin

No, you didn't do anything wrong. There's some peculiarity to Photobucket, and I can't always see it. ISP issue.

 

[JohnT]

IPart of my nervousness about this stuff came from a post at PF where someone identified a similiarly described substance as white mold. I've been diligent about not letting the FC get below 3ppm and normally closer to 6 so I hope the environment hasn't been there to allow mold to grow but I've seen enough algae posts to know that you can never be too cautious or proactive.

Kevin

Although I've never seen white mold, I've heard that it doesn't like sunlight. The PF posts I've read tend to describe it as more like tissue than flakes. If it was my pool, I'd be checking places like the bottom of the ladder to see if it is slimey. White mold grows as a slimey coating on pool surfaces, and what you see out in the water is what has broken loose. The bottom of the ladder steps are good, protected, sunlight-free areas that would be prime white mold growing spots.

 

[divnkd101]

My guess would be some sort of pollen. We have had a weird winter, a strange spring. The plants have no idea what the heck is going on. One thing you did not mention was if the flakes were on the surface or suspended in the water. Let us know.

 

[TarheelPool]

I'll check the sunlight protected places and see if I can find anything.

divnkd101 - The flakes are floating on the surface. Not suspended in the water at all as far as I can tell.

Thanks,

Kevin

 

[TTKing]

I woke up this morning and checked on the pool and am seeing the exact same stuff floating on the top of my pool. the same type of "stuff" has coated my car overnight so I also believe this is airborn.

 

[thymer]

Getting the same thing here in Virginia. Must be from the trees.

 

[BeckyL]

Same here in Georgia. Running the pump and skimming, and hosing out the skimmer (sock) keeps it in check. It's getting better by the day.