Brown algae or dirt?

[mekaw]

Hi everyone. I've been noticing that as soon as I vacuum my pool it seems like little clumps of "dirt" return. How do I know if it's dirt or algae? I live in VA where we have that red clay - it's just like talc powder when it's dry and blows all over the place, and I just can't tell if that's the problem or not. Here's my latest water test:

FC 4
TA 90
ph 7.6
CYA 40
CH - didn't check
TC - didn't check

 

[JasonLion]

Generally brown dirt/drifts on the bottom while the water is clear and the FC level is normal is not a problem. Pollen and dirt will both accumulate on the bottom of the pool to some extent all the time. Dead algae can also accumulate if your FC level is a little too low. Try raising the FC level a little and see if that improves things.

 

[Samantha_in_AL]

I've been having the same problem mekaw. My water is crystal clear and my CC is 0. I'm thinking mine is pollen. It only started happening about two weeks ago. Hopefully it won't last much longer. I've been vacuuming pretty much every day to get rid of it.