Brownish-orange hairy debris in filter and pump basket?!

[Monkey's Mom]

I'm not sure what we have going on. We have had a lot of rain lately and this is our first winter with our pool. We have left it open and have been using the spa 2-4 times a week. The SWG isn't producing chlorine so DH has been maintaing the FC with liquid bleach. I don't think we are doing a very good job. The weather here has been in the 60-70s and the pool water in the 60s. Last night the FC was zero and the PH was high. We added more bleach and muriatic acid. This morning the FC was 0.5 so we added more bleach. Dh cleaned the filters and pump basket. The pump basket was covered in a brownish-orange hairy looking stuff and the filters had some on it as well. The water is still a little cloudy. These are our current levels....

PH 7.5
FC 3.5
CC 0.5
TA 90
CH 220
CYA 55
Salt 2900
water temp 61

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Sounds like the pool failed an overnight chlorine loss test. Something used the FC.

Shock the pool as described in Pool School.

Scott

 

[duraleigh]

Agreed. You need to shock the pool. As poolguynj suggests, do it according to the article in pool school to get your pool cleaned up......you can't do it with a one-time application of chlorine.

 

[Monkey's Mom]

I'm not sure it failed the over-night test as we didn't measure the FC after the first dose of bleach (DH didn't use the pool calculator) until the next morning when it was 0.5 This morning we checked the FC and it was 3.5 with a CC of 0 (so the same as last night). However, dh and I did run the spa last night for a few hours and I assume since the water was heated the SWG might have been producing chlorine so I'm not sure how accurate the OCLT is?

DH isn't sure we need to shock the pool. I think we should as the chlorine level was 0 and that is a reason to shock according to pool school. With a CYA of 55 we need to raise the FC to 24 and maintain it there today and then check the OCLT tomorrow. When should we add more CYA, before or after shock? Does anyone know what the orange hairy stuff is?

Thanks so much! This is our first time needing to shock the pool so I want to make sure we do it right!

 

[Monkey's Mom]

Here is a picture of the stuff that was on the pump basket...

 

[Buford]

It looks like fur, had any dog fights in the area lately? Or birds like crows or the like flying over? My pool once had a chipmunk deposited by a hawk as it flew over.

It actually appears to have the consistency of possum fur, but the color does not seem right. With the other debris mixed in, it might have been blown in by the wind.

 

[Monkey's Mom]

After Buford's post I think the "furry" stuff could be from the dog next door. They have a dark golden retriever and maybe they brushed her or something and the hair got in the pool?!

Anyway, we shocked the pool because it was cloudy and the chlorine was 0, which according to pool school it needed to be shocked. We added bleach according to the pool calculator and the chlorine level was 26.5 last night and 26 this morning so we passed the OCLT. The water looks better (it is raining outside).

What will happen with all the chlorine now? How long will it take to come down to the normal 3-4 range it needs to be?

 

[linen]

Anyway, we shocked the pool because it was cloudy and the chlorine was 0, which according to pool school it needed to be shocked. We added bleach according to the pool calculator and the chlorine level was 26.5 last night and 26 this morning so we passed the OCLT. The water looks better (it is raining outside).

Do you pass the other two "you are done shocking" criteria...CC less than 0.5 ppm and water totally crystal clear (see my sig)? If not, you are not done with the "shocking PROCESS".

 

[ping]

Your chlorine will start to disappear slowly over time with the water being this cold. Keep the pool uncovered during the day if it is covered. Make sure your SWG is turned to off so it doesn't run when you get in the spa. From what I read here at TFP it is fine to use the pool up to shock level. Running the spa might help to get rid of the chlorine also. There are chemicals you can buy to help get rid of the chlorine if you want to go that route, but I wouldn't hesitate to use the spa for now. The good news is that you will not have to chlorinate for awhile.

 

[MonkeyAle]

@ Linen, we passed the 2 criteria.

Thanks to all for the assistance!

 

[zea3]

It also kind of looks like palm tree debris, does anyone around you have palm trees?

 

[linen]

@ Linen, we passed the 2 criteria.

sounds good :-D ...I was just checking, having seen many people think they are finished with the process when they are not...

 

[MonkeyAle]

It also kind of looks like palm tree debris, does anyone around you have palm trees?

Nose on!!! We have a few palms around the pool area that we recently cut back! Glad to know we don't have something more major going on.

I'm glad we took care of any concerns with y'alls help on this! Outside of having a TON of chlorine now, the pool is sparkly and seems to be doing well... Now to get the plaster cured so our pH isn't flailing all over the place

 

[bobodaclown]

Here's an interesting chart that list chlorine levels:
http://poolsolutions.com/gd/best-guess- ... art.html#a

 

[2Old4This]

My guess was either palm trees or a pet orangutan, leaning slightly toward the monkey, given your user name