Pink (algae?) on teflon tape

[rcy]

Hi everyone. Opened my pool yesterday (earliest opening ever for me - usually I open first week in April or thereabouts, but it's been way above seasonal here and long term forecasts show highs in the teens (celsius) right through till the end of March).

Anyway, when I took the caps off my return lines, there was bright pink on the teflon tape and in the threads of the lines. Is it likely that this is pink algae? Anything special I should do besides raising chlorine to shock level? I used a toothbrush to scrub the threads on the return lines.

Speaking of shock - there will be almost no CYA in the water after the winter (I have a safety cover and the pool has refilled from below the returns to over the skimmer with rain/snow melt). Should I raise the CYA before shocking, or just aim for a shock level based on 0 CYA in the water?

Thanks.

By the way, I will be testing the water with my K2006, today after the pump has been running for 24hrs.

 

[duraleigh]

You are likely safe to test any time after a couple of hours run time.....24 hours is gracious plenty.

I would probably add CYA to get to 20ppm or so. While it increases your FC shock value, the FC disappears so fast to the sun with zero CYA that it makes sense to have a little protection in your pool to get maximum use of your chlorine.

Pretty unusual for algae to grow there as it needs some light but I think you have already done the right thing by mechanically removing it and preparing to shock the pool.

 

[rcy]

I can post a pic (everyone likes pics, right?) of the offending return line caps and pink teflon tape when I get home.

Prior to closing in the fall, I did let the FC fall to near zero to do an ascorbic acid treatment (bag of steel wool blew into pool and sat on white fiberglass steps for a couple of days, steps turned brown - lesson learned about leaving stuff laying around outside). I perhaps wasn't the most diligent in ensuring proper chlorine level after this as I was close to closing the pool anyway - this might account for some of the algae (there was green algae on my steps too). Also, we had a very mild winter (for where I live anyway) - I barely saw any ice on the pool this year for example - which may account for this. This is my fifth opening ever on this pool, and the prior four were algae free.

 

[JamesW]

Did you use swimming pool antifreeze?

http://www.poolsupplyworld.com/poolsupp ... NW3402.htm

 

[rcy]

Yes, actually I did. You think that's the pink I'm seeing? Makes sense, actually.

 

[JamesW]

I'm thinking that it is most likely the antifreeze. Either way, it would be good to maintain good chemistry and watch for any algae buildup anywhere. Follow good maintenance procedures and you should be fine. Perhaps run and elevated chlorine level for a week or so to be sure. I'd say keep the FC at about 20 % of the cyanuric acid level for about 7 days.

 

[rcy]

Good advice, which I intend to follow, as I had some green algae on the fiberglass steps of the pool when I opened (only on the highest step, closest to the surface of the water).

The more I think about it, I think you're probably right about the anti-freeze. I used a hose to add anti-freeze to all my lines when I closed in October. The anti-freeze that spilled over probably sat in the threads, and over winter turned the white teflon tape pink. I don't see any pink anywhere else in the pool, except on the teflon tape and threads of my return lines and suction line.

Thanks.

 

[BobinBaltimore]

Also, there is such a thing as pink teflon tape. If I recall, it is a little thicker than standard teflon tape...used in some plumbing for liquids and chemicals. Could be they grabbed the pink stuff instead of the white stuff. I've done that myself.

 

[rcy]

Closed the pool myself. Definitely used white teflon tape. I think I've seen the pink stuff before too, but didn't realize it was thicker. Interesting.