Weird water test results...

[moze229]

I went ahead and scrubbed it all up. Here is what I noticed characteristically about whatever it is -

- It's "dusty". Scrubbing it provides a dusty result.
- If you barely scrub it, you can actually see it settle back to the bottom (that doesn't sound like algae)
- It tends to be where the most shade is (characteristic of mustard, but could just be coincidental. More on that in a second)
- It is more yellow in color than most algaes that I'm familiar with, although it does have a green tint to it - almost like pollen.
- It is slimy, but not in the sense that it stays where it is when you touch it. It clouds away.

I'm not sure if it was in this thread or not that I've mentioned that I do live in the middle of the woods. There are many trees around, two of which almost hang directly over the pool. This is the shaded area - but the shaded area where the trees are also means that whatever this is could also be something out of the trees. I assume that it could be pollen, but I would think that most pollenation would have already occurred, especially with the early warming of this year. Of course, I'm not a botanist so some trees may very well release pollen all year long. I have no idea.

Anyway, now the pool looks great. The water has a slight cloud to it. I turned the pump on high for now to see if I can't clear some of that up. I'll see how fast it comes back. The photos that I posted earlier was about three days without scrubbing. I have not vacuumed in a while either. If this turns out to be some sort of dirt or other debris, I may have to go with an auto vacuum system.

 

[Bama Rambler]

It certainly looks like dirt.

 

[moze229]

It certainly looks like dirt.

That's a relief to hear you say that.

I'm going to do another OCLT tonight/tomorrow and see where we are with that. I'm certain though that we will be looking at no more than another .5 loss. If that is the case and I don't see it coming back (which would be a different scenario than what has been the case lately) then I'll just chalk it up to not vacuuming enough. I'll report back with my findings. Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

[ndenunz]

Some pollen can be quite small and not get trapped in a sand filter. Try adding some diatomaceous earth to your filter to help trap smaller particles and make your water sparkle.

 

[moze229]

Some pollen can be quite small and not get trapped in a sand filter. Try adding some diatomaceous earth to your filter to help trap smaller particles and make your water sparkle.

Thanks ndenunz. Once I get to the bottom of this and find out that it is some fine particulate that is getting into the pool that the filter is unable to get, I'll look at getting some type of sock for the skimmer that might help eliminate it.

Just an update - I tested the water last night at FC 6.5 but of course, it rained almost all night and added about 1/2" of water to the pool. LOL So, the OCLT test will have to wait for another day. I tested about noon today just for fun and got a reading of about FC 5. Of course, this result is useless since it rained 1/2" of water into the pool and diluted what was in the water beforehand.

Then I decided to go ahead and add bleach today since I was going to redo the test anyway and I ended up adding way too much. I don't know what I was thinking but I got the FC up to 9.5. LOL I was shooting for about 7. Not sure. Must have been thinking about something else.

In other news, the pool is crystal clear and the mysterious pest is not back. Right now I'm hoping and praying that it is some nuisance debris rather than algae. We've had clouds most of the day here and the temps are about 15-20 degrees below normal. My pool water temp is down to 69 degrees now.