How can i tell the difference? Right now I am battling a nasty case of cloudy water and am a little nervous that if it is Mustard, I won't be bringing up the shock high enough. Currently with my 27k, CYA 50, I am shocking at 20-23 ppm since Saturday. Today was the first day in a looooong time that I have see the vacuum at the bottom of the deep end! Yay! But it is still very cloudy and around the top of the water line there is this yellow/ brownish crumbly scum line. When I roll it around in my fingers it turns into a little stringy ball. Also there are lots of beige areas all over the bottom of the pool that I can vacuum up if I go suuuupppper slow but if I move to fast it turns to cloudy dust......Does this sound like Mustard Algae or just pollen?
Mustard Algae Vs. Pollen
- Thread starter Jill
- Start date
It's almost mid summer-----do you normally have that much pollen this time of year? Any friends with pools with the same issue? Pollen accumulating on vehicles or such? I'm betting not.
Jill said:
Dirt, dust, and/or pollen. Geographically, where are you? Are you suffering from the same drought we've got in the upper midwest? If so, your pool is acting like a giant dust rag.
Pollen feels squishy, algae feels slimy & dirt/sand feel gritty.
If you are not already using them, try skimmer socks. They will catch alotta 'stuff' and can help you determine the source.
If you are not already using them, try skimmer socks. They will catch alotta 'stuff' and can help you determine the source.
Also, yellow/mustard algae prefers shade so you usually do not find it on the sunny side of the pool. Pollen and dirt will tend to settle wherever circulation patterns tend to deposit it.
I am having the same issue .... and was afraid it was mustard algae ....I live in southern Indiana and the pool does not have any shade .... I vacuum both manually and automatic (like ever other day) .. it does seem to be better but the next morning some (dust) always seems to be there. I am still pretty new at this first time pool owner ...but I would like to get it right ....I clean the filter, maintain levels, shock and vacuum so not sure what is next. Any assistance would be great.
So I HAD a clear pool for 2 days. The bottom was clean too, no beige dusty stuff. Then I let my FC drift doen to 5.5 and what do ya know? Beige uck on the bottom of my pool, cloudy water and losing 3-4ppms of FC overnight.....MA?
Sincerely,
Annoyed
Sincerely,
Annoyed
Yes, that sounds like mustard algae. It usually takes an FC that is 15% of the CYA level to keep it from coming back. That's why it's usually best to completely get rid of it and that means not only shocking to a high level that is around 60% of the CYA level, but also getting behind light niches, under ladders, putting poles in, etc. Remember that it likes to hang out in shady areas.
