Shocking for algae

[cood60]

Could someone clarify the shocking process. I have never done this, but think I may have some yellow algae? Sorry for the lengthy post but I want to be sure I do this right:
I have a yellow substance that collects along the creases where the side walls and or the slopes meet the bottom. The stuff will brush away but comes back in 2-4 days. How do I know if this is algae? My water was getting a tiny bit dull but it looks good today. If algae is present, will the water be cloudy?

When I brush the pool, there is always a cloud of grayish debris. Lately I have been experimenting with brushing when the pump is on high (hoping the drains will suck the stuff in and filter it out). I did it yesterday and then again this morning; it, the gray stuff, seems to just collect on the bottom. Is this stuff just too small to filter?

Water is pretty clear
Ph is 7.8
TA is 80
CH is 230
CYA is 70, FC is 4 , cc is 0 ( I have just recently increased the chlorinator % to 60% to try to
get FC up a bit as it seems the FC was at 2 or 3 )
Pump runs on high speed from 12pm to 3:30PM, and again from 1AM to 4AM and low speed
the rest of the time . (When the kids are in the pool, the pump is always on high speed as the
slides requires it?


Is this an accurate understanding of how to fight algae:

Preventative:
Keep CYA near but not above 80
Keep FC at a min of 7.5% of my CYA (5.25 in my case)

Clean around lights etc with small brush

To get rid of algae:
Is it possible that the grey dust I that comes up when I brush is actually the yellow algae after it
dies? Is it possible that I can kill the algae (assuming the yellow stuff is algae) just by raising my
FC to 5 or 6?
Super Chlorinate at a rate that is 60% of my CYA ( 10 -20 gallons in my case depending on if I do
min or max, which is best?) I am confused about how to add the chlorine for shock. All at once?

Pool School under defeating algae says to shock according to the shocking section of pool school
But the shocking section says to do it in cycles (please define cycles ) and I think is assuming I am
trying to get CC to 0, not get rid of algae????
Does “cycles” mean that I should divide the 20 gallons in to 2 gallons at a time or something,
and if I am trying to defeat algae, (not get CC to 0) how do I know when the algae is dead? Will
it change from yellow to grey during or after one of the “cycles”?
Should I Put all pool related items in the pool while super chlorinating including toys, robot
cleaner, brushes, swimwear, pool water test bottle(s) etc.
Will this huge amount of Chlorine wreck my liner?
How long will it take for the huge amount of chlorine to reduce to safe levels to swim in and
what is the max safe level to swim in?

 

[Bama Rambler]

The frst thing you should do is raise the FC to high normal and run an OCLT. That will let you know if you even need to shock.

You have some confusion about the proper way to shock.

You test the FC & CYA and then use the Pool Calc to figure out how much FC it takes to get from where you are now to what your shock level should be for your CYA. For example since your CYA is 70, your shock level will be 28 and since your FC is 4 and you need to add 12 gallons of bleach to get you there. Add it all at once. Then 1 hour later test the FC again and if it's lower than 28 ppm add enough bleach to bring it back to 28. Keep doing that every hour until you start holding FC at 28. You'll notice that the FC will start lasting longer and longer as you kill off the algea.

Hold it at shock level until you pass the OCLT and the water is clear.

 

[cood60]

Thanks, can you tell me what an OCLT is?
Yes, I am confused about the proper way to shock, your post clears a lot up, but the pool school is sometimes conflicting and or vague for us newbies

Also, my water is clear now, per my previous post, and I had asked if algae could be present and the water remains clear?
The stuff is yellow and gathers along the crease where the verticle and sloped deep end side walls meet the bottom. There is also a lot of invisible grey matter that gathers on the entire bottom but shows itself when I brush (clouds up and dissapears back in to it's invisible self.

Should I wait til I have the yellow debris, not brush it away, then shock until it goes away and or turns grey ie is dead?

Also, one of the pool school explanations, ChemGeek on Chlorine/CYA Chart, said to lower the Ph to 7.2 before shocking at the recommended levels. The Yel/Mstrd Min is listed at 12, the Yel/Mstrd Shock is listed at 40.5 (for my situation) I assume, from your post, that I should be using the Shock FC at first to see if it kills algae, then , if not, go to the Yel Mstrd Shock?

What is the Yel/Mstrd Min used for?

Thanks again

 

[jblizzle]

What is the Yel/Mstrd Min used for?

I believe it is the minimum you should maintain at all times if you have a recurring yellow/mustard algae problem.

I would say you should follow the steps Bama laid out.
Raise FC level
Do OCLT to see if you need to shock or not.
Follow the shock process until you pass the 3 tests (if the OCLT warrants this)

BTW, it is certain possible for there to be low level algae and the water to be clear.

There is a chance the stuff you are seeing is just dirt/dust/pollen ... the OCLT will help figure this out.

 

[linen]

What is the Yel/Mstrd Min used for?

From here:

It means that if you haven't completely killed off yellow/mustard algae everywhere in the pool (including behind light niches and under removable ladders) and on anything that would get into the pool (polls, swimsuits, etc.), then you'd need to maintain an FC that was 15% of the CYA level to keep it from growing in the bulk pool water. Yellow/mustard algae is about twice as resistant to chlorine as regular green algae. Such a high chlorine level is often impractical since its more costly to maintain so it is better to completely get rid of the yellow/mustard algae after which one can maintain the more economical FC level that is 7.5% of the CYA level (or 5% for saltwater chlorine generator pools).

 

[cood60]

Don't take this wrong way, but what is an OCLT

 

[Bama Rambler]

It an Overnight Chlorine Loss test. There's a link to it in my sig.

 

[linen]

Don't take this wrong way, but what is an OCLT

You sir/madame, have offended me...everyone knows it's "Obsessive Chlorine Testing"

 

[cood60]

Thanks, guess I missed thew link

Obsessive pool keeper, lol

 

[cood60]

When I do the algae super shock, I assume it is still ok to be in the pool doing the brushing, lights etc?

Our pool store said to only use a copper base algae remover. They also said chlorine cannot kill it and that actually neither will their product since they said once algae appears it will always come back and will always require weekly maintenence doses of the copper stuff. I am assuming they are incorrect as they do tend to live in a box

 

[jblizzle]

Never put copper in the pool, leads to possible staining and green hair.

The chlorine will certainly be able to kill and then prevent the algae from coming back.

Generally we say you can be in the water when the FC is less than the shock value. Limited scrubbing in the pool is probably fine at slightly higher FC values.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[cood60]

Thanks, but the school says to brush everything while the levels are at full mustard value which is like 40ppm

Thanks, and I am in no hurry so i can wait til you get to a nice keyboard :lol:

BTW, how do I get these smilies to work right?

Cush

 

[chem geek]

If you have a pool brush with a pole extension, then usually you can brush everything without getting inside the pool.

 

[jblizzle]

You should be able to brush most everything from outside of the pool.

Although I just learned in another post that the high FC levels are not really the concern. Whatever is using your FC is more the reason we say not to swim while shocking. So getting in briefly to scrub should be fine... just don't swim and ingest any water

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

 

[Smykowski]

When I do the algae super shock, I assume it is still ok to be in the pool doing the brushing, lights etc?

Our pool store said to only use a copper base algae remover. They also said chlorine cannot kill it and that actually neither will their product since they said once algae appears it will always come back and will always require weekly maintenence doses of the copper stuff.

This is why I don't go to pool stores anymore. If I have to make the trek to buy equipment, I keep my head down, pay for my stuff, and get out quickly!!