Question about algae on tanning ledge

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pinstripepat

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Jul 11, 2012
57
Dallas, Texas
Hello,

I need help and advice today I saw the very beginings of green algae on my tanning ledge. It is a flagstone tanning ledge and the algae was in the grout.

I scrubbed it off, but i am a new pool owner and am curious do I need to shock, or am i ok. Water looks great, actually I am confused how it could grow there with FC levels at 6 and 7.

Help would be appreciated.

PS...my CH is 425 so i am not wanting to shock with cal-hypo. Should i use liquid bleach and how much, pool cal says 28?

My FC = 7
CYA = 70
SWG at 90%
 
Yes, it is off most of the time as the PB has it on a seperate valve and it does not come on automatically with the pump at 10 everyday.
I see where you are headed and it was 105 today and is suppossed to be over 100 for everyday this week, heck lets just say till september.
Should i just leave that valve open so that when the pool turns on at 10 AM it comes on with the pump everyday?

Vette, I think you may be right about circulation, plus the water is only 6" on that ledge......should I shock or was the scrubbing sufficient. Just checked FC and it is 7.

PS where are you in Ohio, I was born and raised there (Youngstown) moved to Dallas in 2000
 
I'm in the Cleveland area, 25 miles NE of it in a city called Mentor. Home of President James Garfield :D

Do an Overnight Chlorine Loss test. Test now and then in the morning before sun hits it fully. If you lose less than 1 FC overnight, then you don't need to shock.
 
Yes, I know Mentor well.

I was 7.0 to 7.5 last night at around 8 PM and 5.5 this AM at around 8 AM. I think i am going to do the bleach shock tonight. Pool calculator said 8 96 oz jugs to raise FC to 28, which is what they recommened as a shock level for SWG pool at about 20000 gals. Does all this sound ok to everyone before I do it.

Thanks
 
Tonight your water won't necessarily be 5.5ppm FC. Additionally, for a CYA level of 70ppm, your shock level is 20ppm FC according to the pool calculator but 28ppm from the Chlorine/CYA chart. Either works, but the chart is more aggressive.

Re-calculate with pool calculator after testing to get the required amount of bleach to reach shock level. And then test every hour and replace any chlorine that is lost. Bear in mind that if you did raise to 20ppm and lose even 1ppm of FC in an hour, then you are not maintaining shock level. Raising it to above (pool calc) shock level by a few ppm's (CYA chart=28ppm) will ensure that by the time you test and re-dose you aren't falling below the 20ppm shock level.

The same could be said about the CYA chart shock level of 28ppm but since pool calculator says 20ppm you should be safe if you use 28ppm as a target and make sure to re-dose before it gets to 20ppm.
 
How long do I need to keep it at 20....I was going to put it in tongith and then run pump and that was it.....is that not the correct way? Should I do it in the morning before i leave for work? I won't be able to redose in the morning cause i will be at work? How long do I need to keep it at 20ppm? What do you recommend for me to shock during the week so we can swim next weekend.......thanks.....

Maybe I will wait until tomorrow after work so that i can see your response. I am assuming I need to run my pump while i shock so with my SWG maintaining a 7 right now in FC, once i get to 20 will my SWG keep it there or how fast will it fall etc...or is that just something I need to trial and error.

Thanks again.
 
Shocking the pool is a process, not a one time event and you'll have to maintain shock level till you pass three criteria:

1 - .5ppm or less Combined Chlorine (CC)
2 - 1ppm or less FC loss overnight (OCLT = Overnight Chlorine Loss Test)
3 - Water is CLEAR

For criteria 1 and 2 you'll need a FAS-DPD test kit. (edit: I see you have one, good!)

For criteria 3, you'll need FC at shock level, 24/7 filtration, and patience.

For all three criteria, FC should remain at or above shock level.

To do this properly, you'll need to read Pool School. See the white button at the top right of every TFP page? Click it, and read through paying particular attention to the How to shock your pool and ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry. After you read through a few times, what I said above will make much more sense. It's a lot to take in at first, which is why we say read more than twice :~}

For shocking, it's recommended to turn the SWG off to save the cell, but if you can't be there to maintain shock level FC during the day you can try using the SWG to maintain it. Once you're home however, do turn it off and test FC and re-dose manually so that you can see what's happening. Once your CC is .5ppm or less and no chlorine is lost during no sun hours, then you can do the OCLT. The OCLT is done with the SWG off as well.
 
OK, I meet 1 and 3 right now based on my last few tests. My water looks great as well. This was just in the small edge where tanning ledge meets wall and was a small amount. However, I do not meet 2 as I am about 1.5 to 2.0 down overnight.

OK, I will pour the bleach in tonight and run the pump all night. I will then check in the morning before work and dose if needed.

PS...Is there a preferred spot to dump the bleach in (i.e. in front of a jet or just walk around the perimiter etc...)



Thanks.
 
pinstripepat said:
OK, I meet 1 and 3 right now based on my last few tests. My water looks great as well. This was just in the small edge where tanning ledge meets wall and was a small amount. However, I do not meet 2 as I am about 1.5 to 2.0 down overnight.

OK, I will pour the bleach in tonight and run the pump all night. I will then check in the morning before work and dose if needed.

PS...Is there a preferred spot to dump the bleach in (i.e. in front of a jet or just walk around the perimiter etc...)



Thanks.
Click to expand...
Straight outta Pool School

Bleach should be added to the pool by pouring slowly in front of a return jet with the pump running. You should pour slowly enough that pouring an entire jug takes more than one minute, preferably two minutes. Leave the pump running for at least 30 minutes after adding bleach.
Click to expand...
 

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Question, how do you think it got there in the first place with a FC or 5-7 and CYA of 65-70? My water looks great as well. Do you think it is as stated above the circulation on that ledge, or lack there of. I have now turned on the bubbler so that water moves up there. I am just really in the dark on how it started with my water being in balance.
 
Your ledge is an extremely shallow surface, and with no circulation the chlorine is getting used up by sunlight very quickly. You need the chlorinated water from the pool and the SWG to flow over the tanning deck during the day.
 
IMO, you also do not meet the third criteria, since you have signs of algae, albeit small amounts...the water is clear also implies no visible algae. Hopefully the shocking process will go fast. Make sure you are circulating through that area and brush it at least twice each day (more is better).
 
Ah, I understand and thanks everyone....I will start to brush for sure the tanning ledge daily, right now we are brushing pool twice a week. I have also opened up the "bubbler" manual valve so that it comes on with the pump everyay from 10 - 6 PM.

I will try shocking tonight for first time and keep everyone posted. Thanks again.
 
Just an update on my first shock. I followed the pool calc and everything worked as planned. I maintained a 24 FC overnight I think i added a bit much on the bleach as I was shooting for 20 ish, however, I'm ok with 24 as i work and can't check today.

My question is when do i shut the pump (salt) off and do the ONCL. Tonight at 6:30PM CST will be 24 hours at 20+ FC. Advice and instructions would be very helpful.

PS...I hate to say it but I don't know how to shut the salt cell off by itself and keep the pump running, so I am figuring I have to just shut the pump off. Any help there would be good as well. Can I just shut the pump off tonight and check ONCL in the AM ...etc...?
 
When there's no more green anywhere and the CC is less than .5, then you can run the OCLT.

I'd think it would be a simple matter to set the SWG % to zero Page 23

And you'll need the pump running so the water is well mixed before you test. Unless you want to get up in the dark, run the pump and brush things for 30 minutes, then test FC before the sun rises.
 
OK, Richard, There was never any green present after I brushed the little bit off on Saturday and I have always been under .5 CC so i guess I am good to check tonight for ONCL, correct? The only reason I shocked was because I saw a little green in the first place.

Do you agree I should check ONCL tomorrow AM?

I will turn my cell down to zero after work as well.

Thank you and everyone so much for walking me through this....
 

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