mustard algae, pollen need help

[Richard320]

so I had my wife double check my chorine count this morning it took her 26 drops to turn the water clear so that equaled to 13ppm.... also used the pool calc to determine how much Baking Soda I needed to reach a TA of 70 from 42 . It said 196oz, I put on 194 and 3 hours later Im getting a reading of 130...my pool is toxic right now. I'm getting depressed what do I do now?

Cheer up! For starters, I'll bet that 42 TA was from the pool store, not your own test. So you probably haven't done the test wrong. 130 is high, but plenty of us have tap water that is higher! You just overdosed it a little. Nothing that a little extra time and acid won't fix.

Worry about it once the pool is clear and swimmable.

 

[rndog43]

your right... sorry to be so whinny! So I should hit it with some Muratic Acid to bring the PH down as well?

 

[rndog43]

Sorry to be so Whinny...so hit it with Muratic Acid?

 

[Richard320]

The pH test is inaccurate above 10 FC - it tends to affect the colors and makes it read high. So you might not actually have high pH and adding acid might be the wrong thing to do. Just concentrate on the algae.

 

[rndog43]

okay....if my FC is 13 now aren't I at shock level. Pool calc says Mustard Algae Shock is at 12. My CYA is low 20 or below...what's my next move thanks in advance?

 

[Richard320]

okay....if my FC is 13 now aren't I at shock level. Pool calc says Mustard Algae Shock is at 12. My CYA is low 20 or below...what's my next move thanks in advance?

Open a can of POP.

That's pool owner patience. The next step is to brush the pool and recheck FC in a couple hours, then add enough bleach to get FC back up to 13. Repeat as necessary until 1) The water is all clear; 2) CC is .5 or less; 3) Overnight FC loss is 1 or less. It's all in Pool School.

 

[rndog43]

thanks Richard.... i did read it in pool school but i wanted to make sure since my TA wasn't quite right. you said focus on the algae, i don't need to worry about my CYA being so low?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

You can bump it up a little if you want - maybe to 30. You can raise it the rest of the way to 50 after your done shocking.

 

[rndog43]

results from over night test
8pm last night: FC: 13
CC: 0

6am next morning FC: 13
CC: 0

Just got home from work 4pm FC: 10.5
CC: .5
I followed overnight test to a tee does that mean my no algae? do I need to keep chlorine at 13? should I attribute loss today due to sun light? It will be hard to keep FC at 13 all day because there is a 8-9 hour period each day i'm at work.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

You passed yes the daytime loss today is from UV/sunlight. See the Recommended Levels article in Pool School - and refer to the CYA Chlorine chart.

 

[rndog43]

so I've brought my CYA up to 50-60 for now, my FC continues to read off the charts and has even increased to 16 this morning. is that normal after using stabilizer? I also noticed that the pollen, dirt , algae is starting pop up again. would algae be able to survive at such high levels of FC? I can't help but second guess my testing method.

 

[duraleigh]

1. Is your SWG running? If so, the OCLT is invalid.

2. What does your water look like now.

3. Disregard pH and TA tests.

4. Why did you take CYA to 50-60? Now your shock value for FC is 24 ppm.

Answer 1 and 2 and 4 and read #3 and we'll all help you get your pool running correctly.

 

[rndog43]

I turned off SWG on the OCLT test and had FC of 13 at 8pm and 13 at 6am the next day. My water is crystal clear with the exception to two small areas neat 2 seams on the liner, i'll try and take a picture. I took CYA up from 20-50 based off forum recommendation plus I thought I had gotten rid of the algae or didn't have it from the overnight test....isn't 60-80 the normal range we want? Thank you for you assistance...I'm new at this and want to do a good job but seems like I keep screwing up.

 

[rndog43]

should I turn off my SWG to bring down the chlorine?

 

[Richard320]

Take a brush to those seams. The local independent pool store I shop at had a whole basket full of these corner brushes for a couple bucks last year:

Now...what is your current CYA level? Because you base the FC shock level on that. You're so close to being done. Anyway, once that algae on the seams brushes away and stays gone, just turn the SWG off until the FC gets down close to what you want, then restart it. It's safe to swim all the way up to shock level, so jump in! If it's warm enough...

Once it's all through with the shock process, if you want to raise CYA level, that's the time to do it. Be sure to maintain FC level accordingly.

 

[rndog43]

thanks guys, i'll post my CYA this morning and get an algae brush

 

[rndog43]

CYA is 50... I've attached a picture of the problem... I hope you can see it. Its less than 6inches in length and less than an inch in width. reappears in same place every time.

 

[rndog43]

CYA of 50 isn't mentioned but based on below data I'd estimate a shock level of 20?

CYA (Stabilizer) Minimum FC Target FC Shock FC
60 3 4 24
70 3 5 28
80 4 6 30

 

[Richard320]

CYA is 50... I've attached a picture of the problem... I hope you can see it. Its less than 6inches in length and less than an inch in width. reappears in same place every time.

Picture didn't show.

But by description, that may just be drifts of fine silt or pollen settling in a dead spot. In which case, all the bleach in the world won't remove it. But a vacuum will.

 

[rndog43]

that's what I thought before ...and I've vacuumed in the past, if it were dirt or pollen why would it keep coming back?