New to my pool and came home to algae

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I passed the overnight test and my CC is 0 :) but the water is still cloudy. What do I do now?

FC - 28
CC - 0
Ph - 7.8
TA - 160
CYA - 60
CH - 500? (I think this reagent might be bad. I only see a tint of color)

I also noticed last night there seems to be a soft, oily film on the surface. Do you know what that could be? Also, can I change the new filter cartridge now?
 
Keep SLAMming until you pass all 3 criteria at the same time. Also, do the TA test again, but wipe the dropper tip after each drop. When the reagent is new (about a week old) static electricity tends to build up and cause the drops to be smaller. This makes the test read higher than it actually is.
 
I think the oil is from a persimmon tree that was hanging over the pool. We cut it back yesterday. When I cleaned out the polaris this morning I noticed some of the fruit casings in the bag so I went and crushed one that was on the ground and it has the exact same oily texture. Thoughts?
 
mrsktw said:
I think the oil is from a persimmon tree that was hanging over the pool. We cut it back yesterday. When I cleaned out the polaris this morning I noticed some of the fruit casings in the bag so I went and crushed one that was on the ground and it has the exact same oily texture. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
That could be it. It's all about filtration at this point if you are sure you got all the algae. Keep your FC above minimum and keep filtering 24/7. Make sure your pressure isn't too high and keep the filter clean. I don't have a cartridge filter so I can't give you more advice on when to change the cartridge.
 
I think Black Algae is my culprit! I have been questioning whether a black area on our rock steps is part of the rock coloration or stain but after looking through the pics during our partial drain I think I'm convinced it is black algae. Some has definitely cleared up since starting the slam but one area remains strong. Pic below. I also noticed little black speckles on some of the rocks and there is a green tint to some of the grout (pic below). We scrubbed all of that when we moved in and since nothing happened we assumed it was stained. Now, since reading through the forums I think it could be more algae with a biofilm and why my FC numbers continue to drop at night. I did have one good reading but must have made a mistake when testing. We also pulled out the light and didn't see much until a pile of greyish brown dust/dirt showed up the next morning in the base. Im assuming that was dead algae and vacuumed out. We also changed out the filter cartridge since I never got any response here whether I should or not and at that point I really felt like we were finished and just needed to clear the water. The water is a lot clearer but our surface is very dark and deep and Im not sure how clear it should get. I can see the drain now :) My question now is...If this is black algae should I increase my FC level to must/yellow algae levels? Last night we increased our slam target to bring our FC up to 30 which I believe it was at or above consistently during our first few days of testing without the proper test kit. On a good note, I think our first CYA test was inaccurate (newbies!) and we have been overslamming which I hope has helped with the black algae. We retested yesterday based on the extended info in pool school and determined a CYA of 50. I appreciate every suggestion I have been given and using all of your advise. Thanks for your time and responses! Do I continue slamming and scrubbing or as I read in a few posts do I just need to assume it is always there and keep my FC at a higher target?

Last night:
FC = 31
CC = .5
CYA = 50

This morning:
FC = 24
CC = .5
 
You only need to move to mustard levels for the last stage of a SLAM. Stay at you normal shock levels and keep filtering. This is a process.

I see you lost about 8fc overnight. This is a lot. Keep your FC at shock levels as best you can. It may require every hour during the early stages. This took a while to get green, it's going to take a while to get clear.
 
Short answer YES.

You disturbed algae clouds and removed the black algae s protective layer. This allowed your FC to kill the algae there. Keep brushing, keep scrubbing, keep filtering, keep your FC up. You will see a huge difference soon... How soon? It all depends on a wide range of factors.
 

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New dilemma. I was scrubbing on that black rock and accidentally chipped off a thin layer of rock. It revealed more green algae so I went ahead and chipped off the entire layer of rock all of which revealed more algae. I have many rocks with this same flaky layer. I got what I could on many of them but I can't do this to all of them or it will ruin the rocks. I am now concluding I am always going to have some algae somewhere in these rocks under the surface. My pool is crystal clear and I can keep slamming but I'm not sure it's going to ever get all of the algae hiding under these layers. Think I may just need to keep my FC at a good target level to keep from blooms. Thoughts?
 
We have finally passed all 3 SLAM criteria!!! Our pool has never been so clear! Thank you TFP! Here are this mornings test results:
FC 20
CC .5
PH 8.0
TA 160
CYA 50

Do I need to wait for our FC to come down before addressing the Ph and TA?
 
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