Sorry, another Algae vs. Pollen thread

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C

CHD Dad

0
Jul 18, 2012
89
Upstate, SC
I did lots of reading, I did some cleaning and I even ran my hand across this stuff and I cant figure out what it is! Sorry for the long post but after lots of searching I cant figure this out and I am very new to pool ownership.

I had a green-ish pool to start the year. I let my FC levels drop to near zero over the winter not knowing better (first winter with pool) and once things started warming up a month or so ago water started getting weird on me. I went ahead and SLAM'd the pool back then when my CYA was also zero (raised it to 20 first) and water was crystal clear. I was happy.

We are now in the height of pollen season here in the upstate of SC and its been a BAD year. My truck is yellow within hours and the pool has this yellow sheen to it. I have been adding a little DE to my sand filter and that seems to help a bit, I was using skimmer socks but they clogged so fast with the pollen fronds that I gave up.

My water is now at 76 degrees, I went ahead and raised my CYA to 70 since I thought I was in the clear and I have this nasty yellow/bright green stuff all over my pool bottom and the slopes. Not too much on the vertical sides, its on the flat bottom and the slopes to the deep end. If I brush it it just clouds up in a big bloom and if I brush the full pool I cant see the bottom for a short bit! I know some of it is pollen fronds that have sank since I see those vacuuming (I manually vacuum right now). The rest is this thin layer of something that is in big, wide patches all over the pool. Some of it is greener vs. yellow but its all that yellowish/green color. Some areas also have it worse as I will show in my photos.

So how do I know what this stuff is? It doesnt feel slimey, it doesnt really feel like anything at all! If I try and SLAM now my CYA is too high, correct? I hate to dump all that bleach in if its not needed and my wife will really kill me if I need to drain a bunch of water to get the CYA lower. No clue how much I would need to drain either. That also means adding salt again, rebalancing, etc...

My FC stays at 3.0 daily but that is with my SWG running. PH is 7.6, TA is a little low at 80. Water temp is 74-76F

These pics are from the inlet to one of my skimmers that is in pretty much full shade all day. This is brighter green vs. what I can see at the bottom of the pool and a little thicker. It doesnt feel like anything, it just wipes clean with no residue feeling left behind on my fingers. Last pic is a cropped close up and you can see where I easily wiped some away.







- - - Updated - - -

I was looking at the photos more and it looks like two substances in my skimmer. The front that sees some sun looks to have something more orange-ish and finer in texture vs. the nasty green stuff in the back. I have to think that green stuff is algae of some sort. The stuff on the bottom of my pool is more of a mix between those colors. I couldnt get a good photo of it and I just brushed/vac'd my pool today and am running my filter 24 hrs with some DE to see if it helps. I went ahead and flipped the switch on my Aqua-Rite to "Super Chlorinate" as well. Not sure if that really does much but thought it couldnt hurt.
 
Green stuff in the back: Algae. I'm sorry. Don't bother with the "super chlorinate" feature - won't raise it high enough, fast enough for what you need. Unfortunately, you're gonna need to raise to shock level and SLAM it - be sure to brush before, during and after. Keep SLAM process going until you pass the OCLT.
 
OK, I have two questions -

1) if my pool has been balanced since I last SLAM'd it earlier this year and its been sitting at a steady FC 3.0, why do I have algae? Do I need to raise my FC for day to day use? I was going off what the recommended level was here for a SWG.

2) the pool calc is telling me I need 15 jugs to reach shock level and then I need to maintain that until its gone. That is a LOT of bleach and money! When I had to buy bleach the last time when I needed a fraction of that amount I had trouble finding that much on the shelves. I'm guessing I need at least 20 jugs to make sure I am good from day to day if not more. Question being - I see Polyquat 60 recommended occasionally here and much more on other sites. I can get the required amount of Polyquat 60 for about 25% the cost of 20 jugs of bleach and its all in one jug.

Why not just use the Polyquat 60 vs. that large amount of bleach?

I know to avoid all the other algaecides with copper, etc.
 
The FC/CYA ratio assumes a clean pool. By letting your FC go down to zero, you allowed the algae to gain a toehold. By maintaining your FC at three, you are keeping it at bay, but you won't be able to get rid of it.

Algaecides are better as a preventive measure. They aren't as effective at killing algae once it's there.
 
So I assume the SLAM didnt work the first time around? I passed the overnight test and my water was crystal clear until pollen season started. That is when the yellow and green goo showed up.

Found a bunch of bleach at my local Home Depot so guess I will load up after work. Is there a too high of a FC level to be safe swimming? I have three boys under 6yrs old who are all going to want in the pool this weekend when temps hit the mid 80's. They have been in the pool already but the water was clear.
 
Nope, SLAM was beginning of the year when I neglected to add chlorine all winter (I thought the cold would keep things from growing). I had a small bloom and low CYA so the SLAM went fast and went well so I thought. Water looked great, FC has been steady 3.0 since the water warmed up enough for the SWG to get working (I was using bleach prior to the water warming) and after this nasty pollen season my water turned funky.

I am worried that my kids shouldnt be swimming in FC 28 water but I thought I read on here that if its within the shock level threshold it should be OK. I am thinking the pool is going to smell like strong bleach at that level!

- - - Updated - - -

This was the thread I read that said high FC was OK as long as it was within the SLAM chart - http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/64783-High-Chlorine-Level

FC 28 just sounds insane though!
 

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Happy I did a fresh test of my CYA, it was only 50 so I needed much less bleach. I still bought plenty to have on hand.

Shocked the pool around 4:00PM to a FC 20.4 level and brushed the pool.

Checked the pool again around 8:00PM before the sunset and it was still holding at FC 20.4. Saw a couple small green spots I missed in brushing so hit those.

Checked this morning at 8:00AM (its very cool and cloudy so no sun or heat) - FC 20.2 and pool still smells like bleach.

CC = 0 and that was before SLAM'ing and through all testing

SLAM'ing doesnt work that fast does it? It took 2 days at the start of the season but my water was cloudy. This time my water has been clear the whole time, I just had that green goo in my skimmer opening, some under my light and some behind my ladder (which I pulled and cleaned). Across the bottom still looks like a tan pollen patches that just instantly disappears into a cloud when disturbed.

I did add a little more bleach to get back over FC 20. Also ordered more reagent, I have plenty of powder but adding 100+ drops every test eats up the liquid fast!
 
CHD Dad said:
Happy I did a fresh test of my CYA, it was only 50 so I needed much less bleach. I still bought plenty to have on hand.

Shocked the pool around 4:00PM to a FC 20.4 level and brushed the pool.

Checked the pool again around 8:00PM before the sunset and it was still holding at FC 20.4. Saw a couple small green spots I missed in brushing so hit those.

Checked this morning at 8:00AM (its very cool and cloudy so no sun or heat) - FC 20.2 and pool still smells like bleach.

CC = 0 and that was before SLAM'ing and through all testing

SLAM'ing doesnt work that fast does it? It took 2 days at the start of the season but my water was cloudy. This time my water has been clear the whole time, I just had that green goo in my skimmer opening, some under my light and some behind my ladder (which I pulled and cleaned). Across the bottom still looks like a tan pollen patches that just instantly disappears into a cloud when disturbed.

I did add a little more bleach to get back over FC 20. Also ordered more reagent, I have plenty of powder but adding 100+ drops every test eats up the liquid fast!
Click to expand...
Two comments:

1) The SLAM is like a good many things where there's an inverse proportion. The first 90% of clearing seems to only take 10% of the time.
2) Use a smaller sample size. A 10ml sample means each drop is .5, which is good enough resolution. Saves time and reagent.
 
So do I just keep the level at FC 20 for another day? I passed the OCLT the first day of the SLAM which seems improbable unless I just had that tiny bit of algae to deal with. I will check when I am done with work what the level is. If I am still at 20 in the morning I will assume I am good to go. Kids want to swim but wife wont let them go in if she thinks there is goo in there. She will let them in the ocean or lake though...
 
The "goo" won't hurt them. Yes, when you're dealing with that little bit - won't take much time to pass the OCLT. Question - your pump run time? And refresh my memory, how are you adding chlorine? Sometimes when there's inadequate chlorine and not enough pump run time/proper circulation - some areas can develop chlorine "dead spots" where little areas of algae like yours can take hold.

Even in a clear - maintained pool we recommend routine brushing - to prevent experiences like this... an increased pump run time or just evaluating the flow of circulation can reveal some clues - but routine brushing also helps.

If you're still at 20 in the morning I think you're good to go - no reason they can't swim, btw. ;-)
 
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