how to keep swimming bugs out?

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T

theblet

0
Jun 10, 2014
11
Lafayette, LA
Hey yall,

I have a question about those little swimming bugs, i think they are called back swimmers. After i had my pool up for about 2 days, these things showed up. I called leslie's and they advised me to shock, lower ph with muriatic acid, and use black algae killer. I did this (except I used hth algae guard 3x concentrate) and every bugs in the pool was dead. I vacuumed them up yesterday afternoon, and when I went check on the pool this morning. Surprise, they are back by the hundreds. Well, I have a formula for killing them, but how can i keep them out? My readings this morning are:

Chlorine: around 4 to 5
PH: around 7.5 to 7.6

Any ideas?

Thank you!!!
 
do they look like a small ant that has wings? i have them in my pool and I am in South Carolina, we have been fogging before getting in pool and does seem to help you just have to scoop out the ones already there and that is usually 30-40! i will take a picture of what i have tonight and post. My water is so clear i hate to mess with water
 
Have a complete test run on the water and report the results here. Don't buy anything else until you hear back from us. We need to know FC (free chlorine) CC (combined chlorine) TA (total alkalinity) CYA (cyuranic acid, also called stabilizer or conditioner) and pH. If your pool is plaster we will need to know the calcium hardness (CH) as well.

Once we know what all the test results are we can get a better idea of what is going on with the bugs.
 
Yes kind of like ants with two legs swimming. They are skinny and really small. My water looks perfect too. My pool is an Intex Vinyl ultra frame 22'. It is out in the yard at the moment so there's grass all around. I will try to get to Leslie's this weekend and get an analysis.

Maybe I can spray the grass around the pool to keep bugs out. Not sure if they come from the ground or the air tho.

Thanks for the suggestions!
 

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Ok guys I snapped a couple of shots of these things. There are quite a few dead this morning because I added chlorine and algae guard. Here you go:
bugs1.jpg
bugs2.jpg
Also, i checked the PH and it was about 7.8 this morning, so i added some more muriatic acid to lower it too. It seems that the chlorine doesn't stay in the pool though. i have to keep added tons to my filter or feeder every day to keep up. otherwise i would have to shock it every 2 days and we wouldn't get to swim very often.

Anyway, i have a recipe to kill them but i need to know how to keep them out. maybe one of those algaecides with copper in them.

I will look at the guides and other test kits suggested as well. never thought having a pool would be this complicated! :|

Thanks again!
 
I too have been there. The local pool store (LPS) is selling you false hope and the wrong stuff to solve your problem. I am going to say, you CYA is well over 100 and whatever you add, other than fresh water and bleach, is a waste of money.

As you stated, you are using powdered and solid chlorine and with the chlorine comes a stabilizer required to keep the solid chlorine stable. It has a long name but we call it CYA. In the pool, the CYA both protects and weakens the FC. The FC, free chlorine, cleans the pool and kills the algae. CYA is good to a certain level, about 50 PPM, and when to gets above 80 PPM, your chlorine is protected to a point where is is not cleaning the pool.

The issue is the LPS is not normally accurate in solving this issue. They don't test the CYA accurately and they feel a FC in the 1-3 range is perfect. This website is full of pool owners that test their own water with an accurate test kit and use liquid bleach type chlorine and a few other chemicals to keep their pool clean all summer for less money than the average trip to the LPS. It does require you read and understand the Pool School section AND a test kit AND you stop listening to the LPS.
 
theblet said:
Ok guys I snapped a couple of shots of these things. There are quite a few dead this morning because I added chlorine and algae guard. Here you go:
View attachment 30556
View attachment 30557
Also, i checked the PH and it was about 7.8 this morning, so i added some more muriatic acid to lower it too. It seems that the chlorine doesn't stay in the pool though. i have to keep added tons to my filter or feeder every day to keep up. otherwise i would have to shock it every 2 days and we wouldn't get to swim very often.

Anyway, i have a recipe to kill them but i need to know how to keep them out. maybe one of those algaecides with copper in them.

I will look at the guides and other test kits suggested as well. never thought having a pool would be this complicated! :|

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

ewww.... maybe upgrade to the 2650 sandfilter or better yet a Hayward pump to get some serious suction going on along with a decent through wall skimmer like the Hayward Widemouth Dyna Skim to suck those buggers out.... i donno. I too have had the wasp invasions. I keep a skimmer net nearby when I swim and im good at netting 'em and drowning them on the bottom of the pool before tossing them over the side. :p
 
Those look like the flying ants to me, not the backswimmers. The flying ants usually happen once a year when its mating season for them. I had swarms of them 2 years ago and took me awhile to get them all out of the pool.
 
techguy said:
I too have been there. The local pool store (LPS) is selling you false hope and the wrong stuff to solve your problem. I am going to say, you CYA is well over 100 and whatever you add, other than fresh water and bleach, is a waste of money.

As you stated, you are using powdered and solid chlorine and with the chlorine comes a stabilizer required to keep the solid chlorine stable. It has a long name but we call it CYA. In the pool, the CYA both protects and weakens the FC. The FC, free chlorine, cleans the pool and kills the algae. CYA is good to a certain level, about 50 PPM, and when to gets above 80 PPM, your chlorine is protected to a point where is is not cleaning the pool.

The issue is the LPS is not normally accurate in solving this issue. They don't test the CYA accurately and they feel a FC in the 1-3 range is perfect. This website is full of pool owners that test their own water with an accurate test kit and use liquid bleach type chlorine and a few other chemicals to keep their pool clean all summer for less money than the average trip to the LPS. It does require you read and understand the Pool School section AND a test kit AND you stop listening to the LPS.
Click to expand...

Oh ok. So the chlorine tablets are a no go? Can you tell me more about what chlorine bleach to use? I will read the Pool School section soon. Thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

DeeMac said:
Those look like the flying ants to me, not the backswimmers. The flying ants usually happen once a year when its mating season for them. I had swarms of them 2 years ago and took me awhile to get them all out of the pool.
Click to expand...

Sry for the bad pics. I dont think they are ants tho. The swim like the backswimmers. When i scoop them up with the net, they jump around like fish. :-(
 

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