Is this algae?

[ElectricAve]

Hey guys - I guess this is my first post although I have been reading the site for about a year now (GREAT information here!). This is year 2 with my 10,000 gal above-ground and I've had it open about 6 weeks now. Its finally starting to get warm enough to use!

When opening this year I followed the SLAM process and turned my swamp into an amazingly clear pool in less than 5 days. It has stayed that way for about a month - testing and adjusting chlorine every day or 2. Everything looked good except I started the year with very LOW CYA levels. It last tested between 10 and 20 (so low it was inaccurate) so I added some [old] CYA. Enough to raise it by about 20 ppm according to the calculator. I haven't tested since then because I ran out of CYA tests in my kit. Because I sometimes travel a few days at a time for work I bought a floater and supplement my bleach with a few tablets if I am going to be away for a few days. I have probably used 4-6 trichlor tablets so far this year.

Everything has been pretty easy except that I have 2 large trees next to my pool (one with acorns and one with walnuts I think). Other than getting stuck in my vaccum and generally being annoying they weren't too much of a problem, but when I got back from a weekend at the lake the entire bottom of my pool was green. I ran the vaccum which starting sucking up a lot of it and also brushed the bottom, which only turned the entire pool green for several days. Keep in mind when I got home from the lake my FC was still over 3 and CC less than 0.5. I brought it up to at least 9-10 ppm before leaving.

I have been running the pump 24/7 for almost 4 days and it still hasn't cleared up. The water is no longer green but it is still cloudy. FC testing 4-5 and CC still less than 0.5.

Do I have an algae problem or could these trees just be dropping stuff into the pool? I know I may still have low CYA but I didn't want to add too much so I could use up my $100 worth of pool-store tablets this summer. If it is just stuff from the trees, should I add a solar cover or something? Currently it isn't covered. Oh, and I have my pump on a timer to run about 6-7 hours a day (it is a huge 1.5 hp pump for this tiny pool).

Any suggestions?

 

[duraleigh]

You cannot get it back to clean (correctly) nor keep it clean (correctly) until you make the commitment to Test accurately and keep your FC constantly at the levels suggested. You will need an FAS/DPD kit to do this and there is an article in Pool School that will help you select. You typically cannot buy these kits locally so you must make a decision that you are willing to start the TFPC method quickly and get a kit on order. YOu simply cannot take the measurements required to follow what we teach without and FAS/DPD kit.

It is algae and you need to read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School. Then read "SLAM" article and begin that process.

I am being short since you have been on the forum a while and may know all this but post back with questions and we'll all help

 

[ElectricAve]

As I said in my original post I am "testing and adjusting chlorine every day or 2". I have the Taylor test kit and have read just about every single pool school article on this site. My question is why am I getting algae given that my FC levels have not dropped below the recommended levels because I HAVE been testing as required....

 

[Beens]

Maybe with the few tablets you've used your cya is higher than you guessed.

Were you ever able to test it after you added the (old) cya and used those tablets?

I'd say order the refill for the cya test and check that. If it's higher than you're dosing for, you could have been just staying ahead of a bloom and that last weekend pushed it over the edge.

 

[duraleigh]

My question is why am I getting algae given that my FC levels have not dropped below the recommended levels

That question is not uncommon but it is impossible to answer in a manner that makes everyone happy....obviously, I was unable to succeed at that so let me try again.

Thousands and thousands of people come on to the forum, follow the levels that have been suggested and developed over the years and have algae free pools. You can read about them over and over on the forum.

Then, occasionally someone comes on and says, "I am doing all those things and it's not working....what do you suggest?" Well, we're stumped. We know it works for everyone's pool but not for this one so what's different? Same water - H20, Same forms of algae (over 7,000 species available), same chlorine, same everything except it is not the same operator so that really is the only variable that we can look at logically.....the operator.

If it were my pool, I would order enough testing material and chlorine to SLAM properly and get the pool back to crystal clear.

We can spend a lot of speculation on how it turned green but that doesn't help you get your pool clean. The guidelines are correct. They work for too many people over and over to look at them as a possible problem.

 

[GreatCanadian]

As I said in my original post I am "testing and adjusting chlorine every day or 2". I have the Taylor test kit and have read just about every single pool school article on this site. My question is why am I getting algae given that my FC levels have not dropped below the recommended levels because I HAVE been testing as required....

You have to believe that at some point they have.

 

[Beens]

I'm still sticking with...your current CYA result is only a guestimate based on what you tested once and what you've added since but not yet tested.

If you only *think* you know your CYA level you can't really know for sure that you haven't dipped below the FC that correlates to it. The CYA testing reagent (R-0013) seems to be pretty inexpensive. Less than $10 for 2oz and even cheaper if you get the tiny .75 oz that comes with a taylor kit.

 

[GreatCanadian]

Beens is right. You said you HAVE been testing as required, but you did not test for CYA after you added. To quote you, "It last tested between 10 and 20 (so low it was inaccurate) so I added some [old] CYA. Enough to raise it by about 20 ppm according to the calculator". There's no way to know your CYA level from this, therefore you do not now what your chlorine level should be.