Frustrated with Algae and FC

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Branch Fly

0
Aug 12, 2013
41
South Louisiana
I've been on TF method since day one, which was late March. I run my 2 speed pump on low for 10 hours per day (5 morning and 5 evening), in hopes of saving electricity. Last week I noticed slight algae on the down stream side of the steps and attributed it to lack of use. When I would brush I would see a "puff" of smoke. I did a slam per the instructions and when I passed all of the tests, I went one more day/night to be safe. I decided to get my CYA to 40 and target 8 FC, with a minimum of 4 FC, but I never got there because my daughter had a party as the FC levels drifted back down to 8.

My daughter had a party yesterday and we ended up with about 20 teens in the pool so I brought my FC level to 12 less than 2 hours before the party. My levels last night, after the part, were as follows:

FC- 4
CC-0
TA 100
pH-7.5
CYA- 30

We had a lot of rain last week and with all of the splash out, I had to add water after the party yesterday. Last night, I added enough CYA to bring it back to 40 and ran the pump on high all night. I kicked it to low before work and let it run all day because of the added CYA. The OCLT this morning was only 1 ppm loss overnight, so I added enough bleach to bring it back to 8. When I got home, I saw what I thought was sand or dirt and brushed. Only in one spot, I got the "puff," but not nearly like it was before and again ONLY IN ONE SMALL area. My water temp is 92 degrees today and we have a bleach smell.

Tonight my FC level was 3.5, so I brought it back up to 8. My CC was 0 and the pH is still 7.5. I plan to test the water again tomorrow before work, but I am getting really frustrated. I think 62 ounces of bleach (plus the 11 ounces before work) for one day is a lot for a 7600 gallon pool. Is this residual from the very heavy bather load yesterday or do I need to raise the CYA and FC levels again? Is there something I'm missing?

Please help
 
Tested before work using DPD and my FC is 9 and my CC is .5. The pool is clear and down to 87 degrees. NO chlorine smell this morning. Did some brushing and NO "puff" of smoke.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong with the testing, but I was at 3.5 FC last night and added 52 ounces of 8.25% bleach per Pool Calculator.
 
I dont think you are getting your FC quite high enough for long enogh to kill ALL of the algae. with a CYA of 30, your shock level is 12 so you're good there. Thats what you need to get it up to, and recomend to hold it there for at least a whole day.

Also, algae can hide in nooks and crannys of an AGP ladder and that may have something to do with it, depending on what type of ladder you have.

Be sure to brush all the sides of the walls all the way around. Algae stuck on walls can form a film over it that prevents the FC from killing it, so be sure to brush.

Being in South Louisiana, you get a lot of UV which burns off FC. Most likely this accounts for a lot of the FC loss. Definitely get your CYA up to 40 to help with the burn off.
 
And that's where my confusion/frustration comes in. I slammed last week and when I met all three criteria, I went an extra day to be safe. The day after, we had an unusually heavy bather load of 20 teens. Prior to the party, I raised my FC level to 12, when my target is usually 8, to offset the high load. Since then, my FC has been all over the place and I saw a touch of what I thought could be algae, but wasnt sure. It just seems that since the slam/party, I've had to add an unusually high amount of bleach. Hopefully the CYA kicks in today and stablizes my loss.

I'm really confused. Being that we are getting ready to go out of town I'm considering Algaecide or a floater to supplement because my father in law will be staying at the house, but he won't test. He will only add what I tell him and at this point I don't know what to tell him to add each day.
 
We had alot of rain leading up to the party and i had to drain off some water. Air temp was mid to upper 80's and water temp was mid to low 80's due to the rain. That all took place during the slam. Now my water temp is 87 in the morning and 92 by nightfall. Air temps have been low to mid 90s with heat indexes at 100. I'm hoping things catch up today and we get some stability. I guess worse come to worse, I can pull the steps while we are gone (and leave them out) and do a slam before we leave. I'll check my FC level when I get home and see how much it falls during the day. The pool will get 12 to 13 hours of full sun today. Wish me luck and I'll post the results.
 
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