Black dots (algae) on the bottom of the pool
- Thread starter whowouldfigga
- Start date
Keep the chlorine levels above 30 ppm (40 ppm is better) and keep brushing and brushing and brushing! The more you brush the faster you will kill it. Try to brush AT LEAST 3 times a day.
"Tested the water at 6.00am FC level went down to 27.5 from 40 WOW!
Brushed the pool added chlorine."
down from 40, little early in the morning still?
Brushed the pool added chlorine."
down from 40, little early in the morning still?
Ok at 6:30 PM I tested the water and again the FC was down to about 25 ppm. I added 2.5 gal. of 10% chlorine per Jason's pool calculator and brushed the pool. Now at 8:15 my FC is 40.25. I was starting to think my pool was larger than 15,000 gal and I wasn't reaching 40 ppm but after my last test I hit the right FC number so I guess that proves my pool is 15,000 gal.
Any ideas why I am losing 25 ppm over 10 hour periods?
I went to the pool store today to buy more chlorine and the pool store employee did not agree with my methods or chemicals. After I get this resolved I will elaborate further.
Thanks for the help gals / guys.
Any ideas why I am losing 25 ppm over 10 hour periods?
I went to the pool store today to buy more chlorine and the pool store employee did not agree with my methods or chemicals. After I get this resolved I will elaborate further.
Thanks for the help gals / guys.
The daytime loss is from sunlight and is to be expected. The overnight loss means there is a substantial organic load, presumably algae, consuming chlorine. Hopefully your overnight loss tonight will be much smaller.
Well I do work in a pool store and I can tell you why they did not agree, they are not able to sell you all the copper or bromine or trichlor based 'black algae treatments'.whowouldfigga said:
Tell them that you are following the advice of another pool store that also does commercial pool maintenance. 
JasonLion said:
Mr "JasonLion" you should change your user name to "FortuneTeller" My FC at 5:30am Tuesday was 40 ppm. Yahoo!!!
I added 2 quarts of chlorine to cover the daytime burn off and brushed the pool again. Seems like I am going to brush the Bright out of the Diamond with all this brushing. :lol: (Little joke there)
waterbear said:Well I do work in a pool store and I can tell you why they did not agree, they are not able to sell you all the copper or bromine or trichlor based 'black algae treatments'.
And I thank you all for that advice.
They did seem disappointed when all I wanted was 3 jugs of chlorine. Its the local family store close to my home so I showed them no disrespect. I told them I did not want to change my plans or methods at this point. When I go back to the store I will go over what chemicals they wanted me to use for tx and prevention and post them here.
Update 7:00pm
FC down to 25 ppm, added chlorine, brushed pool again.
I have been running my pump for 21 hours a day since Sunday night when I started shocking the pool. When should I cut back on my filtration time?
It sounds like you are making excellent progress. With the bulk of the algae killed you will make quicker progress on the small remaining spots. Remember to keep brushing any spot you think might be black algae several times a day.
whowouldfigga said:
When you're done shocking, your FC is holding, your water is clear. Then you should reduce your filtering time.
That does not really apply to black algae. Keep the FC up and the cirulation going until the black algae is all gone for a 24 hour period and then let your FC drop and the circulation return to normal.frustratedpoolmom said:
Update 6:00am Wednesday 08/13/2008
Good Morning.
FC held at 40 ppm overnight.
Brushed the pool again.
Added 2 quarts chlorine for daytime burnoff.
My FC keeps dropping to 25 over a 10 hour period but only in the daytime. I had a cya of 40 and added 5 lbs of cya on Sunday when I first started shocking the pool.
I think the black spots are gone. The spots were only about the size of a grain of rice and they were mixed in with my diamond brite surface. Seems like I have less spots now. I only discovered they were not diamond brite specs by swimming in the pool with my mask on. I don't dare jump in the pool right now.
I am planning on shocking the pool till Saturday which would be a full 7 days. I will keep the pump running 21 hours a day for now.
Good Morning.
FC held at 40 ppm overnight.
Brushed the pool again.
Added 2 quarts chlorine for daytime burnoff.
My FC keeps dropping to 25 over a 10 hour period but only in the daytime. I had a cya of 40 and added 5 lbs of cya on Sunday when I first started shocking the pool.
I think the black spots are gone. The spots were only about the size of a grain of rice and they were mixed in with my diamond brite surface. Seems like I have less spots now. I only discovered they were not diamond brite specs by swimming in the pool with my mask on. I don't dare jump in the pool right now.
I am planning on shocking the pool till Saturday which would be a full 7 days. I will keep the pump running 21 hours a day for now.
Sounds like you have just about got it under control. NOW to keep them from coming back keep your FC at 4 ppm with a CYA of 70-80 ppm.
Friday 08/15/2008 9.30am
All is well. The FC drop or burn off during the daytime and night has decreased considerably. I keep brushing the pool.
Saturday night will be my last shock tx to 40 ppm. When my FC reaches close to 4 ppm I will test my stabilizer levels. That should be more than 7 days since I added cya. I have not and will not clean the filter until at least a week after I get my cya set. My filter pressures are still low.
Any suggestions or comments appreciated. Thanks again
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Saturday. 08/16/2008
New Development.
My neighbors dog, a huge German Shepard that is about 80lbs is swimming in the pool. I was not aware of this. My neighbors and I are on good terms. Their dog is old and protects my very submissive dog. He deserves a good cool off during the day. Luckily my dog thinks he is nuts and will not follow. Guess I have a new twist in my pool care. I will post a separate thread for this issue.
Keeping a eye on TS Fay...
All is well. The FC drop or burn off during the daytime and night has decreased considerably. I keep brushing the pool.
Saturday night will be my last shock tx to 40 ppm. When my FC reaches close to 4 ppm I will test my stabilizer levels. That should be more than 7 days since I added cya. I have not and will not clean the filter until at least a week after I get my cya set. My filter pressures are still low.
Any suggestions or comments appreciated. Thanks again
-------------------------------------
Saturday. 08/16/2008
New Development.
My neighbors dog, a huge German Shepard that is about 80lbs is swimming in the pool. I was not aware of this. My neighbors and I are on good terms. Their dog is old and protects my very submissive dog. He deserves a good cool off during the day. Luckily my dog thinks he is nuts and will not follow. Guess I have a new twist in my pool care. I will post a separate thread for this issue.
Keeping a eye on TS Fay...
Quick question about the PH.
My FC 32
Do I test my ph as always or do I need to correct for the high FC level. When I do the ph test I get about a 7.8 if I put a drop of chlorine neutralizer (Thio) in the test I get a reading over 8.2. That makes no sense to me. If chlorine is a base why does the ph test go up when you neutralize the chlorine.
My FC 32
Do I test my ph as always or do I need to correct for the high FC level. When I do the ph test I get about a 7.8 if I put a drop of chlorine neutralizer (Thio) in the test I get a reading over 8.2. That makes no sense to me. If chlorine is a base why does the ph test go up when you neutralize the chlorine.
High FC really messes up the pH test. Simply disregard that test until your FC gets down somewhere around 10ppm and that test will become accurate again.
Dogs in the pool is pretty commonplace and, aside from the extra hair in the skimmer basket, seems to cause no other problems. I never thought I would allow a dog in the pool but we rescued a Border Collie/Black Lab mix and she is obsessed with fetching a ball from the pool. She can easily leap 15 feet out into the pool (I'll post a pic up soon) and is great entertainment for everyone.....I've learned to deal with it. :lol:
Dogs in the pool is pretty commonplace and, aside from the extra hair in the skimmer basket, seems to cause no other problems. I never thought I would allow a dog in the pool but we rescued a Border Collie/Black Lab mix and she is obsessed with fetching a ball from the pool. She can easily leap 15 feet out into the pool (I'll post a pic up soon) and is great entertainment for everyone.....I've learned to deal with it. :lol:
whowouldfigga said:
If an 80 lbs dog got in my pool, I would be very upset. Not that a dog was in my pool; but it could have been a little kid.
I would want to know how.
duraleigh said:
I had a lab / collie mix as well. That dog would jump in a bucket of water.
I was once told that one dog swimming is equal to 10 people in a pool. As long as I watch the FC I guess I am ok.
As far as dogs and swimming, if your FC is holding and you have no CC then you are fine. If not then shock. Easy, no?
But then again, this is another good reason NOT to try to run the FC at the lowest possible level. The dog will definitely increase the chlorine demand.
But then again, this is another good reason NOT to try to run the FC at the lowest possible level. The dog will definitely increase the chlorine demand.
In closing I just wanted to thank the members that helped me out. Your knowledge and information was spot on for the tx of my black algae. The local pool store tried to change my methods but I stuck to this thread / forums plan and it worked like a charm and saved me money as well.
Fellow pool owners take note. Education obtained from this forum, preventive maintenance, and accurate testing will save you a lot of hard work and money. Buy a TFP test kit or at least the Taylor 2006. Anything less and you are wasting your money. Without a top of the line test kit you cannot provide the information needed for others to help.
Lastly... Listen to the advice of senior members and follow through. My pool problems did not occur overnight and could not be resolved overnight.
Thank you again.
Fellow pool owners take note. Education obtained from this forum, preventive maintenance, and accurate testing will save you a lot of hard work and money. Buy a TFP test kit or at least the Taylor 2006. Anything less and you are wasting your money. Without a top of the line test kit you cannot provide the information needed for others to help.
Lastly... Listen to the advice of senior members and follow through. My pool problems did not occur overnight and could not be resolved overnight.
Thank you again.