Shock pool now or wait until the spring to wipe out nascent algae blooms

[peterl1365]

For the first time in 7 years, I've had some mild algae issues with my 7-year old pool. Water was clear all summer, but there's been a couple of spots that I needed to brush every week or two to to prevent a bloom. I've maintained my FC level at around 4-7 ppm (CYA ~60-80) throughout the summer. Not sure what caused it, but it might be due to a bloom that happened in early spring when I was away for a week and a freak storm dumped all kinds of **** into the pool before I turned on the SWG.

Here in SoCal, there is no need to close my pool. Water temps drop into the low 50's and there's really no reason to worry about algae even with zero FC. I normally try to maintain a 1-3 ppm level with bleach, but I don't worry too much about it.

Will the residual algae be completely killed off by the cold temps? Or is it worth it to SLAM my pool beforehand? If Shocking is necessary, it is best to do it now or wait until the spring.

 

[JasonLion]

Cold won't kill algae, it just slows it down a whole bunch. I would deal with it now, least it get worse before you get around to cleaning it up. Not only will it be a little more effort to kill it off in the spring, it will look nicer over the winter if you deal with it now. On the other hand, aside from those two points, there is no harm in waiting.

 

[peterl1365]

Cold won't kill algae, it just slows it down a whole bunch. I would deal with it now, least it get worse before you get around to cleaning it up. Not only will it be a little more effort to kill it off in the spring, it will look nicer over the winter if you deal with it now. On the other hand, aside from those two points, there is no harm in waiting.

Thanks. Good advice. I always thought that tthe cold would kill off the algae. I'm just going to wait another week or two for the water temps to get into the mid-low 60's. In the meantime, I'll bring up the FC levels a bit with the SWG.

Given that the water is clear and I'm dealing with small areas, is it necessary to maintain the shock levels for more than a day or so?

 

[JasonLion]

It shouldn't take more than a day or two plus brushing the entire pool a couple of times. On the other hand, it is best to do an overnight FC loss test to be sure you really got it all.

 

[peterl1365]

It shouldn't take more than a day or two plus brushing the entire pool a couple of times. On the other hand, it is best to do an overnight FC loss test to be sure you really got it all.

Thanks. Will do.