Sandy colored algae???

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M

mnpoolgirl

0
Aug 18, 2008
19
MN
I have had a problem with what I thought was sand on the bottom of my pool since the end of last swimming season.

So this spring we bought new sand from a pool place and we replaced the sand in the sand filter. We checked the laterals and they seemed fine. Sand (?) has still been coming back into the pool daily after the filter is turned back on. I cannot see it coming out of the return but after the filter being on for a short while, the brownish stuff is lying in the creases of the pool.

SO,..I am vacuuming daily. I did buy a pool rover jr this summer which I really like. At times I have not cleaned the filter bag right after removing it from the pool and the brownish colored stuff on the inside of the bag does not really have a sand like consistency. It is just brownish discoloration on the bag walls. I have backwashed my filter, doesn't help. I am wondering what to do now.

I check my water pretty much daily. I have an inline chlorinator and my levels lately have been 10+ for both free and total chlorine. I am using aquacheck select strips.

My hardness is 250, ph a little low at about 6.2 to 6.8, alkalinity 120 and cya 30-50. Using Triclor, I think for chlorine.

Any ideas? Help!
 
Welcome to the forum.

How old is your pool?

Can you please update your profile to include your pool specs and equipment? That will be most helpful for people who respond. Go to "User Control Panel" in the top left of your screen, then "Profile" then "Edit Signature".

My first piece of advice would be to get a good test kit. There is an article in Pool School that compares the two kits I would recommend. Test strips are terribly inaccurate. Any possibility you can get to a local pool store and have them test for you?

If your PH is that low, you need to raise it ASAP. PH that low can really cause harm to your pool equipment....
 
My pool is a 27' 17,000 gal. above ground. We just moved here last July so I am not sure how old it is..maybe 3-5 years old??

I have Pentair Meteor sand filter-model 22, uses 150lb of sand.

I have a Pentair Dynamo 1.5 hp pump-I run it about 12 hours at night.

I am also using a Nature 2 water filter, apparently allows the pool to run at a lower chlorine setting.

I have a new water cycler that uses prefilled pacs of chlorine, I think Triclor.

I have a floater in the pool.

The brown stuff in the pool seems very light as it moves easily and puffs up, doesn't feel slimey to my feet.

I am a newbie but am trying to learn-we did our own spring opening and stuff and haven't called the pool guys to come yet but I'm thinkning if I can't solve this, next spring I guess I will have to as I am getting tired of vacuuming.

Oh and the water looks crystal clear,..except the brown stuff in the creases! :roll:
 
mn,

It sounds like you are using test strips which make it hard to manage your pool but I see two big issues.

1. As FPM said, get your pH up into the 7's sooner rather than later....you're w-a-a-ay too low and it's caused by the pucks.

2. The description of the debris in your aut-vac bag sounds a lot like dead algae. The pump simply "blows" the dead algae into all the little crevices in the bottom of your pool making you think the pump is the culprit. My guess is you have plenty of living algae in their as well.

Your CYA is probably much higher than you think and/or your FC has probably been much lower than your current level.

I would suggest you get your own very good test kit and chuck the strips. Short of that, take a sample to a pool store and confirm your results....although don't look for the pool stores accuaracy to be a whole lot better than the strips.

If you do none of the above, keep your FC up around 15+ for the next few days but don't do it with the pucks....I think you'll find you have too much CYA and they are only adding more.

The high FC level, IF YOU HOLD IT THERE 24/7 BY CONTINUING TO ADD BLEACH AS NEEDED, will probably clear your pool of the "brown stuff".
 
mnpoolgirl said:
I am also using a Nature 2 water filter, apparently allows the pool to run at a lower chlorine setting.

I have a new water cycler that uses prefilled pacs of chlorine, I think Triclor.
Click to expand...

Dave gave you great advice, I'll just add a bit.

Read this article about alternative sanitizers, the Nature2 is not worth the hype. I had a similar device called the Pool Frog and it led me down a path you would be good to avoid....

I would advise you to confirm your test results, raise the PH and confirm the CYA test. Using trichlor will continue to lower your PH so you must be prepared to raise it fairly frequently. Also, overtime your CYA will get too high and eventually you will need to drain part of your water to lower the CYA. Higher levels of CYA means you need to maintain higher levels of FC to keep the pool properly sanitized, regardless of the Nature2. Through the use of tri-chlor and di-chlor CYA CAN and will get too high, if it's not kept in check through fresh water replacement. It may be ok to continue to use the trichlor so long as you understand the side effects of such a method and how to deal with it.

In the long run, I recommend you don't use the tri-chlor, instead using regular bleach or liquid chlorine for sanitizing your pool. It's not as inconvenient as it sounds, it really is 5 minutes a day, plus more economical.
 
Thanks!! I will try what is recommended.

I am off work this week on vacation and for once this summer we are having weather in the 80's so I hate to bring my chlorine levels up so high as it takes so-o-o long for them to return to normal range. I will try nonchlorine shock and then the real stuff next week. I also have to order a test kit on line as all we have here is a walmart, and no pool place in town.

A big thank you to everyone for the info!! I really appreciate it!

Oh by way, I have never messed with the ph, so when I add the ph up stuff do we need to stay out of the pool? And if so, for how long?
 
mnpoolgirl said:
Thanks!! I will try what is recommended.

I am off work this week on vacation and for once this summer we are having weather in the 80's so I hate to bring my chlorine levels up so high as it takes so-o-o long for them to return to normal range. I will try nonchlorine shock and then the real stuff next week. I also have to order a test kit on line as all we have here is a walmart, and no pool place in town.

A big thank you to everyone for the info!! I really appreciate it!

Oh by way, I have never messed with the ph, so when I add the ph up stuff do we need to stay out of the pool? And if so, for how long?
Click to expand...

If you want to swim, don't bother with the "non-chlorine shock" it's a waste of money in my opinion. Just up your FC level using liquid chlorine or bleach, if you run it between 7-10 you won't hurt anything if you swim. Also, you can swim after raising the PH, not necessary to wait.
 
I'm wondering if you light brown/tan spots that are collecting in the creases is just dirt. This time of year the pollen from the corn fields and dust from the road have a tendency to collect in the pool.
 
I don't have a dirt road nearby, and it has been happening all summer so I don't think it is dirt/pollen (could be though).

Funny thing is, last summer when it started happening it seemed that when I backwashed the filter it cut it down some for awhile,..not so this year,..and we even

changed out the sand! It happens after the pump comes on only, and it is in multiple places in the pool, more noticeable in the creases but the whole perimeter seems

to be affected.

I was wondering, could the ladder be harboring a source of algae? It is filled with sand to hold it down, but other than brushing the steps I have done nothing to clean

it out. Should I be?
 

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mnpoolgirl said:
I don't know but the consistency in the aquabot filter bag is not sandlike. :|
Click to expand...

That's what makes me think it's just dirt. Very light, poofy. Dust/dirt in the air. I don't live on a dirt road (paved 2 yrs ago) but I still have the tan dusty stuff that gathers in the wrinkles and near the coving. I'll suck it up with the vacuum but it's so fine that it never gets it all and I just don't worry about it anymore. I'll swish it around when I'm in the pool to let the filter get some of it.
 
I suppose it could be. I live in Northern Minnesota in a small town and live in a culdesac, nowhere near a majorly traveled road. The air is very clean up here I think, compared to the big cities. But it is an idea. So do you notice the stuff in the bottom of the pool only after the pump comes on?
 
I added about 2 cups of the ph up stuff and it went up to 6.8 which is still low. Unfortunately I ran out of strips. I checked Walmart (our only store!) and of course this late in the season all they have are the strips which I KNOW are very inaccurate due to previous experience with Walmart strips. So, I haven't added any more because i can't check it now. :(
 
One of the principles of BBB is the ability to test your water and to understand what to do about it.

I would make my first priority to get pH up into the 7's. You can use JasonLion's Calculator in my sig to tell you how much 20 Mule Team Borax to use.

You will have little, if any success, trying to get your water corrected without a good test kit........That's another idea behind BBB.....to eliminate the guesswork....testing accurately and adding accurate doses of only the chemistry you need.

I still believe you have algae in your pool.
 
I ordered the TF 100 test kit online.

I do have a question though. I was checking online for test strips and found another link(pool solutions.com) to read about pool stuff.

I read somewhere that if I have a Nature 2, which I do, that I should not be using the BBB method and that I could screw up my pool with it. (I just went out and

bought bleach and 20 Mule team borax yesterday!)

What would be the reason for that, and do you think there is any validity to that claim? The person who wrote the article supports the BBB method but just not for

those with the Nature 2 or any of the copper/silver systems. Next summer I will not buy a refill for the Nature 2 and see how it goes, but for now it is still installed.

Also another thing mentioned is that my 1.5 h.p pump may be too big for my filter and pool. I got the whole set up when we bought the house. :?
 
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