Another pollen or mustard algae post

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D

drlebel

0
Apr 18, 2015
3
memphis
Howdy yall,
So I have been devouring this site trying to get rid of my pollen/ mustard algae problem. I was convinced it was algae at first so i shocked the pool and kept it at 45 FC for 2 days while brushing alot. CYA of 60. Only loss 1 fc overnight. But I still had the problem so I now am convinced it is pollen. But just to be on the safe side before I add a skimmer sock and DE to my sand filter I sucked up some of the substance in a syringe and added some bleach to it. Before the bleach it would settle on bottom of syringe only as a very fine slime and would disappear when shock to a hardly visible smoke. After the bleach I had very noticable clumps of material of bottom and when shook it doesnt smoke anymore, it just floats up and settles back down. And the volume of material seemed to triple. Now I am very confused because that seems like algae to me. Its probably 1 part of bleach to 5 parts pool water ratio wise.
Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome to TFP!

If you clean up all the "pollen/algae" while at shock level and it still comes back then it is certainly pollen.

Pollen and algae are both biological, so both will react to chlorine in one way or another.
 
I'm sure someone else will come along soon and give more insight on this than I can. But we had the same issue and determined it was pollen. the only thing that helped was lots of sweeping the floor and walls and continuous running of the sand filter for about a week. we've been backwashing once a week and every time it's pure yellow coming out even though our water has cleared up.
Good luck!
 
My gut reaction is to say it's pollen, which many folks are complaining of at this time of year.

We do not advocate a "nuclear" shock as you have done. Over chlorination really wastes money and more importantly can damage your pool/equipment.

We use a method called a SLAM (Shock Level And Maintain) which brings your pool to shock level (based on the CYA level of the individual pool, in your case 24) and hold it there until anything organic in the water is eliminated.

You should read the directions on SLAMing your pool in the How To section of Pool School and follow that procedure completely to the end.



  • CC is 0.5 or lower;
  • You pass an OCLT (ie overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less);
  • And the water is clear.
When all three are true, you are done SLAMing and can allow the FC to drift down to normal levels.


It would help us if you would add the following information to your signature

  • The size of your pool in gallons
  • If your pool is an AG (above ground) or IG (in ground)
  • If it's IG, tell us if it's vinyl, plaster/pebble, or fiberglass
  • The type of filter you have (sand, DE, cartridge) and, if you know, the brand and model of the filter.
  • If you know, please tell us the brand and model of the pump, and mention if is it a two speed or variable speed pump.
  • Date of pool build/install, particularly important if less then a year old.
  • What kind/model of water test kit you are using
  • Other significant accessories or options, such as a spa , SWG, or cleaner
 
Thanks yall. Hopefully I didnt mess up my equipment but when it didnt go away at 35 I decided to try 45 just to be sure that i wasnt reading my CYA wrong on something. I will try the DE and skimmer sock and see how that works and will update.
 
Sorry to bring back an old post but I am still struggling with this. Pollen is on everything and I cant seem to filter it out with my Pentair Sand Dollar filter. The pollen especially acummulates in front of the outjets. I added 13 cups of DE to the filter as stated in the instructions to raise the pressure by 1 and it is still a problem. That seems like alot of DE so should I add regular sand to the filter as well to fill it to capacity? If so how much? Thanks in advance. I tried skimmer socks but thats like peeing in the ocean.
 
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