At the start of the season I ran into an algae problem when my salt cell started to go. I got that cleared up but have ever since been fighting something accumulating on the bottom of my pool. At first I thought it was just green algae, it can't be picked up, and produces a brownish debris trail when brushed. So I started the slam again. I've been slamming for about 5 days now, keeping my FC at or above the target 20 for my CYA level (50), with no visible improvement. Water is crystal clear but I brush the stuff up, and it comes right back. Looking at it from the top of the pool it has a very light brown appearance. I guess my question is, how can I tell if this is mustard algae or not? I'll try to see if I can get some pictures when my wife finds our camera. I took some with my phone but you can't really see it very well. Thanks in advance for any help with this issue.
Mustard Algae??
- Thread starter ScottCh
- Start date
- Jun 22, 2014
- 47,759
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Just in case you didn't already see this, here's a page just on Mustard Algae. Pool School - Mustard Algae
Regardless or the type of algae, the SLAM process is the same anyways except for the final part after a SLAM (spiked a little higher for Mustard). Once you find your camera
, the pics may help.
Regardless or the type of algae, the SLAM process is the same anyways except for the final part after a SLAM (spiked a little higher for Mustard). Once you find your camera
, the pics may help.Ok, here's hoping this works. Pictures aren't that great but will hopefully provide some insight as to what I'm dealing with. CC's have been 0 throughout the SLAM and water is crystal clear.
schaunce's Library | Photobucket
schaunce's Library | Photobucket
Just a quick bump to the top to see if anyone has any ideas. If not I guess I'll treat it as mustard algae and proceed accordingly. Thanks.
Hi ScottCh. It is difficult to tell for sure but that looks more like dirt or dead algae accumulation. Have you run an OCLT?
I've been passing OCLT ever since I started the slam. If it were dirt shouldn't I be able to pick it up? And it is dispersed randomly across all parts of the pool which reading here lead me to believe it probably wasn't dirt. I am thinking that whatever it is it is too fine to be trapped by my sand filter. I added DE to my sand filter last night, waited for about 30 minutes, then vacuumed the pool. I seem to have less of it today. I did start the mustard algae slam this morning just in case...it's only bleach (money) after all and it only has to be maintained for 24 hours if I read correctly. Here's hoping it is all gone tomorrow.
borjis
LifeTime Supporter
I had this as well in my shallow end after a mustard algae SLAM.
My hayward navigator auto vac would not pick it up. I had to brush it.
Ended up brushing the pool twice daily to a massive cloud while doing the slam.
In about a week and a half I finally passed OCLT every day for days and got
the CC down to .5 or 0
Near the end of the SLAM when the water was crystal clear is when that stuff showed up.
So brushed again (nothing came off the walls) in the problem areas and clouded up
again. 3 days later water is crystal clear. Have not seen it again in since.
On a side note, the rare condition to oxidize CYA seemed to have happened as well.
With my slam at mustard levels a few days.
CYA before this was 70. Now it's down to 30
My hayward navigator auto vac would not pick it up. I had to brush it.
Ended up brushing the pool twice daily to a massive cloud while doing the slam.
In about a week and a half I finally passed OCLT every day for days and got
the CC down to .5 or 0
Near the end of the SLAM when the water was crystal clear is when that stuff showed up.
So brushed again (nothing came off the walls) in the problem areas and clouded up
again. 3 days later water is crystal clear. Have not seen it again in since.
On a side note, the rare condition to oxidize CYA seemed to have happened as well.
With my slam at mustard levels a few days.
CYA before this was 70. Now it's down to 30
Ok, I have no idea what this stuff is. I pass OCLT, water is crystal clear but this stuff is still on the bottom of my pool. At the end of my last SLAM I took my pool up to 29+ FC level (mustard algae level for CYA of 50) and kept it there for about 30 hours before letting it start drift back down to normal. I passed OCLT again that night with a CC level of 0. This stuff seems to collect in divets and along the liner seams. It doesn't seem to be as bad as it was before I did the DE/vacuum thing but it is still there. I guess I could do nothing and see if it seems to multiply or stay about the same or go ahead and do the DE/vacuum thing again and see if I can get it all out. Any recommendations?
Is this in the divets and liner seams on all sides of the pool or mostly on the shady side of the pool. Yellow/mustard algae generally avoids (doesn't grow well in) the sunny areas. Usually collecting in seams and divets indicates pollen or dirt accumulation more than algae.
If you use a skimmer sock and collect a yellow substance, then it's likely pollen.
If you use a skimmer sock and collect a yellow substance, then it's likely pollen.
It is all over the pool. I have no trees around the pool so the only shade it gets is from the side of the pool itself. So in the morning the East side of the pool will get some shade and in the evening the West side of the pool will get a little shade. I have this stuff collect in the center of the pool (which never gets any shade) which is where I would expect the circulation of the pool to deposit stuff that doesn't get filtered as well as over all other parts of the pool. I guess another thing I could try would be to fill the pool up past the skimmer then vacuum to waste. This would throw all my chemical balances off but if it gets this stuff out of my pool it might be worth it.
If you can collect some and put it in a jar of pool water and put it in indirect light (not direct sunlight), then you can see if it grows. Given its placement, it sounds more like dirt or pollen than algae. If you can filter some (say through a coffee filter) and feel it, if it's squishy it's more likely to be pollen, if it's gritty it's more likely to be dirt, and if it's slimy it's more likely to be pollen. Looking at it under a microscope would be definitive since pollen is round sometimes with spikes and is solid, dirt is usually jagged and also solid, algae is usually oblong and translucent.
DaninFLA
0
i agree, sounds like pollen to me. sand filter is going to have a hard time filtering out pollen without DE being added. just the sand isn't going to be fine enough. Have you tried adding DE and then manually vacuuming it??
Yes, see my 4th post on this thread. It did seem to reduce the amount of the stuff that was on bottom when I did this, but didn't get rid of all of it.
I will try to collect some of it in a jar and see if I can culture it. Seeing as it pretty much poofs up and disappears when you run a brush over it this may be problematic at best. If I use a stocking as a skimmer sock will that be fine enough to collect some of this stuff? If not, what should I use?
DaninFLA
0
its not going to be a one time and you are done type cleanup. did you make sure you followed the DE guidelines? you would need to keep doing this until you get rid of the pollen. its tough to vacuum since its easily disturbed. turn off the pool overnight to let it settle, then setup your vacuum and then turn on the pump. try to move the vacuum around as slow as possible to not disturb the pollen. you will probably have to do this a few consecutive days. and you will need to backflush and then add more DE as needed. brush the entire pool a few times a day after that to get it in the water and let your filter further filter it out.
if you did it before and it helped, then it worked. just need to keep doing it.
I agree with the others. Looks like dead algae to me. It can be very frustrating tying to get it out.
I've seen some threads referencing placing 1 micron filter bags over the return to capture particles too small for the sand filter to trap. Does anyone see a problem with me placing the bag over the vacuum adapter plate and capture the particles there instead of at the return? Attaching the bag to an AG pool return is going to be problematic at best. My plan was to cut the bag to roughly strainer basket size then attach the bag to the vacuum adapter plate with a hose clamp, stuff the bag in where the strainer basket would normally go and then vacuum straight into the bag. Would this cut the flow too much or should this work?