Algae is Winning....

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C

CoolCajun

0
May 9, 2017
17
Sulphur, LA
First time to post. Although I have lurked here for a couple of years & followed the advice (with success), I didn't get a TF-100 test kit until last week. This year has really been a battle & I don't think I am winning.

I cover my pool every winter, due to the proximity of pecan trees. This last winter was non-existent - very warm. Since uncovering & opening the pool, I thought I had the algae gone (pool was whitish), but that was shortly after Memorial Day & then we had a ton of rain & the green came back.

The first reading with the new test kit was last Wednesday:
6:30am
FC 3.5 CC .5 ph 7.5 CYA 70-75 TA 120 CH 125
Added 2 gal 10% Bleach
water is green/yellowish
The chlorinator is turned off.

12pm
FC 12.5 CC 1
added 1 gal 10% bleach

4:30pm
FC 8.5 CC 1
added 1 gal 10% bleach

7pm
FC 13 CC 2
Pool is in the shade at 6pm

Thurs
6:30am
FC 10 CC 1
added 1 gal 10% bleach
Had to be gone all day/bright sun
6:30pm
FC 7.5 CC 1
added 1 gal 10% bleach

Fri
6:30am
FC 9.5 CC 1 CYA 70
added 2 gal 10% bleach
noon
added 2 gal 10% bleach
3pm
FC 14 CC 1
added 1 gal 10% bleach

Sat
7am
FC 14 CC 1 CYA 65
added 2 gal 10% bleach
2pm
FC 13.5 CC 1
added 2 gal 10% bleach
4pm
FC 20 CC 1.5
7pm (no sun on pool)
added 2 gal 10% bleach

Sun
6:30am
FC 22.5 CC 1 CYA 70
added 2 gal 10% Bleach
10am
FC 26.5 CC 1 CYA 70
2pm
FC 22 CC 1
added 2 gal 10% bleach (bright sun)
7pm
FC 19.5 CC .5
added 2 gal 10% bleach

Mon
7am (cloudy & overcast)
FC 27 CC 1 CYA 70
added 121oz 8.25% bleach

Sorry of the long diary. The pool has been brushed every day. And the brush & pole have been disinfected after each use. There are no lights in the pool & the ladders have not been put out yet.

I know the CYA is high & have twice since Wednesday backwashed & rinsed the filter, then added fresh water (disinfecting the end the hose).

I mistakenly had pool samples read by a local pool store before Memorial Day that said the CYA was extremely low (13) & recommended a stabilizer increaser (4#). Fortunately, I did not add the entire amount (1.75# in a sock in the skimmer).

Not sure I can empty the pool safely, or be able to put that much water on the ground, so that is an issue. I knew it would be a slow process, but wow!

And to add insult, there is a tropical system brewing in the Gulf that will probably dump a lot of rain here in SW Louisiana.

Any advice would be appreciated....
 
Last edited:
Hey Cajun,

Welcome aboard. This is no problem, you simply need to follow a SLAM procedure. Run through the ABCs in Pool School again, and check out the Slam article/procedure too. Both links are in my Sig line below. Grab another sample, and give us a full set of numbers from the TF100 and we will advise you from there.
 
Hello and welcome to TFP with your first post!

My first question would be if you have a way of accurately testing your CYA? In normal circumstances, your FC is only effective if it is properly correlated to your CYA, but once you have visible algae (or green), you will only be able to kill the algae if you bring your FC up to SLAM level (also based on your CYA.)

I see in your signature that you are using tabs for chlorination. Those have probably raised your CYA to the point where your FC is too low to be effective. You'll need to add more chlorine (something like bleach without added CYA), but until you have a good CYA reading you won't know how much to add.

Did you get the CYA test when you ordered your TFP kit?
 
Please take a minute to reread my original post. I mistakenly hit a Tab button & away it went before I was through.

I was cautious to raise the FC level to SLAM with a high CYA (there is an asterisk at the 70 level advising caution).

Maybe with the overcast skies today, the FC will not be totally lost to sunlight.
 
Sorry, I guess we were too efficient in responding to your first post! The follow-up edit makes more sense since you have the full test kit and have been following along here at TFP for some time.

It might just be a matter of patience for your SLAM, assuming the CYA/FC ratio you are maintaining is correct. Also, the tropical storm might not be a bad thing...although it might slow down the SLAM since it will dilute your FC somewhat and it will be undesirable to be outside working on the pool during a storm, it also might benefit you if your pool overflows enough to help drop the CYA.
 
Yeah, it took me a few minutes to see where it was & how to edit! Lesson learned.

Just took another sample: FC 27 CC .5 (added 1.5 gal 10% bleach - yeah, I had to go get more!). Sun is out so that will eat up some of the chlorine.

If we get rain like they predict, I will pull the plug, I hope the stabilized water goes out & not the fresh water!

I was probably too cautious in raising the FC with a high CYA. The asterisk noted that is was Not Recommended, but algae could be eradicated, just at a slower pace.

Today, I am hitting it.... Thanks...
 
Just keep it up! Keep testing at least a couple of times a day to try to keep your FC at target levels for as long as you can. Plus, brush, brush, brush! That helps the chlorine get at the algae. You will also want to clean behind light niches and other algae hiding places eventually, since even when your water starts to clear overall, these will be spots that can prevent you from passing the OCLT when the time comes.

Even if you can't attach photos, it is recommended that you take them for your own benefit to compare the progress you make from day to day. Take the photos from the same spot each time, and slowly but surely you will be able to see the fruits of your labor. It may not go as quickly as you would like, and it may take more bleach than you would originally expect, but if you follow the SLAM rules you will eventually beat your pool into sparkly submission!

Good luck and don't give up. It will be worth it in the end!
 
Thanks, JamieP! I am brushing every day, then disinfecting the brush & pole. No lights in the pool, so that is one less thing to scrub!
I am doing my best to keep the FC up to SLAM, but I sometimes struggle with the CYA test. Today I backwashed & rinsed (last time was 2 days ago) & visibly saw green & brown shooting out! Yeah! We are getting ready for the Gulf Storm to hit starting later today (we are located in SW Louisiana, close to the Texas line, about 75 miles from the coast. Is there any other way to lower CYA besides draining the pool & refilling? Without adding any stabilizer, will it go down on its own? If we get a lot of rain, I will pull the plug & refill with rain water & hope I don't lose too much chlorine.
 

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CoolCajun said:
Thanks, JamieP! I am brushing every day, then disinfecting the brush & pole. No lights in the pool, so that is one less thing to scrub!
I am doing my best to keep the FC up to SLAM, but I sometimes struggle with the CYA test. Today I backwashed & rinsed (last time was 2 days ago) & visibly saw green & brown shooting out! Yeah! We are getting ready for the Gulf Storm to hit starting later today (we are located in SW Louisiana, close to the Texas line, about 75 miles from the coast. Is there any other way to lower CYA besides draining the pool & refilling? Without adding any stabilizer, will it go down on its own? If we get a lot of rain, I will pull the plug & refill with rain water & hope I don't lose too much chlorine.
Click to expand...

Hey Cajun! It sounds like you are doing all that you can, although I don't know if I would worry about doing the CYA test multiple times. You'll use up your reagent too fast, and the CYA probably won't go down an appreciable amount after each backwash. Unless someone advises you otherwise, I'd just try to target your FC to correlate with the high end of what you think your CYA might be and go from there. If you do overshoot, you might end up spending a little extra money on chlorine and your FC might drop faster due to the sun, but at least that will be better than undershooting and risking not making progress on killing the algae.

I don't think there is really any other way to lower CYA except by water replacement. Last year, in our first summer with the pool, when I was still figuring everything out, I had to SLAM with a CYA of 80 (TWICE! - ouch!) so I can feel your pain. I would stay the course and maybe only test your CYA again after the storm clears and whatever water replacement that's going to happen has already occurred.

Coincidentally, my husband is in Baton Rouge this week on business and is trying to get out of there before the storm hits. He changed his flight from Friday to Thursday morning, the best he could do. Hopefully that's good enough!
 
Thanks! This morning it looked a tad better. But no sun, so it is hard to tell. With a high CYA, I think I am going to invest in stock that sells liquid chlorine! If we get rain (which will come with this storm), I can hope that the over stabilized water will get diluted!!
 
One of the reasons I was checking the CYA daily is I was not confident in reading the test & wanted to make sure that it was consistently within a range. And the conclusion: it is too high! The water looked a tad better this morning, but there is no sun, which is good for the loss of chlorine in that manner.

I wish I had known when I ordered the TF-100 to order the XL option, especially with a green swamp. I will probably have to reorder that very soon (like today or tomorrow). A couple of times I have done the test with 5ml of water & I hope the results are somewhat dependable. Last night the FC 27, I added 2 gal 10% bleach, & this morning the FC was 27. The CC was 1 (well actually a little less than 1). So, I added & lost 8ppm of FC with no sun overnight. I added 1 gal earlier, but there is no sun.

I hope your husband can get out of BR on Thursday. He will have been through the worst of the storm, by that time, depending on how many rain bands continue. He will probably come away thinking there was nothing to a Tropical Storm!

Thanks so much for your help.
 
Nope. Turned it off last Wednesday - 8 days ago. Before that, it was only 1/4 full & dialed to 1.5 out of 5.

I got a bad reading (cya 23) from a pool store (twice) & added 1.75# stabilizer in a sock, in the skimmer. They recommended almost 4#. Thank goodness I didn't do that. What I know now, it cya is a multiple of 10, so a reading of 23 is not accurate.....

Then I finally did the smart thing & ordered a TF-100 test kit.
 
CoolCajun said:
I hope your husband can get out of BR on Thursday. He will have been through the worst of the storm, by that time, depending on how many rain bands continue. He will probably come away thinking there was nothing to a Tropical Storm!

Thanks so much for your help.
Click to expand...

Hey CoolCajun! How's it going? Did the storm dump any extra water in your pool to dilute the CYA as you had hoped? What does the pool look like these days?

As it turns out, my husband was able to fly out Wednesday morning but after looking at the weather it seemed like it wasn't too bad in Baton Rouge after all. It was great to have him home early though!
 

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