Algae or pollen?

[rcg]

Hey all,

So, in an otherwise trouble-free pool that has been getting proper chlorination/brushing, I've seen some stringy yellowish-green material forming on the surface of the pool in the last 3 or so days. It collects in the skimmer after filtering. We are getting a ton of pollen-drop right now, and the pictures look like it could be pollen. Also, I briefly fought an issue 3 or so weeks back where I was getting some mud/ick washed into my pool during a few storms we had. Since then, the water returned to crystal clear after constant filtering and a chlorine boost, and all seemed well. It passed the OCLT then, but last night I recorded an overnight loss of 1.5 FC (fail).

FC: 6
CC: 0.5
CH: 525
TA: 70
pH: 7.6
CYA: 40

My question is - pollen build-up or algae? It seems I SLAM either way, but I wanted to identify it positively. The color doesn't show well in the pics, but it is a yellowish color, with a hint of green.





Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

If that's not something flying off the trees its odd pollen.

It does not look like algae to me. But if in doubt you can take the pool up to SLAM level again and see if that helps?

Maddie

 

[rcg]

Thanks a lot for the reply. Do you think I should just watch it for a few more days to see what happens, or take the better-safe-than-sorry approach and SLAM?

I appreciate your time.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Your FC should go down overnight if its algae. I can only suggest you do it again if you're worried. I still think its just pollen and tree debris. Spring makes for some weird things floating around, at least in my neck of the woods.

Maddie

 

[woodyp]

That kinda looks like cottonwood to me.

 

[duraleigh]

I can't identify it but it is NOT algae and it doesn't look like ANY pollen I have seen.

It reminds me of mold of some type.

I would suggest taking the FC up to around 8-10 ppm and keeping it there for 48 hours or so...........see what it does.

 

[rcg]

Thanks for everyone's time. I took duraleigh's advice and kicked my FC up to 10. Solved the issue inside of a day. Just waiting to see if anything returns, but at least I know now that it's not growing in the pool, it's falling in.