Algae won’t go away

Jump to latest Follow Reply
E

Edevries

Member
May 8, 2021
7
Birmingham, AL
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
Hi! I am so grateful for Trouble Free Pool. But I’m having an algae issue and I don’t know what to do about it. About 2 months ago we had some algae so we slammed the pool until it passed all the tests to be able to stop slamming (it needed to be done twice in a 3 week period). Since then our water has ranged from clear to pretty clear but there continues to be light algae growth on the pool sides and floor. Is this normal?

We have a vinyl pool with a salt system. It has a sand filter. Previously, we had a different pool that was just chlorine and didn’t have these same issues. I’m about ready to quit using the salt system and just go to chlorine. But I’d really like to keep using the salt!

Here’s our current measurements:
FC - 9
TA - 140
PH - 7.2
CYA - 65

We also have an attached hot tub with a spillover waterfall. The hot tub has continued to have 1 spot of algae that’s about 1” square in it the whole time.

We would welcome any tips to get rid of this problem!

Thanks,
Jen
 
Welcome to TFP! :wave: No, having ANY algae is not normal and needs to be eradicated. Switching form liquid to salt is not to blame either as honestly, regardless of how it is achieved, both create free chlorine. Your test numbers above would seem to indicate a solid chemistry at the moment. Can you confirm which test kit you are using?
 
Texas Splash said:
Welcome to TFP! :wave: No, having ANY algae is not normal and needs to be eradicated. Switching form liquid to salt is not to blame either as honestly, regardless of how it is achieved, both create free chlorine. Your test numbers above would seem to indicate a solid chemistry at the moment. Can you confirm which test kit you are using?
Click to expand...
Thank you! I would LOVE to eradicate our algae!! I am using the Taylor k-2006C test kit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Texas Splash
Texas Splash said:
Also, I see you mentioned you "passed all the tests", but to be sure, did you have any problems or odd occurrences when performing the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test?
Click to expand...
I updated my signature. Thanks for the link to do that!

Everything seemed fine when I did the OCLT except for a small spot of algae in the hot tub (its a fiberglass hot tub and the algae spot is on one of the sitting surfaces). The hot tub spills over into the pool but I figured since everything else about the OCLT was normal we should stop the SLAM. But maybe that’s a problem? I’m not sure how to get rid of that spot - I’ve brushed it a bunch of times and it keeps coming back. And it kept coming back even during the whole slam.

I’d love to hear your feedback on this situation!! Thanks so much!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Texas Splash
wireform said:
Slam isn't over till you've passed all three criteria which you clearly have not.
SLAM Process
Click to expand...
Thank you. I agree that’s true. I’m now wondering if there’s another step I could take to work specifically on that small algae spot in the hot tub? At the last slam the pool had no algae for a week and we passed the other 2 steps on the OCLT but that small spot in the hot tub kept showing up. Could I do some sort of spot treatment there? I brush that spot everyday!

Also - do you think that little spot could be the source of the problem?
 
mknauss said:
When you add your chlorine, add some of it directly to the hot tub.
Click to expand...
Ok. I can do that. Should I add extra to the hot tub or just divide up the correct amount with some in the pool and some in the hot tub?

Also - I haven’t tested the hot tub water because I assumed it would be the same as the pool. Shouldn’t they be at the same levels or is that a bad assumption on my part? I’ll test both today.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Just some of the chlorine you add to the pool.
Should be the same. How good is your flow through the hot tub to the pool?
 
mknauss said:
Just some of the chlorine you add to the pool.
Should be the same. How good is your flow through the hot tub to the pool?
Click to expand...
Ok! I’ll do that.

My husband and I were just talking about the flow of water. The water flows from the hot tub to the pool through the waterfall. It has pretty good pressure but I don’t know if it’s good enough?
 
mknauss said:
You might consider programming your automation to run the spillover at a higher rate a couple times a day instead of at a low rate continuously.

See Hayward OmniLogic - Further Reading
Click to expand...
Our spillover is not programmable. We adjust it manually.

We are wondering if our filter isn’t doing a good enough job? My husband read that sand doesn’t filter out algae and is thinking we should switch to a different filtering system. We had glass in our last filter instead of sand and it did a great job. Any advice as far as filtering goes?
 
You have OmniLogic. You do not use that to switch from pool to spa mode? Did you read the article I linked?

Sand is the proper filter media for a sand filter. You might want to check the sand level in the filter and possible deep clean it. See Sand Filter Use and Care - Further Reading
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply