Another Mustard Algae Thread

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Dkoucky

0
Jul 17, 2014
42
Joplin, Mo
How do I make it stop???

FC: 21
CC:0
PH 7.5
TA: 110
CH: 280
CYA: 30

I have been blasting this thing with chlorine for three days and it looks great I will have it crystal clear before I go to sleep and then the next morning there will be new clusters of the stuff in the deep end and a light film on the stairs, it isn't really burning up chlorine like I see in a traditional SLAM. I am running the robot almost constantly so during the day it looks good. Should I just keep it up? Should I try a pool store "trick" this is frustrating and the FC level is so high we can't use the pool.
 
Dkoucky said:
How do I make it stop???

FC: 21
CC:0
PH 7.5
TA: 110
CH: 280
CYA: 30

I have been blasting this thing with chlorine for three days and it looks great I will have it crystal clear before I go to sleep and then the next morning there will be new clusters of the stuff in the deep end and a light film on the stairs, it isn't really burning up chlorine like I see in a traditional SLAM. I am running the robot almost constantly so during the day it looks good. Should I just keep it up? Should I try a pool store "trick" this is frustrating and the FC level is so high we can't use the pool.
Click to expand...

Are you cleaning the robot with chlorine between runs?
 
Yes I have been pouring bleach directly on the filters and the filter holders but not on the actual machine. The robot has also been in while the chlorine has been over 18 for three days.

The suggestion in pool school is a regular SLAM (I passed OCLT the first night) then 24 hours of MA level of chlorine. I did this but it just keeps coming back, should I do something to my filter? Deep Clean the sand?
 
Good question. I don’t know about the sand filter. Seems you could backwash it some. If the sand is really old, you could change it out. I have a DE filter but have had a sand filter in the past. I think the best thing is keeping chlorine high, circulation high and filtering very well, and brush pool frequently. Vacuum out, if possible, any algae you see. Empty all debri quickly and clean anything that goes in the water either by putting it inside the pool with high chlorine or by washing with chlorine outside the pool.
I’m still working on mine. About to do the slam and backwash the filter. I have to add more DE when I backwash. [emoji30]
It’s been super hot here. 112 last week.
Good luck!
 
How did you decide you needed an FC of 21 ppm? With a 30 CYA, the FC/CYA chart calls for 12 ppm FC so 12-14 should be adequate. Let your FC drift down to that point and it is perfectly safe to swim.

Secondly, what you see each day sounds more like dead algae rather than a re-occurrence of mustard algae. Do you have a pic?

How did you decide mustard algae to begin with?

I can tell you in advance to stay out of the pool store but what "trick" would they suggest?

The SLAM works over and over and over for thousands of pools. I suspect you have not given yourself enough time to complete it.

I would not do another OCLT until your pool loses ALL traces of algae, dead or alive.

There is no point in changing your sand. Follow the SLAM article to a T and your pool will clear.
 
The mustard algae section of pool school recommends 24 hours of 18ppm after initial slam for a CYA of 30. I accidently added a little too much bleach and brought it slightly over this. I have kept it high after 24 hours showed no result.

The pool store will have me put some copper based product I am sure but I haven't been in years.

The pool remains clear but this builds in the deep end http://imgur.com/a/TDfDUfq it also creates a thin yellow coat everywhere that distributes into the water at the slightest disturbance


Also I didn't say in here but the pH is obviously not a current reading but what was showing before slamming.
 
I gotcha' on the pH....no problem.

I couldn't get your link to work but think the pic might be helpful. I should've said in my first post that three days is not long at all for a complete SLAM procedure......I hope you will be patient and stay out of the pool store.......that almost never ends well.

While waiting for the pic, what you are describing could be either mustard algae or dead algae. Mustard usually occurs on the shadiest part of the pools and especially along the walls. Like you say, it vanishes in a yellow/greenish "poof" when brushed but so does dead algae.

Letting your FC drift down to 12-14 and then swimming is actually not a bad idea. If it is mustard, the swim activity will get it up into the chlorinated water and kill it more readily.

Run your pump 24/7 and keep the robot running. All your efforts should be to get/keep the water stirred up and the filter doing it's job.

Did you read the article in Pool School on Deep Cleaning your sand filter?
 
Tried again and the link worked just fine.

If you are talking about the dark clumps, that is dead algae.....not live mustard algae.

What is happening is your pool appears clear to you but there is still live invisible algae. In the evening, the chlorine kills more of it and the "carcasses" are deposit in the low spots on your pool floor.

Brush them up, manually vacuum or run the robot but keep that debris circulating and it will stop in time. It may take a few more days.
 

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I had a mustard algae battle in mid 2015.

The SLAM took 2 full weeks from start to finish.

Are you MANUALLY brushing the entire pool with a brush every day?

If not, you need to be doing that. It's a royal pain in the you know what, but
I can tell you it's very unlikely the robot is scrubbing hard enough to break
the biofilm protecting the algae.

It's ok that you get poofs of stuff on the floor, as others said that is dead
algae and normal.

What you shouldn't be seeing is re-growth on the walls. Manual brushing
of the entire surface daily and maintaining the shock level will stop that in it's tracks.

The wall-whale is the best brush to have if you don't have one.
 
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