battling (possibly) mustard algae

[p0las]

Hi,
I have a very old pool and I think I got the dreaded mustard algae.
is this it?

how can I tell if it is dead? I went through SLAM again (second time in a row) and the water is crystal clear. last week I cleaned my sand filter and there were tons of this brown stuff coming out of it. I know it is very easy to recontaminate the pool and I don't know how to avoid it. when I cleaned the filter the brown stuff spilled everywhere from it so now I will get it on my feet and bring it back to the pool, unless the stuff in the filter was already dead.
I'm going to scrub the cleaner with chlorine but I doubt I will be able to get all of it from it. will it die if I leave it in sunlight outside of the pool? probably not, right? do I need to spray the ground with chlorine to decontaminate it?
any suggestions very welcome as this has been going on for years and I never realised that.

 

[Mdragger88]

That looks like rust (iron).

 

[p0las]

That looks like rust (iron).

why would I get iron deposits on my cleaner? where would the iron be coming from?

 

[Mdragger88]

why would I get iron deposits on my cleaner? where would the iron be coming from?

Your fill water (usually from a well) or something rusty in contact with your pool water (light, screws, etc).
Do you have any stains on your pool surface anywhere that are yellowish or brown?

 

[p0las]

yeah, now that you mentioned I connected the dots. we had very heavy rains last year and I got a tonne for runoff in the pool. it is flash with the ground and we are on a hill so water can just flow into it. There was brown stuff leaking between the tiles. could be rusted pipes or some other junk.
do I need to worry about it? is it harmful?

 

[Mdragger88]

It can cause stains which are a pain to remove but otherwise it’s just unsightly so long as the pool is properly sanitized.
You should be sure to address your runoff problem or it will be an ongoing battle.
You can rub any stains with crushed vitamin c tablets to confirm they are indeed metal stains.

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