Black dust and hopefully not algae....

[Hoster]

Have "black dust" floating on the water - seem very light. Based on my research on this site / internet, a few discoveries:

1. Dust from "BBQ"
2. Black algae - but most, if not all, postings indicate they are at the bottom of pools while mine is floating freely

I recently poured in Borax to increase the pH and wouldn't be surprised if this is borax (just do not understand why this would turn black though).

When I rub this dust between my fingers, they seem to "disappear." Just in case this is "dead black algae," I used a shop vac to get as much as possible out of my pool.

Any suggestions / experience / thoughts? Thanks in advance as always!!

FC: 3
pH: 7.6
TA: 100 (trying to lower this)
CYA: 60
Borates: 50
Salt: 3400

 

[ajw22]

Doubtful it is black algae. You don't get black algae in vinyl pools...

Black Algae

This guide provides a step by step procedure for eliminating black algae in your concrete or gunite pool. Read full post here.

www.troublefreepool.com

Could be dead algae. Do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

Swimming Pool Algae: Basics and Prevention

The best offense is a good defense: prevent algae in your pool with chlorine, and avoid expensive algaecides and shock! No more green pools!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Katodude]

Thats not black algae. Is it a charcoal BBQ, could it be ash?

 

[Hoster]

Thanks for all your feedback. Glad to hear this is not black algae although I have black spots on my vinyl and they appear and disappear dependent on the chlorine level. I have a gas bbq so doubtful this is ash..My next door neighbor has a gas grill too....

 

[Hoster]

This is "weird" - after torrential rain here in NJ, I woke up to even more black dust / ashes(?) on my pool - i didn't cover as I was SLAM-ing. A friend suspected this may be from the ashes from West Coast fire (Smoke from West Coast wildfires drifts across the country, fouling East Coast air). This fire, a large construction near by (0.5 miles), and a new solar cover are only things "changed" from past seasons so. One more, I actually bought a "knock off" / non-OEM Polaris tail brush which is wearing out - removed the tail and will see this helps.

Any other thoughts / observations?

 

[ajw22]

This is "weird" - after torrential rain here in NJ, I woke up to even more black dust / ashes(?) on my pool - i didn't cover as I was SLAM-ing. A friend suspected this may be from the ashes from West Coast fire (Smoke from West Coast wildfires drifts across the country, fouling East Coast air).

I am 50 miles North of you. I have seen the color of the sky change from the fire but no signs of ashes. And the smoke coloring our air is actually from fires in Canada.

This fire, a large construction near by (0.5 miles), and a new solar cover are only things "changed" from past seasons so.

I think whatever the black stuff you are getting is from something more local to you. Those spots look too large to drift far.

One more, I actually bought a "knock off" / non-OEM Polaris tail brush which is wearing out - removed the tail and will see this helps.

Someone gave me a package of knockoff Polaris tail brushes and I was surprised how quickly they wear down. Once I use them up I am going back to the original Polaris scrubbers. However I don't see it leaving any black foam pieces in the bootom of my pool. I figure the filter or the Polaris is picking it up. And if the back spots were from the tail scrubber it would feel like foam.

Don't run your Polaris without the foam tail scrubber. If you do it will rapidly wear down the tail weights and eventually wear a hole in the tail hose.

 

[Hoster]

Got it...will let it run for a few days just to see. Didn't know about the tail wearing out