FINALLY figured out I have Mustard Algae!

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It pretty much has been a religion dispute. He doesn't want to do the TFPC method because "it's too much trouble" and because he "trusts his pool store guy!!!" I know there is a lot of eye rolling and head shaking on that one! Ha! Right now I am chlorinating solely with 10% bleach and will continue to do so until I get the SWG and new pump for Christmas. My friend that trusts the pool store dude also thinks I am nuts for wanting a SWG..lol My CYA is so high because the genius at the pool store had me buying tablets. I keep trying to tell my friend that just because the pool store dude owns a pool store does not mean he has a chemistry degree but I can tell he is thinking I am crazy because I have only had a pool since May. The genius at the pool store had me believing that so long as my FC was between 1 and 4 parts per million that I was fine and all the while my CYA was rising. I was shocked when I got algae in July because I keep a really clean pool by brushing and vacuuming almost everyday. Pool store dude charged me $67 for algaecide and Phosefree and it still didn't clear it up which doesn't include the $60 bucket of shock or the $124 pail of tablets or the numerous other garbage I bought. That was my final straw and I went all in on the TPFC method. I will check my OCLT tonight and I the morning and retest my CYA tomorrow when my reagent gets here. Looks like swimming Saturday for my guests is gonna get rained out so I am gonna go ahead and start the SLAM tomorrow after I double check my CYA. Thank you all! You are amazing!

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And yes Max2k they refuse to even try. He blindly tried by dumping 3 gallons of bleach in his 7600 gallon pool with out even testing and then claimed there is no way this will work. Lol! I tried explaining but he didn't listen to me. We'll see how he feels next year when I'm rockin' perfect water and he's having issues. Ha!
 
GinaLovesSummer said:
It pretty much has been a religion dispute. He doesn't want to do the TFPC method because "it's too much trouble" and because he "trusts his pool store guy!!!" I know there is a lot of eye rolling and head shaking on that one! Ha! Right now I am chlorinating solely with 10% bleach and will continue to do so until I get the SWG and new pump for Christmas. My friend that trusts the pool store dude also thinks I am nuts for wanting a SWG..lol My CYA is so high because the genius at the pool store had me buying tablets. I keep trying to tell my friend that just because the pool store dude owns a pool store does not mean he has a chemistry degree but I can tell he is thinking I am crazy because I have only had a pool since May. The genius at the pool store had me believing that so long as my FC was between 1 and 4 parts per million that I was fine and all the while my CYA was rising. I was shocked when I got algae in July because I keep a really clean pool by brushing and vacuuming almost everyday. Pool store dude charged me $67 for algaecide and Phosefree and it still didn't clear it up which doesn't include the $60 bucket of shock or the $124 pail of tablets or the numerous other garbage I bought. That was my final straw and I went all in on the TPFC method. I will check my OCLT tonight and I the morning and retest my CYA tomorrow when my reagent gets here. Looks like swimming Saturday for my guests is gonna get rained out so I am gonna go ahead and start the SLAM tomorrow after I double check my CYA. Thank you all! You are amazing!

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And yes Max2k they refuse to even try. He blindly tried by dumping 3 gallons of bleach in his 7600 gallon pool with out even testing and then claimed there is no way this will work. Lol! I tried explaining but he didn't listen to me. We'll see how he feels next year when I'm rockin' perfect water and he's having issues. Ha!
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He might be fine with the way he manages it- he's got smaller pool so may be full or even 50% drain/refill is not a problem for him. As long as he doesn't start playing pool store roulette with other chemicals besides tablets. BTW, this trouble quickly increases with size. In any event try to convince him on the test kit- drain or not but he needs to keep it sanitary. Would he let you to test his water, just for giggles?
 
He had me test it one time but I can't remember what his numbers were except his CYA was around 80. When my numbers came up different than the pool store he just assumed mine were wrong. I think part of his hinderence was the price of the test kit but honestly that was a drop in the bucket compared to what we have both spent.
 
GinaLovesSummer said:
He had me test it one time but I can't remember what his numbers were except his CYA was around 80. When my numbers came up different than the pool store he just assumed mine were wrong. I think part of his hinderence was the price of the test kit but honestly that was a drop in the bucket compared to what we have both spent.
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If he does spend unnecessary money playing pool store games then I think it's just matter of time- simply wait till next time he complains about pool care being expensive, pool store will do all the convincing :).
 
Just thought I'd report back. My CYA is actually right at 70 and I am knee deep in the SLAM. Been scrubbing all pool toys and every nook and cranny and vacuuming. Can't wait to get a new pump and SWG before next season. I only have one question right now. Is it okay to aerate while slamming? My pool temp is up to 92 degrees and feels like bath water...lol
 
GinaLovesSummer said:
Just thought I'd report back. My CYA is actually right at 70 and I am knee deep in the SLAM. Been scrubbing all pool toys and every nook and cranny and vacuuming. Can't wait to get a new pump and SWG before next season. I only have one question right now. Is it okay to aerate while slamming? My pool temp is up to 92 degrees and feels like bath water...lol
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Aerating will raise pH, and being at shock level you can't accurately test pH. I would not aerate.

Did you adjust pH to 7.2 before the SLAM?

Dom
 
I took your advice and didn't aerate because you had a great point about the PH and luckily a small cold front came through and cooled it off a bit. I am on the downhill stretch now and only vacuumed a very small amount of algae yesterday. I will of coarse vacuum and brush again today. I won't stop the SLAM until I pass ALL of the criteria. It looks gorgeous according to everyone else now, but I am waiting on that beautiful TFPC sparkle to come back that we all know and love. I am thinking the sparkle is going to slowly come back today so I will do the OCLT tonight to see where I am in the morning. I have been hitting it really hard with testing every few hours, brushing, vacuuming and just really getting into every nook and cranny. I know that is why my SLAM has gone so fast. Thank you all for helping me to realize not only that this was not mustard algae but why it happened so that I will know in the future to bump up the chlorine a little when friends come over to visit. I thoroughly enjoy this pool forum and visit it even when I am not having problems to learn even more. I am happy that I know exactly what is in my pool and that it is for sure sanitary for my family and friends.
 
People are so used to hearing how much trouble a pool is, how expensive they are to maintain and all the headaches that they cause (all false, of course) that when you show them that it doesn't have to be that way that they can't accept it. Especially when a "pool professional" i.e. a pool store clerk that is trying to sell the miracle of the month at 150% profit - does a good job of sounding both intelligent and knowledgeable. I have NO problem with any retail store making whatever profit they can get away with, they need to stay in business and occasionally they are handy to have when something breaks. The pool store industry has become predatory since the proliferation of pools. Fortunately we have sources like the members of TFP to help the aware pool owner maintain a sparkly pool with minimum effort and money.
 

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