Frustrated dealing with a fine "dust"

[mrramsey]

So I am having a problem with a very fine yellowish green "dust" substance in the pool. I am 99.9% certain is is not algae.... At least nothing living. We are talking very fine like talcum powder. It literally is only on flat surfaces and blows right off if you wave your hand.

The kreepy crawly vac cuts a swath right through it but the problem is it ends up just stirring things up and I end up with a cloudy pool because the particulate is just suspended in the water column.

This was a pic prior to vacation. It was the same scenario when I got back. The water was crystal clear just the dust on the bottom.

So what is the best way to rid this? I don't think the filter cartridge is catching it all. I started manually vacuuming this morning rinsing the filter often.

Do the robot vacs do a much better job with fine particles? Was thinking maybe a slimebag but no one locally sells them.
My water params are all good
FC 7
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 120
CYA ~35

 

[tim5055]

Is there dust all over your car and lawn furniture? If so it could be dust. But, I really don;t like that color. How about an Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) to make sure it's not living?

 

[mrramsey]

Is there dust all over your car and lawn furniture? If so it could be dust. But, I really don;t like that color. How about an Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT) to make sure it's not living?

The overnight tests were < .5 loss. The patio furniture does have a dust on it as well from the evaporated rains.

 

[mrramsey]

Just finished vac'ing the pool.

 

[mrramsey]

Here it is now... [emoji37]

The water is only cloudy due to the suspended particles. If I let it sit for a couple of days it will all settle to the bottom of the pool and the water will be clear.

 

[singingpond]

That color (on the filter photo and on the earlier picture of settled stuff on the bottom of the pool) sure looks like algae, though, doesn't it...

Did you do the full OCLT, starting with elevated FC (at least 10, if I remember a recommendation I saw recently), and measuring for CC the next morning, as well as the overnight loss of FC?

 

[mrramsey]

Also before we got the monsoons rain last month the water was fine. I did get a small tinge of algae before this issue and slammed the pool. All was good for a week or so then the rains for 2-3 weeks. Been dealing with this since.

 

[Swampwoman]

Even if it is just pollen, the organic load will be high so why not take it up to slam level for a few days, keep vacuuming and put a skimmer sock on the skimmer?

 

[mrramsey]

That color (on the filter photo and on the earlier picture of settled stuff on the bottom of the pool) sure looks like algae, though, doesn't it...

Did you do the full OCLT, starting with elevated FC (at least 10, if I remember a recommendation I saw recently), and measuring for CC the next morning, as well as the overnight loss of FC?

For the sake of the argument I just took the chlorine from 8 to the slam level of 16. I will con firm the FC level in about 1/2 hour after it circulates a bit. I will keep it at that level all day and test the overnight loss in the morning.

I still think the particulate is very fine and very dense thus it sinks to the bottom of the pool eventually and just doesn't get picked up by the filter. So my fear is that even if I slam (which i don't think is the problem, but i could be wrong) I will still end up with the particulate issue in the end.

 

[mrramsey]

Even if it is just pollen, the organic load will be high so why not take it up to slam level for a few days, keep vacuuming and put a skimmer sock on the skimmer?

I will none the less but I will check the local pool store for the socks. And see if that helps with the particulate.

 

[ship of fools]

That looks like algae to me too. Both the water itself and the filter.

Do you have current test results??

 

[mrramsey]

Yesterday I had a FC of 6 and the trichlor cartridge was empty( ran it while on vacation) I added 24 oz of 8.25% bleach to boost it a bit while the vac ran most of the day. Didn't test right after adding the bleach but this morning it was still at 8. Prior to vacation I had been keeping it at ~7ppm.

I don't know of an algae that does not attach itself to something other than brown diatoms that feed on silicates. I keep a saltwater reef aquarium. I also agree that the color looks similar to algae or pollen.

 

[mrramsey]

Just confirming current FC is 16ppm slam level. I will keep it there throughout the day and test overnight loss in the morning.

 

[mrramsey]

Tested and still at 15.5 FC at noon.

 

[ship of fools]

Can you post a full set of results please?? And note whether it was strips, pool store or your own test.

 

[mrramsey]

Re: Frustrated dealing with a fine &quot;dust&quot;

Can you post a full set of results please?? And note whether it was strips, pool store or your own test.

Posted them earlier but here they are again from the TF100 kit

FC 15.5
CC 0
PH 7.5(before super chlorination)
TA 120
CA did not test since it is vinyl
CYA 35ish

So I am having a problem with a very fine yellowish green "dust" substance in the pool. I am 99.9% certain is is not algae.... At least nothing living. We are talking very fine like talcum powder. It literally is only on flat surfaces and blows right off if you wave your hand.

The kreepy crawly vac cuts a swath right through it but the problem is it ends up just stirring things up and I end up with a cloudy pool because the particulate is just suspended in the water column.

This was a pic prior to vacation. It was the same scenario when I got back. The water was crystal clear just the dust on the bottom.

So what is the best way to rid this? I don't think the filter cartridge is catching it all. I started manually vacuuming this morning rinsing the filter often.

Do the robot vacs do a much better job with fine particles? Was thinking maybe a slimebag but no one locally sells them.
My water params are all good
FC 7
CC 0
PH 7.5
TA 120
CYA ~35

 

[onestout]

Re: Frustrated dealing with a fine &quot;dust&quot;

looks like it could be pollen, we get a lot of pollen in the spring but it all sits in the corners and deep end.

 

[mrramsey]

Re: Frustrated dealing with a fine &quot;dust&quot;

looks like it could be pollen, we get a lot of pollen in the spring but it all sits in the corners and deep end.

That's what I am thinking as well but to satisfy the masses I elevated my chlorine to SLAM levels and will keep it there throughout today and test for loss overnight. I expect it to be nil <.5 which brings me back to why is it so difficult to catch the pariculate?I let the pool cleaner run as in the above pic but after 30 minutes the pool just clouds up as if it is just bypassing the filter and throwing it into the water. I mean it catches some of it but I would expect my filter to be clogged up after that much. The pick of the filter being rinsed was after maybe 15 hours. I am running the pump on low speed and it is showing 3-4 psi on the gauge.

 

[ship of fools]

Re: Frustrated dealing with a fine &quot;dust&quot;

That's what I am thinking as well but to satisfy the masses I elevated my chlorine to SLAM levels and will keep it there throughout today and test for loss overnight. I expect it to be nil <.5 which brings me back to why is it so difficult to catch the pariculate?I let the pool cleaner run as in the above pic but after 30 minutes the pool just clouds up as if it is just bypassing the filter and throwing it into the water. I mean it catches some of it but I would expect my filter to be clogged up after that much. The pick of the filter being rinsed was after maybe 15 hours. I am running the pump on low speed and it is showing 3-4 psi on the gauge.

Sounds like a plan .... eliminate algae as the culprit and if that is the case move on to the next possible cause.

 

[kimkats]

Is there any way you can vacuum slowly and bypass the filter and make the water go out of the pool to the ground as you vacuum? What if you take the hose off of the return and aim it to the ground? You can turn your valves to slow down the output of water so you will not lose so much?

Just throwing idea out there...............

You can use cheap knee highs from any store to put in the skimmer basket.


Hummmmmmmm what about two pairs of knee highs with some paper towels between them to catch the stuff as you vacuum???

Kim