Go easy on me, I'm here to figure things out. This forum seems to be the best spot on the internet. (sorry for the long first post) I'm here because I have started getting algae growth on the walls of my pool.
This is my first pool, but so far I've had 3 very easy years of pool ownership. Really never a problem except replacing an old pump that died last year. For the last 3 years I've employed a pool company to maintain my water chemistry and my water has always stayed very clear. It has never bothered us swimming in it (I have 5 boys that swim almost daily may-september). I have done all the maintenance of equipment and cleaning myself. I choose a pool company to handle the pool chemicals on the recommendation of several others in my office who swear by them and also seeing that their yearly cost was less than my brother in law told me he spends on pool chemicals maintaining his pool himself. It seemed like a no brainer, and to be honest I've had 3 very happy, easy years with them.
However, for the last few weeks I've been getting some algae on the walls. This could definitely be contributed to by my lack of staying diligent with the cleaning maintenance. I really haven’t brushed my walls or cleaned the filter as often as I should, but I was having no problems. Now though with this new algae issue I'm brushing twice a week and the pool gets very cloudy from the algae (enough that I can't see the bottom of the pool through the cloudy water) A day or 2 later the filter will have cleaned the water back to clear, only for me to need to brush the algae off the walls again in less than a week. My past maintenance was less than recommended for sure, only backwashing about 4 times a year (but filter pressures were not rising quickly so I'd backwash when it rose around 8 psi.) I had only opened the DE filter once to rinse the grids by hand. This spring marks about 2 years since doing that, so I attributed my algae problem to that. So last Saturday (5/8) I brushed the algae walls again, let it filter for a few hours and then I opened it up, took the grids out and cleaned everything (it was very green inside). I got the filter back together, the pump running, added the DE, and then shocked the pool. (please forgive me, I did not test for chlorine levels because its almost impossible to do that with metro pool since they use chlorine gas and keep the levels VERY high) Then I ran the filter 24/7. I brushed the walls again the next day. By Monday after the pool company chemical man came in the morning the water looked crystal clear, however debris had settled to the bottom and the walls again looked to be getting green. Today I noticed that my filter pressures has risen about 8psi already, so I brushed the walls again, creating cloudy green / brown pool water again and backwashed the filter. There is less algae on the walls this morning than last Saturday, So it's possibly getting better, but I can't really follow a slam protocol with the current way my chemicals are managed. I'm wondering if I'm really getting algae due to my poor filter maintenance, or if I'm growing new algae because of the water chemistry. My best guess at this point is both are true...
I will be talking with the pool company about getting the algae problem fixed, but since I'm doing that I thought I would vet their plan for pool water chemicals here, and reconsider doing the chemicals myself. Today I took some of my water to a local pool supply store to get it tested. I know the results will bring lots of strong opinions here, and I’m happy to hear them, but I would love to understand the thoughts and reasons behind the opinions if you could help me out with that. I've gone ahead and read about the TFP plan for maintaining proper chemical levels and I'm definitely willing to conceded that the TFP way of maintaining water chemistry is technically sound, and practical. However, I do have 3 great years under my belt with this pool company, and also having several friends that absolutely swear by them doing the best job they've ever had with a pool company keeping their pool clear. Honestly, If I hadn't had this algae issue pop up, I'd probably never even give it another thought, because of the previous 3 years of clear water that has been wonderful to swim in.
As you look at these results, remember this company uses a "proprietary" plan for pool water and one of the main aspects of that plan is to use chlorine gas to achieve very high chlorine levels. I do not know their desired levels. Can you help me evaluate whats going on here?
Test Results:
Free Chlorine - 23.10
Total Chlorine - 23.10
Combined - 0.00
PH - 7.1
Alkalinity - 84
Adjusted Alkalinity - 30
Hardness - 219
CYA Acid - 161
Iron - 0.10
Copper - 0.00
This is my first pool, but so far I've had 3 very easy years of pool ownership. Really never a problem except replacing an old pump that died last year. For the last 3 years I've employed a pool company to maintain my water chemistry and my water has always stayed very clear. It has never bothered us swimming in it (I have 5 boys that swim almost daily may-september). I have done all the maintenance of equipment and cleaning myself. I choose a pool company to handle the pool chemicals on the recommendation of several others in my office who swear by them and also seeing that their yearly cost was less than my brother in law told me he spends on pool chemicals maintaining his pool himself. It seemed like a no brainer, and to be honest I've had 3 very happy, easy years with them.
However, for the last few weeks I've been getting some algae on the walls. This could definitely be contributed to by my lack of staying diligent with the cleaning maintenance. I really haven’t brushed my walls or cleaned the filter as often as I should, but I was having no problems. Now though with this new algae issue I'm brushing twice a week and the pool gets very cloudy from the algae (enough that I can't see the bottom of the pool through the cloudy water) A day or 2 later the filter will have cleaned the water back to clear, only for me to need to brush the algae off the walls again in less than a week. My past maintenance was less than recommended for sure, only backwashing about 4 times a year (but filter pressures were not rising quickly so I'd backwash when it rose around 8 psi.) I had only opened the DE filter once to rinse the grids by hand. This spring marks about 2 years since doing that, so I attributed my algae problem to that. So last Saturday (5/8) I brushed the algae walls again, let it filter for a few hours and then I opened it up, took the grids out and cleaned everything (it was very green inside). I got the filter back together, the pump running, added the DE, and then shocked the pool. (please forgive me, I did not test for chlorine levels because its almost impossible to do that with metro pool since they use chlorine gas and keep the levels VERY high) Then I ran the filter 24/7. I brushed the walls again the next day. By Monday after the pool company chemical man came in the morning the water looked crystal clear, however debris had settled to the bottom and the walls again looked to be getting green. Today I noticed that my filter pressures has risen about 8psi already, so I brushed the walls again, creating cloudy green / brown pool water again and backwashed the filter. There is less algae on the walls this morning than last Saturday, So it's possibly getting better, but I can't really follow a slam protocol with the current way my chemicals are managed. I'm wondering if I'm really getting algae due to my poor filter maintenance, or if I'm growing new algae because of the water chemistry. My best guess at this point is both are true...
I will be talking with the pool company about getting the algae problem fixed, but since I'm doing that I thought I would vet their plan for pool water chemicals here, and reconsider doing the chemicals myself. Today I took some of my water to a local pool supply store to get it tested. I know the results will bring lots of strong opinions here, and I’m happy to hear them, but I would love to understand the thoughts and reasons behind the opinions if you could help me out with that. I've gone ahead and read about the TFP plan for maintaining proper chemical levels and I'm definitely willing to conceded that the TFP way of maintaining water chemistry is technically sound, and practical. However, I do have 3 great years under my belt with this pool company, and also having several friends that absolutely swear by them doing the best job they've ever had with a pool company keeping their pool clear. Honestly, If I hadn't had this algae issue pop up, I'd probably never even give it another thought, because of the previous 3 years of clear water that has been wonderful to swim in.
As you look at these results, remember this company uses a "proprietary" plan for pool water and one of the main aspects of that plan is to use chlorine gas to achieve very high chlorine levels. I do not know their desired levels. Can you help me evaluate whats going on here?
Test Results:
Free Chlorine - 23.10
Total Chlorine - 23.10
Combined - 0.00
PH - 7.1
Alkalinity - 84
Adjusted Alkalinity - 30
Hardness - 219
CYA Acid - 161
Iron - 0.10
Copper - 0.00
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