Green to Great - The Project Begins

[jeffhalljr]

End of week 5 update:

Well whatever happened cleared up last night... the pool is back on track. As stated in previous post I lowered my FC target back down to my new CYA levels. Since the pool was so cloudy I went ahead and added 90lbs of CH... couldn’t hurt.

Next week I’m going to continue slam regardless of overnight fc loss as I still need to get behind the light and the my clarity still has a ways to go.

I am still perplexed as to why things went south so quickly last week. Last Saturday the pool looked almost as good as it does now (wish I had pics) and by Monday it took a 2 week step back....

Pictures from this morning:



5 weeks ago:

 

[jeffhalljr]

@YippeeSkippy or @Mdragger88 or anyone else

how do you know if you have mustard algae or not. I found out what my problem was from post 75. I still have slime on the walls and floor and the kicking up dust a lot when brushing.

I ordered a vac hose and sucked it up before brushing today which was a game changer for clarity but that does not get rid of the problem.

I have been brushing at least once per day and most times twice. I am using a whale tail which allows great continuous contact with the surface and a great workout at the same time.

If this is just pop I’m good but +5 weeks in... I don’t want to play around.

Any guidance would be appreciated...

 

[kellyfair]

It’s hard to tell from your photos, but there appears to be discoloration in spots. Are these the areas you are talking about? Mustard algae tends to grow on walls and floor that aren’t in direct sun, and just when you think you are done with SLAM, it comes back. It certainly could be, and you deal with it by continuing SLAM until you normally would be done, then raising FC to mustard levels for 24 hours.

Refresh my memory... did you get a good handle on your current CYA?

 

[jeffhalljr]

It’s hard to tell from your photos, but there appears to be discoloration in spots.

Unfortunatly no... it is a combination of faded paint and plaster patches done by the previous owner. I originally thought the dust was paint dust but when I put my feet on one of the ledges I could tell it was algae.

The pool surface is a combination of faded blue paint (white,light blue, no paint) some sort of plaster repair used to fill cracks (very poorly done). The walls are also stained with “stuff” and while they have lightened they are still prominent. This makes it hard to see subtle differences to identify problem areas.

Mustard algae tends to grow on walls and floor that aren’t in direct sun

I will keep an eye on it but this seems more uniform across the surface.

Refresh my memory... did you get a good handle on your current CYA?

Yes... water loss due to crack was resolved and CYA now stable.

 

[Mdragger88]

You can shore your bets by raising to mustard algae slam level AFTER you have passed all 3 end of slam criteria.
Getting into every nook & cranny is key to getting ahead of the algae & finishing the SLAM Process
I have a feeling it’s hiding somewhere which is why it’s taking so long (my guess would be the light) also check skimmer weirs (& the foam), jets, plugs, water features etc.

 

[jeffhalljr]

I have a feeling it’s hiding somewhere which is why it’s taking so long (my guess would be the light) also check skimmer weirs (& the foam), jets, plugs, water features etc.

I agree with you...

My pool is on the side of a hill, so my light nitch is exposed along with the conduit pipes. The conduit comes up about 2 feet above the water level on the side of the deck. I noticed the other day that "green stuff" was had pooled around one of the conduit joints (not a constant leak). This tells me that the wire is not sealed in the nitch and algae is probably in it... should this be a concern and if so should I remove the light and the wire and flush the conduit with bleech?

 

[Mdragger88]

The conduit shouldn’t matter. There should be some sort of gasket /putty material around the cord sealing the niche from the conduit. If there’s not you can/should buy some to replace it.
With the light off- You would remove the screws from the face of the light & place the light on the pool deck (there should be enough cord to do this). You can Clean the light housing & inspect for leaks at this time.
Next scrub out the niche. I warn u - it can be nasty Some folks have their vacuum there to try to mitigate some of the funk that comes out when removing the light.

 

[Mdragger88]

 

[jeffhalljr]

With the light off- You would remove the screws from the face of the light & place the light on the pool deck (there should be enough cord to do this). You can Clean the light housing & inspect for leaks at this time.

Well I tried to get it out... not as easy as the video in my case. I have a hayward crystalogic light.... think it is this one Manual it is all plastic. There was a screw on one side wedging it in place but the other side does not seem to want to come out. It’s almost like it there is another screw holding it in place. It hinges on a single point. Would you have any ideas on how this was “creatively” installed?

 

[Mdragger88]

That link is blank but I found this

https://hayward-pool-assets.com/assets/documents/pools/pdf/manuals/UniversalColorLogicandCrystaLogic-InstallationandOperations.pdf

 

[jeffhalljr]

So I got the light off today and it was not as bad as I thought... there was definitely some grey stuff back there but that was expected.

What I did not expect was that my led light had exploded. Before anyone freaks out I had already fully disconnected the light and transformer from the panel since it was non functional... water and electricity are not something I play with. The led panel was laying in the bottom of the nitche when I opened it up.

Has anyone ever seen something like this? I’m not too worried about the light itself but hoping that there is not a greater underlying issue... just in case I decide to replace it.

That link is blank but I found this
https://hayward-pool-assets.com/ass...candCrystaLogic-InstallationandOperations.pdf

 

[Mdragger88]

I would check the transformer & all parameters of the feed for the light. Even if they aren’t the cause & water intrusion was they could have been damaged when ghe failure occurred.

 

[jeffhalljr]

Week forever update:

So... good news and bad news.

Good news is that my pool looked great over the weekend and for the past three days I have passed the overnight fc loss test.

The bad news is that I can brush the pool gets cloudy. While a bit chilly we have gotten into the pool and started enjoying it. But I can feel a somewhat slick film on the bottom in certain areas. Not sure it is what it is... but it does dust up. Please keep in mind that the paint is well over 5 years old (Intex paint) and can see all shades of blue white and plaster.... including green and brown stains.

I am fine continuing the slam... definitely don’t want to battle algae all summer. But after searching around the forum I have seen a few instances where old paint can cause dust.

So am I fighting phantom algae or still need to kill the beast?

Pix from this weekend... before brushing

 

[Mdragger88]

If u think those are stains & u r passing the
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test you’re probably there. I would still keep it up another day or 2 to be safe. Some of The stains may lift over time with just proper fc levels & routine brushing. However if they grow as you let fc drift down you will know you wrapped it up prematurely. If the clouding is your paint you may be able to tell by wiping it with your hand - algae poofs away, paint dust may show up on your hand (maybe use a dark sock & wipe it)

 

[jeffhalljr]

algae poofs away, paint dust may show up on your hand (maybe use a dark sock & wipe it)

Great test... I will try that tomorrow but in my case I think my “dust” poofs away and easily vacuumed away. Meaning that if I vacuum then sweep no cloudy water... other way around it takes 3 days to become sparkly clear again.

I’m going to continue to slam into next week... and keep an eye on it.

 

[jeffhalljr]

Sorry for the long delay. I waited an extra week to make sure all the bad stuff was gone and let everything come back to normal levels.

It has been 2 weeks and water has sparkled and FC loss is stable. I have also replaced my swg board and cell... no more trips to HD for absurd amounts of chlorine.



Some final thoughts:
1) when slamming a green monster it takes time and patience... in my case it was over 6 weeks.
2) be prepared to throw 50 gallons or more at a large pool
3) do a cost analysis on a drain vs slam... in my particular case it would have been cheaper to drain and would have allowed me to fix some paster issues
4) follow the feedback provided by the folks here... their guidance and emotional support is fantastic
5) support the forum... donate if you can and participate

 

[Mdragger88]

Great to see things are awesome !
50 gallons sounds crazy but @ current prices w/ walmart pool essentials liquid that comes out to about $187+tax .
Most people spend that every time they walk into the pool store & they generally make several trips when dealing with a swamp.

 

[kellyfair]

Fantastic testimonial! Pool looks great!