Help with Yellow Out and Mustard Alge

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R

RhondaMarie

Member
Aug 21, 2019
10
Tennessee
Thank you all in advance for your help. After my trip to the pool store (unfortunately) I found your site and have read up on things. I understand about the SLAM, but have a question since I added the Yellow Out this morning.

My CYA is 95-100, so it's too high. I understand this now and have figured this was how the mustard algae developed in the first place; not a good ratio of chlorine to CYA.

It seems that Yellow Out eats chlorine. Now that it is added and the shock is added, what do I do? Do I wait for 24 hours and begin lowering the CYA? Do I add chlorine and begin a SLAM with a high CYA? Per the Yellow Out instructions, my PH is at 8.0. Should I lower it?

Pool party coming up on 9/1, so it has to be ready by then. Help please and be kind to this newby.

Thanks.
 
RhondaMarie said:
Thank you all in advance for your help. After my trip to the pool store (unfortunately) I found your site and have read up on things. I understand about the SLAM, but have a question since I added the Yellow Out this morning.

My CYA is 95-100, so it's too high. I understand this now and have figured this was how the mustard algae developed in the first place; not a good ratio of chlorine to CYA.

It seems that Yellow Out eats chlorine. Now that it is added and the shock is added, what do I do? Do I wait for 24 hours and begin lowering the CYA? Do I add chlorine and begin a SLAM with a high CYA? Per the Yellow Out instructions, my PH is at 8.0. Should I lower it?

Pool party coming up on 9/1, so it has to be ready by then. Help please and be kind to this newby.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Anyone??
 
Rhonda,

If this were my pool, with a CYA of 100 or more, I would drain it and start over.. I suspect the cost of water would be less than the cost of chlorine.

Of course with a vinyl pool you do not want to drain it all, but it would give you a better place to start.

Thanks,

Jim R.
 
Thanks for your reply. I am doing a partial drain this morning in hopes to get CYA down to 50-60. After reading this site, I'm not even sure this is mustard algae. There isn't any on the walls, just on the horizontal structures of the pool. When I felt of the residue that had accumulated on the steps, it was gritty, not slick. There's not an excessive amount of pollen on the cars in the driveway, but there is some. I live in Tennessee and our crape myrtles are blooming like crazy right now. Maybe it's just dirt. I'm going to get some skimmer socks to see if that will help filter small particles. My pool is 4 years old. Do I need to change the sand in my filter?

I checked my FC and there was a 2.0mm loss over night, but I'm not sure if that's caused by the Yellow Out or not. Will recheck after the partial drain/fill is completed then add more chlorine to see if it holds before starting a slam. Water is still cloudy.
 
Welcome to the forum!
Sand rarely needs to be changed. Only if a pool owner has used floc or clarifier and gummed it up.
You were lucky you did not get sold the 'Yellow xxx" potion that is Sodium Bromide. That really messes up your water chemistry. Stay away from pool store potions.
If the pool water is cloudy following the SLAM Process is in order. After you drain/exchange at least 50% of the water.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.
 
Using Google, it shows it is Ammonia based. Which simply requires lots of chlorine to neutralize.
 
Welcome to the forum:wave:

If you need a clear pool by 9/1, you need to get going. I would suggest you drain 2/3 of your pool, hoping to get CYA down to 30 (for the SLAM) and to drain off a good portion of the yellow out and other things in your pool. The goal is to start with 2/3 fresh water and a CYA of 30 ppm.

Next, post a complete set of test results for the forum to look at and prepare to SLAM. Get 10-20 jugs of bleach or liquid chlorine and make sure you have a test kit that is capable of testing for the SLAM. Don't waste time.....you don't have it. Tftestkits.net (if you order before 2:00 PM), will ship a TF-100 to you today and you will have it Friday or Saturday. We will all walk you through the SLAM but you will need that kit to get going. The Taylor K-2006 will also work but I don't think you can get it quickly enough with paying for overnight delivery.
 
Thanks for the welcome and the advice. I was able to drain/refill and get my CYA down to 60. I don't have a way to re-direct water flow at this point and figure the difference between bleach cost and pipe to keep the water from going into my curmudgeonly neighbor's yard would be a wash.

I do have a good test kit, so that is a plus. I jacked my chlorine up to SLAM level for 60 CYA (24, it actually went to 25). I put old panty hose on my skimmers to try to catch what I now believe to be pollen rather than mustard algae.

When I went to bed last night my FC level was 25. This morning it is still 25. My I rinsed the skimmers and they were full of pollen. There was only a tiny bit of gritty dust accumulated on the top entry step. Water is crystal clear after being cloudy for the past 5-6 days.

Here are all of my numbers this morning:
FC: 25
CC: .5
CYA: 60
PH: 7.8
Calcium Hardness: 225
Total Alk: 70

So, should I continue to keep the chlorine level at 25 for a full 24 hours and do another overnight test or can I let it drop to suggested levels for a 60 cya?

Thanks for all the help!
 
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Another 24 hours of filtration never hurts but I think you are good to go. Anothr OCLT tonight is good insurance, too. You did a good job de-bunking mustard algae. That is a pretty rare occurrence.

However, pollen in Tennessee in mid August would seem even more rare. I think rather than focusing on what it might have been, you should go forward with running your pump and getting ready for your party.

Let your FC drift on down to 60 CYA suggested level but I think I would keep the pump running at least 12 hours daily and vacuum and brush and clean your filter.
 
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