Is this algae? Pool shop recommending algaecide and clarifier

[Dandelion]

I've been slamming the pool for about a week now. Last night I tried an overnight chlorine drop test and between 7pm and 6am it went from 34.5ppm to 32ppm, and also overnight a layer of green dust (dead algae?) appeared on the bottom again.

I did check ph before starting last week and it was ok.

I've let the chlorine go up pretty high a couple times because I had to leave the house and didn't want it to drop too low and I'm also noticing the vinyl seems to be bleaching too which isn't great because it's a pretty new liner.

Is it normal for it to take this long or could I be missing something?

 

[mknauss]

Your initial post your CYA was 50 ppm. That makes your SLAM FC level 20 ppm. Why are you going above that? Doing so has the potential to harm your liner.

 

[Dandelion]

I tested it with the kit at 60, thought it seemed a bit higher than I expected and tested it again at 50 but didn't really know what to make of it. I wasn't thinking about the liner and at the time figured "well I'm not really sure what the CYA is exactly, what's the harm in assuming it's 60 and slamming it to 24?"

I then took it even higher because I'm in an awkward situation where I'm working away from home during the week and my partner is dealing with the pool and not happy about it and I was really hoping to have it sorted this past weekend when I was home. I had prior family commitments Saturday so I put in a heap to keep it above shock levels while I was out of the house. I took it higher a second time because I was doing a run to the hardware store to swap out my chlorine bottles and dumped the remainder in because there was a little bit left and I figured why not get the refill on the last bottle while I made the trip.

In hindsight the harm is the liner which I did not consider and a reduced lifespan is the price I'm paying for what I did. It's just tough because I'm trying to deal with this remotely, I'm only home on the weekend and my partner keeps suggesting I listen to the pool shop staff.

 

[mknauss]

OK -- you are better off to let the FC fall below SLAM level for short periods of time versus over chlorinating to very high levels. You are still killing algae as long as the FC is above minimum for your CYA. Albeit slower.

 

[Dandelion]

I'll definitely be much more careful in future, lesson learned on that one the hard way.. Back to my original question - is it normal for it to take this long? I've been SLAMing it for a week now. Ph was good, pump is running, and it gets brushed and vacuumed.

 

[duraleigh]

The "normal" time seems to vary by quite a bit, but you are not abnormal yet. Daily brushing, backwashing the sand when you get a 25% rise and vacuuming every other day or so will keep things moving. Testing and replenishing the FC back to SLAM value every day will probably help the most.

 

[x Wild Bill x]

Hi thanks for letting me know. Can you olease point me to a topic that discusses this. I never said that was my onky method of keeping my pool clear and clean. I absolutely follow the ABC's and use it simply as a Dd on to make life much simpler. I used it for 10 years Nd almost everyone who came to my house aoukd always mentioned how nice and clear my pool water looked and when I tested my pool water once a week with Pool RX in the onky thing thatvwas off was PH from the natural Ph rise from salt.

Sorry to derail the thread, quick question.

mihzyd777 I have never heard of salt increasing the pH of water before, I did a quick search and found results stating that salt does not affect pH, do you have an article or more information on this?

Thanks,
Bill