This is our sixth season in our house, which has a plaster pool that was basically a swamp when we bought it. It cleaned up pretty well and we haven't had any significant issues, but I do have an algae question somebody may be able to help me on.
I'm familiar with the traditional green algae haze you'll get on the sides, that brushes off easily. That's the stuff I generally think of when I hear the term "green algae."
I see people asking questions about "black algae" from time to time, and understand that's a different and more difficult animal. Similar for "mustard algae."
I'm attaching a picture of what I have. It's dark green spots that appear black from a distance, but if you get up close and scrub them down or scrape them off and inspect them they're green. You can see in the picture, they're generally round and will grow in clusters that are generally roundish.
It tends to grow in places where the plaster is very rough, kind of like medium grit sandpaper. (I need a new plaster job, but that's a separate issue.) The attached photo is on the steps in the low end. The biggest clusters are maybe the size of a pencil eraser.
My question is whether this is just run of the mill algae that I need to scrub off and keep the proper chlorine level, or is this something different (like black algae) that requires some special treatment? (Other than scrubbing it off with a wire brush.)
I'm familiar with the traditional green algae haze you'll get on the sides, that brushes off easily. That's the stuff I generally think of when I hear the term "green algae."
I see people asking questions about "black algae" from time to time, and understand that's a different and more difficult animal. Similar for "mustard algae."
I'm attaching a picture of what I have. It's dark green spots that appear black from a distance, but if you get up close and scrub them down or scrape them off and inspect them they're green. You can see in the picture, they're generally round and will grow in clusters that are generally roundish.
It tends to grow in places where the plaster is very rough, kind of like medium grit sandpaper. (I need a new plaster job, but that's a separate issue.) The attached photo is on the steps in the low end. The biggest clusters are maybe the size of a pencil eraser.
My question is whether this is just run of the mill algae that I need to scrub off and keep the proper chlorine level, or is this something different (like black algae) that requires some special treatment? (Other than scrubbing it off with a wire brush.)
