Is this mustard algae?

Tarheel2000

Member
May 14, 2020
10
Monroe, NC
I can’t get rid of this stuff, whatever it is. Do you think it’s mustard algae? I get yellow spots all over the pool and stuff on the stairs. I have never seen it on the walls. I keep my FC between 3-7 and my CYA is 40. My CC is always at 0. No matter how much I sweep or vacuum to waste, I can’t get rid of it. I did a SLAM several weeks ago but it still didn’t affect this stuff. It is hard to take pictures of it, but I gave it a shot.

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I think it is and I'm in the same boat you are. I've seen an improvement since adding a copper based algaecide. I'm only a couple of weeks into fighting it and at this point I only see it pop up in a couple of areas with little water movement or on my white stairs. Apparently this stuff is super resilient and you have to sanitize the things that are going in and out of your pool. I'm about to do a second SLAM, pull the light, scrub twice a day and sanitize everything that's been within 10 feet of the pool. Hang in there, maybe somebody else will drop a nugget of advice to help us both out.
 
I think it is and I'm in the same boat you are. I've seen an improvement since adding a copper based algaecide. I'm only a couple of weeks into fighting it and at this point I only see it pop up in a couple of areas with little water movement or on my white stairs. Apparently this stuff is super resilient and you have to sanitize the things that are going in and out of your pool. I'm about to do a second SLAM, pull the light, scrub twice a day and sanitize everything that's been within 10 feet of the pool. Hang in there, maybe somebody else will drop a nugget of advice to help us both out.

Thanks for the reply! One more question. How do you pull the light? That scares me!
 
I had mustard algae before and it was a real pain to get rid of. Water would be very clear and I would even pass the OCLT so wasn't even sure it was algae, but each morning would find more of it on the pool bottom (but not on the railings or deck or elsewhere, ruling out pollen)

You have to be really persistent about brushing and maintaining FC levels. See this method:

 
Pull your light!!! I talked myself into watching it for a couple of more days and after seeing my chlorine struggles continue I dove in and started inspection. I wish I would have had a waterproof camera to show how bad the algae build up behind the light was. The light, housing, cord, and everything else was coated in a very slick yellow/green algae residue. It came off in large chunks and hopefully is the culprit to my struggles. I scrubbed the whole pool, skimmers, and everything else that water touched before adding a huge dose of chlorine. SLAM starts tonight.
 
Just wanted to add some experience. I recently completely a slam with success given a green algae outbreak. But, I've struggled from time to time with the "dirt" issue that I've thought was mustard algae. Not sure in the past what it was. But, after I slammed, I was still getting areas of the pool with the dirt, very similar to the last pic posted, but not as much. It develops in the same spots on the floor. I had my pool up to mustard level algae for 24 hours after the slam, but the "dirt" kept coming back. A few years back I was having a similar issue and also a clouded pool caused by residue coming off my fiberglass pool. At that time, it was recommended I use a Slimebag. It worked very well. I hadn't used the bag in a few years, but I just used it to see if I can address the current "dirt" issue. I'm still experimenting. But, when I attach the bag to one of my returns (i just have two returns) the problem does NOT appear. When I do this, the return the bag isn't attached to has significant less pressure. The pool clarity is amazing. When I remove the bag, both returns have great pressure, but then I'm getting the "dirt" back after 12 hours or so. Given the fact the bag, when in use in only one return, eliminates the problem, I'm pretty sure it's not mustard algae. I'm going to try to use the bag on the other jet to see what happens. But, I'm sharing this in the hopes that perhaps additional filtration help could solve the problem if it ends up not being algae. I know many add DE to a sand filter to help with filtration. I've not done that in a couple of of year, but if I may start doing this again if the bag, with its additional filtration capabilities, can eliminate the "dirt" issue.

Good advice above to clean out light niches. They tend to get very gross.
 
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