Mustard Algae how to get the dead clumps up for good

TRAE50

Member
Sep 18, 2022
7
East Otis, MA
Hello,
I have a 18 x 33 oval pool with a Hayward 23" sand filter 1.5 hp. I use the pool frog tender with minerals and my filter system isn't sand but the filtra balls.
Last year we only used the pool a few times, but it remained clear. This year it started off great with clear water, but after two weeks of hot weather we developed mustard algae.
Our Chlorine level remained 0.5 pp as suggested by the frog mineral system, but our hardness was low. I have been having difficulty keeping up the hardness for some reason.

Well we developed mustard algae. We shocked the heck out of it, washed the walls twice, cleaned all of the equipment, even spent $$$ on new filtra balls. BTW when we emptied the hayward filtra tank it was brown water. Pretty gross. Now we have fine dead gray algae masses at the bottom of the pool which we keep trying to vacuum up but the stuff is like fine powder. My husband is vacuuming to waste and we are running our system almost 24/7. But each day more settles to the bottom. I was told we can't use flocculant or clarifier with the mineral system so how do we get this up? When can we swim again?
Our chemicals are regulated except we have a high chlorine level which we were told to maintain to make sure all of the algae dies. Water is crystal clear except when trying to vacuum it up and it stirs about.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Reading through your post, it does not appear as though you've fully embraced the TFP method of pool care. It's not too late to start. Hold off on swimming until you can ensure your water is safe to do so.

Can you tell us what type of a test kit you're using?

If you have one of the recommended test kits, could you post a full set of test results (Test Kits Compared)?

To completely rid your pool of the algae, you need to complete the SLAM Process. This is much more than just shocking. Please read through the article.

Here is some more reading material that may assist you..
Pool Care Basics
 
Get rid of the filter balls, as you have seen they get extremely gross quick and are not as good as #20 sand. Ditch the Frog system, read through pool school on here and get your own test kit TFtestkits.net
DO NOT USE FLOCC!! Follow the advice from TFP and stay out of the pool stores and you could have a pool so clear the water disappears How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Only Please).
 
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