Hey everyone! Finally decided to join TFP after following several threads on here 
. I've learned a lot of good stuff over the past several weeks from this forum. Now I need some help. For the past 3 months I've been battling some sort of mustard algae/pollen that won't go away. I removed the lights/stairs, vacuumed, and brushed before shocking the pool overnight and raised the chlorine to about 40ppm (Based on the pool math calculator. I didn't have a kit that read high chlorine levels at the time). I did this for two days scrubbing at least 4x a day and the pool was crystal clear. The next day the mustard/pollen algae came back slowly collecting at the bottom of the pool. Now, there's a good amount at the bottom.
I decided to buy a TF-100 kit to follow the SLAM recipe as close as possible. Instead of vacuuming this time I scrubbed the entire pool at night (11:30p.m.), and raised my FC to about 33ppm. I checked my chlorine again in the morning(8:00a.m.) and my CC was ~1.0ppm , and my OCLT was ~1.5ppm which sounds reasonable, but the whole pool was covered again in algae/pollen.
Once the chlorine settled I decided to jump in the pool and grab the substance. It didn't feel slimy but it disappeared in my hand. I'm not really sure what the substance is or what to do next. I do have a few questions:
1. Would pollen settle down at the bottom of the pool? I've read pollen only floats.
2. Can it be mustard algae even though I was at mustard algae levels? I heard algae won't grow at these levels.
3. Could it be dead algae pouring out of the sand filter even though I backwashed/rinsed?
Details about the above ground pool:
20,000 Gallons
CYA: 55
pH : 7.6
Filter : Sand
Chlorine: Liquid
Sorry if I missed any details. I'm still learning as I go.
. I've learned a lot of good stuff over the past several weeks from this forum. Now I need some help. For the past 3 months I've been battling some sort of mustard algae/pollen that won't go away. I removed the lights/stairs, vacuumed, and brushed before shocking the pool overnight and raised the chlorine to about 40ppm (Based on the pool math calculator. I didn't have a kit that read high chlorine levels at the time). I did this for two days scrubbing at least 4x a day and the pool was crystal clear. The next day the mustard/pollen algae came back slowly collecting at the bottom of the pool. Now, there's a good amount at the bottom.I decided to buy a TF-100 kit to follow the SLAM recipe as close as possible. Instead of vacuuming this time I scrubbed the entire pool at night (11:30p.m.), and raised my FC to about 33ppm. I checked my chlorine again in the morning(8:00a.m.) and my CC was ~1.0ppm , and my OCLT was ~1.5ppm which sounds reasonable, but the whole pool was covered again in algae/pollen.
Once the chlorine settled I decided to jump in the pool and grab the substance. It didn't feel slimy but it disappeared in my hand. I'm not really sure what the substance is or what to do next. I do have a few questions:
1. Would pollen settle down at the bottom of the pool? I've read pollen only floats.
2. Can it be mustard algae even though I was at mustard algae levels? I heard algae won't grow at these levels.
3. Could it be dead algae pouring out of the sand filter even though I backwashed/rinsed?
Details about the above ground pool:
20,000 Gallons
CYA: 55
pH : 7.6
Filter : Sand
Chlorine: Liquid
Sorry if I missed any details. I'm still learning as I go.
Okay, so you are seeing what many of us are right now .... LOTS of debris floating around and falling onto our cars and in our pools. I suspect much of what you see floating around is simply the remnants of stuff blooming like crazy, then it quickly gets waterlogged and sinks. Do you have algae as well? Perhaps, although a good overnight (OCLT) test might be in order so that you aren't just SLAMming for no reason. Mustard Algae (MA) is not as common as many think, and it's fairly stubborn by finding a place to dwell in the shade. Even if it was MA, a normal SLAM is a must first.
I would still encourage you to keep the pool swept, brush if you can, and backwash when the pressure increases by 20-25% from your "clean" starting pressure. Ignore the pH tests when your FC is over 10 as it indicates a false high reading. We'll confirm pH later. Just focus on the FC only for now. Once you are able to do the OCLT, let us know how you did. Hope that helps, and great to have you with us.
