Mustard Algae or silt?

[Poolnoobbuddy]

I am needing help. I bought my house in December and in may when i opened my pool there was a whitish brown stuff on the bottom. it appeared to be sand and i believe it was. The stairs were held down with a bag of sand that was leaking sand and plastic. I replaced that. it still seemed to be sand or something in the pool but i wasnt sure. I ended up replacing the sand in the pool filter and i didnt see any cracks in anything but its possible i didnt look enough.

(If i brush the stuff it puffs up into a cloud and dissipates) which makes me believe it isnt sand. And it doesn't seem coarse when i feel it in my skimmer sock. It kinda feels slimy but not super slimy.

well its been the whole summer and ive been fighting this. I finally decided that maybe it was mustard algae after reading some posts and started slamming the other day. However im wondering if thats it as ige been maintaining fc of 30+ with cya of 75~ and vacuuming the stuff to waste each day and sometimes multiple times each day. but i noticed when i turn my pump to high a big cloud of dust/silt or something comes out of the filter. it appears to happen when pump is on low also but not as big and barely noticeable. when i noticed that i backwashed even though psi wasn't high and th water was super dirty. i then rinsed and the next day same thing turn pump on high and big cloud of dust or silt or algae.

Im just wondering if the filter is the issue. The dust or whatever it is seems to grow If i dont do anything and it seems to mostly go in the same spots on the bottom of the pool. although i replaced the pool return jet and that seems to make it change where it accumulates.

I currently have vaccumed to waste and switched pump to recirculate to bypass the pump. I assume if i leave it on this and the dust doesnt grow its the filter?

Does anyone have any other recommendations of what it could be while i wait to see. I have pictures attached. If it is should i replace with a de filter. Looking up replacement parts of the filter makes me think of just buying a new one.

 

[pharmcoder]

Based on your pictures and your description of "(If i brush the stuff it puffs up into a cloud and dissipates) which makes me believe it isnt sand. And it doesn't seem coarse when i feel it in my skimmer sock. It kinda feels slimy but not super slimy," It is like the mustard algae I deal with.

However, you have other things mentioned that I don't have in my case, such as sand bags and a sand filter (I have a DE filter).

Hopefully somebody with experience and or knowledge of those things can help tease out whether or not it is what I deal with.

They will probably ask you to fill in the signature so they can see the specifics on the pool and they will probably ask how you test your pool chemistry (strips, store, kit....).

 

[aeh0603]

Hi! Welcome to TFP!

From your description it sounds like dead algae and maybe a filter problem. Your description and pictures sound more like regular algae than mustard algae. Mustard algae favors growing on the walls and floor in the shady areas of the pool. Your pictures appear to be showing dead algae accumulating on the floor in little piles. I don't have any experience with troubleshooting sand filters, but for the algae following the SLAM Process is the best way to get rid of it. It sounds like you have already started your SLAM which is great, but I have some questions for you.

1. When did you start your SLAM? For a CYA of 75 we round up to 80, so per the FC/CYA Chart your SLAM level is 31FC. You should test and dose your FC up to 31 a minimum of 3 times per day until you pass all 3 criteria to end your SLAM.
2. How are you testing your water? Do you have/are you using one of the two recommended test kits? (Taylor k2006C or TF100).
3. Did you run a full set of tests before starting your SLAM? During SLAM you only need to test FC (and sometimes CC).
4. Did you lower your pH to 7.2 before starting your SLAM? Please note, the pH test is not valid with an FC over 10.
5. Are you brushing your pool at least once a day? This is an important step because algae can form a biofilm that makes it resistant to chlorine. Brushing disrupts that biofilm and allows the chlorine to kill the algae faster.
6. Are you backwashing your filter when the pressure rises 25% above the clean pressure?

 

[JamesW]

Is there any yellow color?

If yes, it's probably mustard algae.

 

[Poolnoobbuddy]

Sorry i have updated my signature to include my pool information. but to start the alagae or whatever it is only goes to the bottom of the pool not the side. My ph was at 7.2 when i did try to slam(although life got in the way so i wasnt able to keep it up after 2 days) i will be able to start again here soon to completion.
After looking at it i know my test kit doesn't measure high enough for the fc but i have been diluting it with distilled water to get close to what it is. This picture is today. Yesterday after work i vaccumed my pool to where i seen none of this stuff. I then turned my pump off and filter to closed. This is what i see today. Some of this stuff right in the middle. I dont know if i should vaccum it or see if it grows.
It may be an issue with the filter idk but i know when changing the setting on it it sometimes leaks water into the waste hose. So im not sure if that's whats causing it. But as i said everytime i get close with a brush it poofs up into a cloud. When i was trying the slam i was brushing multiple times a day.

As for color its hard to say if its yellow or brown or a combo.

Once again any help is appreciated

 

[Poolnoobbuddy]

Update i left the pool pump and fitler off and closed another night and the stuff doesnt look like it has grown or gotten bigger or if it has not by much. Its still only in the middle of the pool where it used to gather closer to the wall in lines. so maybe it is dead algae and my filter is sending stuff into the pool? What do you guys think i am assuming if it was algae it would grow and get bigger over 2 nights

 

[jlt19]

Based on my very limited experience, it looks like dead algae. It's probably settling in little divets in your liner.

I've battled this off and on all summer and finally pulled my ladder when it got swampy. It began clearing so fast.

When you backwash, are you rinsing after for 30+sec?

Have you tried deep cleaning the filter?

I do know that during the slam you're supposed to keep your pump running 24/7.

 

[Poolnoobbuddy]

Ok. So I tested all my levels again yesterday and this morning. I have been trying to just maintain my levels as I haven't been able to keep the slam up and will have to do that again here soon. Here are my levels though from yesterday and this morning down below in a chart.

I am still unsure whether it is algae or not. I do know my filter has some issues though. It is definitely leaking water and the multi-port Valve doesn't 100% work the way it should. On the Filter option this morning I noticed the back wash hose had plumped back up from back washing and rinsing yesterday. I had the water level up to about mid level on the skimmer and this morning and was at the bottom. So that definitely isn't good. But anyway here are my levels

My 9/8 CYA test I think was wrong. I don't think i waited the full time to test it with my kit. Anyway I only lost 1ppm of FC over 2 days and CC would be less than .5 on any of them. I still am unsure if it is algae but its hard to say. It sure seems like it.

	9/8	9/9 around 4pm CT	9/9 around 9:30-10 PM CT	9/10 5AM CT
FC	6.06	5.1	4.87	5.03
TC	6.14	5.1	4.87	5.03
PH	7.7	7.8	7.8	7.5 (added Muriatic Acid after testing night before)
ALK	196	208	193	211
CH	173	167	176	165
CYA	39(Believe this test was wrong)	63	63	63

 

[RMcGirr83]

With CYA at 63, your FC needs to be and maintained at 7-9. None of your test results state that so I believe your FC is low.

 

[Poolnoobbuddy]

With CYA at 63, your FC needs to be and maintained at 7-9. None of your test results state that so I believe your FC is low.

So the FC got to this level after over a Week not adding chlorine back to the pool. I plan to get my FC back up this evening after lowering my PH a little more. I had my FC over 30 while trying to slam(before getting busy and not keeping up with it). I have slowly been lowering my CYA due to stupid test strips saying cya over 100 was fine and chlorine tabs raising that without me knowing what it was. (first year with a pool and all).

But with that being said The algae or w/e it is appeared to be there when i opened the pool in may also. But once again I was following the strips and keeping 3-5 FC before. So if my FC is below 7-9 algae can grow with CYA of 63? Also I have seen the chart here about Recommend levels for Chlorine/CYA. I had been following other things including the test strips of FC 3-5 is safe anything more is not recommended to swim in. I wish I would have found this site when I first opened my pool.

 

[jlt19]

So the FC got to this level after over a Week not adding chlorine back to the pool. I plan to get my FC back up this evening after lowering my PH a little more. I had my FC over 30 while trying to slam(before getting busy and not keeping up with it). I have slowly been lowering my CYA due to stupid test strips saying cya over 100 was fine and chlorine tabs raising that without me knowing what it was. (first year with a pool and all).

But with that being said The algae or w/e it is appeared to be there when i opened the pool in may also. But once again I was following the strips and keeping 3-5 FC before. So if my FC is below 7-9 algae can grow with CYA of 63? Also I have seen the chart here about Recommend levels for Chlorine/CYA. I had been following other things including the test strips of FC 3-5 is safe anything more is not recommended to swim in. I wish I would have found this site when I first opened my pool.

I'm in a very similar situation as you (first year owning a pool, battling algae, just finding this site at the end of the season). But, think of it this way, we'll close soon (if you city is the one close to mine) and then we'll open with all of this new found knowledge and have a great summer next year with perfectly clear pools (knock on wood). We had a bad summer anyway with the weather so just chalk it up to beginners non-luck and be thankful we're lucky enough to have found TFP in our first year, rather than our 10th and think about all the money we'll save going forward.

I would have the pump looked at though b/c losing that much water in filter mode is concerning.

 

[duraleigh]

You have algae. I am not sure if it is dead or alive but, regardless, you need to SLAM the pool ASAP to get your water and pool crystal clear.

What are you testing with....colorQ?

 

[RMcGirr83]

What are you testing with....colorQ?

Per op sig probably and nothing wrong with that for FC test.

 

[duraleigh]

Oops! Sorry, I didn't see the colorQ in your sig.