Mustard Algae type 2

[Sunny Sue]

Your new white gray squiggle lines look remarkably similar to mine. i had my pool above 50 fc overnight ( it didn’t register on my test kit) and it didn’t kill this stuff. It did lighten my liner though, lol! I have 0 ccs and pass the oclt. I also have sparkly water and yellow/taupe sand like junk build up on seam edges and in low spots. My gray squiggly lines are on the north side of the pool which gets the most sun and is closest to my one return jet. The squiggly lines run north and south.

What is interesting is that if I have my pump on low speed it doesn’t seem to produce as much sandy looking junk.

Do you have a lab where you could take a scraping of the gray squiggles to? This is really tough stuff!!

I have recently tested for phosphates and ammonia levels to see if that was the problem. Nope! Both tested at almost non-existent levels.

Best idea I can think of is to isolate this algae and get it identified. Then reach out to algae experts at one of the algae labs and see what their advice is for this particular strain.

Can any experts chime in on the gray lines? Has anyone else ever had these in their pool?

 

[Macrosill]

Sue,
My gray squiggly lines are not algae or any other substance. I have scrubbed them and they do not come off. They appeared the day after the drain and refill. Tey appear to be some sort of stain on the liner.

Last night there were only about 6 spots of this brown stuff. It seems less than the usual. I will check again tonight.

I have changed the water, the sand in the filter, then the filter itself, the chemicals and the test kit reagents. I started with nothing in the pool, not the ladder, no pool accessories, not even allowing people in. I have chlorinated upwards of 150% of CYA in the past years. Vacuumed, vacuumed to waste, brushed multiple times per day. Back washed the filter. I did not even hook up my solar heaters this year in hopes of keeping as many variables out of the equation.

Everything I previosly mentioned was done this year except changing the sand in my filter and I have not taken the FC level over 100% CYA.

This is why I have been dealing with this for 9 years. If I kee the pool after this year I may change the liner. This would give me a 100 percent water change. I will then get a new cartridge for the filter. I will even buy new hoses. I will also do a manual filter cleaning with a high strength bleach solution along with the skimmer. I will even buy a new ladder. If I keep the pool, IF, I am willing to replace the ladder as well. That will pretty much leave nothing of what I currently have. It is extreme but so is the hassle of vacuuming every day.

 

[pharmcoder]

I hesitate to post this because I don't want to upset anybody on the forum. I absolutely love this site and it has saved me money, time and heartache. But...my husband demanded that I change course or the pool was to be covered over for the winter ASAP. I have been battling something similar and have a thread open. I have done similar tactics as the 2 of you. My enemy started off looking like patches and streaks of sandy dirt (which is what I thought it was) while the water looked like glass. MY FC and CC would pass the OCLT, but I would see either light brown patches or white sandy patches on the floor and in the seams. There would be what looked like sand in the indents on the steps and in the skimmer surfaces. It started in the shallow end, but did end up in the deep end also. It seemed to brush up easily for a while, but then the vinyl started feeling somewhat slippery under the pool brush and some strange stuff started showing up that was difficult to brush or even vacuum. I brushed multiple times a day, vacuumed to waste, took the ladder out of the pool, and all equipment stays in the shallow end receiving treatment when not being used. I did this since mid-May. Okay....here it goes. I committed a TFP sin at the demand of my spouse....I researched and decided to use a chelated copper algaecide. I was scared to death to use it. The only other time I've ever added anything other than the basic minimal to our pool was Green to Clean for our first green algae outbreak (before finding this site). I have been keeping my FC at mustard algae SLAM level, started off with a pH of 7.3, have been brushing at least 2 times a day (brushing any recurring patches in between those 2 brushings), and have been running my VS pump on 2400 - 2900 RPMs 24/7. Those were also things that I was doing pre-algaecide. There has been a TON of rain here since starting the treatment, but within 12 hours I noticed that brushing created an unbelievable amount of "dust" clouds (even from the walls) and my pool was difficult to see into. And....it started to use up the chlorine. The first day resulted in a lot of light sandy colored patches. It almost seemed like it was fighting back....weird, I know. Yesterday, the pool was still cloudy, but I could see the floor better. Also, the brushing created sparse white dust clouds with only a few darker ones. The recurring spots had decreased tremendously and were only white dust. Today is the 3rd day. My FC is holding well and there is only the tiniest amount of white in one spot of the shallow end. I think this strain needs a 1-2 punch to be defeated. This is the 1st time since opening that the cycle appears to be different. I don't know why, but seems to be working.

You earlier asked to me know let you know if something worked for me. I'm not completely finished yet, but there is definite improvement.

 

[heyitsgabbs]

Algae thrive in higher pHs, your pH will go up using any "stabilizer" my pH was high when I started fighting the algae but is also due to the fact that its 108 in Texas right now....Baking soda does really well to raise TA without affecting the pH too much. If your pool is lacking in TA, and your Ph is high, pour in 1/2 pound of baking soda per 5000 gallons, wait a few and pour in bleach... I did this for two days and my pH lowered TA increase "some" and my FC and TC are doing MUCH better. Prior to increasing my TA, my pH was so high that I just couldn't use enough bleach or shock to make a dent in this stuff.

 

[kimkats]

High pH does not have much to do with algae thriving. Adding stabilizer aka CYA has very little affect on pH rising. In fact it tends to make the pH go down.

TA and pH go hand in hand. Once you get your TA in the sweet spot the pH will level out. Each pool is different so it may be a balancing act to find what your pool likes.

Here is a link you can look over: Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals

Here is the base for TFP: Pool School - ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

Kim TFP MOD

 

[Macrosill]

I hesitate to post this because I don't want to upset anybody on the forum. I absolutely love this site and it has saved me money, time and heartache. But...my husband demanded that I change course or the pool was to be covered over for the winter ASAP. I have been battling something similar and have a thread open. I have done similar tactics as the 2 of you. My enemy started off looking like patches and streaks of sandy dirt (which is what I thought it was) while the water looked like glass. MY FC and CC would pass the OCLT, but I would see either light brown patches or white sandy patches on the floor and in the seams. There would be what looked like sand in the indents on the steps and in the skimmer surfaces. It started in the shallow end, but did end up in the deep end also. It seemed to brush up easily for a while, but then the vinyl started feeling somewhat slippery under the pool brush and some strange stuff started showing up that was difficult to brush or even vacuum. I brushed multiple times a day, vacuumed to waste, took the ladder out of the pool, and all equipment stays in the shallow end receiving treatment when not being used. I did this since mid-May. Okay....here it goes. I committed a TFP sin at the demand of my spouse....I researched and decided to use a chelated copper algaecide. I was scared to death to use it. The only other time I've ever added anything other than the basic minimal to our pool was Green to Clean for our first green algae outbreak (before finding this site). I have been keeping my FC at mustard algae SLAM level, started off with a pH of 7.3, have been brushing at least 2 times a day (brushing any recurring patches in between those 2 brushings), and have been running my VS pump on 2400 - 2900 RPMs 24/7. Those were also things that I was doing pre-algaecide. There has been a TON of rain here since starting the treatment, but within 12 hours I noticed that brushing created an unbelievable amount of "dust" clouds (even from the walls) and my pool was difficult to see into. And....it started to use up the chlorine. The first day resulted in a lot of light sandy colored patches. It almost seemed like it was fighting back....weird, I know. Yesterday, the pool was still cloudy, but I could see the floor better. Also, the brushing created sparse white dust clouds with only a few darker ones. The recurring spots had decreased tremendously and were only white dust. Today is the 3rd day. My FC is holding well and there is only the tiniest amount of white in one spot of the shallow end. I think this strain needs a 1-2 punch to be defeated. This is the 1st time since opening that the cycle appears to be different. I don't know why, but seems to be working.

You earlier asked to me know let you know if something worked for me. I'm not completely finished yet, but there is definite improvement.

Fingers crossed for you. Let me know the final result. I have been on the edge of getting some Yellow out or Yellow Gone to try as nothing else is working.

 

[pharmcoder]

Thank you. I will definitely update you. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too.

 

[Sunny Sue]

Pharmcoder and Macrosill- I’m excited to see what happens with both of you! I have several types of “no-no’s” on hand but I haven’t gotten the guts up to do it yet to be honest. I am also now wondering if my squiggles that won’t brush up are stains also. I’ll be watching this thread for updates- keep us posted!!!

 

[pharmcoder]

I know exactly how you feel about the no-no's Sunny Sue. I had purchased both a sodium bromide algaecide and a copper chelated one. I was afraid to use any, but the copper chelated won because I was too afraid I'd mess up the chlorine level with the sodium bromide. I cringed as I added it to the pool. So, far the cycle has been broken, the pool is cloudy (It was crystal clear before, so something is dying...?) and what does show up is less and it's white. The weather here turned south the day I started.....torrential downpours.....I think Macrosill may be experiencing the same. I still go out in it and brush and add cal-hypo as needed, but not as frequently as I would like due to the weather severity at times. Even so, it still seems to be improving.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[Macrosill]

The saga continued this past swimming season. I was able to get rid of the "stuff" by using 6% poly from walmart. But if I let the chlorine slip too low the "stuff" would come back a bit. Round and round we went but at least I was able to keep the floor of the pool clear of the brown stuff.

A couple weeks ago it was time to close the pool. Since my liner was very bleached out from the years of high chlorine dosing I decided it was time to replace it. I drained the pool. I then cut the liner around the top ledge, nothing out of the ordinary thus far. I then cut the walls of the liner just above the floor. Again, nothing to see here. Now is where the interesting part starts. As I started to cut the floor I noticed it was not as flexible as the walls were. The floor was very brittle and cracked a lot as I tried to cut it with a new utility knife blade. Once I was ble to get some of the floor pieces up I was greeted with lots of green and brown algae under the liner. Some spots were wet with a thick gellatinous algae goo. Very slippery and wet.

I am thinking the floor of the liner was brittle and possibly had very small cracks allowing water to keep the ground under the liner wet enough for the algae to grow and also allow the algae to grow into the pool. This may explain why the SLAM process was not able to rid the pool of the stuff I have been dealing with for over 10 years. I also did have some water loss that was more than I would expect from evaporation alone but never saw any water outside of the pool that would lead to thinking there was a hole in the liner.

Here are some pictures. It was much worse than shows up in the pictures.

Thoughts?

 

[tstex]

M,

I would certainly apply a lot of bleach to the algae below the liner. Perhaps even removing the top 2-3 inches of soil and replacing it w sand...that would also provide a nice footing.

You might want to take some of the flooring and determine if it was permeable to diffuse water through it downward. however, the weight of the water downward might be too much to prevent upward migration, but you'd have to do the math.

Good luck, tstex