Need help BAD! ***pics***

Oct 19, 2010
45
1st thank you for reading... I have a bad black algae problem in my pool, I just tried to pressure wash it, pool is drained, but it had zero effect on the algae. I have mixed a chlorine paste to wipe on the side of the walls over the black algae spots. This seems to help reduce the color but also kind of turns my plaster blue. Im not sure what to do at this point... my pool was just acid washed in March and hasnt had a problem I have seen since Ive owned the house 2.5 years ago... Im in AZ pools about 10-15,000 in ground w/sand filter

Any thoughts on what I can do?
 
Re: Need help BAD!

i can but right now they are covered in chlorine, The spots are a very dark green... I had lots of trouble with the pool vac this year and my water got trashed, so then i drained and acid washed, I dont think I kept the water levels correct and generally just exhibited neglect, lots of trips ect... its not slimy like most post say BA should be, its rough but my plaster is on the way out i believe... overall the pool is rough to the touch. The more I neglected the pool the more spots would show up scattered around the pool. The chlorine rub right now is helping with the color but also turning my plaster blue... after I wash it off in the morning i will snap some photos, i wish i thought to do that before...

Thanks will the help ; )
 
Re: Need help BAD!

Ok so here are some images, you will see the blue discoloration from the chlorine wash (im guessing this will gradually go away when the pool is refilled or hoping!) the stains where all dark dark green and now have faded to a light grayish tone.



5099284001_d902066cbf.jpg


5099882248_73cb751fb5.jpg


5099882070_8d296c50be.jpg


5099283537_9c7e6b785d.jpg
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Spray some diluted muriatic acid on it. To me, it looks like your pool plaster is blue, and you have a coating of white scale over almost the whole surface. What was your "chlorine paste" made of? If it was made of trichlor or dichlor, they are acidic and could have dissolved some of that white coating.

If calcium scale gets stained, the color will be embedded in the scale and can't be removed unless the scale is. Your plaster is definitely on the way out, I can see a delamination right on the edge of the shelf in your last picture.

Where in AZ are you?
 
Scotts/PHX line... Yea I was told the plaster was on it last layer ; ( after my acid wash in March... Now if you are saying that my entire pool is coated in Cal Scale that's crazy and hard to comprehend! g'z that would be terrible... the pool is almost marbleized with blue faint blue lines on the white (i thought this was from the chemicals i was dumping into the water)... but obviously the Chlorine Paste I made turned the areas blue where is was spread...

here are the chems i use

Paste (i made) (and would use as shock for the pool)
http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 00/I/12055

Pucks
http://www.lesliespool.com/browse/Home/ ... 00/I/12439
 
Ok so I did some more work, lil power washing seems as tho the water got those blue stains dissolved and I used a 50/50 Acid on some areas where the stains where more stubborn, but mostly water did the trick... Now here are some shots of the plaster and whats left of the stains... the stains are now solid grayish white, Im not sure where to go from here but the pool looks much much better, the plaster is overall aqua in tone with some areas of a brighter white.

5100974728_1664f399f3.jpg


5100378015_f4595d32ba.jpg


5100377897_8dca999be4.jpg


5100377745_89cf109545.jpg


5101000006_439cafa061.jpg
 
Nice work. The pool doesn't look too bad. If you want to pursue it further, you might try a 3:1 dilution of muriatic acid directly on an inconspicuous stain. If it foams up, it is likely removing calcium scale.

While calcium is not green, algae can thrive in calcium scale and discolor it from green to brown. That may be what happened in your case.

Now, that said, understand that everyone is guessing as to what may be wrong but there is one thing for sure.....to prevent it from happening again, you will have to manage your pool chemistry better. There's lot's of articles in Pool School and this forum will help you as much as you want. Tossing stuff in your pool without careful dosing and testing will lead you right back to the same conditions you are now getting cleared up.
 
I will give that a shot along with a little sun, then i'm going to fill her up, read about this BBB thing and get a solid test kit. Any recommendations? I did use a lil CLR on a spot it foamed up nicely but didnt really remove anything, I didnt leave it on for too long because I dont know what kind of effects it might have on the plaster... but it does look calcified to my eye, and had me thinking whatever algae it was may have lived on top of the calcium... ect... tough to say because im by far no pool expert!
 
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.