Pecan tree sap (honeydew)

[raskle]

I am writing this as a record of my steps in dealing with a situation I'm sure many of my neighbors in Texas are dealing with.

In central Texas, the pecan trees are occasionally infested with aphids in late summer. The aphids will suck sap from the underside of the leaves. The sap is under so much pressure from the leaf that most of it passes straight through its digestive system and is excreted in the form of a sweet sticky honeydew. Every surface in Austin near a pecan tree is sticky right now, with a thick layer of honeydew raining down from the trees, including my pool.

As a result of this honeydew rain, our pool has been cloudy for the past few weeks. I was able to keep up by SLAMing it a few times a week (way more than usual), but then we took a trip for a week. During that time, the chlorine level was not maintained well and dropped to zero for several days. We came back to a green cloudy swamp.

I restarted the SLAM process and realized something was way off. The pool was consuming chlorine in under an hour. So I did a full suite of tests to discover that the CYA level had dropped from 35 to 5.
I've been following the steps in this article, assuming that bacteria have consumed the CYA and converted it to ammonia.

Ammonia - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

I slammed the pool 10x until the OCLT finally held for the past 2 nights.
I am 5 days into this process, having cleaned the cartridges halfway through.
The water is still cloudy, but I can see the deep end, and the green algae were gone after the 1st day.

As we are approaching October with cooler weather, how concerned should I be with bringing up the CYA level?
Can I slowly bring it up with dichlor over the winter as my main chlorinator vs liquid chlorine?
Also, after a situation like this one is similar to someone dumping 5 gallons of syrup in your pool. What is a reasonable timeframe for the water to clear up?

I will continue to document my results until the leaves fall off.

FC 10
CC <1
pH 7.0
TA 120
CH 600
CYA 5.0 (got this from the pool store)

 

[wireform]

You absolutely need a minimum of 30 CYA and the best and fastest way to get it is granular stabilizer via the sock method otherwise the FC during the day can't do much as it gets consumed by the uv. You're not out of slam until all 3 criteria are met hence your water is still cloudy so you're not done. The OCLT isn't necessary until the water is clear.

 

[Newdude]

I was able to keep up by SLAMing it a few times a week (way more than usual),

I slammed the pool 10x until the OCLT finally held for the past 2 nights.

The M stands for Maintain. It's a process and not a one time 'dump and pray'. Have another read for a refresher. The more times you go through it, the more things stick. ask away at any step.

SLAM Process

 

[proavia]

Do a CYA test using your K-2006 and post the result here.
Pool stores get the CYA test wrong most of the time.

 

[raskle]

I initially tried to test the CYA with the K-2006, but it is clearly below the scale it can measure (30 PPM). Hence I went to the pool store to get an idea of where it was.
Is there a more accurate testing method I can use for CYA levels below 30?

On the plus side, the pool water is nearly clear this afternoon.

In reference to the SLAM process, that is a good point that M stands for maintain. I meant to express that between testing cycles, the chlorine level would frequently drop down to zero.

Also thanks for the advice on the OCLT test. I assumed this was an important milestone before the water was clear.

One more data point in this saga. My next door neighbor has a similar issue with a pecan tree and was able to maintain chlorine levels throughout the rain of sap (or so he claims).
Still, his CYA level dropped to zero over the same period.
I'm not sure if he, too had a bacterial bloom from the added sugar or if there was some other reaction going on.

 

[Newdude]

Is there a more accurate testing method I can use for CYA levels below 30?

No. 20 and under are sketchy at best. Heck, 30 and above are sketchy at best which is why we round up and only use the '10s'. Add 15ppm of CYA ganuals in a sock suspended carrot on a stick like in front of a return. Add 10 more if that doesn't register a 30. once it's soaking in the pool, count it as there for maintaining your FC / SLAM.

I meant to express that between testing cycles, the chlorine level would frequently drop down to zero.

OK gotcha!!! You always want to keep it at SLAM level the best you can. If it's getting down to 0, not only do you clearly have orga needing killing, the process will take longer not being elevated.

 

[Drew80]

I know this is an older post, but I'm replying in solidarity. I too am in Austin and I've been fighting aphids for over a year. We had to spray the back yard again this year and I'm again fighting pool chlorine issues. I posted about it last summer and no one on the forum seemed to know anything about it. I think we have a unique situation in central Texas.

For those interested, aphids will absolutely WRECK your pool. I keep my FC at 10 normally, but even that isn't enough when aphids strike. A good rain will wash the honeydew into the pool and destroy the chlorine in a matter of minutes, then something goes to work on the CYA and reduces it to 0 too. I did a SLAM a few days ago to kill the last round, then the rain this morning did it again. FC was 15 and water was clear as of last night, and the pool is cloudy again this morning after a small rain. I just brought it back up to shock level to start the process over.

 

[Scoop]

I live in the Dallas-Ft worth area (Tx) & I had the same problem for several years when I had 3 main Pecan Tree branches overhanging part of my pool. I cut those branches out of the tree & have had much better Pool balance results since that time. It also greatly reduced the pecan debris (Squirrels) falling into the pool which probably contributed to the need to SLAM despite good pool balance numbers always maintained.

As you mentioned, nothing prevented the necessity of SLAM'ing some falls, usually late Aug into Sept & occasionally a 2nd time in October.

Prior to those SLAM's, my Pool balance was good, PC/CYA ratio good, pH good, etc.

The 3 large Pecan Tree Branches were removed in Sept '19 .

The last main SLAM was done in October '18 & lasted 6.5 Weeks. That fall, the Aphid season was heavy with SAP (mostly a by-product of the Aphids eating the tree leaves) everywhere besides in the pool, on the cement Deck, Deck Table, nearby shrubs, etc.

Since then I've only had to SLAM one time further in October-November '22 for 11 days. I think the SLAM was needed due to a little overhang on the shallow end of my Pool from very high branches.

This year, there's been no issue with the pool, no SLAM needed. I believe the reason was due to a very hot summer, mostly in August which (guessing) greatly reduced or eliminated the Aphid presence in the tree.

 

[Mdragger88]

I know this is an older post, but I'm replying in solidarity. I too am in Austin and I've been fighting aphids for over a year. We had to spray the back yard again this year and I'm again fighting pool chlorine issues. I posted about it last summer and no one on the forum seemed to know anything about it. I think we have a unique situation in central Texas.

For those interested, aphids will absolutely WRECK your pool. I keep my FC at 10 normally, but even that isn't enough when aphids strike. A good rain will wash the honeydew into the pool and destroy the chlorine in a matter of minutes, then something goes to work on the CYA and reduces it to 0 too. I did a SLAM a few days ago to kill the last round, then the rain this morning did it again. FC was 15 and water was clear as of last night, and the pool is cloudy again this morning after a small rain. I just brought it back up to shock level to start the process over.

Certainly not a fun situation! Keep maintaining slam level until you completely pass all 3 criteria. Feel free to start a new thread about your journey with the sap & aphids. We have several pecan trees too but thankfully they are not near the pool or anything really as they are quite messy. We’re rooting for you!

 

[Scoop]

Certainly not a fun situation! Keep maintaining slam level until you completely pass all 3 criteria. Feel free to start a new thread about your journey with the sap & aphids. We have several pecan trees too but thankfully they are not near the pool or anything really as they are quite messy. We’re rooting for you!

Thanks . Since removing the 3 main overhanging tree branches, the Pool Aphid/SAP issue is basically gone along with almost all of the Squirrel Pecan debris.

One thing's certain; the SLAM process works like a charm . The main point I've learned during the few SLAM's I've had to do over the years is "patience is the key". I've seen SLAM's where the OCLT test trends down, almost passing then will spike back up but when maintaining the SLAM methodology, success is assured.