Pollen?? Do you know what this is??

[aesweeps]

Does anyone know what this is?? I've been fighting this stuff for a couple years now, I've had my pool for 10+ yrs, I've never had this issue until the past couple yrs. I thought I was fighting some form of algae but now not so sure. I was able to capture some with a turkey baster and placed in this vial for 2 days, it is filled with 1/2 pool water & 1/2 bleach 8.25%. Its brownish in color in this vial and kind of clumpy in some parts as shown in photos when I move the bottle. I thought maybe it could be sand also but again it does clump at times. It's always along the seams of the liner and scattered throughout in large patches on the floor, darker in color due to the larger amount, and is a orange/brownish color.

 

[AimeeH]

I'm thinking dead algae?

 

[pooldv]

Looks like dead algae to me. Have you done an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test recently?

 

[cholmes28]

I have the same thing in my pool. I have the exact same pool size and equipment as you do. I think it is dead algea. I have been fighting yellow staining on the pool bottom, all summer. When I brush, it clouds up, and if there is a lot, it will turn the pool dark & cloudy. If I don't brush at the first sight of the yellow, it gets progressively wors, to the point where if I wait a week, it is really bad. I did a SLAM in April which took about 12 days to pass the OCLT. CYA is 40, so I have been keeping FC at about 6-7. There have been a couple times, where I let it fall to 3-4, and the yellow is back. When I bring FC back up to about 7, 2 days later I get that exact same stuff collecting on seams, and in spots in the shallow end. I just vacuum it to filter, and the next day there is less, then vacuum again, etc... the last 2 years have been this routine. Before that, I never had these issues. My only guess is that by not brushing at least 2x per week, and letting FC drop to 3 even for 1 day, causes some algae to return, and by not starting another SLAM, I am just masking the fact that I have a little algae which requires me to pay more attention tot he pool by brushing more, vacuuming more, and adding bleach every day. It would be nice if I coule just do pool maintenance weekly, but I just can't.

 

[Topher55]

Sounds like algae that's barely holding on. I would slam, it should be quick one.

As far as getting the maintenance time down, I use a stenner which after dialed in you can get it down to a weekly testing and brushing with the occasional vacuuming. I also use a Polaris 280 which helps keep the bottom cleaned.

 

[KarenNJ]

weather.com has a pollen report which you can always check if you think you have high levels of pollen in the area.

 

[cholmes28]

I started looking at the stenner option, but they are pricey!