Sudden Algae Issue

[jbird0215]

I was cruising along nicely with my first season with TFP but maybe I got too complacent. I’ve noticed the pool getting cloudier and I’m brushing a bunch of green stuff off the bottom. Running my Polaris about 2 hours per day but I’m having to get him unstuck a lot lately. Pool readings up to date in Pool Math and nothing is out of the normal ranges as far as I can tell. Any ideas what may be the cause and how to remediate?

 

[YippeeSkippy]

You've been adding a lot CYA but don't seem to testing afterwards. What's your goal for CYA and have you kept your FC up at the appropriate level?? FC/CYA Levels

Maddie

 

[jbird0215]

Yes I’ve been running between 60-70 and have slowly been adding stabilizer to get it to 70-80. Just tested and I’m between 70-80 now and rounded up to 80.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Ok....time for a full set of test results.

 

[Richard320]

Looking at the logs, I'd agree that complacent is the word. Lots of gaps there where swimmers could have depleted the FC and the SWG took a few days to bring it back. Backwashing monthly seems a bit much as well.

 

[jbird0215]

I screenshotted the results. Everything is in the normal range. I was planning to run the filter overnight. Im also going to remove a light housing tomorrow as I’m noticing a lot of green buildup around it. Guess I will go to SLAM as a last resort. Does this sound like a good plan?

 

[jbird0215]

Yep didn’t think about FC dropping below the threshold in between my general lack of diligence. The pool has also received the most swimmer action over the last 4 weeks so it probably dropped low enough at some point to give the algae a toehold. Guess a SLAM is in my future - does that sound like the right next step?

 

[Richard320]

Yep didn’t think about FC dropping below the threshold in between my general lack of diligence. The pool has also received the most swimmer action over the last 4 weeks so it probably dropped low enough at some point to give the algae a toehold. Guess a SLAM is in my future - does that sound like the right next step?

Yep. Get mean and get at the light and any ladders or steps and inside the skimmer real good with the brush. The sooner you start and the more you brush, the faster it will finish. You can let the FC dip a bit below SLAM level and put the kids in with brushes and make them work then boost the FC again and get aa good kill on things.

 

[kellyfair]

Once you are done SLAMming, you can use liquid chlorine to give FC a boost with heavy use, rather than relying on the SWG. SWGs are great for maintaining once FC is where it needs to be, but not for giving it a kickstart.

 

[jbird0215]

Once you are done SLAMming, you can use liquid chlorine to give FC a boost with heavy use, rather than relying on the SWG. SWGs are great for maintaining once FC is where it needs to be, but not for giving it a kickstart.

Good to know. Thank you.

 

[jbird0215]

Passed SLAM in 3 days and back to “crystal clean” as my 4 yr old likes to say. I just didn’t realize how much bather load could impact FC so I’ll keep a closer watch on that going forward. And test daily. Thanks for the sound advice.

 

[kellyfair]

Looks great!

 

[DorsalSpine]

A little history helps a lot, if you will test and log your results before and after a pool party. I have a pretty good idea now of how much to add after a party to keep my FC levels up until I can test the next day.