Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Algae problems in swimming pool water.
Green (cloudy) water or slimy pool walls.
Black algae. Mustard algae. Pink or white pool mold.
apoemge

Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Postby apoemge » Wed 13 Aug, 2014 09:13

My Pool- Above Ground, vinyl liner. Sand Filter
Currently using Chlorine for the chemicals.
Size- Um... 4 feet deep and big- I want to say 18 feet across (?)Does that sound like it could be right? It's round.

The Problem and what I've done to date:

When we opened the pool this year it had LOTS of green algae that was floating in chunks all around the bottom of the pool. We used one of those vaccuums that you connect to your hose and it pushes the water into a net that catches the leaves and algae. That picked up a large part of the algae. We then shocked it and added chemicals and started swimming.

The thought was that as we swam we would kick up the little bit of 'stuff' on the bottom and it would be filtered out. That isn't what happened.

So I have also tried sewing another bag that is not a net for the hose vaccuum. The net this vacuum came with will pick up big stuff but this stuff is too small and just goes through the net. I spent an hour and a half yesterday trying to see if that would work. It seemed to but when I looked in the bag there was nothing to show - very little algae.

If I turn on that vaccuum with no net/bag and just let the water shoot out it will push everything up and you can tell that this is very small chunks of algae that is dark green/gray/black in color.

Recently I noticed that since this stuff mostly sits on the bottom of the pool that under it if you run your feet across it (ICK GROSS) that the algae is not flush on the bottom and also under it it's starting to get slick.

Other useful Information:
We live in an area that is quite dusty/windy and so little dust particles often blow into our pool, even with a cover on it.

Currently:
The water is blue. The PH is low and the Chlorine is on the high end. (Just shocked it)
On the bottom of the pool is dust and very small specks of algae that are dark green/gray/blackish.
I am guessing that the algae is dead based on the color and the amount of chlorine. Now the question is- how do I get it out?

I have a vaccuum that I could put into the pool and let it go out through the filter. right now though there is enough dirt/algae that it vacuums for two minutes max and the filter needs to be backwashed. I don't mind doing that but my husband swears that we'll never be able to backwash the filter enough to get all of the algae/dirt out and that the filter would have to be completely cleaned out in order to get it working again.

What are my options?
Can I vaccuum it and assume my husband is wrong? Is there some chemical that will break up this stuff even smaller so it can easily be filtered? Do I just need to spend more time with my home made bag on the vacuum trying to get more of this junk out?

I'd like to have another soluntion that draining it and refilling it because I am thinking we will have this problem every year when we open our pool (this is our first year opening it, last year we just got it set up).

Help! Thoughts? Comments?


apoemge

Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Postby apoemge » Wed 13 Aug, 2014 13:26

I see that a lot of you have looked at this, but no help yet???
I made it wordy because I read the first post about posting on this forum and all the information I'm supposed to include in it.

Please someone help.

Really what I'm looking for is this:
There are tiny chunks of algae and maybe some dust floating on the bottom of my pool. How in the world do I get it out???

It is not getting kicked up when we swim and thus not getting sucked up into the filter.
It is too small to use a sweeper/hose vacuum thingy because it goes straight through the net and the pocket I made for this doesn't seem to be working.

Can I use the vaccuum and just backwash my filter a lot? Or is my husband correct that if I use the vaccuum that goes through the filter I will mess up our sand filter and/or never get it out of there? Is there another option?
Denniswiseman
Pool Industry Leader
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My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Postby Denniswiseman » Fri 29 Aug, 2014 05:02

Hi

I haven't had a lot of problems with algae but my suggestions are

For the bulk, vacuum to waste, make sure you don't let the water go to low before refilling, you may wish to overfill before starting vacuuming

You have a sand filter, so put a calorifier into your pump basket, allow it to deposit in the sand filter and vacuum through the filter and then backwash
If you notice any more small particles, redo the above
With the correct algae treatment you should have a sparkling clean pool
PoolCleanup
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Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Postby PoolCleanup » Tue 21 Oct, 2014 20:53

If you have a multiport (push-pull) then vacuum the pool to drain and if you have a regular multiport valve with a circular dial then put it on waste and vacuum the pool. Before doing either of the 2 options, please make sure the pool is filled all the way to the point of overflow because you will be losing a lot of water in the process of vacuuming the pool.

If you have sand which has a lot of algae in the filter already and hasn't been replaced in the last 5 years then its a good time to replace the sand in the filter. Temporary solution would be putting 1/4 gallon muriatic acid into the skimmer closer to the filter and letting it work on the dirty sand in the filter.

Sam Bhullar
Engineer & Pool Expert
http://www.poolcleanup.com
Denniswiseman
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2592
Joined: Tue 06 Sep, 2011 05:48
My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Postby Denniswiseman » Wed 22 Oct, 2014 04:36

Most posts don't recommend putting muriatic acid into the skimmer because of the possibility of affecting the metal in the filtration system, it is suggested putting it into the pool and then brushing to disperse it
PoolCleanup
I'm new here
I'm new here
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue 21 Oct, 2014 20:28
Location: Houston, Texas

Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Postby PoolCleanup » Wed 22 Oct, 2014 19:15

Denniswiseman,

Thats why I wrote its a temporary solution for pool owners who do not want to do the right thing by spending some money and getting the sand & laterals replaced.

Sam Bhullar
Engineer & Pool Expert
http://www.poolcleanup.com
Denniswiseman
Pool Industry Leader
Pool Industry Leader
Posts: 2592
Joined: Tue 06 Sep, 2011 05:48
My Pool: 10k inground fibreglass, Telescopic Cover, Hayward Powerline pump, Quality filter with glass media, 27kw output heat pump, K-2006C test kit
Location: United Kingdom

Chunks of Algae? Can I vaccuum?

Postby Denniswiseman » Thu 23 Oct, 2014 04:10

If your laterals are damaged then the only recourse is to replace them
Generally sand is changed because it becomes rounded and doesn't filter as well
I still would recommend a flocculant to filter out the fine material
Can apoemge let us know if any of the above has been of help

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