Algae or Copper?

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

Postby blckisusan » Tue 25 Sep, 2007 16:49

I've been trying to fight off what I thought was algae for about 2 weeks now. It started off with a little on the bottom and sides of the pool and we thought we killed it off. I saw a little bit of brown stuff on the bottom of the pool about a week later and hit it with the brush, unsure of whether it was dead algae or dirt. The next day, the pool was entirely green.

We added a few bottles of algaecide and no love. I checked all of our levels again when I noticed our chlorine tabs in the skimmer basket were disintegrating at a rapid rate. The last thing we did was buy some pH+ and alkalinity+ because they were both at near 0 and I read online that pH is what controls the rate of chlorine absorption in the water and whether or not it is "usable". Was that true? Anyway, so we brought the pH and alkalinity to normal ranges and added a few more chlorine tablets to the skimmer basket and 5, 1 lb bags of shock (says it will not raise the CYA level) last night. I woke up excited today and found absolutely no difference.

Now, my confusion really comes in when my husband noticed yesterday that the pool, although dark green, is NOT slimey. Not at all. The walls, the steps, the turtle thermometer. Made me wonder if it is even algae or maybe copper? I was nearly convinced it was copper when I read that if it is copper, the water will be green, but clear. This isn't clear. If I put the pool brush in, it just disappears.

If it is algae, any recommendations? Our pool is about 15K gallons, and all I have are test strips. Unfortunately, I don't have access to more in depth testing.

Total bromine is at 10
Free Chlorine is at 10
pH is 7.8
Total Alkalinity is at around 125

Now, I can at least say that reason would have it that the CYA is above 0 since we added shock and chlorine tabs last night and the chlorine levels has not had any type of significant drop throughout the day with full sunshine and around 88 degrees. I'm very willing to try bleach, but still struggling to understand the concept of using ONLY bleach for always taking care of the pool.

I appreciate any and all help anyone can give. Again, my apologies for the lack of testing results.


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mr_clean
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Postby mr_clean » Tue 25 Sep, 2007 17:28

first thing, stop putting chlorine tabs in skimmer, this eats up skimmer basket and the low PH level in skimmer will eat up equipment. You basically acidwash it everyday when pump turns on.
Next go buy a good test kit for pool the Taylor kit is very good and checks everything. You can get a clean jar and add pool water sample in it and take to pool store to know better chemical readings.
FC-free chlorine
TC-total chlorine
CC-combined chlorine
PH-reading
TA-reading
CYA-conditioner
CH-hardness
Once they let you know what they are you will have a plane of attack.
When shocking pool you want to have chlorine level above 20ppm and check level 2-3 times a day adding liquide chlorine when needed to boost back up.
Knowing CYA level is important, if level is 100 or above it will make chlorine less efective and you would need alot more chlorine than 20ppm to fight algae. Remember chlorine tabs have CYA in them and using 4-5 at a time could make level to high. The way to lower CYA is to drain some water and refill, the amount of water to drain depends on how high CYA is, the save way is only up to 1/4 of pool water, refill & retest.
A good level for CYA is 60-80, once CYA is at good level, clean filter and then shock like stated and run pump 24/7 until clear. Brush pool once a day to make sure there is no algae on surfaces.
If water becomes clear but with green tint, than add a bottle of metal remover to pool. Depending on how high CH is in fill water adding metal remover as preventative can help.
blckisusan
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Postby blckisusan » Tue 25 Sep, 2007 22:11

Thanks, Mr Clean

Once we get the algae cleared up, how do you recommend treating the pool if we shouldn't use the chlorine tablets?

Thanks, again for the super fast response!
pool doctor

Postby pool doctor » Wed 26 Sep, 2007 15:03

Also keep in mind the fact that just like taking an antibiotic and building up a tolerance to it, algae can also build up a tolerance to algaecides. I would have the water checked for phosphates, if phosphates are under 100ppm then I would just switch to a difeerent algaecide, and by that I mean, not necessarily a dif brand but something CHEMICALLY different. If it is Phosphates, add a phosphate remover and a dosof alg for visible growth.
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mr_clean
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Postby mr_clean » Wed 26 Sep, 2007 15:17

once you have a good test kit that can test for everything like Taylor, you can use liquide chlorine. Testing Ph/TA & chlorine 1-2 times a week and CYA, CH, monthly. You will have to buy CYA at pool store and add when needed.
martha

pink "algae"

Postby martha » Mon 11 Aug, 2008 14:51

Our neighborhood pool has pink "algae" along the pool walls and crevices, especially in the deeper water. The weather has been hot and humid -- heat indexes of 100+, with a little rain in the afternoon and evenings. Use of the pool has been high also. Do you have any suggestions of what this is and how to correct/prevent it?

Thanks?

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