Ph and ALk

[Swim Today]

okay so just run your pump for as long as you can today up until you go to bed. Keep an eye on the filter and backwash when needed. You can go in the water just don't go underwater. You will probably notice just really dry skin when you get out and use your least favorite bathing suit as it may fade from the higher chlorine level. The particles are probably just ones that have become to heavy to float like the others that are still clouding the water. Just watch you water level when vacuuming to waste it will probably be better to vacuum to filter then do a good backwash after wards.

[barbaranna]

Well my pool water looks pretty clear now. But I want to know if you have any idea of what this is?
Ph is all ok and chlorine too. I seem to see after a day or two a couple spots of green very small though on my walls here and there. I also want to know what this is. It is hard to explain but the floor is clean of debris and etc but in spots sometimes I see this light cast of very light colored I would have to say greenish brown almost like dust but very pale. I can take my broom and when I push on it it just floats away. I don't have to scrub or anything. Sometimes when I look at a slant, it has a green cast and is in patches and when I use my broom like I said it just floats and moves around the water. Do you have any idea of what that might be?

[Swim Today]

It could be a number of little things. It could still be a small algae growth in which case just add some algaecide. If the spots come up in the same spots try pouring some algaecide on the brush first then scrub the spot. This will help apply the algaecide directly to that area. Then pour the rest into the pool as you normally would.The spots could also be small mineral deposits. You can try adding a mineral/metal remover to the water and see if that stops the spots from coming back. Try those two things but if they are just small spots and brush away easily I wouldn't put much time or money into them. As long as the water is clear and all the chemicals (chlorine, PH, Alkalinity, and stabilizer) are in check you should be fine.

[barbaranna]

Well I don' know what is going on here. I went out to vacumn the pool and I seen the green patches and wanted to carefully vacumn them up. When I start to vacumn the floor there is also a film on the bottom to. If I start to vacuum mvoing my vacumn back and forth the floor is vacumning something up because the floor becomes clearer then and I vacumn the green patches up. It is like all over the floor and in some areas green patches which are light and then there is patches that are starting on the walls How can that be when my chlorine level is high enough. Could it possibly be some other type of algae and the shock isnt killing it all? If I put some other type of algae killer in (maybe the mustard one) if it isnt that type of algae will it create more problems? I keep thinking I am vacumning up this stuff and it is going right through the filter and back into the pool. Can that be. After I vacumned I backwashed. What do you do if you don't have a rinse cycle though?

[Swim Today]

okay it sounds like an algae. Algae thrive in acidic conditions so if the chlorine is high it can still grow. As the shock is killing the initial algae but not the algae growth. That is why you want to make sure that the alkalinity is in the right range. It should be between 80-120 ppm with 80 being the minimum amount. Try to balance it to 100 ppm instead of just to the minimum. Make sure after wards too that your PH is still between 7.2 and 7.6. When you are certain the chemical levels are in check then use an algaecide. The name of the algaecide refers to it's strength so don't worry about type. Mustard algaecide is just one of the strongest and good to use when you have a visible algae growth. All filters are designed to filter out down to microscopic particles so if it is visible the filter is filtering it. If you don't have a rinse setting just use bypass to waste for about 10 seconds then go back to filter.

[barbaranna]

ok thanks. So I shouldnt shock it then correct? Is there a way to raise the alk without the ph going up? It seems to be ok for the ph

[Swim Today]

Yes correct there is no need to shock. You can increase the alkalinity through what is called alkalinity balance control. Every pool store carries it. It will not effect the PH.