Brown Algae?

[Hhaze]

I am a new pool owner. My problem started at the end of last pool season. I was getting “dirt” that spread across my pool and would not go away with vacuuming. My problem started with improperly maintaining chlorine. We had to close the pool with this problem. When opened around Memorial Day the pool was clear with a few small spots even though the wind here ripped a hole down the middle of the winter cover. Fast forward to now and more and more of the “dirt” appeared. I shocked, brushed vacuumed, got bad pool store advice and added 3 doses of copper algaecide, used two containers of Yellow Out, and two cap fulls of Yellow Treat. I have also used
Poly quad 60 algaecide. This “dirt” is reddish brown in color. It is all over the bottom of the pool. It doesn’t go away even with extremely high free chlorine readings. I used cal hypo granular shock a few times a day for a week straight with virtually no change. My calcium level is very high. When I brush, this comes back within minutes. It is not affected by me rubbing a trichlor puck on it. It still comes back.

I also had a black spot in the middle of my brown spot that when I touched it with the vacuum a few little rectangular pieces went up into the pool water. I only saw this when I let the FC get low enough to swim in.

My pool is in full sun from about 6-8. I have a vinyl liner, 33 ft round pool, no heater. I live in a windy area on the side of a mountain with dirt roads, a cow farm next door, hayfields, and a pond.

I am using a Taylor 2006 kit. My test results are:
Pool temp. about 80 degrees
PH: 7.4
TA: 130
FC: 18
CYA: 30
Overnight test showed 1.5 loss The sun was out an hour in the morning when I did the test. My trichlor feeder was also running.

Sorry for the long post. Any help appreciated.
The “dirt” is much darker in real life.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

You could have multiple problems. Algaecides do not fix algae problems once you have them. Adding products with copper in them may cause copper staining in the pool.

We have a few articles on algae for you to read ...

Swimming Pool Algae: Basics and Prevention

The best offense is a good defense: prevent algae in your pool with chlorine, and avoid expensive algaecides and shock! No more green pools!

www.troublefreepool.com

Mustard Algae - Trouble Free Pool

Today We are going to show you how you can get rid of mustard algae in your pool. By following the steps in this guide and with no expensive chemicals.

www.troublefreepool.com

Black Algae

This guide provides a step by step procedure for eliminating black algae in your concrete or gunite pool. Read full post here.

www.troublefreepool.com

Why is your FC 18? Note that pH is not valid when FC is over 10. Are you trying to follow the SLAM Process?

 

[Hhaze]

I did guess I started a version of SLAM with cal hypo. I know cal hypo is not preferred. With the high FC levels I had, I don’t know how I still have these brown/rust colored patches. I did brush the pool at least 3 times a day. I did not pass all of the criteria. I am not sure with all of the chemicals in the pool I would pass, algae or not.

It does not act like Mustard algae. It doesn’t go away with high levels of FC. It is all over, not just the shady side. It is only in the grooves on the bottom of the pool, never on the sides. It doesn’t really have any yellow color to it.

As for the black, according to the article it shouldn’t be in a vinyl pool. I have not seen any black with the high FC. I have brushed the region where the spot was over and over.

The ph was what it was a week ago. I tend to have to lower my ph which I think is unusual. My water gets cloudy when it goes up.

I think that I am going to let the FC drop and rebalance my water.

I honestly have no idea what this is on the bottom of the pool. It isn’t really pollen season now. I do have some pollen on my deck corners from spring. My neighbor gets dirt in her pool, but she said it vacuums out easily.

 

[ajw22]

If you are not passing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test you need to follow the SLAM Process step by step with no shortcuts using liquid chlorine.

 

[Hhaze]

I retested my water.

Ph: 7.2
TA: 110
FC at 8:15 PM: 10
FC at 5:00 AM: 9. (Loss of 1)
CC: 0.5

I still have the brown patches all over. Yesterday, I vacuumed through the filter and that didn’t really help. It was back within an hour. I have vacuumed to waste before which does better but doesn’t get it all. I don’t like having to refill the pool with our well water. My vacuum head does have brushes. I added filter clarifier to the sand. I don’t think it was DE because the package doesn’t say it is DE. It was only 4 teaspoons.

Any thoughts?

 

[ajw22]

Your water chemistry sounds ok. This brown stuff is loose in the water and not sticking to pool walls?

Do you have a ladder in your pool where algae can be hiding?

Hard to say what you have is algae or just dirt from your environment that needs to be vacuumed regularly.

 

[Hhaze]

Yes, the brown seems loose and falls in the grooves. My pool is left uncovered. I am starting to think that it may just be actual dirt and junk from the air. It is windy where I live and there are dirt roads and rock beds. We even have red shale. The deck around the pool is dusty.

We decided not to put the stairs in. We have only used the pool a couple of times because I am nervous about what the brown is.

We thought the filter was the problem. All the laterals were good. We changed the sand since it was apart and that was good too. We were trying to rule out all of the possibilities.

My friend’s husband came and looked at the pool. He takes care of several indoor and outdoor pools for a local resort. He has been dealing with yellow and black algae. His reaction was that he didn’t really know what this was. After he left, was when we started the weeks worth of heavy shocking. It didn’t really help, but I think that should have killed anything living in the pool.