Pool Filter is Green, could I have algae?

[ac1007]

Last week, I had something that looked like red dirt on the bottom of my pool. It wouldn't vacuum up, so I brushed it off. After I had it all cleaned, we put the solar cover on it and it usually does a good job at keeping debris out. Two days later, the red dirt look was back.
When I brush it off, you can see a red cloudy dust like going everywhere. Yesterday I noticed the filter was green.
My pool has always been clear, thanks to this forum. But the last week, at times it has been a little cloudy.

I only have the drop test from Walmart and the readings have been ok. I had surgery and didn't check it for a day and the chlorine got a little low but that's it.

Do you think its algae?
Thanks

[aylad]

The red dirt sounds to me just like plain dirt. However, if your filter is green, that's a different story--you obviously have some algae starting, and it won't take very long if you let the chlorine get at all low before it overtakes the pool. I would shock the pool and hold it until there's no more green.....

[ac1007]

Thanks, I will shock it tonight.

The red stuff was more like a red dust but what got me was it was a lot there even with the solar cover on. It usually keeps it pretty clean.

Do I need to keep brushing it daily to try and keep it off the bottom and walls?

[PoolDoc]

Brushing exposes the algae to the chlorine; when you leave it on the walls it can form a protective slime layer. So, yes, brush it when you see it.

[ac1007]

Can you send me in the right direction as to where the instructions are for shocking your pool please? I can't seem to find it.
Thanks

[PoolDoc]

What is your CYA (stabilizer) level? That's what determines the shock dosage needed.

A starting dose, for a 4K gallon pool would be 1 full gallon of PLAIN 6% bleach each evening, till the algae is all dead.

Ben

================================


+ Get a cheap OTO (yellow drops) / phenol test kit, or if available at YOUR Walmart (check availability (http://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-6-Way-Test-Kit/17043668)), get the HTH 6-way DROPS test kit, which is compatible with the Taylor K2006. Test the pool as soon and you can, and post the results. If you get the 6-way kit, ALSO test the water you FILL the pool with, especially if it's a well, and post THOSE results as well. (The HTH is the best available kit you're likely to find locally, but it's not the K-2006. It can only provide rough measurements chlorine levels above 5 ppm, and it measures "TOTAL" hardness, rather than "CALCIUM" hardness, which is not ideal.)

+ Having a good test kit makes pool care easier for EVERYONE, but is an ESSENTIAL tool for pools with problems. A good test kit means a kit that can test chlorine from 0 - 25 ppm, pH, alkalinity, calcium hardness, and stabilizer with reasonable accuracy. Test strips (AKA 'guess-strips' ) do NOT meet this standard. Some pool store testing is accurate; most is not. The ONLY way you'll know whether your pool store is accurate or bogus, is by testing accurately your own self. On the other hand, pool store 'computer' dosing recommendations are NEVER trustworthy -- ignore them. They are designed to sell more chemicals than you need, and WILL cause many pool problems.

+ We recommend the Taylor K-2006 test kit, which meets the requirements above, for many reasons. The HTH 6-way drops kit is a great starter kit, and is compatible with the K2006 (it's made by Taylor). There are a few alternatives; for example Lamotte makes an FAS-DPD kit that's OK -- but it costs 3x as much. But, we're not aware of any test that is better, and since we are all familiar with the K-2006 (and can help you with it) we recommend it exclusively ( Test kit info page (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?16551) )

One caution for the 2012 season: Amazon does not stock the kits directly. So when buying at Amazon, Amato is our current preferred seller. However, they often don't list enough stock to last the whole day, so try order mid-morning. You should expect a delivered cost under $60 for the K2006A and under $95 for the K2006C. If you can't find that, wait a day.

+ Here are links to the kits we recommend (you can check local availability on the HTH kit, using the Walmart link):

HTH 6-Way Test Kit (http://www.walmart.com/ip/HTH-6-Way-Test-Kit/17043668) @ Walmart
Taylor K2006A (3/4 oz bottles) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIIG/poolbooks) @ Amazon
Taylor K2006C (2 oz bottles) (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IXIJ0/poolbooks) @ Amazon

[ac1007]

I don't know what my CYA is.

All I have is the OTO from Walmart. It's all that we have been able to get so far.

[PoolDoc]

You pretty much have to know what your CYA -- chlorine stabilizer -- levels are, to operate successfully. And, unfortunately, the CYA test is the very test where 'guess-strips', including those read by a dealer, are least accurate.

Check out the Walmart 6-way, linked above in my earlier post, if you are on a tight budget. Otherwise, please get a K2006.

[ac1007]

It is not carry at any Walmart around here. I checked a 100 mile radius. :-( I would have to wait till Sept 1st to get the K2006.

[PoolDoc]

Ok. We'll have to go at it another way.

Do this:

1. Add 2 gallons of PLAIN 6% bleach to your pool this evening.
2. Test with OTO drops tomorrow evening; if the OTO is ORANGE, skip the dose. Otherwise, add 2 more gallons.
3. Tell me what the pool looks like after 2 doses (4 gallons)

[ac1007]

I did the 2 gallons of bleach that night, next night was not orange so added the other 2 gallons. The water was clear the morning after the first 2 gallons. But yest my filter was tinged a little green again. And on my Drop test, my PH is up to almost up to the 8.2. I haven't put anything in beside bleach, why did it go so high?

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

When the chlorine is dark yellow or beyond, your pH test is NOT reliable. Only test the pH when the chlorine is lower. If you have a non-Taylor pH test, you can only test up to chlorine = 3.0 or so. With Taylor, you can test up to 10 ppm. There are exceptions, but I'm not going to cover them here. The bottom line is, if your pH was OK before you started adding bleach, it's still OK, as long as bleach is all you added.