newbie needs help please

Hi All I Have Had A Small Proplem With Mustard Algae.lite Dusting Every Morning Keep Brushing And It Comes Back. Can Still See Bottom Of Pool But Not Clear. I Have Optmizer Plus In Pool Witch Is Supost To Help Prevent Algae. A Have Swg System And Have Been Running Boost Mode. Pool Is 25,000 Gallon In Ground Vinyl. My Readings Were:
Ph-7.7
Tc-6.4
Fc-6.1
Tot Alk-84
Adj Tot Alk- 73
Tot Hardness- 135
Birate-42
Minerals=3000
Cya 35
It Is Tuesday Night And I Have A Birthday Party Scheduled Saturday. Is There Any Way To Make To Pool Party Happen.
After I Gave You All The Readings I Shocked With 4 Pounds And Start The Boost Cycle Again. Am I On The Right Path Or Do I Need To Try Something Else .thank You For Any Help.
ALSO I HAVE BAG FILTERS SO I AM CLEANING THEM AND PUTTING NEW IN EVERY OTHER DAY.
Brian

Brian,

If you truly have mustard algae, apparently it's pretty resistant but can be cured with high levels of chlorine applied CONSTANTLY to your pool 'til there is no longer any sign.

I suggest you only do this with Clorox...no more powder ("shock"). Bring the Cl level up to 14-18ppm and KEEP IT THERE until your pool is clear......that may take several days but it will probably improve by Saturday.

Now, you can KEEP IT THERE only by testing and adding Cl at least twice and three or four times a day is better. If you do not have a test kit to help you do this (your test results look like pool store results) it is going to be difficult (virtually impossible). See if you can find the HTH 5-way kit (Walmart). Otherwise, you may have to put some wear and tear on the hinges of the pool store door.

how do you know how much bleach ro add? i bought 6 way test kit at walmart still hard to read high cl levels. what makes my bad cl reading so high? thanks for help
brian

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cripwick

how do you know how much bleach ro add? i bought 6 way test kit at walmart still hard to read high cl levels. what makes my bad cl reading so high? thanks for help
brian

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Hmmmm....that's pretty hard to read but if I "cipher" on it, I think you are asking how to read Cl levels higher than 5.

Dilute your pool water by half with distilled water and test. If you get 4ppm, then your Cl is really 8. Dilute by thirds if you need to go higher. This method is VERY innaccurate but may work for your purposes.

Search for "bleachcalc" on this forum and download it. It'll tell you how much Clorox to add.

I've received lots of help regarding mustard algae in my pool.

Check out the thread _newbie with ?'s (mustard algae).

Several people have been helpful in EXPLAINING things to me! With their help we'll get this stuff G O N E!

Also - I wouldn't run the SWG on "boost" mode - it will cause the cell life to decrease faster than necessary. Just pick up a case of ultra 6% bleach. Test (diluting like posted earlier) and then add bleach (1 gallon 6% strength will raise chlorine 6ppm for every 10,000 gallons) to get the level to 15ppm-20ppm.

Since you have algae it will "eat up" the chlorine - so you need to test 3x a day and add chlorine (liquid bleach is best) until you get the level between 15-20ppm. Also brush daily and run filter 24/7.

Pool Clarity Is Much Better To Day. I Am Still Keeping Cl Reading Up For One More Day. How Fast Will The Cl Reading Drop For It To Be Safe To Swim? I Plan On Not Adding Any More Cl After Tonight. I Hope It Will Come Down To About 5- Cl So We Can Have Pool Party Saturday Afternoon. Now My Readins Are:
PH- 7.8
TC- 12.0
FC-10.5
TOT ALK- 81
CYA- 35
THANKS FOR ADVISE. THIS FORUM HAS GREAT ADVISE. NICE TO READ HOW OTHERS SOLVE PROBLEMS.
BRIAN

If these numbers are accurate, then you still have 1.5 ppm of CC, which means you need to keep the shock level up at least another day--you want the CC reading to go to 0 before you let it come back down. The Cl will come back down in a day's time, so if you can keep it up 'til Friday morning, then let it drop Friday, then by Saturday it should be fine to swim.

Janet

still clear today thanks all.