small algae blooms

[PoolDoc]

We both have the same city water for fill.....the only difference is he has one of those cleaners that works off a separate pump and the tail swishes things around(polaris?) makes me wonder if the real secret to keeping pool water clean isn't just keeping the walls clean and things mixed up.

You're probably describing a Polaris pool cleaner. And yes, those are very effective in controlling mustard algae -- and probably, most other types of algae.

The reason is simple.

Almost all algae begins, not as free floating particles, but as a biofilm. Biofilms are nature's way for bacteria, fungi and algae to get a foot hold, where none exists. They are enormously complex -- the top of lots of new PhD theses -- but are fairly simple in basic construction.

They consist of a slime layer, that allows food and needed gases in, and keeps bad chemicals (chlorine) and predators out, covering a community of various bacteria, fungi and algae living symbiotically . . . and even talking to each other (really! biofilm signaling is a very hot topic currently in microbiological research!).

Sweeping, brushing, wiping break the slime layer and expose the organisms. When you brush your teeth, you are using detergent enhanced brushing to remove a biofilm that accumulates on your teeth. The bacteria that cause cavities can't function well, without a biofilm's protection. Likewise, the community that makes up mustard algae can't function well, unless it's under a biofilm.

BUT . . . the biofilm associate with mustard algae is far, far more fragile than the biofilm associated with, say, black algae.

Thus, a cleaner like a Polaris, which operates daily, prevents mustard algae from ever getting a good start. The "1 small algae bloom" you saw in your neighbor's pool is probably a spot his Polaris usually misses.

SO . . . a pool with a Polaris can control algae with significantly lower levels of chlorine, than a pool without a cleaner.

Daily brushing will accomplish the same thing, but few people brush daily, or even, weekly.

[392papa]

Lesson learned , I will be getting the brush out more often....Thanks Ben!!