mustard?...sorry long post

[mneal]

First thing, I am newbie pool owner and I have learned a ton here....thanks to all those who help OK on to my question, I used the tri-Cl pucks for Cl for the first couple months after our pool was built and once the CYA got to 40 I stopped and started to use liquid bleach. I got super busy with stuff and didn't add or check levels this week. I know..I know silly/stupid. This afternoon I walked over and the sides of the steps and the walls in several places had a yellow stain. (mustard algae?). I checked the level and it was ...nothing. Yikes, I dumped 3 gallons of pool store 12% bleach in it and brushed the walls. (creepy crawly is running when pump is on 9hrs/day). The stains brushed off and I have the pump 24/7. I ordered Ben's kit but it was like 2-3 weeks ago so I have not received it yet. I say that because I can't measure my Cl levels with my little up to 3ppm kit. Using the best guess my Cl level should be pretty high though. Water actually looks pretty clear, maybe a little cloudy. I will keep an eye on pressure and clean filter often as the algae gets removed. What do I do now? Do I need to vacuum it and dump water into yard? I have seen tons of algae things at PS, do I need any of those? I am little freaked out as this is my first water boo-boo.

[debs_pool]

First thing, I am newbie pool owner and I have learned a ton here....thanks to all those who help

YES! The people on this board are VERY helpful! They helped me with my mustard algae problem ...you can do a search for that thread if you wish

OK on to my question, I used the tri-Cl pucks for Cl for the first couple months after our pool was built and once the CYA got to 40 I stopped and started to use liquid bleach.

Looks like you got started out on the right stuff. Did you read all the "stickies" in the forums? VERY HELPFUL!

I got super busy with stuff and didn't add or check levels this week. I know..I know silly/stupid.

Life happens -- but with a little work you'll get everything in your pool back in check in a jiffy!

This afternoon I walked over and the sides of the steps and the walls in several places had a yellow stain. (mustard algae?).

My mustard algae was yellowish slime on the walls, bottoms and steps of my pool. Occasionally you might have dirt or fine particles -- my understanding is this would be gritty. Mustard algae is slimy. And a lot of work to get rid of -- easy solution -- lots of work.

I checked the level and it was ...nothing. Yikes, I dumped 3 gallons of pool store 12% bleach in it and brushed the walls.

If you do have mustard algae you need to bring your chlorine up to shock levels -- see best guess chart for the size of your pool, etc. And you need to check your levels THREE times a day if possible! And brush your walls. I did learn that mustard algae is difficult to get rid of because the dead algae will come back and cover up the live algae -- very frustrating!!!

(creepy crawly is running when pump is on 9hrs/day). The stains brushed off and I have the pump 24/7.

Yes, I would leave the pump running 24/7. Someone else probably will answer about the kreepy krawly. It was recommended to me to vacuum to waste -- I think I did that two times during the algae mess.

I ordered Ben's kit but it was like 2-3 weeks ago so I have not received it yet. I say that because I can't measure my Cl levels with my little up to 3ppm kit.

There are some other threads on here that might be helpful telling you how to measure with the shot glass method and distilled water -- not sure where they are, but you might want to look and try that until you get your kit -- which will be awesome and well worth every $ you spent on it!

Using the best guess my Cl level should be pretty high though. Water actually looks pretty clear, maybe a little cloudy. I will keep an eye on pressure and clean filter often as the algae gets removed. What do I do now? Do I need to vacuum it and dump water into yard? I have seen tons of algae things at PS, do I need any of those?

I believe it is recommened that you DO NOT USE any COPPER based algacides -- only polyquat -- IF you even need to use it. You can kill the algae with BLEACH BLEACH BLEACH. I had to get my levels up to 20 for a few days and keep it there to get rid of the algae -- it may take 2 days to a wekk or so

I am little freaked out as this is my first water boo-boo.

I hope I've helped with at least some helpful information -- I don't know much about pool care (I've spent thousands with the pool store since I put in my pool in 2001!) -- but this is the best forum and information and you'll be over that first water boo-boo in no time! It's GREAT to have help her on this board. Others may have additional helpful feedback -- I wish you luck! But you'll need lots of bleach for this problem.

[mneal]

I think I have mustard, it was slimy yellowish. I couldn't sleep last night so I re-brushed it again. This am. the water looks pretty much clear/normal. We got a ton of rain last night and I vacuumed and pumped it into yard since I had to drop water level anyhow. I found the post about distilled water and I checked the Cl this am. and it is 6-7, however accuracy????? I am planning on going to PS to get more Cl this am. and will have them check it. Since water is clear should I keep the Cl at shock level? I will not let them sell me any Cu based algicides. We live in SW Florida and there is a storm looming in the Caribbean so I am off to do hurricane prep searching on this wonderful site. I am betting the answer involves bleach. :-)
************************************************** ************************************************** ******************
Back from PS:
TC:5.0
FC:5.0
CC:0
pH:7.8
Acid Demand: 3
TA:80
Calc Hardness: 205
CYA:50
TDS:400

Should I keep adding Cl to rise the level to shock even though water looks clear?

[duraleigh]

With that nice Cl level of five (your dilution method was fairly close....that's good) and a CC result of zero, it sounds like your good to go. If you keep your Cl level in a 3-6ppm range and look for visible signs of poor water quality, I see no reason to shock.

I am betting the answer involves bleach. :-)

Yep, it will!! :-)

[matt4x4]

Please read these other posts.

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=5612

[mneal]

This morning I brushed pool and I had slight yellow mustard (I guess that s redundant) on one wall. I checked water yesterday and CC was 4.0. PH was 8.0 so I added 1 cup acid. . This morning CC was 3.0 and pH was 7.7 so I added 1/2 cup more acid. We have people coming by today for BBQ/pool party so I didn't want to shock it yet...is that dumb? I just added a slight (pint) of chlorine and I will shock it tonight. Is I will keep an eye on chlorine today in case the algae is gobbing it up.

[gordyjamz]

Use the polyquat. It worked for me. Got the tip from one of the threads here, and it worked. Thing is, this year its seems the little buggers won't go away with a shock level of cl, so I tried the polyquat algacide. It did cloud up the water once it was killed, but I used a floc to let it settle to the bottom. Vacummed it to waste, and presto, no more algae since beginning of August! Have had clear water since.

[Simmons99]

Polyquat may help - but it really works better as a preventative measure. If it is mustard algae - it will go until you shock to the level appropriate for your CYA level. Then you need to hold it there until the algae dies and the pool clears.

My understanding is that mustard algae is harder to kill than most - so clorine is really the key.