Algae - need a primer!

[heymom1]

Son just told me that CYA level is 100. I"m going to do the test myself to see what is going on. Now, bear in mind we have just added 1.5 lbs. of Zappit. (I know, but hubby wanted to do something right away, and I didn't have enough confidence in the strictly bleach method until I get the info. from you guys.)

Thanks.

Also: What does "Vacuum to waste" mean? We have no vacuum mechanism, only a Polaris. I can run the Polaris with a fine mesh bag, but I don't know if that will actually clean out the algae.

[heymom1]

One more question - We have an ozonator (electric) on this pool. Please advise if that makes a difference in the treatment from here on out. I think it's still working...NOPE! Its little blue light is out. Now what???

[KurtV]

With a CYA level of 100, your shock level is 25 ppm. Shock as I described in my first post until the chlorine stays at the same level overnight. To clear this quickly, it's very important to test often (at least 3 times a day) and keep bringing the pool to shock level after each test.

Keep brushing; the more the better. If you don't have a manual vacuum, the Polaris may help some.

[heymom1]

Thanks, Kurt! No, we don't have a vacuum. I will test the water first thing in the morning - I see that several things getting out of line allowed the algae to gain a foothold. I'm going to take the water to the supply store of the company that built the pool and put in the ozonator. Other than selling me chlorine, they've been pretty good with advice - not trying to up-sell me like the Warehouse Pool guys always do.

Do the shock granules also add more CYA to the water? I have the in-line feeder also and the dial up to about 4. I realize that most of y'all do not ue the pucks and maybe after this is fixed, I will have the confidence to go with just the BBB method.

Is there NO way to lower CYA other than draining the pool? If I don't add any more tri-chlor, will the level eventually drop on its own, what with rain, adding non-chlorinated water, etc.?

Thanks a lot for your help!

[KurtV]

...

Do the shock granules also add more CYA to the water?
If it's di-chlor, yes. If it's calciun hypochlorite, no.

I have the in-line feeder also and the dial up to about 4. I realize that most of y'all do not ue the pucks and maybe after this is fixed, I will have the confidence to go with just the BBB method.
Overuse of pucks is what got you here. Why would you be confident in the very thing that caused the problem?

Is there NO way to lower CYA other than draining the pool? If I don't add any more tri-chlor, will the level eventually drop on its own, what with rain, adding non-chlorinated water, etc.?
It will go down on its own through splashout but that will take a long, long time. The good news is that you can live with the high CYA. One you get rid of the algae you'll just need to keep your free chlorine between 8 and 15 ppm.

Thanks a lot for your help!

Good luck.

[heymom1]

OK, I understand. Good news - the algae is not visible this morning. I haven't run a test yet, but all I see is some residue at the bottom of the pool. The Polaris hasn't run yet.

When the pool was first filled, and we got the "pool school" lesson, I did wonder about the weakness of the system that included an element that only increased and could not be removed except by pool drainage. That seemed a little ridiculous to me. But we've had very minor problems with the system as is - the ph got out of whack a couple of times with rain, or we'd run out of chlorine in the feeder but catch it before anything happened.

Even this time, I could have caught it earlier had I noticed what dh was saying...He's been saying something about stains for a week now but I just blew it off. And dear son hasn't been testing like he should, even though we have a nice 6-way kit. I will order Ben's kit when it's available again!

So what DO you do if you go out of town, and you aren't there to add bleach?

[KurtV]

1. You can run the chlorine up to shock level and hope for the best.

2. You can use tri-chlor or di-chlor in a chlorinator.

3. You can get a friend to stop by every other day and add a bottle or two of bleach.

I prefer to manage my CYA so that I can use option 2. That is, have the CYA below 40 ppm when I go on vacation so that use of tri-chlor doesn't take it too high while I'm gone. I'm not always that good so I then resort to option 3. College-aged kids of friends and neighbors work well for this if you don't have family nearby to help. They're always looking to pick up a couple of bucks and some of them are responsible enough to follow simple instructions.