I think it is algae now....

[waterbear]

You have, once again, missed the point entirely. Using monochloramne to kill algae is very different than killing algae with chlorine and it is also very different than using either chlorine or chloramines for sanitation of drinking water so the studies you cite are not meaningful to the discussion. You are comparing apples and oranges. These are exactly the same type of studies that are often quoted by the 'chlorine is bad for you, don't put it in your pool' camp. They really are meaningless when it comes to pool sanitation, however. There has been much discussion of this on this and other forums in the past so it is really an old topic. You might want to use the seach feature and see what has been said previousloy by Ben and others from before you became more active in the forum.

Monochloramine is a nitorgen containing compound and as such, it is consumed by the algae which is why it is effective at killing algae compared to chlorine. Patents have even been taken out based on this. Pool service techs used to use anhydrous ammonia added to a pool in conjunction with shocking to kill algae by this method. Today various orgainic ammonia products such as Yellow Out by Coral Seas are based on this technique. It is fast and effective at killing algae but the drawback is the fact that FC drops to 0 ppm while TC is high until all the chloramine is destroyed. However, this does happen rather quickly in an outdoor pool with repeated shocking so it is not a major issue as long as the pool is not overdosed with the ammonia source.

As far as pH effects on hypochlouous acid concentration in a stabilized pool, that is an entirely different subject that I was referring to. Once CYA enters the equation the effect of pH on HOCl and OCl- concentrations basically goes out the window. By keeping the pH high you favor the formation of monochloramine (as opposed to other chloramine species) which will help and not hinder the killing of algae.

Moderators, this thread hijack would probably be better if moved to the China shop since the matierial is not relevant to the OP's question but is a side tangent by smallpooldad.