Brown Algae Won't Come Off Of A Vinyl Linerby Joanne
The pool water is clean but the liner is covered it what appears to be brown and red algae. We treated it with a super algeacide and pH balance. The red algae seems gone, but the brown will not come off even after scrubing with a brush. We have never had this problem before, totally have tried everything and don't know what to do. Thank you Thanks for the question Joanne You need to determine if the stain is organic or a metal stain. Using a Trichlor tablet, hold it on the stain for about 10 minutes. Use a stick or a pool pole, not your finger. If the stain lightens up or dissapears, it's organic. Go to this page to see how to treat your pool for brown algae: Brown Algae You can also use about 1/2 lb. of calcium hypochlorite (granular chlorine) in an old sock to put on a spot. If the stain doesn't lighten up, gets darker or the color changes to black, it's probably a metal stain. To confirm it's a metal stain, get a Vitamin C tablet (crushed up acsorbic acid), put that in a sock, and place it on the stain. If the stain is removed, you can treat the pool with ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid treatment: Put your chlorine down to zero. Any excess chlorine will eat up the ascorbic acid and you want as much acid to go to the stains as possible. You can use a PolyQuat 60 algaecide during the treatment. You'll need 1/2 - 1 lb. of ascorbic acid per 10,000 gallons. Start low and work you way up before adding more. Put the filter on "CIRCULATE". Broadcast it around the perimeter of the pool. Be sure to get the sides as well. Allow the filter to circulate for about 1/2 hour. If all the stains are not gone, leave the filter in "CIRCULATE" and add more ascorbic acid where the stains are. Keep the filter in "CIRCULATE" until the stains are gone. Bump up the dose by 1/2 lb. each time. You can use a soft nylon brush to loosen up any algae. When the stains are gone, you can use a metal sequestering agent. Metal sequestrants that are based on HEDP, phosphonic acid or something similar are the most effective. Jack's Magic Blue, Purple, and Pink Pink Stuff, Metal Magic, Metal Free, & Metal Klear are very good. Put the filter back on "FILTER" and leave it on 24/7. An ascorbic acid treatment might decrease your pH and alkalinity. After filtering for 24 hours you can rebalance the water. Start with the pH and alkalinity. You can use baking soda for both the pH and alkalinity. Test inbetween adjustments and be sure your pH doesn't get above 7.2ppm. If the alkalinity is between 80 - 100ppm, use 20 Mule Team Borax to raise the pH. Now adjust your chlorine. Do this slowly. It will take alot of chlorine to bring the level up in your pool. And get your CYA between 30 - 50ppm. You can use Dichlor for this. It's a stabilized chlorine that will add CYA to the pool, but the CYA can get out of hand quickly, so be careful. While your raising the chlorine you'll want to watch for developing stains. Keep the pH on the low side, about 7.2ppm and add another bottle of sequestrant. Don't shock the pool for 2 weeks and keep the pH at 7.2ppm for about 1 week. The ascorbic acid and sequestering agent will probably keep it there anyway. Once the chlorine holds for a couple of days you'll know that the ascorbic acid is gone. Go ahead and balance out your pool. If stains appear again, take the pH down to 7.2ppm and give your pool another shot of sequestering agent. Here are links to the pH and alkalinity pages: pH Swimming Pool pH Levels Pool pH Alkalinity Pool Alkalinity Total Alkalinity Hope this helps and good luck with your pool. Robert Question: Is This Brick Dust Or What? By: Rosemary Hi, I have a greenish stirred up pool. Overnight it settles and at the bottom looks like brown brick dust. As my neighbour's just built a brick wall I think it's this and presumably the filter can't cope as it's too fine. Vac it normally - disaster, can't see the bottom. Vac to waste when settled - still can't get rid of it and when filter on still awful. Have put in a clarifier and tried to clean it to waste loads of time - losing water and heat. Don't lnow what to do now? Any ideas. Frustrated pool owner of England! Thanks for the question Rosemary I'd like to have your complete chemical readings: Chlorine, CYA (cyanuric acid/stabilizer), pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, and Metals (iron and copper). It makes troubleshooting much easier and the process of clearing up your pool will go much faster. You can get this done at your local pool store. Without these numbers I'm just guessing at what the problem is. We need to find out whether the problem is algae (orgaic matter) or mineral. You would clear the pool up differently. If it is dust and dirt coming off your neighbor's brick wall, that needs to stop. But first let's get the readings. Thanks Robert
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