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Red Algae

Red algae and swimming pool care instructions. How to remove and reduce an algae swimming pool for the pool perfect for you.

How To Remove Algae ~ Chlorine Chart

Swimming Pool Algae


Red algae, sometimes called red slime algae is really a bacteria. It will present itself in your pool as rust colored specks or bright reddish-pink patches on the walls, steps, and/or ladder.


Beautiful Crystal Clear Swimming Pool


How To Remove It

SAFETY FIRST

  • Always take the proper precaution in dealing with these types of pool chemicals and read the manufacture’s labels.
  • Use heavy duty rubber gloves and goggles and keep pool chlorine out of reach of children and pets. I recommend using granular chlorine a.k.a Calcium Hypochlorite. It’s easier, a bit safer, lighter in weight, easier to store, and 1 pound of granular chlorine equals 1 gallon (8lbs.) of liquid.
  • If you see that your swimming pool has red algae swimming pool, you must take immediate action in killing the algae. Doing this will lessen the risk of swimming pool staining and will lengthen the pool water life.


    First you should:

  • Bring the pool pH, pool alkalinity (TA), and water hardness into line. Never add chlorine without first adjusting these three.

    Adjust your pH to 7.0-7.2, alkalinity to 80-100, and hardness to 150-250ppm.

  • Again, I suggest you use granular chlorine, a.k.a. Calcium Hypochlorite, to shock your pool. You'll want to run your pool pH a little lower because pool chlorine works better at that level.

  • Brush the bottom, sides, and steps to loosen any swimming pool algae or red algae that may be adhering to the surface
  • Continuously run your filter and be sure to backwash 2 times per day until the water is clear once again.

    If you have a DE filter be sure to re-coat the grids with each backwash.

    Also watch that the pool’s water level does not get below a minimum of 2” from the bottom of the skimmer.

  • You want to get rid of the dead red algae.

  • Super chlorinate, or shock, the pool bringing up the chlorine 10 times what you normally run for somewhat reddish water and up to 25 times for a more severe problem.

    If your pool chlorine is 1.0ppm then raise it to 10ppm or above. You must do this in order to kill the algae.

    You must reach that 10ppm or above because if you don’t it’s just wasting time and money.

    To super chlorinate you must do this all at once, not over a few hours or days. If you're running your chlorine at 1.0ppm and have solid green pool water, then bring it up to 25ppm.

  • Use a good pool algaecide specifically designed for killing red algae and follow the instructions on the container.
  • There will be dead swimming pool algae on the bottom of the pool. This can be filtered out through vacuuming the bottom of the pool.

    Keep brushing and vacuuming to rid the pool and any residual red algae and remember to keep filtering and backwashing to remove the swimming pool algae. If you have a DE pool filter, you'll need to re-coat or recharge the grids with each backwash.

    Remember when you have a red algae problem there is no quick fix. It will take time, effort, and patience to clear up your pool.

    When your swimming pool chlorine is down to 1.0ppm-3.0ppm the pool will be safe to swim in once again.

    NEVER allow anyone to swim in the pool until the swimming pool algae is gone and the water has cleared up.


    How Much Pool Chlorine For A Good Pool Shock

    1. Take the number of gallons in the pool and multiply by 8.34. This tells you how many pounds of water are in the pool.

    2. Swimming Pool Chlorine


    3. Take the number 1,000,000 (a million) and divide it by the answer you have from your first calculation. This will tell you how many parts per million that 1 pound of chemicals will be present in your pool.
    4. Take the number 10 and divide it by the answer you got after the second calculation. This tells you how many pounds of chlorine you will need to add to get 10 ppm.

    Example #1

    Here's an example with a 15,000-gallon pool:

  • 15,000 X 8.34 = 125,100. There are 125,100 pounds of water in a 15,000-gallon pool.
  • 1,000,000 divided by 125,100 = 8, well, close enough. This means each pound of chemicals added to the water will be 8 parts per million.
  • 10 divided by 8 equals 1.25, so you'll need to add about 11/4 pounds of chlorine to get 10 ppm.
  • Example #2

    Here's an 18,000-gallon pool:

  • 18,000 X 8.34 = 150,120. There are 150,120 pounds of water in an 18,000-gallon pool.
  • 1,000,000 divided by 150,120 = 6.66. Again, pretty close so we'll say 6.7. Or if you want easy math, just round it up to 7 to be on the safe side.This means that each pound of chemicals we add to the water, it will be about 6.7 parts per million.
  • 10 divided by 6.7 = 1.49 we'll call 1.5. This means that we need to add about 11/2 pounds of chlorine to get 10 ppm.

  • A Simple Four-Banger


    Calculator For Your Convenience

    Chart- Superchlorinate Your Pool
    (Amount Needed to Reach 10 ppm)

    Kinds Of Swimming Pool ChlorinePOOL GALLONS
    1,000 5,000 10,000 12,00015,000 20,000 25,000 50,000
    Sodium Hypo10 oz. 1 3/4 qts. 3 1/4 qts. 1 1/4 gal. 1 2/3 gal. 2 gal.4 gal. 6 gal.
    Lithium Hypo 4 oz. 1 1/4 lbs. 2 1/3 lbs.3 1/2 lbs. 4 3/4 lbs. 6 lbs. 12 lbs 18 lbs.
    Dichlor2 1/4 oz. 11 oz. 1 1/3 lbs. 2 lbs. 2 2/3 lbs. 3 1/3 lbs.6 3/4 lbs. 14 lbs.
    Calcium Hypo 2 oz. 10 oz. 1 1/4 lbs.2 lbs. 2 1/2 lbs. 3 1/4 lbs. 6 1/2 lbs. 13 lbs.


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    Swimming Pool Algae From Red Algae
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