Clearing dead algae from a swimming pool is a pain in the fucking ass.

[HopeHoops]

Clean the filter, stir the pool, wait two hours, repeat. Sounds like shampoo directions! Damn this is taking forever.

I was sick for a couple of days and didn't keep the chlorine level up - and it rained a lot, dropping pollen into the pool. That's all it took. The algae is all dead, but you STILL have to get it out of the water. The damn filter is going to have a heart attack.

[brendan120678]

1. Our neighbor has a pool that hasn't been cleaned in about...

two years. No kidding. We moved in about four years ago, and only rarely have we ever seen them use it. I know that they have not used it for at least the past two years, and it is about quarter full with skanky brown-green water. That's got to be a health hazard.

[Kali]

12. mosly because of mosquitos

get some mosquito "dunks" at a feed or hardware store and chuck a couple in that water!

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. You have a pool? Let me know when it's clean and I'll come over! :^D

[Tommy_Carcetti]

3. Mine has been given me hell the past few weeks. I think I finally got it beat.

Last summer, as soon as I put in the stableizer the thing worked like a charm--just my normal half jug of chlorine a week plus acid and I was set.

This summer is a whole different story for whatever reason. The pool started to green up a bit, so I put in the stableizer in late June--nothing. I added half a bottle of algecide--nothing. I added more stableizer--nothing. I vaccumed--nothing. Washed out the filter--nothing. Added the second half of the bottle of algecide--nothing. Vaccumed again and cleaned the filter--nothing. Put in more algecide--nothing.

Finally this weekend I go to the pool store, and the clerk tells me to do stabelizer, again, but this time instead of feeding it through the skimmer, mix it in a bucket of water and add directly to the deep end, and wait two days.

So I do it, and I'm dubious because I end up with this weird sludge. But I go ahead and put it in, and the first day there is barely a difference, and a bunch of the stableizer has yet to dissolve.

Go out in the afternoon yesterday while there is still noticable algae, and when I came back, voila! The stableizer has dissolved and the pool is crystal blue. Now I just know by writing about it, I am jinxing myself here.

[HopeHoops]

4. I only let the damn thing go for about two days! That's all it took.

It is going to take at least another four to get the debris filtered out - and that's with constant attention! We've really only got two more weekends to use it. I have to clean it before putting it away anyway, but still.

[Kali]

14. out here liquid chorine doesn't work very good - the sun uses it up too fast

you have to put it in daily or even twice a day - it's ok to get levels up fast or to shock, but tabs are more economical

[seemunkee]

5. I had a pink algae(bacteria actually) problem early in the season

What kind of filter do you have? Never heard of algae blooming that fast.

[Kali]

11. green algae can bloom in 24 hours - it mostly floats

pink, brown, and black algae stick to surfaces and are harder to get rid of

[PRETZEL]

6. As long as you don't have to re-paint the damn thing

consider yourself lucky.

Talk about experiencing Hell.

[titoresque]

29. yep!

I did that last summer, thought I could get a few years left on it before replastering. But I made it worse when I acid washed it. So replastered this year before swim season and its a beautiful thing, have had no problems all summer!

[TommyO]

7. We got close to that just two weeks ago

The automatic chlorinator got clogged up and water wasn't circulating through it, meaning no chlorine was getting into the pool. I went in the pool, noticed the distinct lack of any chlorine smell and a slightly slick bottom, checked the chemicals and, not surprisingly, the chlorine was way down. I popped open the chlorinator and found that the tablets in there were bone-dry. A bit of cursing, shaking, prodding and poking got the clog cleared and water flowing through the chlorinator again. Had it gone another day, I would have been in the same boat as you.

[Kali]

18. actually, if you can smell chlorine it means you aren't using enough or need to shock

you really shouldn't be able to smell it at all - the smell is usually from chloramines being formed - they need to be oxidized out by shocking.

[TommyO]

21. I found that out as well, we weren't shocking the pool frequently enough either

This is my first year with the pool, though my brother should have known all of this.

[Kali]

8. shock the hell out of it

dump some alum per directions in it let it settle and vacuum (in bypass the filter mode) the bottom slowly - that will get most of it. Shock again and run filter. Keep your chlorine up and use ageacide - the blue kind works best for me. Or did when I had my pool. Really if you keep the chlorine up it shouldn't even need it.

[HopeHoops]

26. Yeah, I did that. The problem is extraction - it is all on the bottom.

The chlorine level is above "safe to swim" level and I used algeacide on it. The intake for the filter is near (but not at) the top of the pool so all I can do is clean the filter and brush the bottom to make a nasty green mess in the vicinity of the intake. As the shampoo bottle says, "rinse and repeat". I've done it before, but it is time consuming.

I don't have a vacuum that has a "bypass the filter mode". That would be great! My shop vac fills up too quickly to be useful. It is great for concrete floors, but not pools.

[Kali]

27. you don't have a vacuum?

what kind of filter do you have? It doesn't have 3 settings (filter, backwash, and bypass or "waste")?

I can't imagine maintaining a pool without a good vacuum system.

[HopeHoops]

28. It is only a 15' metal frame above ground.

I take it down in the winter. It is actually pretty easy to keep clean if you stay on top of it, but let it slip...

[Kali]

31. mine was a 24' - how do you drain it?

can you just set up a kind of siphon and vacuum the bottom that way? a hose, pole and vacuum head shouldn't cost you much more than $50. I can't imagine trying to get one of those big blooms out using just the filter - I'd probably dump the water and start over if nothing else.

[HopeHoops]

32. I set up a siphon with a garden hose and use it as a vacuum toward the end.

The siphon is easy to set up. Use a turn-off valve on the drain side. Leave it open and submerge a good part of the hose. Close off the valve and then extract most of the submerged hose (so there's more water in the hose than in the pool end). Open the valve and the siphon will start. When it gets toward the end, get in without shoes and use the hose end like a vacuum while the siphon is still good. You can get out almost all of the water (and a lot of the debris) that way.

Then I just disassemble it and flip the thing over in the yard a few times, hosing it down between flips. I've gotten three seasons out of this pool and may get a fourth. I did have to patch two minor spots, but those were from pinches while it was in storage. We may get an 18' next year. The new ones have at-water-level filters on the side.

[Call Me Wesley]

9. Ewww, you still use chlorine?

http://www.bayrol.com/en/products-pool-water-treatment/swimming-pool-water-disinfectant/swimming-pool-active-oxygen/index.html

Believe me, it works. Hope you're better and will be able to enjoy the pool! :hi:

[Kali]

10. what is it?

doesn't seem to be available in the US
chlorine is cheap and relatively safe

[Call Me Wesley]

13. I thought I found a site in the US,

but yes, it seems only available in Europe. Wonder why.

It's active oxygen based, so it doesn't have any of the side affects of chlorine (like if you use too much, getting allergies, etc.) It works great, and you put two tabs into the skimmer every other 14 days. Haven't seen any algea growing (I don't have a pool, but I maintain my neighbor's holiday home pool.)

I wonder (now speaking of a koi pond owner) if there's an UV-light treatment available for swimming pool filters? That'll be the most efficient and safe.

[Kali]

15. You almost always have to use chlorine/bromine with UV - just less of it.

I wonder if your oxygen product is some kind of peroxide generator? Website isn't very forthcoming with info. How much are per week does it cost to use for what size pool? I thin I used to buy a 5 gallon bucket of tabs and that would last most of the summer for 12,000 gallons - about $70??? (memory sucks) plus the occasional shock treatment/algeacide. My guesstimate was the pool cost me about $200/year.

[Call Me Wesley]

16. Yeah, it's more expensive.

For a pool this big it'll be around $350 a year (If I get the conversions right, 10,000 gallons will use one duo tablet each eight days.) And yes, I think it's a peroxide generator. Works fine for my neighbor's pool, and even after winter there's no algae growth.

But what I really don't get is that I can keep my koi pond algae free with crystal clear water while there are plants in it and fishes who, ermm, make their business right into the water. Of course, the weather is a big factor to consider, too. Heavy rain combined with sunshine = instant algae growth.

[Kali]

17. koi are carp - they eat algae

I keep plain old gold fish in our livestock water troughs - there is grunge on the bottoms (that can get stirred up) but no algae clouding the water

[Call Me Wesley]

19. They do eat it,

but they can keep up with just this much. If you feed them as well, you may promote algae growth. And that's the main problem with most pond holders - algae, because they think water has to be crystal clear. Of course, there are different kind of algae. The ones you can fish out are no problems. The ones that are microscopic (sorry, don't know the English names) and make the water murky and unpleasant to look at are being dealt with proper UV-lighting.

Do you feed the goldfish? That's very interesting to keep gold fishes in your water troughs. Is this common to do? Never heard of it. (Water biology/ponds/filtration is a hobby of mine.) The 'grunge' is actually very helpful since it contains mostly bacteria that will help to keep the water clean.

Don't put the fish in the pool, though. ;)

[Kali]

20. I don't know algae names either

no we don't feed the fish - we are so dry here that the troughs attract all kinds of insects that drown. Those and the "big algaes" and other water plant that seem to spontaneously generate are what the goldfish eat. Yes lots of people use them - they are prettier than mosquito fish and work just about as well (more poop, but dust from the air makes more mess anyway) Pet stores here sell them pretty cheaply as feeder fish for other carnivorous pets. If there is enough room you can toss in a fan-tail and they will cross breed into some really pretty long-tailed goldfish.

I used to keep aquariums but haven't really had much experience with ponds. I have a friend who was telling me about barley straw for keeping water clear - do you know anything about that? I don't quite understand how it would work - it is supposed to inhibit growth rather than actually filtering mechanically - they were even just throwing it in an open storage tank with no circulation at all. Not sure if that worked or if they had to go in and clean out a bunch of gross wet straw later...:rofl:

[Call Me Wesley]

23. Barley straw does work

http://ohioline.osu.edu/a-fact/0012.html, although you have to get it out before it rots and contaminates the water and replace it with fresh ones. Another thing that works against algae is turf, although it turns the water brownish. It's nothing you want in a pool.

There's a vast promotion of swimming ponds lately here, which have 'only' plant/mechanical/biological filters. You swim along your pond lillys. http://www.pond-doctor-dave.com/swimming-ponds.html. Hard to maintain the biological balance if it's small, though.

The koi pond I have has three sections of filtering and is around 12,000 gallons of water: A mechanical/biological filter, an UV-light in front of the mechanical filter and a plant section in the pond. Lots of aeration with air bubblers, though, especially in the summer. Oxygen is crucial. It's not perfect, but it does it's job. My best friend has also a plant filter added, and water testing shows no contamination whatsoever.

Of course, I sketched my dream pond-sytem out already. One day I'll make it. ;)

I have not much time right now, but I still find the use of gold fish in your water system very interesting and will look into it.

:hi:

[azmouse]

22. Use Green To Clean (available at pool stores)

Our pool pump was down for about 2 weeks in June. You can imagine in the AZ heat how bad the pool looked. You couldn't even see the bottom. :puke:

We added Green To Clean along with powdered chlorine when the pump was running again and the pool was clear in a few hours. The filter had to be flushed thoroughly because of course that's where all the dead algae collected. That stuff is amazing!!

[HopeHoops]

24. The algae is dead - getting it INTO the pump is the chore.

And I have to blast the filter with a hose several times a day to clean off the dead shit so it can collect more. Very time consuming.

[Kali]

25. see my post 8

with alum you dump in 5 to 10 lbs and just let the pump run a little while to stir it up and then you let it settle to the bottom (maybe overnight). Then you just vacuum it on bypass. It works really well. You don't want all that alum going through your filter so make sure you are vacuuming on bypass.

[azmouse]

30. ahhh I see. We have an in-pool vacuum that cleans the pool continuously.

It sucked up all the dead algae and all we had to do was clean the filter.

Pools can be a lot of fun but also a big pain in the ass too.