Can Algaecide Combat Other Problems With My Pool Water
White-water mold and pink slime are not algae, but a fungus and bacteria that can cause similar damage to your pool. Pink slime can also be dangerous, causing pneumonia, urinary tract infections, and lower respiratory infections. Algaecide can be very effective in killing the white-water mold that has settled on the surface of your pool water and the pink slime that has attached itself to your pool walls and floor. Whether you have a chlorine or biguanide pool, using algaecide will significantly improve the look and health of your pool.
Use Flocculant To Clear Up The Algae
Youve disarmed the enemy , but its presence still lingers.
The best way to clear out the rest of the pool algae is to use a pool flocculant.
Flocculants are normally used to clear up cloudy white swimming pools. They work by clumping particles together and sinking them to the bottom of your pool making it easier for you to clean up and filter out.
Use 1 2 treatments of pool flocculant depending on the severity of the pool algae. After adding it to your pool, give the flocculant some time to settle in.
Once you see the algae sinking to the bottom, its time to finish the job.
Category Three Pink Algae
Pink algae is actually bacteria that comes in streak or spot form and appears in your pools corners and crevices. It grows very slowly, and it most likely wont take over your whole pool. It works best in pools with bad filtration, and itll attach to any smooth surface like the walls or pool toys. To treat it, you have to increase the chlorine levels in your pool and apply shock.
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Ultraviolet Pool Systems And Pool Algae
UV pool systems are a secret weapon in the battle for better water quality. Ultraviolet pool disinfection has two powerful effects on pool algae. First, any algae that flow through the sterilization chamber will be inactivated . Second, UV eliminates the organic matter found in pool water. In a typical pool, 90% of chlorine is used to destroy organic matter, and 10% is used to sanitize. When UV is installed, there is very little work left for chlorine, allowing for a much lower free chlorine level . In other words, UV makes a little chlorine behave as if it is on steroids.
Learn more about how UV can make pools safe, healthy, and easy to manage.
Problems Caused By Algae
Pool algae are like having weeds in your garden its unsightly, problematic, and quite frankly, no one wants to deal with it. As nature would have it, you can find algae everywhere there is water, and algae spores can survive on many surfaces until they reach a new place to call home.
Algae, which can live purely on sunlight, is a single-celled plant that uses photosynthesis to create food to feed itself. Its because of this that pool algae can cause a few problems for pool owners. Most commonly, algae will turn your pool water green. Unfortunately, pool algae can take hold if the sanitation levels drop even the slightest.
Once your pool water is green, cloudy, or discolored, your pools filtration system is the next concern. Swimming pool algae will quickly clog your filters and sanitation pathways, causing further contamination. If left untreated, you risk providing a breeding ground for bacteria.
The bacteria feast on algae. This can result in a buildup of bacteria that leads to staining and deterioration of your pool equipment and structure. Black pool algae are a culprit of leaving hard to remove stains caused by its deep-seated roots. Replacing equipment can be costly, but its rather challenging to remove stains from your pools structure. So keeping algae at bay is the optimum solution.
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How To Kill Algae In Your Pool
Whether youre already dealing with an algae-infested pool or want to prevent algae from forming in the first place, there are several methods that can help you keep your pool clean and safe.
Follow the steps below to learn how to clean algae from pool water.
Always follow the manufacturers instructions when using any chemicals to clean your pool.
Shocking The Swimming Pool To Kill Brown Algae
Brown algae are one of the most challenging to eliminate. While they are somewhat chlorine-resistant, high sanitizer concentrations do kill them. Here is how to use a shock treatment to clean brown algae in your pool before using a clarifier.
- Bucket
To clean a green pool fast, follow the directions on the pool shock product and bring the chlorine level up to at least 10 ppm to kill the algae.
Prepare the treatment by diluting it in a large bucket and turn on the pool pump. Pour the shock into the water around the edge of the pool and let the pump filter the water for six hours.
Take out the filter afterward and give it a good pool filter cleaning to eliminate algae particles trapped in it.
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Brush Your Pool Walls And Floor
Scrubbing the algae off your pool walls lets your sanitizer get deeper into the remaining algae. It also stirs up the sediment youve brushed off so it can be killed and filtered out.
Using a stiff pool brush on a pole, brush the walls and floor of your pool. Pay special attention to corners and shady areas where algae is usually worst. As you go, your water will become cloudy, obstructing your view, so get those tough spots first.
Whats It Doing In My Pool
If youre recently taken a dip in the ocean, a lake, or other natural body of water and then jumped into your pool, youre at risk of introducing black algae to it. From chic bathing suits to swim-happy pets, black algae has a whole host of vehicles it can use to hitch a ride to your backyard swimming hole. Its way easier to transfer from a pond or lake than you probably ever realized.
A black algae infestation can happen if someone uses a pool float in a lake or the ocean without spraying it off thoroughly with a garden hose. The aquatic pest can even get into your pool if airborne spores of the species happen to be wafting your way .
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Category Two Green Algae
Any pool owner in Melbourne or anywhere in Victoria should be very familiar with green algae because its the most common strain. Filtration problems or hazy water can bring it out, and it likes to cling to the walls or float in the water. A green algae bloom will give you a green pool. You can see it as pool algae sheets or small spots floating in your water, and it can form a green slime.
Cleaning Sanitizing And Other Preventive Measures
Keeping up with the basics will also go a long way toward preventing algae.
- Maintain balanced pool chemistry, run your pump 8 to 12 hours per day, and shock regularly.
- Before allowing pool equipment, floats, and toys into your pool, make sure youve thoroughly cleaned them. A cleaner with bleach or a solution of one tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water will not only clean but sanitize them.
- Just as pool accessories can introduce algae, so can swimsuitsespecially if theyve been worn in the ocean. Be sure to washnot just rinseyour swimwear before wearing it into your pool.
- If your older concrete pool surface needs resurfacing, dont wait. Etched, cracked surfaces make perfect hiding places for algae. Theyre shady and almost impossible to clean. Resurfacing cures this issue.
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How To Prevent Pool Algae Tips
How can you prevent pool algae? Maintaining a clear and clean pool requires effort upfront to avoid pool algae infestations. Balanced pH is essential, so your sanitizers and pool algaecides achieve maximum effectiveness. Proper pH eliminates an environment that pool algae can thrive in by killing algae spores and bacteria.
The same goes for your filtration system. An adequately sanitized filter will effectively remove algae spores and bacteria in the water. Your pool filter needs to run at least eight hours per day to ensure most bacteria are cleaned out.
A sanitized filter paired with constant water circulation prevents pool algae and bacteria from settling in or standing still. Proper water circulation works to thoroughly mix sanitation chemicals and pool algaecides so it can clean algae from your pool.
Rinse and sanitize anything that enters your pool to effectively eradicate algae spores that have stowed away on swimsuits, toys, and pool equipment. Have swimmers rinse off before entering the pool to reduce the quantity of debris and bacteria from being transferred into the water. This will eliminate a nutritious food source for algae to feed on.
Set up a weekly cleaning and shock treatment schedule to maintain a beautiful, algae-free pool.
Giving Your Pool Water A Natural Sonic Wave Boost
Although these are not good stand-alone algae killers, using a sonic wave pool cleaner can help your other water treatment methods kill algae easier.
Whats great about a sonic wave pool cleaner is that its a 100% natural way to help eliminate algae that has zero impact on your swimming pools water chemistry while doing it.
How does a sonic wave pool cleaner work? As the name implies, it emits sound waves into your swimming pool. The range of these sound waves causes vibrations in the pool that are undetectable by humans, but help cause algae cells to break apart. This does a great job of keeping algae cells from growing into a large enough quantity to cause a bloom that will turn the pool water green and make it slimy too.
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How To Stop Black Algae From Returning
The best way to stop the formation of black algae is to make sure theres adequate circulation in your pool. Also, make it mandatory that anyone who swims in your pool rinses off first. All swimmers should wash their swimsuits, aquatic shoes, toys, and anything else before it goes into the water. Pool toys need to be scrubbed with a solution of one tablespoon of bleach per gallon of water. This will not only get them clean but will also sanitize them.
Swimsuits can go into the washing machine. However, the tiny bacterial spores stick to swimming wear fabric and jump into the pool the first chance they get, so make sure you use bleach to clean them.
Keeping your pool balanced and sanitized is another way you can keep nasty cyanobacteria from ruining the pristine clarity of your pool water. Shock your pool at least once a week. Run your pump and filter for eight to 12 hours a day for the duration of the season. Make sure your pool stays clean by regularly vacuuming and brushing it.
How To Get Rid Of Algae In Your Pool
Want to know a secret? Typical sanitizer levels are no match for pool algae. On a sunny day, algae photosynthesize and multiply rapidly, growing your microscopic problem into a pool-sized one in no time. Its easy to ignore a little cloudiness or some stubborn, dark debris by your stairs, especially when your pool is getting heavy use.
But overlook algae for just a little too long, and youll wind up spending a lot of time and money to get rid of it. Before that slimy nuisance grows out of control, get rid of algae in your pool with a special deep cleaning procedure. Then make sure it never comes back by using smart prevention measures.
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How To Identify Treat And Remove Algae In Your Swimming Pool
During the months of July and August, algae can be a very big problem for swimming pool owners. With the higher temperatures during these months, as well as inconsistency in a pool’s sanitizer levels, algae can rear its ugly head.
Algae is a single-celled plant form. It uses the process of to manufacture its own food. It comes in a very wide variety of colors and forms, making it adaptable to almost any condition.
Due to algae’s microscopic size, it takes literally millions of these plants to accumulate to be noticed by the naked eye! By that time it may be too late and very costly to correct.
As we tell all our customers: The best way to eliminate algae is through prevention!
This article will discuss the different types of algae and how to deal with each.
When Brushing Doesnt Cut It
If the algae persists for several years, it may be time to drain the pool. The dead algae cells can help revive the algae growth year after year. To combat the algae roots, use a chlorine wash or acid wash.
Swimming pools experiencing repeated algae blooms can be tested for phosphates. Heavy rainstorms can blow contaminants into the water from fertilizers or soil. Double-check your sanitation and balance as well.
Now you can call yourself a champion of algae knowledge and removal! Just repeat the steps above if you notice any changes and you will have a cleaner and easier pool opening come next year.
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What Causes Pool Algae Growth
Water is a magnet for living things, whether its a deer stopping for a cool drink or bacteria in search of a maternity ward. Water, sunlight, and a less-than-dutiful pool owner are the only ingredients required to give your pool some serious curb appeal to photosynthetic algae looking for a home.
When chlorine levels are too low, pH levels are too high, or both, algal blooms can form within a few short hours under the right conditions.
Conditions that can contribute to a microorganism explosion include the presence of nitrates, phosphates, and carbon dioxide as well as poor circulation, filtration, and sanitation.
Scrub The Black Algae Spots
Use a putty knife, a pumice stone, or a hand-held wire brush to get all the spots you couldnt get with the big brush. You can even use a chlorine tablet because not only does it have a scrubbing surface, but the chlorine gets applied chlorine directly to the bacteria. This kills its roots and prevents it from coming back.
To scrub with a chlorine tablet, youll need to wear chemical-resistant gloves and protective goggles. Break a three-inch tablet in half and hold it firmly while you scrub the bacteria with the broken edge.
If you cant reach a spot, place one-half of the tablet in a chlorine tablet holder with the broken part facing outward. Attach the holder to your telescoping pole and scrub the formerly unreachable spots.
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How Should I Care For My Pool When Im Treating It For Algae
Its important to maintain your pool as you try to get rid of algae. Turn off your pump, cover your pool with a solar blanket, and make sure that the filter is clean. If you have trichlor tablets or another kind of chlorine in the water when you are treating it for algae, remove these chemicals as soon as possible.
Wait before adding chemicals to your pool after shocking it with bleach. If you have a problem with algae once the shock treatment is over, only use a small amount of chlorine and monitor the water on a regular basis so that you can treat it for this problem as quickly as possible.
As mentioned above, chemicals may not be able to completely remove all kinds of algae from your pool, however, they can make this problem more manageable and easier to deal with. Make sure that you maintain your pools chemistry levels and do not add too much chlorine as it can cause damage to the water.
How To Remove Yellow Algae From A Swimming Pool
1. Clean the Pool. Brush every spot of algae off, using a quality pool brush with stiff nylon or stainless steel bristles will give you the best success. If you dont own at least one good pool brush, this may be why you have algae in the first place! Pools need to be brushed regularly, and for algae removal, the action of brushing is extremely important. Brushing removes it from the surface or exposes vulnerable layers of the algae, so that the chlorine can do its job. After brushing, vacuuming to waste, very slowly and carefully, all of the settled shock dust and dead algae cells. If you cannot vacuum to waste, vacuum into the filter, but do this before you have cleaned the filter . Very important to vacuum out all dead algae cells, which can regenerate if left in the pool.
2. Bleach everything. Use a solution of 1 gallon of bleach per 5 gallons of water. Use a trash can for larger items. Soak for 5 minutes, then flip over to soak the upper half. You can also soak your skimmer baskets and pump basket. If you have a pool cleaner, hoses, bags and other parts can also be bleach soaked for several minutes. Yellow algae likes to find a home underneath hose floats especially. Anything that goes into the pool could be contaminated. Floats, Noodles, Balls, maybe even you! Give everything a good bleaching, even your cleaning tools.
In The Swim Blog Editor
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