How Do I Prevent Or Get Rid Of Black Algae In My Pool
When you own a pool, regular maintenance is a part of life. Preventive measures like brushing and vacuuming your pool, maintaining proper pool chemistry with balanced chemicals, and shocking your pool weekly help keep it clean.
Sanitizing your pool tools and toys is important, as is making sure you keep your filter in working order and run it regularly.
In addition, its a good idea to make sure no one enters the pool without first washing their bathing suit . That includes your pupafter a swim in the lake or ocean, he should have a bath before he jumps in the pool.
Bring in a water sample to any of our 5 locations and well determine whether you have black algae in your pool and what products you need to help you remove it. Well also help you understand how to prevent black algae from returning so you, your family, and friends can swim happily all season long!
Theres Black Algae In My Pool: What Can I Do
Having a pool at home is an amazing way to enjoy your backyard, entertain guests and cool off. Unfortunately, the environment around swimming pools also provides a breeding ground for the kinds of guests you dont want, such as algae. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to get rid of algae and keep it from coming back to your pool in the future.
One of the most frustrating invaders in swimming pools is black algae. This type of algae is also known as blue-green algae. Despite its name, black algae is actually a type of bacteria that looks like black or dark blue-green mold. Not only can black algae make your pool look dirty and uninviting, but it can also be dangerous for anyone who gets in your pool. Swimming in or accidentally drinking pool water thats infected with black algae can lead to serious health issues like liver damage.
The first step in fighting back against black algae is to make sure thats truly what youre dealing with. The best way to do this is to contact a pool professional. These pros have the training and experience to figure out what is growing in your pool. Also, they have the specialized tools and products needed to eliminate black algae and deal with any other pool issues youre facing.
If you would like to try to tackle the issue on your own, there are some signs you can look for that might indicate you have black algae in your pool:
Why Do You Have Black Algae In Your Pool
Simple. Someone swam in a natural body of water like a river, pond, lake, or the ocean, didnt wash their swimwear afterward, and then wore that same swimwear into your pool.
Maybe that was you, and you did remember to wash your swimwear in between, but forgot about that inner tube you used to float down the river, and then tossed it into your pool unwashed. You just put out the welcome mat for black algae in your pool.
Its less likely, but black algae can also enter your pool via airborne spores.
Now what? Well, the first step to getting rid of black algae is understanding what it is, because guess what? Its not algae at all.
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You Can See Clearly Now The Algaes Gone
Whew! Were tired after just putting all this down, so we can imagine how exhausted you must be! Itll be worth it, though, to kill the black algae in your pool and keep it from returning.
More importantly, youll be keeping your family and pets safe, and maintaining a pool thats clean, sanitary, and fun to use without any worries.
Happy Swimming!
Brush The Edges And Bottom Of The Pool
To get rid of the algae and other debris stuck to pool sides and bottom, a brushing session is very effective.
- In the beginning, you have to choose the right brush for the pool according to its structure.
- A pool with concrete or plastered walls should be treated with tough stiff wired ones.
- Besides the side and bottom, any area or structure that stays underwater should be brushed accordingly.
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How To Kill Black Algae In Your Pool
Its bad enough to discover your pool is infected with regular ol green algae. Luckily, thats usually pretty simple to address. But if you discover black algae in your pool, get ready because you have some work to do to get your pool back to normal. And for safetys sake, no one can swim in it until you do.
Good News It Can Be Prevented Heres How:
The trick is to keep your water properly balanced and clean.
Be sure to:
- Keep pH, alkalinity and sanitiser levels in the recommended range.
- Run your pump and filter all day long .
- Clean your swimming pool thoroughly and regularly by brushing it, vacuuming it and hosing it down.
- Add pool-shock once a week .
- Maintain your pool equipment by keeping it sanitised this includes any floats or toys that are likely to make contact with the water.
You could also shop around for some algaecide. This is a chemical formaula that attacks algae and prevents a reoccurance.
While chlorine is the all-round best method, this stuff is still worth trying. Unlike chlorine, it doesnt get affected by mineral content, water temperature, sunlight or pH levels.
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How To Get Rid Of Black Algae In Vinyl Pool
- First, brush the algae spots using a nylon brush to open up the algae coating.
- Test the water PH levels and reduce it to the lower limit of the normal operating range to improve the chlorine effectiveness.
- Next, superchlorinate the pool and add a dose of quaternary type algaecide . Ensure you follow the recommended dosage from the manufacturer, as too much use may cause foaming.
- Continue to brush the algae stains to increase the chemical penetration which results in better efficiency.
- Last, vacuum the dead algae to the drain once they have been killed.
Once its been two days after superchlorination, add a dose of Polyquat as per instruction on the product. Polyquat are more expensive than typical quaternary algaecides but theyre better at controlling these resistant algae types.
Now that the staining has been taken care of, resume normal chlorination and water balance.
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Note: The best protection against algae growth is a constantly held free chlorine level in the range of 1-3 ppm, a total alkalinity between 80 to 120 ppm, a PH between 7.2 to 7.6, and a calcium hardness of 200 to 300 ppm.
Another type of black/gray colored stain can happen when dye-producing microorganisms colonize the vinyl liner back side. To solve this, do some superchlorination and put a polyethylene barrier between the vinyl liner and the walls and floor of the pool provide a barrier to these types or organisms.
Brush The Black Algae Patches
Use a steel-bristled pool brush for concrete pools, or a nylon brush for fiberglass or liner pools, to scrub the spots where the black algae is. Brushing these spots will loosen the grip that the black algae has on the pool walls, so its easier to remove. Youll need to use quite a lot of effort when scrubbing.
As stated earlier, black algae has strong and long roots that run deep into the pool frame. So even after you have scraped and scrubbed the black algae, chances are the roots will still be inside the pool walls.
If you paid attention in science class, then you know that if the roots are still alive, the black algae can still grow.
To kill the roots, you should
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Black Algae: What Causes Black Algae In Pool And How To Get Rid Of It
Black Algae: Well, in this post, I would be walking you through various aspects of black algae in order to help you make an informed decision.
Furthermore, I would be responding to the queries related to black algae so that you can achieve optimum results in an epigrammatic span of time without any hassle.
So, without any further ado, lets dive in
In my pool algae post, Ive briefly discussed that black algae are the most dreaded variant of the algae family, and if it has flooded your pool then definitely, youll have to put loads and loads of effort into getting rid of this devil.
Trust me, it would definitely cause pain in your butt because simply shocking your pool or chlorinating it a couple of times wouldnt give you the desired result.
But, before we have an in-depth discussion on how to get rid of black algae, its really important that you have a fair idea about why black algae are so bad for your pool and the preventive measures that you can take to prevent its reoccurrence.
Ive got a couple of pools and trust me, Ive struggled at times to get rid of black algae.
Anyways, without wasting any time, lets get straight to the topic.
Does it make sense?
What Is Black Algae
True algae is an aquatic plant belonging to a group that includes everything from single-celled organisms to seaweed. This is why when you think of algae, you think of it as being something greenit usually is.
Like most plants, green algae contains chlorophyll, the pigment that gives it its green color. Chlorophyll is also the substance that allows a plant to perform , the process by which the plant uses light to synthesize food from carbon dioxide and water.
What we call black algae is actually a bacteria. Specifically, a cyanobacteria, which refers to blue-green algae, hence the cyan part of its name.
So if black algae is cyanobacteria, which is blue-green in color, why is it black?
Cyanobacteria contains chlorophyll, which contributes to its blue-green color. But it can also contain other water-soluble pigments that, when combined with the blue-green pigment, make the bacteria appear black.
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Shock Your Pool Regularly
Shocking your pool every week is a great way to refrain algae spores from entering your pool.
And, if by any chance black algae spores make it to your pool, then shocking your pool with heavy chlorine product treatment would be able to kill them along with other unwanted bacteria present in the pool.
I hope you wouldve thoroughly enjoyed the aforementioned steps that would prevent the blossom of black algae.
What Normally Eliminates Algae
Grab a brush as well as some cooking soft drink Bicarbonate, the energetic component in cooking soft drink, is a reliable place therapy to assist eliminate the algae as well as loosen it from the wall surface. See to it you truly get every last bit totally free black algae has especially lengthy as well as persistent origins that makes it a relentless hair.
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Black Spot In Swimming Pool Are You Sure
Please call us if you are unsure of the type of staining you have as the wrong treatment can make it much worse. This image is of a pool that initially had mild metal staining. Our customer mistakenly believed that the metal stains were black spot algae. He then treated it with granular chlorine to remove the stains and within an hour most of the pool surface turned black.
Remember, treating a metal stain with high strength chlorine and algaecides will oxidize the metal staining and make it even darker!
Time To Bring Out The Vacuum
Two types of vacuum cleaners can do the pool cleaning job these days.
1. The Robotic Vaccum Cleaner
- This is the most efficient as you just need to plug it in and lower it carefully in the pool.
- After a few minutes it will be done with tidying and you should switch off the power and empty its filter.
2. The Manual Vaccum Cleaner
- While working with this, you put yourself in the pool too and clean every inch of the pool floor.
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Scrub The Pool With Chlorine Tablets
Break one chlorine in half and use the rough side to scrape the areas that had been affected again. Do not forget to wear gloves if you did not have a pair on yet. This will help to remove the protective layers of any stubborn algae and will expose the roots, allowing the chlorine to get to them and kill them.
Quadruple Shock The Pool
Youre going to quadruple shock your pool because a regular dose wont be enough. See what the manufacturer says is the correct dose for your pools volume, and then multiply that by four.
Use calcium hypochlorite because nothing else on the market works as good as this substance for getting rid of black algae. Place all your pool maintenance equipment, such as the brush, the leaf skimmer, and the tablet holder, in the shallow end so it can be sanitized while youre shocking your pool.
Remember to do your shocking at night. If you do it during the day, the suns rays will neutralize the chlorine before it has a chance to kill the bacteria.
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There Are Two Basic Groups Of Algae:
The growth of both types of algae can be easily prevented by using a quality algaecide as part of a regular maintenance program, and by proper circulation. It takes far less algaecide to prevent algae growth from getting started than it will to cure it once it has occurred.
In spite of your best efforts, algae problems can occur and require some consideration for proper treatment. When an algaecide becomes necessary, read our guide to pool algaecide types to find your perfect product.
Balancing act
Clean The Pool Filter
Finally, clean the pool filter. You dont want any baby water boatman bugs, or bugs of any sort, dirt, and algae stuck in the pool filter.
Clean the pool filter after shutting it down. Take a cloth a soak it with dilute muriatic acid and scrub the pool filter with the cloth.
But itll be best if you change the pool filter and use a fresh and new pool filter to ensure no traces of water boatman bugs, their eggs, babies, and even algae are in the pool filter.
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Handle Your Swim Suit Appropriately
You need to be very careful with your swimming suit if you want to prevent the occurrence of black algae.
After swimming in the ocean, you must clean and dry your swimsuit to prevent any last-hour misadventure.
For all those who dont know that the black algae can get into your pool in numerous ways, it is really important to understand that one of the most common ways of algae blossom is the use of a swimsuit that has been previously used in ocean water.
The algae spore present in the ocean water would stick to the swimsuit and hop off in the pool for the very first chance it will get there.
So, be sure to bleach the swimsuit before using it in your pool.
Keep An Eye Out For Stragglers
Over the next few days , keep a close eye on your pool for any signs of black algae returning. Its possible that, even with all that shocking and brushing, you may have missed a teeny-tiny bit that will start to grow again. Were talking about bacteria, remember. Its microscopic.
If you do see a small spot reappear, brush it off, scrub the spot with a broken chlorine tablet, and then give your pool a normal dose of shock.
After all that, were betting you dont ever want to see the smallest spot of black algae in your pool again, right? So make sure you do everything you can to keep it out.
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How To Get Rid Of The Black Algae In Your Pool
Once these organisms or plants, depending on who you ask take root in your pool, they are quick to spread. Though they may not be easily detectable at first, they will soon turn into a downright infestation. To eliminate it, you will basically need to do a lot of brushing, scrubbing and shocking to get your pool back to normal. What are the exact steps, though?
Prevention is always better than the cure, but in this case, its twice as true because getting rid of the black algae in your pool is just so complicated. With all this work, youll just wish you had taken better care of your water!
Do you feel up to fixing the problem? If not, were your Lutz and Land OLakes neighbors. Well be happy to take over and deliver the best expert care for your pool. Just contact us and well know what to do!
Be sure to check out the rest of our blogs in this 5 part Pool Algae Series.
