Black algae outbreak in my pool

[Snowball7]

Algaecide.

[lewdog_5]

A little different question but along the lines of other posts in this thread.

How long can I go between emptying my pool for new water if I maintain my pool with no tab usage and the CYA is still within normal range. I used liquid acid and liquid chlorine and have done this myself for 2.5 years with no problems. I've never had an outbreak of anything in my pool. Just have to check your levels 2-3x per week. I am hoping this extends the time between draining and refilling the pool. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[BigEinAz]

Trouble Free Pool. Best site on the ' net for maintaining your pool.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by lewdog_5

A little different question but along the lines of other posts in this thread.

How long can I go between emptying my pool for new water if I maintain my pool with no tab usage and the CYA is still within normal range. I used liquid acid and liquid chlorine and have done this myself for 2.5 years with no problems. I've never had an outbreak of anything in my pool. Just have to check your levels 2-3x per week. I am hoping this extends the time between draining and refilling the pool. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

At some point your calcium will get too high and you'll have a harder time maintaining the pool and it will be hard to keep the calcium deposit from forming around the tile line.

I change my water every 3 years just because the calcium level gets too high.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by gsm113

My pool floor has started growing dark spots that feel like velvet carpet to the touch. A little googling suggests it's black algae. Is this something our weekly pool maintenance service should have prevented? Should I look for a new pool company?

Disagree with Ponderosa. Yes, they should have caught this. They were being lazy. Any decent pool service should be scrubbing the sides of the pool and vacuuming. Also, they should be check your chemicals and adjusting as necessary. Many pool companies in the valley empty the basket, skim the service and don't really manage the chemicals. I would hire a new pool service without question. Usually the issue is with chemicals. I would say the majority of pool companies in the Valley send Bill and Ted to your pool, they hang out for 2 minutes and leave. It's a challenge but a quality pool company is worth the higher fee. Find a reputable one that provides quality work and it will pay for itself.

Also, if you have black algae, I recommend emptying the water, cleaning and scrubbing the bottom of the pool and the refilling the water and starting over.

I can speak from experience because one of my rental properties had this. You can pour all the shock and algaecide you want and it still may not treat it. Once it gets that bad, you need to dump the water and essentially start over. Your pool was neglected.

People are scared to empty their pool because they think it is a big endeavor. It's really not and most pool companies will take care of this for you for a fee. You will also hear horror stories about how your water bill will be ridiculously high etc. It won't.

[maverick974]

You don't want to empty your pool in the summer. A plaster pool can have serious issues if it has no water in it and the hot sun is beating down on it. Pool companies typically do acid washing only in winter around here because of this. They usually recommend that the air temps be in the low 80's or below if you are going to empty your pool.

[snatale1]

Shock it, if your unsure of it being black algae take a couple pics and bring them to a local pool chemical store. Don't pay others to do what you can easily do, this is the end result.

[ScottsdaleMark]

Originally Posted by maverick974

You don't want to empty your pool in the summer. A plaster pool can have serious issues if it has no water in it and the hot sun is beating down on it. Pool companies typically do acid washing only in winter around here because of this. They usually recommend that the air temps be in the low 80's or below if you are going to empty your pool.

Yes, you'll want to wait at least until October or so, if I recall correctly. I remember because I had a pool that had old water in it and it was just a bear and a half to keep the water correct, but they didn't want to dump it and refill it right away. Once they did refill it, we had no issues with our pool turning green for 2 or 3 years ... until this weekend that is when the storm blew all kind of leaves, litter and dust into it and now it's turning green again. Sigh.

Anyone have any recommendations for companies that make pool covers? I'm so tired of my pool always being full of litter.

[hikernut]

If your CYA is too high and you don't want to wait until winter to have a remedy, you can do a continuous water exchange. It's a bit more wasteful of water than a drain/refill, but it can be done any time because the water level is not being dropped.

Just pull water out of one end of the pool and fill from the opposite end. Make sure all of the pumps are off when you do this, as you want to minimize the mixing of old and new water. Also, best to do it when you're around so you can keep an eye on it and see that the water level is not rising/falling too much. We did this earlier in the year and successfully dropped our CYA down to 50, from 100+.