Prevention:
Prevention of any type of algae problem is preferred over treatment. Follow these steps to help prevent algae:
1. Physically brush & clean ALL Pool surfaces weekly. This includes ladder steps (especially underneath each step) & rails
2. Expose ALL pool surfaces to as much sunlight as possible (sunlight & UV are natural oxidizers)
3. Remove the lid from the skimmer to allow sunlight into the basket for several hours each day
** Owners of INGROUND POOLS MUST USE EXTREME CAUTION in doing this in order to avoid a person falling into or otherwise injuring themselves due to an open skimmer.
4. Regularly add oxidizing chemicals into the skimmer to purge & clean the filtration lines of any bio-film. Be sure to temporarily remove any other chemicals from the skimmer before adding any oxidizer.
5. When adding make-up water from the garden hose, allow the water to run for 2 to 3 minutes before putting the hose into the pool.
6. Regularly clean pool toys & floats (use Stow Away).
7. Regularly clean pool solar blanket (use Stow Away).
8. Chemically clean pool filter every 4 to 6 weeks (use Strip Kwik, Kleen It or SoftSwim® Filter Cleaner).
9. Add regular Maintenance doses of Shock & Algaecide every 2 to 3 weeks as prescribed.
10. Use Optimizer Plus® as a preventative measure
11. Run the filter a minimum of 12 hours daily to prevent “dead spots” in the pool.
12. Remember to clean & rinse the brushes, hoses & vacuums that you use to clean the pool. These can cause the pool to be re-contaminated.
13. Leave as much of your pool equipment exposed to the sun.
14. Keep the water balanced at all times. Recheck after heavy usage or rain or large “top-offs” of new water. Water balance refers to Free Available Sanitizer level, pH, Total Alkalinity, and Calcium Hardness.
Treatment:
Treatment of algae MUST BE QUICK & COMPLETE! DON’T SKIMP!
1. Clean all pool & affected surfaces as prescribed above.
2. Physically clean & remove all visible algae.
3. Add an initial dosage of algaecide to the pool*.
4. “Shock” the pool with a triple or quadruple dose*.
5. Run the filter 24 hours daily until water is clear & chlorine, bromine or peroxide (biguanide – such as Soft Swim or Baquacil – sanitizer) levels are maintained at a “higher” level*.
6. Chemically clean the filter.
7. Bring in a fresh water sample about 4 days later for a retest & evaluation.
8. Maintain Optimizer Plus® levels at a level of 40 ppm (chlorine, bromine & ionizer treated pools) to 80 ppm (biguanide).
9. Products such as NaturCare (a natural enzyme), Pool Perfect Plus PhosFree (enzyme plus phosphate remover) or AquaFinesse (removes bio-film build up on pool surfaces) treat many of the root causes that lead or contribute to algae blooms.
10. Maintain good water balance of pH, Total Alkalini-ty & Calcium Hardness.
*Follow the instructions given by your pool care specialist EXPLICITLY. Failure to do so could result in harm to you and/or your pool & its components.
Algae is a common problem in swimming
pools. What is it & how is it successfully prevented and treated. First of all, algae is a single-celled plant form. Some are aquatic (live in water), some are not. Algae utiliz-es the process of photosynthesis to manufacture its own food. Algae comes in very wide variety of colors and forms making it adaptable to almost any condition. Although some forms are virulent, most are harmless and pose no more than a nuisance to most pool owners. 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. Prevention of algae blooms is the best solution.
The most common form of algae in swimming pools is “green” algae. Green algae (varies in color from blue-green to yellow-green to dark-green) can be free floating in the water (turning the water a hazy-green) or can be wall-clinging (patches of green). Wall-clinging varieties range in severity from small patches on pool walls and bottoms to virtually covering the entire pool surface. Green algae has the ability to clog filters and may even cause surface dam-age if left untreated. Green algae can be treated fairly simp-ly and quickly with a proper, aggressive shocking & algae-cide.
A relative of regular green algae is “small-celled green
algae” (SCGA). The difference is seen in these areas:
1. The water remains relatively clear. Many people treat the problem (without proper analysis) as a copper or miner-al problem, however the metal chelating agents will show no effect.
2. When treating with chlorine, chlorine seems to
“disappear”. SCGA is very resistant to even high levels
of chlorine.
Other mid-summer types of green algae noticed is “green spots” all around the pool, especially in shady areas. The water is almost always “very clear”. The water can have a “stinging” sensation. This is normal green algae, typically brought about by lack of homeowner care; i.e. not follow-ing a weekly maintenance routine such as the Once-a-Week 3 Step program combined with very low pH & very low Total Alkalimity.