Treating and Preventing Yellow / Green Algae in Swimming Pools in Florida

 As the summer rolls on along in Sarasota, Florida - we’ve all become acclimated to the daily late afternoon rainstorms. As much as our lawns and plants need the water after sitting in the hot summer sun all morning long, our pools do not. As we discussed previously about how the heavy rains can throw off your pool’s chemistry, now is the time when it can be critically important to keep on top of the situation. Some rain may be very acidic, therefore affecting both the alkaline levels and the pH of your pool water. When heavy rains fall that have a pH of about 5.0, it can result in lowering the pH balance of your pool – which should always stay at a balance of between of 7.4 to 7.6. It is when this happens that some Central Florida and Orlando area residents may experience  GREEN swimming pool “syndrome”. If not taken care of right away or immediately, the pool algae can get out of control very, very quickly. The following are the reasons why your pool turns green and what you can do to get it back to being swim-ready and sparkling.

Why Do Pools Turn Green?

As more rainwater fills your swimming pool, the chlorine levels become diluted. When the chlorine in a pool goes below 1 ppm (parts per million), algae has the perfect scenario to start growing. Once the algae grows it will begin to change color, which is when you’ll first begin to notice that greenish tinge in the pool water. The moment you see that greenish color, you need to take action immediately, taking the necessary measures to correctly treat your pool before it gets out of control. Many times, simply super-chlorinating, or “shocking” your pool is enough to kill and get rid of the algae. To shock your pool for regular upkeep, you’ll typically need one pound of granular chlorine for every 10,000 gallons of water. If your past this point and dealing with an algae infestation, it’s going to require a lot more work and is beyond the point of just regular prevention.

The 3 Colors You’ll See and What They Mean

• Teal – at this phase of color, the algae is at its least problematic stage. In order to remove the teal color from your pool, you’ll need two (2) pounds of chlorine shock for every 10,000 gallons of water that is in your pool.
• Green (swamp-like) – seeing a swamp-like color in your pool is a slightly bigger issue, but luckily still fixable. To remedy a green, swampy color, requires three (3) pounds of chlorine shock for every 10,000 gallons of water that your pool holds.
• Black – if you’re seeing black, it’s the most serious of algae colors. Black pools require more work and you’ll need at least four (4) pounds of shock for every 10,000 gallons of water. You may also want to consider calling in a professional pool maintenance company.

How to Shock Your Pool

Before anything else, the first thing you need to do is test the chemicals in the pool water to make sure that the pH level is between 7.4 and 7.6 and that the alkalinity is between 100ppm and 150ppm. Shocking your swimming pool should be done at night, and you will also need to keep the pool’s filter running the entire time. After you’ve tested the chemicals you:

1. Pour the bag of calcium hypo-chloride (shock) into a bucket of pool water.
2. Pour the contents of the bucket into the water around the perimeter of the pool.
3. Leave your pool filter running and see what the pool looks like in the morning. If it’s still discolored, then you’ll need to repeat the process with a second shock treatment.

Stay in Control! Prevention Is Key:

You may notice that after you shock your pool, the green color will go away, but your pool will look cloudy. This means that the chlorine is doing its job, but you need to continue to keep the filter running for 24 hours at this point. It’s also important to keep an eye on the filter pressure to prevent a rise. If you see that the pressure has risen by approximately 20-25%, you’ll then also need to clean or backwash the filter. After the cloudiness fully clears up, you can then reduce the filter’s run time down to only 15 hours a day.

Make sure you keep testing the pools chemicals to make sure the pH and alkalinity are within the correct range (pH between 7.4 and 7.6; alkalinity between 100 ppm and 150 ppm) and that the chlorine level is staying between 1 ppm and 3 ppm. You’ll need to continue balancing your pool’s water weekly afterwards, until everything is back to normal. At this point you can once again resume running the filter for 10-12 hours a day. You may additionally want to consider adding an algaecide to your pool weekly to keep it sparkling for the rest of the summer.

How To Kill & Remove Black Algae from Your Swimming Pool

Black Algae is a nasty form of algae which pretty much forms inside the small pours of the finish of your pool and the area exposed to the pool water it forms almost like a ‘shield’ to protect it from most algaecides and chlorine / shock.

To treat, kill, get rid of and remove Black Algae from your pool. Follow the following steps:

STEP 1: Get a stainless steel brush (found online at AquaSupercenter.com or at most pool stores). This will look like your normal pool brush but instead of nylon brush bristles.... there will be metal wires as brush bristles. This is very important as you need to brush the pool hard with a Steel Brush to destroy and get rid of the what I call ‘shield’ the black algae forms.

STEP 2: Turn off your pool pump and give your pool about 30 minutes for the water to ‘settle’ to a standstill after you just brushed the black algae hard. This is important as the next step requires the pool water to be 100% still.

STEP 3: With the water still; you should have Black Algae Destroyer (some chemical which is for black algae which will be granular and will have the words “TriChlor” in the active ingredient). The goal is to sprinkle the black algae chemical (TriChlor) directly over the black algae. The goal is for the little granular of TriChlor to sink to the bottom of the pool directly on and around the black algae. Since you just brushed off the ‘shield’ protecting the black algae. What this step does is pretty much eat up the black algae. TriChlor is the strongest form of Chlorine there is. So by sprinkling a bunch of black algaecide/TriChlor at the bottom where the black algae is, the chlorine concentration level in that immediate area will be STRONGER than ever before; it will literally eat up the black algae - kill it and destroy it. 

STEP 4: Wait 24 hours with your pool off so the black algae chemical/TriChlor has time to work... You can then start your pump. Give it a few days then do your normal water test and do not assume you will need Chlorine, there is a good chance your chlorine level is high due to the black algae treatment.

Thats it! Your pool should be beautiful after that.

Costs:

• Stainless Steel Pool Brush = $14 - $34
• Black Algaecide/TriChlor = $12 - $25
• Total Cost: $25 - $59
• Total Labor Time: 2 Hours

Six Easy Steps To Remove Algae From Your Pool

When it comes to removing algae from your pool there are a number of different ways that you cannot only remove severe algae but also ensure that it never gets out of control from then on. Algae can be a huge hassle especially when you get it for the first time. If you really need to get rid of algae and make sure that it doesn't return you will need to follow the following tips.

1.       Maintain your circulation system: maintaining your pump, the filters and the skimmers is extremely important. When your filter becomes clogged and you don't make efforts to back washer clean your filter it's only a matter of time before algae will form. Your pump also needs to be running at least 6-8 hours a day when you have swimmers in your pool. Without the pump running at least this length of time you were going to get algae.

2.       Shock your pool weekly: one of the best ways that you can eliminate spores of algae is to use regular sanitizer and to shock your pool weekly.

3.       Monitor all the chemical levels in your pool: whether you are using an automatic or floating sanitizer device, you need to always monitor the levels in your pool to make sure that algae spores can't form. All the levels should be kept correct levels or you are going to consistently see algae in the pool.

4.       Use pool brushes: the walls and floors of your pool will often start to form algae. If you aren't regularly scrubbing your pool with the proper brush you'll start to see algae growth forming at the edges above the water or even on the bottom of the pool. It can be difficult for the circulation system to eliminate these spores so you will need to put in a little elbow grease yourself.

5.       Get algaecide: in the worst possible case you can use algaecide to help algae spores from developing into blooms. This is an easy-to-use chemical that is really only to be used if you are having real difficulty controlling the spores.

6.       Consider getting a vacuum for your pool: one of the automatic vacuums can help you clean all of the surfaces in your pool with ease and prevent algae from building up. You can also get a manual vacuum which will both scrub and remove any debris from the pool.