Pool algae

Swimming Pool Algae: The Algae are the most common visible pool water problem. There are over 20,000 species but only few are seen in swimming pool water. They convert sunlight into food with the release of waste which becomes the feeding base for unwanted harmful bacteria and other micro-organisms. The algae multiply very fast and it takes just few hours on a warm sunny day for a swimming pool to catch up with algae. With the presence of algae in the pool, the chlorine level decreases with the tendency to raise the pH level. Soon the pool becomes cloudy with foul odours and tastes. The algae in swimming pools are referred to by their colors. Some of the swimming pool algae are the green algae, the yellow or the mustard algae, the black algae and the pink algae.

Green Pool Algae: The Green algae are the free floating or wall-clinging algae growing very quickly. They are single celled plant forms which utilize the sunlight to prepare their own food through photosynthesis. Due to their microscopic nature, it takes millions of plants to get accumulated to be noticed. They have the ability to clog the filters and cause surface damage. Their treatment is simple and quick with proper and aggressive pool shock.

Black Pool Algae: The black algae are common in concrete pools and are not common in vinyl liner pools. They form black spots on the pool surfaces which are resistant to chlorine. The best way to handle the black algae problem is to remove them as quickly as they are observed in the water. The ordinary shock treatment will not remove the black algae. They require thorough brushing in order to break open the slime layer.

Pool Algae Remove:  Only the adequate levels of chlorine can prevent the algae from growing. The powerful chemical which kills algae growth is chlorine based swimming pool shock. It is a kind of granular form of concentrated chlorine used to raise the chlorine level in the swimming pool water. The chlorine kills the organic green algae. Sometimes, the shock treatment with an algaecide is also effective. During the pool shock treatment, the pool filter system should be working and continue to run 24 hours a day until all the signs of algae are removed. The second dose of pool shock can be treated if there is no significant improvement after 24 hours of filtering. Even the pool filter must be backwashed or cleaned to remove the dead algae that are trapped inside the filter. After the algae are removed completely, the swimming pool can be vacuumed. The algae and harmful bacteria are destroyed by a chlorine level of 1 ppm or higher. Removing black algae requires skills. In case of black algae, prior to and during treatment, the algae must be thoroughly brushed. If not done properly, the treatment will not work on black algae.  Pool must be treated with aggressive shock and a good quality of algaecide. Pools with deeper addictions must be treated with second dose of algaecide and double dosage of shock. In order to avoid the growth of the algae, the levels of different components in the swimming pool water are as follows.

• Free Chlorine: 1-3 ppm
• pH: 7.2 – 7.6
• Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm

• Calcium Hardness: 200 – 350 ppm