# Strange Phenomena in Swimming Pool



## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

For years I have been able to maintain my pool myself with the help of posters on this Forum. Now I need help..yet again.

OK, it's been very hot here for weeks now. Temperatures on to the pool must be over 40C for several hours each day. I noticed green films on the floor and sides of the pool especially at the shallow end so chucked in algaecide to the recommended amount. I checked the levels, chlorine was high and ph a bit low.
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Since I put in the algaecide I've noticed white bubbles appearing on the surface of the water and the green film hasn't disappeared. It also seems to me that the pool water is hotter than it should be. We've swum in the pool amidst the bubbles and our hair hasn't turned green or our skin purple.

But I think something is not right here! The bubbles have nothing to do with the jets or the pump being on. I run the pump for at least two hours each day at the hottest times of the day.

Any advice will be most gratefully received.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

Hi,

This is quite common so don't worry.

For the chlorine (and other chemicals) to work properly, the pH MUST be at the correct level.

I would correct that first and then raise the chlorine level - slightly.


Your chemicals should now work.

Brush as much of the green algae off the walls and just wait - it will clear.


With the high temperatures at the moment, the chlorine will be used up much faster than usual so you need too be monitoring it daily.

Best of luck.


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## silverfox1 (Apr 24, 2013)

Sounds like a build up of suntan oil etc mixing with algae.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Thanks guys...but what about the hot water? Is that normal?


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Assuming you don't have a pool heater with it on permanently, simply enjoy your new Turkish bath...


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

mrypg9 said:


> Thanks guys...but what about the hot water? Is that normal?


Our pool is over 30 at the moment - the air temperature is a little lower than yours. We're in the mid to upper 30's every day. We had one day of 43 (in the shade).

We run our pump for about 2 hours at about 4 or 5 in the morning (so it doesn't bother us too much) - how about putting it on a timer and trying that.

I'm not a chemist but, perhaps, if you aerate the water that much in the hottest part of the day, the algae simply love it?????


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

I'm going to put the pool on timer...at the time you suggest.
Meanwhile will swim rather than run a bath....


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## windwalker (Dec 21, 2009)

Interesting that you all run your pumps only 2 hours/day. In the summer I run mine 6 hours during the day and an hour during the night. It is also very hot here.
And at some point the filtering media can become green with algae too. That happened to me once. You can either sanitize it, or replace it, when that happens. And that was when I was advised I needed to run the pump longer and at least an hour halfway between when the long session turned off and when it turned back on.


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## SandraP (Apr 23, 2014)

Windwalker, my husband used to have a pool in Florida and he said more or less the same as you, he ran his pump for at least 6 hours a day and never had a problem with algae.
We have a hot tub here in the UK and it is set by the manufacturer (a Californian company) to run the pumps every couple of hours for 10 minutes each time. I know it is not a swimming pool, but it is permantly at 37.5 degrees and we don't have any problems with it at all and the water is always crystal clear.
Maybe the solution is to run your pumps for a longer period of time.


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## silverfox1 (Apr 24, 2013)

In the summer months when the Pool is in use, ALL the water needs to pass through the filter once a day. Run the pump 6 - 8 hours daily, keep the chemical levels right by using testing strips and adjust where necessary. "Shock" with chlorine if a lot of people have used the pool wearing sun tan oil. The cost of running the pump would be approx. €2 per day but you will save on chemicals.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

silverfox1 said:


> In the summer months when the Pool is in use, ALL the water needs to pass through the filter once a day. Run the pump 6 - 8 hours daily, keep the chemical levels right by using testing strips and adjust where necessary. "Shock" with chlorine if a lot of people have used the pool wearing sun tan oil. The cost of running the pump would be approx. €2 per day but you will save on chemicals.



If you have to run the pump for that long simply to 'turn the water over just once', then I would suggest that the pump is too small for the pool.


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## silverfox1 (Apr 24, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> If you have to run the pump for that long simply to 'turn the water over just once', then I would suggest that the pump is too small for the pool.


We all have different opinions on this, however, a 1kw pump can process 6000 ltrs per hour. A small pool, say, 8 x 3 x 1.5m has a total volume of 36 cubic metres.
It would take 6 hours to circulate that pool completely once a day.


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I have always run my pool pump for two hours a day in the summer and my water is always crystal clear. I have a timer and it goes on for half an hour, four times a day. I check the water every few days and normally only have to add pH+ after heavy rain. My pool holds 75 cubic litres and it has run like this for 20 years. If I had to run the pump for 6-8 hours a day, heaven knows what my electricity bill would be, the last one was already over €300.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

Madliz said:


> I have always run my pool pump for two hours a day in the summer and my water is always crystal clear. I have a timer and it goes on for half an hour, four times a day. I check the water every few days and normally only have to add pH+ after heavy rain. My pool holds 75 cubic litres and it has run like this for 20 years. If I had to run the pump for 6-8 hours a day, heaven knows what my electricity bill would be, the last one was already over €300.


After heavy rain, we have to add ph-, rainwater being alkaline. Some of my neighbours regularly add a fair amount of ph- routinely.
Is yours acidic?
As for the pump times, we do the same. I hate to think what our bill would be running it for up to 8 hours a day as some have been advised!


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## Madliz (Feb 4, 2011)

I believe normal rainwater is around pH 5-6. It certainly always makes my pool more acidic.

Incidentally, years ago acid rain was the scare story of the day, yet is never mentioned today.


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## silverfox1 (Apr 24, 2013)

There are a lot of variables with Pools which effect the clarity of the water eg. the age of the sand in the filter, the efficiency of the pump, the amount of people using it, the chemical balance etc, etc.

Perhaps giving advice on a forum without actually seeing the pool is not a good idea.
I won't bother in the future!!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

silverfox1 said:


> There are a lot of variables with Pools which effect the clarity of the water eg. the age of the sand in the filter, the efficiency of the pump, the amount of people using it, the chemical balance etc, etc.
> 
> Perhaps giving advice on a forum without actually seeing the pool is not a good idea.
> I won't bother in the future!!


We all have different experiences - yours would appear to be one in the minority.

That is not to say that it is wrong but I and others run the pump for less time than you and have crystal clear water whilst saving some money.


Advice and opinions are always welcome and will generally differ from one person to the next.

Don't take it personally.




@mrypg9 - how is your pool after all this advice?


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## silverfox1 (Apr 24, 2013)

snikpoh said:


> Advice and opinions are always welcome and will generally differ from one person to the next.
> 
> Don't take it personally


Ok I wont!

Pool Cleaner to Customer "green pool madam, no worries, just crap in the filter"
Customer "Oh brilliant, how many times a day do I have to do that?"


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

snikpoh said:


> We all have different experiences - yours would appear to be one in the minority.
> 
> That is not to say that it is wrong but I and others run the pump for less time than you and have crystal clear water whilst saving some money.
> 
> ...



I shocked with chlorine....excellent result! I'd been relying on those three- in- one slow dissolving tablets..ineffective in hot weather. I run the pump for two hours in the afternoon.
But ...I woke up yesterday to find that dead algae had been pumped back onto the pool through the jets.
So I hoovered it out andbackwashed and rinsed. When I do that should I close the limpia fondo and open the skimmer valves?
We had the sand in the filter replaced by glass last year and thewater has been softer and clearer. 
.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

extranjero said:


> After heavy rain, we have to add ph-, rainwater being alkaline. Some of my neighbours regularly add a fair amount of ph- routinely.
> Is yours acidic?
> As for the pump times, we do the same. I hate to think what our bill would be running it for up to 8 hours a day as some have been advised!


Somebody didn't pay attention in their science classes - *rainwater is always acidic*, it cannot be anything but. Its acidity is caused by dissolving CO2 from the atmosphere making it very dilute carbonic acid. It becomes alkaline after it has landed on the ground and the mild acidity dissolves the likes of calcium and magnesium on its way to becoming hard water.

The water you top up with from your water supply may well be hard water, i.e. alkaline, unless it passes first through a water softener.


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## extranjero (Nov 16, 2012)

I'll consider myself told off, then!


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

extranjero said:


> I'll consider myself told off, then!


Sorry, I wasn't knuckle rapping at all, just trying to ensure that others get the correct info while explaining why, I was never a teacher and never wanted to be but I remember that the best teachers I had and whose lessons were memorable were those who took the time to explain the what? why? and wherefore? 

I can still recall some of my physics lessons from 60 years ago and one, in particular, enabled me to devise a method to restore my vision after the hospital ophthalmologist said nothing could be done. My method has now been used to enable others to see properly again. All thanks to a physics teacher who took the time to explain.


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