Keep that green darkness out of your pool

Green pool water is almost always due to algae, although excess copper from a flow-driven metal ionizer or sanitizer (such as Nature2) can turn it a light greenish color. Once algae start to grow in a pool, they quickly overwhelm the system, turning from light green to darker, darker shades. Algae can double every 12 hours or less, depending on conditions. The pool quickly becomes unusable, and not just for aesthetic reasons. Algae can harbor harmful levels of infectious bacteria.

Algae can have several causes, but the main one is an inappropriate disinfectant. In most pools that use chlorine as the primary disinfectant (including pools that use salt chlorine generators), this means that there is not enough free available chlorine (FAC) in the water. For most pools, this would be 2 to 3 ppm, assuming the pool water is “balanced.”

What can be done with algae?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Pool algae is a perfect example of one of Ben Franklin’s most famous aphorisms. As you will see below, getting rid of algae once it has established in your pool is a costly process. You should avoid the formation of algae if possible. There are two solutions for algae, the first based on prevention and the second based on cure.

Prevention: keeping the water clean prevents algae

Preventing algae growth is much easier than cleaning once established. Basically, you need to keep the water clean and well disinfected continuously, and the algae will not form. However, if you’re disinfecting your pool with traditional chemicals, this can be a lot of work in itself, with chlorine, stabilizer, algaecide, pH balancers, and other ever-changing chemicals.

We suggest a simpler alternative (assuming you start with clean water):

• Install an ozone generator in the water circulation line downstream of the pump according to the manufacturer’s instructions. DEL Ozone offers pool ozonators for all sizes of residential pools.
• Keep free available chlorine (FAC) at the level of 5 to 1.0 ppm so that it circulates continuously in the pool (heavy loads of swimmers may require more).
• Test the pH frequently at first (balance should be 7.2 to 7.6; add an acid such as muriatic acid or an alkali such as sodium carbonate to achieve this) and chlorine (add as needed). With experience, you will learn how often and how much chlorine to add, in part determined by how you use the pool.

Enjoy your pool!

Cure: get rid of algae

Once the algae take over, a chemical attack is required to remove them. The ozone generator cannot remove the high concentrations of algae that grow in the pool (especially organisms attached to the pool walls) because ozone is mainly destroyed in the disinfection process before the circulating water reaches the pool. pool. Only a small residual level of ozone remains at that point, usually not enough to penetrate the nooks and crannies of the pool, that’s what the bottom FAC is supposed to do.

This is what you need to do to get rid of the algae:

• Adjust the pH to the normal range, 7.2 to 7.6.
• Brush the walls and bottom of the pool to loosen adhering algae.
• Make sure the pool filter is clean and turn the pump on. Keep it running throughout the entire process.
• Hit the pool with a chlorine-based product. This may require 2-3 times the normal amount of shock; read the product instructions.
• Add an algaecide along with the shock. Some algaecides are designed to be used in conjunction with shock, and some are not compatible with chlorine or ozone and can stain the pool, so read the label carefully.
• Test and monitor the water, repeating the shock process every 12 to 24 hours until all algae are dead and discolored.
• Although dead algae will begin to settle to the bottom of the pool, adding a flocculant (flocculation treatment) will help the algae particles to coagulate, making cleaning and / or filtration more effective.
• Vacuum the pool and check the filter. Clean the filter if possible, but this algae-killing cure often overwhelms a filter, so replacing it may be the best way to go.
• Include an algaecide in your chemical routine and shock the pool once or twice a month to prevent future algae outbreaks.

Enjoy your pool!

Avoid the cure: install an ozonator

If you prefer swimming in your pool to cleaning it, find the right pool ozonator for your pool, clean the water once and then keep it with ozone and a suitable amount of background chlorine. One benefit of this method is that your pool water will feel and feel fresher with fewer chemicals, and you will also avoid problems with harmful chlorine by-products like chloramines.

Maximize the power of ozone

It is important to note that ozone is injected into the pump flow and only when the pump is running. For proper sanitation and disinfection, DEL Ozone, the world’s leading innovator in ozone sanitation applications, recommends running the main pump at least 6 hours per day, depending on the pool’s recirculation rate (rotation).

However, the pool ozonator could be running 24 hours a day for maximum sanitation and disinfection power. With today’s energy-saving variable speed pumps, often required for in-ground pools due to power requirements, this can be a limitation because most manufacturers’ ozone generators run only at high speed. Fortunately, DEL Ozone offers a variable speed injector manifold that will work at any pump speed, so energy savings and maximum ozone effectiveness can be achieved in the pool.

Enjoy the pool more!