Clean the pool as much as possible to break up the algae using a brush, leaf rake and vacuum. Run the filter and backwash it to move additional debris. Shock the pool with chlorine and then add an algaecide made for swimming pools. Make sure the algaecide does not contain copper.
Using an Algaecide to Get Rid of Brown Algae in the Pool
After you kill brown algae on pool walls by scrubbing and using shock treatment, it's time to treat the water with an algaecide. Make sure to use a product designed for killing yellow or mustard algae.
If you shocked your pool water and it turned brown you probably have metals. Oxidized iron usually turns a brown or rusty color in the water. Use the No-Drain Metal Stain Eliminator Kit to reduce, sequester, and eliminate the metals to clear up your water and prevent recurrence or staining of your pool surface.
"Shocking" the pool with a large dose of chlorine is the most effective way to kill the existing algae and bring your pool back to sanitary conditions. This usually works within 1–3 days, but can take up to a week if pool conditions are poor.
Brown-colored algae is actually a form of yellow or mustard algae, and not a separate strain of its own. The extremely rare mustard algae forms in pools with poor chemical balance and in shaded areas that get little sun.
Copper in particular is the most problematic metal in a swimming pool, and it will turn to light green when chlorine is added. When any heavy metal is oxidized by chlorine, your swimming pool water, and parts will discolor as a result of metal stain.
Although, if you overdo the shock treatment, you risk getting green hair from chlorine due to the excess chlorine oxidizing the copper in the water. You can execute a shock treatment with a few different types of pool shock, just be mindful of how much you're using.
But is it safe to swim in a pool with algae? Whether mild or severe, it isn't recommended. Significant amounts of swimming pool algae welcome a breeding ground of harmful bacteria that feed on algae. These bacteria pose health risks to swimmers, most commonly resulting in a skin rash.
Can you put too much shock in a pool? SKIMMER NOTES: It's unlikely but it could happen. It would take a lot of shock to really make the water unsafe for swimming. The best way to make sure you're safe to swim is to test your pool water and make sure free chlorine levels are between 1-4ppm for healthy swimming.
A nylon or rubber brush is the correct choice for scrubbing the sides of a soft-sided above-ground pool. A large pool brush makes quick work of the job, but you may need a smaller brush to clean corners. Once the particles have been removed from the sides of the pool, turn your filter back on and agitate the water.
The most likely cause of sand at the bottom of your pool is that it simply fell in the water. This can happen even if you don't have sand around your pool. Wind can pick up sand particles and carry it long distances. So the wind may have dropped some sand in your pool on the way through the neighborhood.
The pH may be too high.
If the pH becomes too high (over 7.8), it prevents the chlorine from doing its job. If you're not checking the pH and it has risen too much, you could be adding the right amount of chlorine, but it can't work correctly, and algae will begin to grow.
Proper chemical balance and sanitizer levels will prevent many opportunities for algae to bloom. High pH and low chlorine (or other sanitizer) can give algae a great start.
Pool algae occurs for many reasons. Low or inconsistent chlorine levels, faulty pool filtration and poor water circulation may be to blame. Preventing pool algae from flourishing helps to keep your pool operational so you can enjoy it all season long. The key to an algae-free pool is regular maintenance.
Shock is chlorine, in a high dose, meant to shock your pool and raise the chlorine level quickly. Chlorine tabs (placed in a chlorinator, floater, or skimmer basket) maintain a chlorine residual in the water. You do need to use both tabs and shock.
High doses of chlorine, like pool shock, can cause temporary cloudiness as it kills contaminants. High levels of pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness are more likely to cause cloudy water.
Sand filters often do not filter 100% of algae. The more times a pool is shocked once you have algae, the smaller the particles get. Ideally, turning off the pump for a day will drop all the algae to the bottom and then you vacuum to waste.
All you need to do is bypass the filter and pool vacuum for algae to the waste. However, this can only work if you have a multiport system or a waste line system in your cartridge filter. Vacuum the pool to waste after you have set up the waste, and the debris and algae will get out of your pool.
The presence of too much algaecide can lead to a foamy pool water. Small bubbles will begin to be produced as the water is pushed through the return jet and back into the pool. Do not confuse these bubbles and foam with another common problem, which is air in your pool lines.
The HTH Ultimate Algae Guard is the one that is added every 90 days, it is a copper based algaecide.
While shocking and adding algaecide is effective in getting rid of algae, it should not be done together. This is because when you mix chlorine and algaecide together, it renders both of them useless. Hence, you should first shock the pool and wait for the chlorine levels to fall below 5 PPM.