Black Algae Growing In Pool

Black algae are living growing organisms that unless taken care of quickly can overtake your pool and cause severe structural damage.

Black algae growing in pool. A chemical combination that literally shocks your pool water clean. Black algae grows in localized areas such as along one wall in the deep end in a corner or around obstacles such as steps indicates an area of poor circulation and poor sanitization. If there s only a small amount of black algae in the pool you can probably get away with backwashing your pool filter for sand or de filters or rinsing the filter cartridge. It s an example of a cyanobacterium.

Treatment of black algae. Algae is a category of nonflowering plants that include seaweeds and lots of other forms all the way down to single celled organisms. None are true algae but classes of bacteria that manufacture their own food by photosynthesis. The protective layer that forms on black algae makes the algae otherwise impervious to regular sanitizers so you must brush the algae to break through this layer so that chlorine and algaecides can kill the organism.

That is algae creates an atmosphere where bacteria can grow. It s related to spirulina another type of blue green algae and to red algae which also grows in swimming pools. And it s hard to get rid of because its roots grow into cracks in the cement and don t like to let go. There are two types of algaecide.

Brush daily for a week with the proper brush for your pool paying special attention to algae affected areas. If the algae problem is extensive use a filter cleaner rather than just plain water. Prior to and during treatment. Black algae are single celled organisms that grow in large colonies.

Due to black algae s characteristic appearance it s relatively easy to spot if it grows in your pool. This algae may appear black in the pool but when you retrieve a sample and rub it on a piece of white paper you ll notice a greenish tinge. The ammonia based algaecide is less expensive and will be less likely to stain your pool than the metallic copper and silver. They are like other forms of algae since they also contain chlorophyll but are the most difficult to remove from swimming pools.

Black algae isn t really an algae but it can be even worse for your health than other types of pool algae if you swim in it or ingest it. This is because they can protect themselves against their surrounding environment making them much more resistant to your standard chlorine levels. If you have black algae in your pool you have black algae in your filter. Black algae is the common name or term given to the dark blue green algae found growing on pool surfaces.