BansheeRider

Thank you both for your replies. I have adjusted the return towards the center as suggested. I am not new to having a pool. I have had this same pool for 5 seasons now and this is the first time I have seen something like this growing in there. This is the first season for salt water though. I assure you that the FC chlorine levels are kept at 3 PPM minimum. I was told that anything higher than that is not safe to swim in. I have also been told to keep the ph around 7.6, but some friends of mine have theirs over 8. Am I being told wrong by my pool supply people? Like I said, these have survived a 6 times dose of shock. Which to me is just amazing. I really want to know what these are. They might be some type of algae, but for the life of me, I cannot find ANY information on them or their perfect flower shape.

I have switched to a salt system this year, and all was fine till a couple weeks ago. I started seeing these tiny perfectly shaped "flowers" in the bottom of my pool. I would get them out only to have them return the next day. Within a day or so, these grew into what is in this picture . They are about 1/4" in diameter and are forming the stacks or came from the stack seen in the center. My pool only requires 1/2 lb of shock, and I put 3 lbs in last weekend. Most of them died, but now I am finding very small stacks of these in the middle of the pool about every few hours. They are about 1/16" diameter. I have even re-shocked the pool with 2 more lbs, and they are still there!!! So far NO ONE has been able to tell me what they are or if they are dangerous in any way. I would like to get rid of them!!! Any help would be greatly appreciated.