Starting TFPC

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Ale_Brewer said:
FC level of 31 is still way too high for CYA level of 80. Also, fifteen minutes isn't enough time to mix your water and chemicals. Starting and stopping every hour is going to burn out your pump motor prematurely. Most people run the pump just once per day. Do a search for pump run times.
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FC 31 is the recommended level for a SLAM according to poolmath and Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

As regards to the spa - I want to SLAM the spa and the pool simultaneously since I don't want any algae contamination from the spa to the pool. Maintaining both spa and pool water at the same concentration of FC is my aim...
 
Ok, some questions coming up....
the FC level at about 9pm last night was at 31 so I added a gallon of bleach to bring it up to 34 FC so that the SLAM level would be maintained overnight.
CC was 1

This morning, I ended up doing the FC test a couple of times and each time got a different result. first time it was 23.5, then 28, then 26. I went with the 26 and added 200oz of bleach as recommended by pool math.
CC is still 1.

Throughout yesterday afternoon, the CC level was either 0.5 or 1 and I was testing every 2 hours or so.

Does this all sound about right? I thought CC level would be higher? Something is obviously in there because a) there is still a bit of algae on the wall that I brush off and b) the sodium hypochlorite got used up during the night.
 
What I've noticed is that depending on sunlight and other factors CC doesn't always go up when fighting algae. It's one of those weird things where if you have elevated CC you have something organic that's being oxidized, But if you don't have CC you still can be oxidizing, but the CCs just don't show on the test. That why the FC and CC numbers are needed together to tell the whole picture.
 
I've just noticed a "cloudy" area close to one of the return jets to the pool. It's only one of them though - my first reaction was that I had DE coming into the water but since it's only near one of the jets, I'm thinking it's not that...any ideas?
 
surfbabe said:
I've just noticed a "cloudy" area close to one of the return jets to the pool. It's only one of them though - my first reaction was that I had DE coming into the water but since it's only near one of the jets, I'm thinking it's not that...any ideas?
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No idea. Unlikely it's DE though. When was the last time you backwashed and/or deep cleaned the DE filter?

Just keep brushing a lot and vacuum as needed. Keep an eye on it and look for any other odd behavior.
 
I turned off the filter for a few minutes to see what would happen - the cloudy area dispersed. I've turned the filter back on now and there doesn't seem to be anything coming out of it, no cloudiness at all.

I backwashed a few days ago (?2 days) and added more DE then. Which leads me to my next question...
when should I backwash again? The water now looks clear and blue and I'm thinking maybe I should backwash now to clean off the filter?

How much DE should I add generally after backwashing? My OH was adding 50% of new startup dose (ie 4/5 scoops which I think are 1/4 gallon each) but I read 80% so I added 8 scoops last time. Which is kind of why I'm a bit concerned about DE in the water....
 
surfbabe said:
when should I backwash again? The water now looks clear and blue and I'm thinking maybe I should backwash now to clean off the filter?
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You backwash a filter when the pressure rises 20-25% above the "clean" pressure. The "clean" pressure is defined as the pressure reading right after backwash and recharge (give it an hour or two to stabilize and then record the clean pressure).

Unless you suspect that you have a huge dead algae load in your filter, there's probably no reason to backwash so soon.

surfbabe said:
How much DE should I add generally after backwashing?
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Generally speaking, 50-80%. My DE filter is a 100 sq ft QuadDE filter. The recommended full charge of DE is 10lbs. When I backwash, I use an orange plastic DE scoop (you can get them at pool stores or online) to measure out 3 to 4 lbs of DE (each scoop is one pound). I don't use more DE than that because backwashing, at best, only removes about 50% of the DE from the filter. My clean pressure is typically 10-11psi and I usually backwash when it his 12.5psi or so. I can usually tell because I notice my suction side cleaner runs slower and the spa spillway looks a little weaker.


Now here's a question - when was the last time you completely tore apart your DE filter and cleaned it out entirely?
 

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surfbabe said:
I don't think we've ever done it....

please, one thing at a time!!
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It's ok, I was just trying to gauge where you are at. As soon as you get your chemistry and pool clarity under control and to your liking, we can go after the DE filter. As Ale_Brewer stated, it's something you should consider doing once per year as it is good for the health of the filter and allows you to inspect internal components. It may sound like a hard thing to do, but it is not. It's a perfect lazy-saturday-morning project.
 
Ok Folks :D

OCLT showed no loss of chlorine during last night and the CC test was a little pink but one drop got rid of that so that makes that reading 0.5

Water looks crystal clear and lovely to swim in apart from the temperature!!

Am I done slamming or do I need to wait until that last little bit of CC goes away?

Now, I let the FC drift down to pool math level (which I can't remember off the top of my head)?

Anything I need to watch out for?

Merci Beaucoup!!
 
Congrats!

Your CCs are probably less than 0.5ppm, you just can't tell because of the resolution. Let it drift down to target and then maintain.

Nothing else to do except look at your lovely pool water and dream about next swim season ;)

.....oh, and deep clean your DE filter :p


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Thanks guys!

I can't quite believe that all is ok with the pool now! I've just been and checked the chlorine again FC has only gone down 2ppm and CC is still under .5

Husband said he cleaned out the DE filter in the spring but he didn't take it out and clean it off, just hosed it down inside the casing. What a wuss!! He just didn't want to get soaking wet - anyway, that'll be a job for the weekend.

Once again, thanks everyone for your help.

a happy new TFPC convert
 
When does the pH become stable? We've had 12 inches of rain overnight and I've had to empty a lot of water out of the pool. Rainwater usually takes the pH to 7.8. I'm about to go and measure the FC/CC, possibly CYA as that will have decreased a bit too. I'm expecting the FC to be about 10-15 after the SLaM.

Will the CYA/pH readings be affected still?

thanks

eta that FC is 17.5 and CC .5
 
As I understand it, all readings (but especially pH) will be most accurate when FC is below 10.

Do keep in mind, aeration from excessive rain can drive up the pH so be sure your TA is within range to prevent pH bounce.

Success to you after your first big SLAM... hopefully, your last. ;-)
 

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