SLAMming in the rain

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D

dobber

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LifeTime Supporter
Jun 4, 2013
36
Belgian Beverly Hills, Illinois
I am currently slamming my pool due to suspected mustard algae (again). A couple of years ago I had mustard algae which brought me to this wonderful site. Now I suspect it again and am using knowledge acquired from this site and learned from that last time what to do.

Question 1: I started the SLAM process last Friday and I am slamming with my winter cover still on. Has been in the 50's with rain daily or every other day, so I wanted to protect my pool from getting leaves, debris, etc. from windy conditions and not the weather to worry about solar cover yet. Am I making a mistake with the mesh safety winter cover on? Since I am dealing with mustard algae, should the winter cover be thrown into the pool to slam that also? I have been brushing and vacuuming, and my pressure hasn't really gone up, but I've backwashed none the less. Should slamming be done "topless"? I'm talking about the pool here!

Current FC 30
CC .5 or less
CYA 40
PH 7.2
water is still cloudy and has been since I started filtering 2 weeks ago.
 
Hello dobber. SLAMming in the rain is no problem. But at the moment your FC looks to be too high. Remember that even with suspected MA, first you do a regular SLAM and pass all 3 criteria. Only then do you raise your FC to MA level - and only for 24 hours. As for your cover(s), a mesh cover won't hurt anything. Definitely don't cover the water with a solid cover. The water needs to breathe and receive sunlight to oxidize the combined chlorine. Also, there's no need to test pH when the FC is over 10. But if you ever do let the FC sink lower, make sure to get a good pH reading. Seeing that the pH is 7.2 now while the FC is so high just has me a little concerned. Other than that, continue to follow the SLAM page carefully and it will work for you. Don't forget to inspect ladders and behind any lights (in the niche) if you have one.
 
Thank you for the quick response Splash. I did a regular SLAM with low CYA (0-20) FC in the teens but still cloudy water after a week or so. The PH reading was when I started the SLAM.

Here are today's current readings compliments of my wonderful TF100 test kit:

FC 31
CC .5
PH 7.8
TA 100
CYA 40
CH 100

Mesh winter cover still on, pump running 24/7, water still cloudy...any advice most welcome sir!
 
Just for the care of your vinyl, I would let the FC sink naturally on its own to a regular SLAM level for now (16). Once it settles to the FC of 16, perform an overnight test (OCLT) that evening/next morning. Let's see how all 3 criteria compare to passing the SLAM at that time. If you pass the OCLT and have <= .5 CC and only slightly cloudy water, we may look into enhancing your sand filter's capability with just a slight bit of DE added. But that is a final water clarity step only if the other two pass and we see no indication of remaining algae. In the meantime, while waiting for FC to sink back down to 16, continue to backwash as needed and scrub everything you can get to.

Hope that makes sense. If you have any more questions, just holler. :)

Oh, almost forgot .... when was the last time (if ever) you performed a "Deep Clean" of your sand filter?
 
A big Texas thank you to Texas Splash for all your advice. My water is now crystal clear thanks to my first deep clean of a sand filter and a little DE cocktail added to the filter. We are off and running to another pool season. Thanks to all who make this site the best.

My question now is, with a 10 year old system, is it time to consider changing the sand in my filter? Or just turn it into a "hybrid" sand and DE filter?
 
Happy to hear your water is TFP clear! :goodjob: As for the sand ... sand doesn't really go bad after all these years unless something is added to it that may coagulate it. The DE won't hurt it. I suspect the filter hardware will fail before the sand will. :) Enjoy your clear pool! :swim:
 
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