Where did I go wrong?

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imanaggie01

imanaggie01

0
Apr 23, 2016
19
Abilene, TX
Got done with a SLAM recently. Had to leave for a short trip so I hiked up the chlorine to SLAM level and put in some pucks for good measure (in my auto dispenser). Came home and the pool is a swamp! Here were the numbers on Sunday: FC 22 TA 120 CYA 100. AGHHH! I did a backwash to get some water out and I'm doing another SLAM shooting for a FC of 28. It's looking better and there is lots of dead algae that I am brushing often. Why is it green with all that chlorine? Anything I should have done differently? Thoughts, suggestions, help appreciated as always!
 
Did you know your CYA was that high? Had you done a SLAM with that CYA before??? How do you chlorinate normally?

If your CYA test says 100, it very well may be much higher. The only way to tell is to take equal parts tap water and pool water and mix. Then use that water mixture to perform a CYA test, doubling the results.
 
When CYA reads 100, that's the limit for the test, so it could be much higher. Even if it was only 100, your SLAM shock level would be 40 ppm FC.

You can do the dilution test to find out how much above 100 it is and let us know.
See #9 on this page: Pool School - CYA
 
My CYA was previously 55 but I hadn't tested it in a few months. I'm a recovering pool store user so I had been letting it come down. I SLAMMED at 24 previously. I use liquid chlorine, 10% from Walmart.

Tested CYA using dilution test and its 102
 
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Assuming 100 CYA (and not 200) your auto-chlorine feeder makes things easier, so you could drain/refill less than others need to, or just manage the pool for the rest of the year at a target of 10 ppm FC, after a thorough SLAM. But you need to SLAM at 40 ppm FC for 100 ppm CYA, so some people try to get that down to 70 (or less), and then the SLAM is 28 ppm FC (or less). So we'll need to know for sure about the CYA level, then you can decide what works best for you.
 
First up, do you have a sense of your water table depth? For example, if a hole is dug in your area, does it fill with water, and if so, how high? I ask because too much hydraulic pressure in the ground can push a pool up if the builder's method to allow for this has become unreliable. How old is the pool?
 
imanaggie01 said:
Yes, CYA is 102 (diluted was at 51). To drain do I set the lever to waste? How long should I let it go?
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Yes you would set it to waste, but that will only drain the pool down to the level of the skimmer, unless your vac hose is attached. I would start vaccuumming to waste then let the pump continue to run. You need to drain enough water to get down to the CYA level you need. So, if you are starting at 100 and want to get to 50, then you would drain half the water and refill.
 
Not sure about the water table. Its pretty dry here so no, there would not be water in a hole, just mud. Not sure how old the pool is, we bought the house last year and everything had been renovated recently. I've done a small drain but now I need to wait for my order of more chemicals to test my CYA again.
 

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crokett said:
Yes you would set it to waste, but that will only drain the pool down to the level of the skimmer, unless your vac hose is attached. I would start vaccuumming to waste then let the pump continue to run. You need to drain enough water to get down to the CYA level you need. So, if you are starting at 100 and want to get to 50, then you would drain half the water and refill.
Click to expand...

Unless he's got a main drain he can draw from after closing off the skimmer.
 
If there's an area lower than the pool, you can siphon water out. Use main drain as Yippee mentioned if you have separate valves at the pad marked skimmer and main drain. You can also plug in your vacuum and leave it at the bottom of the pool as long as it doesn't suck too much air as the level drops. Try to remove about 1/2 the water.
 
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