Need to SLAM my pool... 1st timer here...

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ummgood

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LifeTime Supporter
Jan 18, 2015
1,095
Austin, TX
I just got my new pool last winter and now I think I need to SLAM it. I have an SWG and have been using it to keep the pool up to about 5PPM as my target. I noticed lately that I have been having to turn up my SWG to keep the chlorine level up. Well lately I have my SWG set to 95% and the chlorine level has been dropping so I started supplementing with liquid chlorine. Last week was super busy for me so I just poured in a bottle on Wed afternoon when my FC dropped down to 1.5 which should have raise the FC to around 10. I tested again Friday and the FC was around 6.5 so I dumped in another 1/2 gallon because my wife and I went out of town for the weekend for our anniversary.

I tested again after dark at 9p.m. and shut off the SWG. My FC was 5.5 and this morning at 6am it was 2.5. I turned on the SWG and left to work. I only have 1/2 gallon left of liquid chlorine. I have a late night meeting tonight until 10 tonight.

With all that said my water is clear. I test at least every other day with the SWG running and so far my pool has been pretty good. Should I start and dump the FC in tonight? I could put some more in tomorrow as well. I am hoping the SWG can maintain for me while I am at work for the most part. I could have my wife dump some in too during the day but I don't know how willing she will be to test :)

Here are my latest test results...
FC 2.5 (this morning)
CC 0 (sometimes is slightly pink <0.5 but never more)
CYA 70
CH 375
PH 7.5
TA 70
Water temp varies from 88 to 92.
 
Ok so I got the ph down to 7.2 and added 4 gallons of bleach before bed. I am going to test and top off in 30 minutes and hit the hay.

I did notice with the lights on tonight as I got home after dark that they had some yellowish color to them. I rubbed them and it appears to be on the inside. Also the water looks hazy by the lights at night. I will remove the lights tomorrow night and clean them out. Does the lens come off too? Can I clean the inside? I have Jandy color LED which look like normal pool lights.

I will scrub the pool after work tomorrow and every night after that.
 
Whaddya know the 4 gallons got the FC right to 28.5 ppm for my cya shock level. I am leaving the SWG on tonight to try to help maintain the shock level overnight. I will test again in the morning.

The water looks way cloudier now that I added all that chlorine. Is that normal??
 
Water looks better this morning. I brushed and measured the FC and it was 27.5. I left the SWG on all night so it managed to maintain level which is good. I am home today so I'll keep an eye on it.

I plan on removing the pool lights tonight and scrubbing underneath to get some of the algae out of them if I can.
 
ummgood said:
Water looks better this morning. I brushed and measured the FC and it was 27.5. I left the SWG on all night so it managed to maintain level which is good. I am home today so I'll keep an eye on it.

I plan on removing the pool lights tonight and scrubbing underneath to get some of the algae out of them if I can.
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according to CYA/FC chart for your level of CYA your normal FC should be 8ppm, 5 is the minimum. You probably should set your SWG higher after the SLAM to get closer to 8 ppm for daily maintenance.
 
Just measured at 21 ppm so I added another 1.2 gallons of bleach. I had the pool company show up so I got sidetracked. Pool looks really clear right now.

The pool company removed one of the lights when I was asking about how to do it correctly and it wasn't dirty at all. I might have seen a large capacitor in there that was green because when they removed it it was clear and no water was in it.

I also checked the niche and it seemed a bit slimy but there was no discoloration. I will remove both lights tonight and brush them out just to make sure.
 

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I feel your pain, ummm, because the same thing happened to me with our SWG last month. I thought I'd never have to SLAM again, but somehow here I am again, and I'm worried there might be mustard algae in the mix as well. After this is all over (soon, please God!) I'm going to follow pooldv's lead (he's from north TX like me) and target higher with the SWG just to give a bigger buffer.
 
max2k said:
nope, you're correct, my bad- didn't notice you have SWG ... One more thing just to make sure- were those test results obtained with TF-100 or K2006 kit? Don't see it listed in your sig.
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I have the TF-100 kit. I feel I have a pretty good handle on the testing except for the CYA test. I just have a heck of a time determining if the dot is still there or not so I tested and then told my daughter what to do and she came up with a similar result so I figure we are good there.

JamieP said:
I feel your pain, ummm, because the same thing happened to me with our SWG last month. I thought I'd never have to SLAM again, but somehow here I am again, and I'm worried there might be mustard algae in the mix as well. After this is all over (soon, please God!) I'm going to follow pooldv's lead (he's from north TX like me) and target higher with the SWG just to give a bigger buffer.
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Yeah that is my plan. My pool looks crystal clear this morning so I think I am ok so far. The major issue is I can't get one of my lights out. I don't want to strip out the screw so I am going to have my PB try to get it out for me next week when they are out here doing other stuff. Hopefully there is nothing living in there. My other light niche was really clean.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh and does it have to be dark to do the OCLT or can it be at dusk when the sun is almost down but not hitting the pool? I'll be testing after dark but it is getting up early that is killing me!

This morning I tested at 6:30 but that was too late I think. I might have to suffer and try to wake up at 5:30 or something before there is any light.
 
Last night I realized my reagent might be weak. I got home and used the last bit of reagent in my bottle that I bought last year in June. It was always kept in the house and worked so I assumed it was good. I measured 22.5ppm so I added almost a gallon of bleach and waited 30 minutes and shut off my SWG and tested again with a few drops of the old bottle and the rest from a new bottle and got 21.5 ppm which was less than what I measured before with an entire bottle of bleach and my SWG running. This was after sunset too. I got another sample and tried again because I was baffled and got the same result. I decided to go to bed and use that number for the OCLT.

The good news is I tested and got 20.5 this morning. I am going to raise my pool to slam level this morning and have my wife test at noon with the SWG running and do another OCLT tonight to see if I pass again. My water is super clear now. I can tell the difference at night with the lights on. No more cloudiness by the lights.
 
My water is super clear now. I can tell the difference at night with the lights on. No more cloudiness by the lights.
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Fantastic. Keep-up the great work. You look to be "maintaining" that FC very well. Of course keep-up the scrubbing and filter cleaning when needed and you should have this ordeal behind you soon. Have a good day.
 
Texas Splash said:
Fantastic. Keep-up the great work. You look to be "maintaining" that FC very well. Of course keep-up the scrubbing and filter cleaning when needed and you should have this ordeal behind you soon. Have a good day.
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Thanks my filter is ok because it is WAY over-sized for my pool. The pressure is really really low and I asked my PB about it and he said it actually filters better that way. Who knows... It never goes up past 9 on the gauge. I have a Jandy 460 sqft cartridge filter.

I am going to clean it this weekend.

I fortunately wasn't feeling well on Tuesday and worked from home so I was able to watch it every couple hours. Now my wife is testing at noon and I have the SWG running 100% while the sun is out to offset the chlorine loss since I can't be home. Yesterday at noon my wife measured and it was still above the shock level at noon so we are good there. It was down at night but I think part of that was my weak reagent.

This morning I realized how nice it was being in the pool when the sun came up. I brushed the sides and got in and brushed the floor. It was super relaxing. This might become a normal routine...
 

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