1st SLAM - Follow Along with Me, Please

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1.5 is on the edge... youre doing great, keep it up!!!

Will anyone be swimming during the day?
Swimming is safe up to Shock level... If no one will be in the pool, you can run it up to 28ish... and itll work its way down
I wouldn't have her add any since she doesnt test... Blind addition... Unless you want to teach her...
 
I feel like this is a play by play of a long pool game - thank you for staying with me and for the guidance and support!

I added 64 oz of 10%, should get FC to 25.2.

Off to work and I'll test around 5:00.

I'll probably have my wife add some chlorine mid-day to counteract any burn-off that will occur.

Thank you!
 
I would have her add a little too. I think last time you were recommending adding like 300 oz blindly, now you are probably looking at 64 oz or less. You can see how this is different. And mid to late slam you will have a better track record of the bleach usage and can gauge a blind addition much more effectively. Like anything it's balancing risk vs. reward and a small addition today has little risk involved - IMO.

Good job sticking with it! Now if you would just do the most important part - post some pictures!
 
Now I'm confused

Here's a run down of the afternoon / evening:

5:00 FC 22.5 & CC 0
7:00 - 8:00 my son and two of his friends swam for an hour
8:05 FC 22 & CC 0
8:20 Added 58 oz of 10% bleach
9:30 FC 21.5 & CC 0
10:15 FC 22.5 & CC 0

Does that make sense?

I'll post the numbers in the morning.

Again, thank you for all the guidance and support - everything is much appreciated!
 
Confusion, or delirium, is beginning to set in.

Last night at 10:15
FC 22.5 CC 0

This morning at 6:45: (did 4 in a row over 5 - 10 minutes)
FC 22 CC 0
FC 21.5 CC 0
FC 20 CC 0
FC 20 CC 0

The first 3 were from the same sample (larger bottle filled up with pool water and squirted into 10ml test tube) and the last one was directly from the pool (filled up test tube in the pool).

Any suggestions? Thank you a ton!
 
Yes, I think you are just getting all wrapped-up in everything and probably need a break .... or a cold drink. :cheers: It can be frustrating. The good thing I see above is that your FC numbers are relatively close together, so there's no BIG drop or change. So that tells me your water is very close to TFP clear. But since your SLAM level is 24, all of those numbers were slightly below taking away some of your ability to give algae the knockout punch. Maybe after the boys swam last night you thought it would creep up to 24, but it never did, so you need to keep it there. I would continue that today (at 24), then do your best to start your OCLT tonight at an FC of 24. The pump should already be on (24/7), so just take your sample from the same location & the same way. Test it once and be done with it. I did that before where I tested numerous times and I began to doubt myself. That's no fun. :crazy: Hang in there. You're very close.
 

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Thank you, Texas Splash, for the timely response. I'll be heading to the store to get some more chlorine in a few minutes to keep FC at least at 24 for the day and beginning tonight for the OCLT tonight / tomorrow morning.

Couple questions - once I'm TFP clear I am very interested in going to TFP sanitation and abandoning my pucks.

What are my next steps? Do I need to replace water to get CYA down to around 50?

What can I expect moving forward, especially as it pertains to chlorine needs?

Will I be adding some 10% bleach on a daily basis?

Will CYA "protect" the 10% bleach that will be added as needed?

- - - Updated - - -

Thank you, cj3737. Since I'm so tired of fighting algae I'm going to go 1 more day for good measure. It may be overkill but, hey, overkilling algae is good, right?
 
Easy stuff. In our heat, you are just fine with a CYA of 60. No need to replace water or ever use chlorine tabs/pucks ever again unless you are away from home for an extended period of time and have no way to add bleach. Once your SLAM is complete, you'll simply let the FC drift down to your ideal "daily" range (between 6-8) and make sure it never drops below 5. Just like a pet, you'll feed your pool everyday. I give my pool some regular HEB "Bravo" beach (8.25%) each evening. :) But you can use the Walmart 10% essentials chlorine or whatever is a good bargain in your area. Just stay away from tabs/pucks.

Test FC everyday after the SLAM with your trusty FAS-DPD powder & drops. I also test my pH daily. Keep the most common pages/links that you see in my signature available at all times so you can refer to them. Add nothing to your pool other than what's on that Recommended Chemicals listing - usually bleach, muriatic acid, and maybe some borax/baking soda from time to time. Mostly bleach though.

If you have any questions, just let us know. Good luck tonight!
 
TFP clear is SUPER BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially after what you are putting yourself thru right now


Chlorine additions will be experimental.. youll have to see what your average daily loss is going to be then you can estimate and use pool math to see what your daily maintenance will be..

CYA is basically sunscreen for chlorine...Itll still burn off but at a much slower rate...
 
Let's hope this is the last night so here we go:

Activity for tonight:
7:15 FC 22 & CC 0
7:45 Added 89 oz of 10% bleach
9:30 FC 23 & CC 0
9:35 Added 48 oz of 10% bleach
10:35 FC 24.5 & CC 0

Testing again in about 8 hours or so. Hoping for at least 23.5!!! :D
 
Ok, no drum roll please but, maybe a small round of applause??
Last night at 10:35 FC 24.5 & CC 0
This morning at 6:35 FC 23 & CC 0
Exact same numbers from Monday night/Tuesday morning OCLT.
Tuesday night/Wednesday morning seemed better but I had inconsistent readings of FC (FC 22, 21.5, 20, 20 & CC always 0) so I am not exactly sure what to make of that.
Due to yesterday morning's varied FC results I made sure I did things exactly the same this morning (level spoon of R-0870, waited 20 seconds while it swirled in the SpeedStir, added R-0871 10 drops at a time until I hit 40 then slowed my pace a bit until I reached clear).
Even though I'm not at 1 or .5 on the OCLT, I do like the consistent results.

Questions:
Maybe my baseline numbers from Sunday afternoon, especially PH, played a role? (FC 2, CC .5, PH 7.4, CYA 60, CH 200, TA 140)
Maybe my pool in my geography is different?

Any suggestions?
 
I think you're very close and still doing well. I would offer this suggestion for the FC testing.... with that 10 ML water sample, if you're going to do one scoop (which I do as well), make it a "heaping" generous scoop. Don't level it off for just one scoop. It's always best to ensure you have enough powder in there - a little more is better than not enough. Once the powder is in the water, crank-up the speed stir and start the drop counting right away. No need to wait. Once the Barbie link is gone and you're back to clear, take your number of drops and divide by 2.

The duration of SLAM might vary from pool-to-pool because each pool is different, and each owner performs the SLAM based on their schedule, but the rules of the SLAM apply the same to all pools. The chlorine, when maintained at the proper level, will eliminate the algae. Other than reviewing the SLAM page for little details, the only other thing you might want to check if it's been a while is your CYA, just to ensure you're still at the proper FC level based on the chart. Other than that, hang in there!
 
KatyTXPoolOwner said:
Questions:
Maybe my baseline numbers from Sunday afternoon, especially PH, played a role? (FC 2, CC .5, PH 7.4, CYA 60, CH 200, TA 140)
Maybe my pool in my geography is different?

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Baseline numbers don't mean much at this point since you've been conditioning your water... They are a handy reference if you need to add more water
There are so many people in Texas on this board, your geography is going to be amazingly similar to most. If I ever move there, I will definitely know how to take care of a pool.. :)
 
I've been using heaping scoops and similar drop methods all along but wanted to be more consistent last night and this morning, hence the more specific and detailed method (level scoop and similar times swirling). I'll stick with it for another 24 hours to see if I can get to a .5 or 1 differential on OCLT. I'll go back to a heaping spoon and start drops right away instead of waiting.

Thank you, Texas Splash and cj3737!
 
Questions:
How long overnight should I wait for the OCLT tests?
I've normally done them well after sundown (10:00pm or later) and just before full sunrise (6:30am). There is some daylight outside but no direct sunlight on the pool (ranging from 7 - 8.5 hours overnight).
 

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