Lurker attempting first SLAM

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Slim Daddy

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Jul 21, 2013
31
Been lurking for a few months. Finally decided to post up the errors of my ways in dealing with my pool. Since this is my first post, it's going to be a long one. I apologize.

About my pool:
12,000 gal
Fiberglass
Sand filter
Chlorinator (turned off for reasons you will see)
Automatic cover

Just bought the house last August. Pool was installed in 2004. Pool was great last year. Chlorinator was set at 1. Water was clear and balanced. No problems.

This year has been nothing but problems since I opened it. But after reading so many posts on here, I think my problem is I never killed off ALL the algae from when I opened it. It was cloudy at first, but not green. Added about 6 bags of powder shock to try to clear it up (stupid stupid stupid :hammer: ) Didn't work. Had countless 3" pucks going through the chlorinator. Didn't work. Water tests always said 0 FC. Finally got the water tested at the Fool Store, I mean POOL Store, and she said it was because I had phosphates. Over 1,000. So I buy the phos-free (which ironically is the "most expensive chemical we sell." YEAH, she actually said that to me!!) and it worked! Water cleared right up!
But the clouds came back. I couldn't keep the chlorine up. Chlorinator was up all the way. Was adding liquid chlorine. And the FC level would go up. The water would clear up. But the clouds would always come back.
So I read. And I read. And I read some more. About phosphates, about chlorine, about CYA, etc etc etc. And low and behold, I bought a T-100 test kit (first smart purchase of the year). First thing I tested was my CYA. Over 100. Crud. So I would sneak out about 1130 pm and drain a few inches off my pool down the side walk, across my neighbors driveway, out into the street. Then fill it back up with my well water. Did this about 3 times. No change in the CYA.
In the meantime, my water is going from cloudy, to clear, to cloudy, to green, to clear, to cloudy and so on and so on. After reading on hear, I knew I was toeing the line with algae. I was doing just enough to keep the water "clear" , but if I skipped a day of chlorine, it was game over. Then I was playing catch up. There was just no way I could keep my FC level at 7 ppm (based on my CYA) and have the pool burning through chlorine as fast as it was. It was impossible.
So I read, and read, and read some more. And I discovered SLAMming the pool. And for some reason it just clicked. I still have algae in my pool. And it's eating all my chlorine. It's not the phosphates. It's not the CYA. It's the algae! So I waged a war.
I drained about 6" off my pool (across my neighbors driveway...neighbor of the year, right?) filled it back up. Pool went green, but clear. Tested the CYA, still over 100!! Crud!! Well then I read that tests that read over 100 don't really tell you how far over 100 they are. So mine could have been 200? 300? Who knows. So I did the half test and got between 90-100 for the CYA.
But decided to SLAM it anyway. That's right. 40 ppm FC here I come. 4 gal of chlorine to reach it. Let it come back down a little then added another gallon to get back up to 40. Came back down, added 2 gallons to get it back up, vacuumed, scrubbed the walls. Water has cleared up.

If you're still reading, then here is my question. I added chlorine to get it back up to 40 before I went to bed. I'm a fireman and I have to work 24 hrs tomorrow. My wife doesn't know how to test the water, and quite frankly doesn't care to mess with the pool at all, but can add chlorine. I plan on testing the water in the morning and adding chlorine to get it back up to 40 ppm, but what should into for the rest of the day? Oh, and I'm running out of chlorine believe it or not. 12 gallons just doesn't go as far as it use to :-D. Should I have her add a blind amount of chlorine? Will that be a waste? I don't want to lose what I started and have to start over.

Thanks for all your help. Both in the past, and in the future.

I'll work on getting my signature updated.
 
Slim Daddy,
Welcome to TFP! :wave:

We're glad to have you here.

Richard's got ya covered, your in good hands.
I will add though..
It's super hard to maintain a pool with that much cya in it, even once you get it cleared.

Chlorine costs aside, you can't read pH above 10ppm FC, which makes for all sorts of problems.
Can you drain it down some more?
Use poolcalculator.com to figure out how much.

Never mind the neighbor's driveway, just tell them you were doing a fire hydrant test or something "fire related" like that. ;) :goodjob:

Bravo on all the pool schooling and the research as well as your diligence.
I love the "fool store" and "neighbor of the year" comments. Those are just too funny! :laughblue:


BTW, Go firemen!! You guys and gals ROCK! :cheers:


Ps. I gotta ask, how come it flows into the neighbor's driveway, on a funny hill slope?
 
Yeah, water actually runs down a little side hill in my yard to the sidewalk. Then down the sidewalk to his driveway. Then into the drain that's next to his driveway. So far I'm 0-3 on doing it late enough that he won't drive through it. EVERY TIME!!

I do have another question, can I still do water swaps while I'm doing the SLAM? Or will that mess up my FC levels/ everything else?
 
Lol, too funny! :D

Yes, you can do a partial drain and fill. The water won't dilute when draining, so all the levels stay the same, assuming a proper mix with the pump.
Once you fill it back up, that's when it dilutes. So you want to drain as close to your target as possible, then fill, then test cya outside, back to sun, test tube at waist level. Don't do this @ night or indoors, it's too far off. Then dose accordingly if need be with CL.

Try to do the partial drain/fill in as few steps as possible so you don't blow through your cya reagent.
Can you hook a fire hose up to your backwash pipe and run it down to the drain? This way you can do it during the day.

Thanks,
Tony.

Edit: Please fill in your sig as instructed in pool
school, 1st link, also your location in your profile
under user control panel.
 
If I could stretch a line from the hydrant to my pool, that CYA would have been knocked down in about an hour. Unfortunately, people kinda frown upon that. Something about stealing water, or something.

Well thanks for the tips. I'll update all my test results tomorrow.

Would well water raise TA?? Mine is well over 200. Or is that a byproduct of the SLAM?
 
Readings as of 12:20 today

FC 22.5
CC 3.0
Ph 7.2 I know this isn't accurate during a SLAM but its been riding at 7.2 all season.

Brought it back up to FC of 40ppm. Back washed the filter. Drained off another 6 inches or so and am in the process of refilling. Water is crystal clear. This would normally be where I would stop. But OH NO. NOT TODAY MY FRIEND!! 1 benchmark down, 2 to go. Going to try the overnight test tonight and see how it goes. Hopefully my CYA has come down some also. ANY drop would be a moral victory at this point.
 

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Nice thread with a good sense of humor! I can certainly relate to chasing the algae demand until you finally get fed up with it and SLAM it properly. Only thing I would mention (not sure if this would be an issue), but you said the water drains across neighbors drive, not sure if it reaches grass or not, but at 40ppm FC it might leave a MARK :mrgreen: . :|
 
Final test results for this evening.
FC 33
CC 1.5
CYA 70-80

Water has a slight green tint to it. But seems to be lightening up a tad. Water is pretty clear. So I guess since my FC is over the shock level for my CYA that means I don't have to add any chlorine, right?? That's a first!! I like it!!

Any other tips you can offer me? The pressure gauge on my filter really hasn't budged much. I know my CYA still needs to come down some, but I don't want to work my well too hard.
 
Tested before the sun came up and got
FC 27.0
CC 1.5
Brought the chlorine back up to 31 ppm.
How do I get over the hump? I scrubbed the sides yesterday and today. Going to vacuum in a bit. Any other ideas?
 
I read that link in your sig, but have not done it yet. Figured I would wait until I was done with this SLAM, then do it. I had to look up how to remove my multiport valve and couldn't really find anything. It's a jacuzzi DV 7 on top of a jacuzzi laser filter. Don't know what model, because it looks like the markings are worn off. There's no collar holding the valve on. Just 6 hex bolts. I guess I just have to unscrew all those? Anybody dealt with one of these? Oh wait, here it is, filter is a 250 L. And my pump is a jacuzzi 1 hp 1UMF-S. I'll update my sig with that info later. I'm located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
 
That FC is a bit on the high side to be swimming it with that CYA ... although you are making progress getting that CYA down.

I know it is hard to juggle the shock process and family swimming.

Now got to knock that CC down ... kids did not pee while swimming right? ;)
 

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