Slamming for a week!

[Tsween]

So this is the first time I ever owned a pool, it came with the house which was a foreclosure. I bought the house in March and when the block of ice melted I realized there was about 1 foot of leaves in the bottom. I got as many of the leaves out as I could scooping in the blind. The water was brown/green when I started the slam last week. (Monday 04/28)

water test in the beginning: FC 0
PH 7.3
CYA less than 20


I put 1.75 pounds of stabilizer in a sock and started using CYA of 20 as the shock level which was FC 10. I kept FC up between 10-15 for the last 8 days. It seemed to be going pretty good at first and the water cleared up to a cloudy aqua color within the first 2 days. It is now at the point where I can make out the vacuum on the bottom but not very good, water is still cloudy. I've cleaned the filter several times, maybe 5 times, an have been running it 24/7, I've scrubbed the sides and bottom and vacuumed the bottom most days. I was out of town for 3 days. My CC levels have always been 1.0 or less and even though the water isn't clear, I did the over night test the other day to see if I'm getting close, FC dropped by 2.

Today I checked CYA levels and its still below 20. I was much closer to losing the dot today than I was last week. I added another 1 pound of stabilizer hanging in a sock.

latest test results: FC 13
CC .5
CYA less than 20(trying to get it up to 30)
PH 7.4


So here's the question.... Is it normal to have to slam this long? The progress seems to have stalled. Is there something wrong with the filter or is this normal due to the amount of leaves that were in the pool?


Thanks,

Tavis

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

Yes, when recovering from a major swamp it is fairly common for it to take more than a week. Also, your low CYA level is slowing things down a little by letting the FC level fall too quickly during the day between chlorine additions.

If there might still be more leaves in the pool, anything you can do to remove them will help significantly.

Another thing to watch for, look closely at the transparency of the water near the steps or a ladder and watch for small changes in clarity from day to day. If you stop seeing any improvement in clarity for two or more days then something is up. As long as clarity improves, even just a little, you are on the right track.

 

[Tsween]

Thanks for the reply. I'll keep an eye on the transparency. It's been very marginal improvement over the last 5 days, as quick as the first couple of days went I was expecting to be done by now.

One more question, it seems as if i have an oversized pump for the pool. 2.25 HP I have been leaving it on the high setting, thinking the more times I circulate the water, the faster it will get clear. I only have one return valve and the pressure is so high that it almost rips the brush out of my hands when I go through the stream. Is it possible that the pressure is too high and the smaller sized particles are getting pushed through the filter?

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I would go ahead and set it to low. Its possible aeration is contributing to the cloudiness - at a lower setting some of the sediment may settle and you can then vacuum it out. Set it to low and see how it looks...

- - - Updated - - -

I only use high when vacuuming by the way.

 

[Tsween]

Its set to low now. Thanks