SLAMing for 3 weeks and still can't pass OCLT!

[ccampbell]

Hi All!

I am new to posting, but have utilized the info on this site for 3 years. Thank you for all the great info/advice I have received over the years!!

I have an above ground 30 round, 4 feet deep pool. I opened 3 weeks ago with debris in the bottom because our cover tore a few weeks before opening, but water wasn't green. When we opened, Chlorine zero, CYA below 30, ph 7.4. We got all the debris out and water looked clear. I added 2 lbs of CYA and started SLAMing, but I backwashed 48 hours after I added the CYA (container said I could, but I later read on the site I should have waited a week!). I added 2 more lbs of CYA a week after opening and have kept FC over 14 (most of the time in the 20s) the whole time, but I still can't pass a OCLT or a CC below .5 when I test in the AM. I have had a CC of less than .5 when I test in the afternoon, but when I test first thing in the morning it's always at least 1.0. I tested my CYA again last weekend and it was only reading 30, so I have added 4 lbs of dichlor (63% dichlor per lb, not 99%).

I don't understand what's going on because if the CYA is 35-40, and I have kept the FC level well above the recommend SLAM level, why hasn't it killed anything in the pool?? Please help!!

 

[zea3]

Hi, welcome to TFP! I have a couple of questions for you. What are you using to test the pool? Did you drain water to close for winter? If so what was your CYA at closing? What are your current test results?

 

[woodyp]

I assure you that you've killed SOME-thing, just maybe not EVERY-thing. Consistent sustained testing and maintaining the proper FC SLAM level for your cya is the key.

 

[ccampbell]

I am using the Taylor FAS-DPD test kit. I tested CYA at the beginning of the season last year, but didn't test it before I closed. It was 60 at the start of last season; don't know if that helps?? Current readings are: ph - 7.4, CYA - 35, FC - 17, CC - 1.0. We did drain below skimmer prior to close. We had to add 5500 gallons when we opened.

 

[ship of fools]

It seems like your CYA level is low for all of the stabilizer you have added. Perhaps it is higher than you think which would make your FC levels too low??

 

[Beens]

I'm going to borrow a question from the experts, when you test your chlorine are you taking the FC test to it's completion? There's that final drop that you add after it's turned clear, just to be sure. I think I had read that it could affect the CC test if you don't add that extra drop at the end. (example, drop 8 finally clears the water, you add drop 9 just to be sure there is no more change then you subtract that last drop. FC = 4)

Oh yeah and... how does the water look? Clear? Cloudy? Green? Blue? Polka-Dot?

 

[ccampbell]

I'm going to borrow a question from the experts, when you test your chlorine are you taking the FC test to it's completion? There's that final drop that you add after it's turned clear, just to be sure. I think I had read that it could affect the CC test if you don't add that extra drop at the end. (example, drop 8 finally clears the water, you add drop 9 just to be sure there is no more change then you subtract that last drop. FC = 4)

Oh yeah and... how does the water look? Clear? Cloudy? Green? Blue? Polka-Dot?

Thanks for the tip about the extra drop! I haven't been doing that; just adding drops until it disappears. The water is clear; There are some spots that could be algae or dirt/pollen/dichlor granules that settle in the small dimples of the liner. When I brush them lightly they disappear immediately, but are there later in the day when I come home from work. My pool sits in direct sunlight for most of the day, but the water temp has been under 70 the 3 weeks that I have been SLAMing. I have a DE filter and we leave it on 24/7. I have backwashed once since opening; within the first few days of opening and I think some of the CYA I poured in the skimmer probably got backwashed out and that's why my CYA isn't reading as high as it should??

 

[zea3]

That could be it. You should never dump CYA in the skimmer. It will get caught in the filter and if you backwashed within a couple of days very little of it got into the pool. When you add CYA put it in a sock first and either hang it in front of a return or place it in the skimmer basket. If you place the sock in the skimmer basket make sure you don't block the flow of water through the skimmer. Giving the sock a few squeezes a couple of times a day will help the CYA dissolve faster.

What type of pool do you have?

 

[ccampbell]

That could be it. You should never dump CYA in the skimmer. It will get caught in the filter and if you backwashed within a couple of days very little of it got into the pool. When you add CYA put it in a sock first and either hang it in front of a return or place it in the skimmer basket. If you place the sock in the skimmer basket make sure you don't block the flow of water through the skimmer. Giving the sock a few squeezes a couple of times a day will help the CYA dissolve faster.

What type of pool do you have?

32' Above ground round doughboy. I am still having problems!! Yesterday alone I had to add 11 gallons of bleach to try and maintain a 30 shock level. I increased the shock thinking that maybe my CYA is higher than it is testing like the other person suggested. I tested last night at 10:30 PM and the FCC was 35 a CYA 40. I tested this morning at 6:30 AM and FC is 33 and CC is 1.5!!! I can't keep doing this! I am literally going broke buying bleach!! I even bought new reagents thinking that might be the problem! I just don't understand what I am missing!!

 

[pwrstrk]

For one thing if your CYA is 40 an FC level in the thirties is way too high. You wasting bleach at that point. The SLAM FC level for a CYA of 40 is 16. You can go a little higher but no reason to be in the thirties.
It seems your not sure where you CYA level is. Let's see if you can get a good test on it and see where it is and then adjust your SLAM level for it. Then just maintain the SLAM level as best you can. ?