First time SLAMing -- just want to confirm the steps

[BrandonD]

Came home from a week conference to a green-ish pool. I had the MIL and daughter adding bleach every day but I guess it wasn't enough. This will be the first time I've ever shocked a pool. It is an AG liner. CYA 40.

1. Clean filter (haven't in a while, might as well start with a clean slate)
2. Confirm pH in appropriate range (7.2-7.5)
3. Bring FC up to shock level, 16ppm for my situation.
4. Maintain this shock level by frequently testing throughout the day.
5. Brush the pool once a day.
6. Finished when I pass the three requirements (CC, OCLT, clear)

That about right? The article mentions I should vacuum debris... and we get a lot of that, the pool is under a lot of pine trees. With the skimmers working non-stop during this process, the amount that sinks should be limited, but there will be some. In order to vacuum I really need to get in the pool since it's quite large and we don't have a deck all the way around. Is it okay to get in the pool with the algae and high levels of chlorine to do this?

Thanks.

 

[JasonLion]

Yep. Cleaning the filter isn't required, but can't hurt. Everything else is just right.

 

[BrandonD]

Thanks Jason. I am on hour 6-ish and I haven't seen much drop in FC, maybe 1ppm. Is this normal? I thought it would eat up FC quickly at the start. My concern's basis is that after brushing the algae up from the bottom and sides, the water now looks like it did when we filled it (iron well water + blue liner = green water.) It was sparkling clear for several weeks before now so I guess it couldn't be the iron again?

 

[BrandonD]

Ok, it's definitely not the iron. I peaked at the cartridge filter and instead it it being golden brown during the iron crisis, it's a lovely shade of green.

It also seems to be eating up FC faster... about a 3ppm drop in two hours. Water clarity seems to be improving ever so slightly, but that could just be the algae settling. I'll be brushing it in a few hours.

 

[duraleigh]

POP might seem to be in order. This pool will take time to clear....perhaps more than you are thinking.

 

[BrandonD]

POP?

 

[Richard320]

POP = Pool Owner Patience

 

[BrandonD]

Ok... we are about to leave on a six night camping trip. I've looked and looked but cannot find anyone to sit the house much less do chlorine tests every 2-3 hours. I've been diligently keeping the chlorine at or above 16ppm since Saturday afternoon and brushing once a day. I haven't seen much of an improvement.

How do you suggest I proceed? My dad can come by once a day. Should I have him put in a certain amount of bleach each day or just throw in the towel and deal with the mess when I get back? Should I keep the pump going 24/7 to keep the water from going stagnant or can I put it back on a 4hr/day cycle?

 

[BrandonD]

Bump. We leave tomorrow. Can anyone offer advice based on my last post?

The wife isn't too happy at the thought of leaving the pool as-is until we get back. She keeps referring to shock products she used when she had a pool that 'fixed it overnight.' It's getting hard to convince her we need to stick to this method. There's just no one that can do the tests and maintain the chlorine levels while we're gone. The best I can do is have my dad add a set amount of bleach each day when he feeds the dogs, but I'm not sure if that's just a waste of bleach.

 

[Richard320]

If you're seeing improvement daily, average out the chlorine usage and have him add that much every day. Then you won't backslide any.

 

[BrandonD]

Alright, just thought I'd update this thread. We got back from our camping trip a bit early on Monday June 30th. I re-commenced the SLAM on Tuesday the 1st. Water was a nice dark green. It has slowly progressed since then, I've had to buy more reagent for the FC test, and lots of bleach. After the vacuum yesterday it actually looked really good, but there was still algae clinging to the edges and on and around underneath the stairs where the vacuum couldn't reach. I brushed those areas as usual, pool looked pretty darn close to normal afterwards. I decided to give it another day at least before I even start testing the other two parameters: overnight loss and CC. When it says to continue until the water is clear, are we talking shiny clear or just clear? I guess a good way to test would be to see it's clear to my own eye and the peak at the filter to see if it's collected some algae?