Does SLAMing really use this much chlorine?

[callmedpit]

Well, I'm still at it, about 30 jugs in and no light at the end of the tunnel. Last night I tested at about 12:15am, and then again before the sun at 5am, and lost 4ppm FC. I could not get the light out because one of the screws is stripped.

This is a full-time job keeping up with the process, testing about every hour and then having to deal with OCLT. What do people do if they have to go to work? All this with the tease of clear water the whole time. When will it end?!?!?

 

[mrcarcrazy]

Have you pulled/cleaned the light and stairs/ladder?

 

[Butterfly]

Have you pulled/cleaned the light and stairs/ladder?

Your chlorine eating culprits are probably here ^^^^^ Are you brushing every nook and cranny daily?

What SLAM FC level are you using?

Your water looks beautiful! But, as you know, it is only one part of the SLAM process completion requirements.

The SLAM process is also for folks that work - SLAM minimum two times daily. You can SLAM each morning and then in the evening as often as you can until bedtime.

Once this SLAM is complete, you should have smooth sailing and simply enjoy your pool. But for now, you need some more bleach/liquid chlorine and POP ::

 

[callmedpit]

I tried to pull the light and I can't because of a stripped screw, not sure what to do with that?

I did not pull the ladder, when I do that, do I just clean inside the holes, etc or what do I do once it's pulled?

I am brushing and vacuuming daily as good as I can.

I'm using SLAM level at 14ppm FC.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

You want to scrub the ladder including the bottom of the steps, rinse well. If you see green under the steps once you've used a scrub brush to clean them you can wipe them down with a rag soaked in bleach.

You need to pull the light. Can't really tell you how but you need to get it out. If you are having a chlorine loss with no visible sign of where it's going you have to look where you presently can't see. There a number of posts of members who had a similar problem where they just couldn't kill off all the algae and it was found hiding under a step or behind a light.

Keep brushing.

If your CYA is 35, 14ppm FC would be what you would want to maintain. If you are dropping 4ppm between readings you should bump the pool up to 18. You want to make sure you don't drop below 14 if you can help it.

 

[callmedpit]

I pulled the ladder out and noticed some algae on the bottom of the top step. Do you think this can cause the problem?

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Wash it good and wipe or spray it down with some diluted bleach. Don't forget to scrub those rubber parts too. Might even want to give them a bit of a soak and then go into the tubes too.

If the step is hiding some ... I know you don't want to hear this but that light really needs to be inspected.

 

[Mike59]

I've used my power washer to clean under the steps of the ladder. That helps get most of the green out, and then follow that with the wipe or spray.
Mine got so bad a couple of years ago that one actually broke when someone stepped on it. The chlorine will eventually make them brittle.
So I just replaced all 3 steps with new ones. They aren't real expensive (buy them online), and they look great and free of all algae.

 

[Thesil]

Your pool is almost a duplicate of mine. Don't drive yourself crazy with the light and algae that might be behind it. My light has about six screws and I was not going to pull it out. The guy who installed my SWG told me to leave it alone and stop being so precise with the numbers. I did, and everything settled down. I realize that you don't have salt water, but with all due respect to the tfp guys, I don't think that it's worth it to pull out your light to look for the possibility of algae.

 

[woodyp]

With all due respect to Thesil...............if you can have that dark green algae growing under a simple ladder step with circulation (although it might be poor)..........why on earth wouldn't you check the light fixture where you have NONE?

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

This is a full-time job keeping up with the process. All this with the tease of clear water the whole time. When will it end?!?!?

Dear Callmedpit, it's your pool, it's your money and you either have to live with what may or may not be back there or get in there or hire someone to pull it out.
If it's tackled now at least when it burns out it will be easily removable. It will also give you peace of mind knowing it's not part of the problem waiting to return.

Or do nothing and hope there isn't anything back there or that whatever level of FC you run the pool at keeps it in check.

You asked "When will it end ?!?!?" ... it ends when the pool is clean and you have to do your part to help it along.

 

[bridgman]

Any chance of grabbing the head of the stripped screw on the light with a pair of vice grips, or cutting a slot in the head with a hacksaw ? Usually I would drill the screw and use a remover (whatever the proper name is) but not sure how you would go about drilling underwater... guessing you would have to drain a lot to get the screw above the waterline ?

re: Thesil's comment, if you had an SWG it might be easier to live with hidden algae somewhere because it would "just" mean the SWG worked harder (which brings its own problems), but if you're buying chlorine then getting all the algae out is even more desireable.

 

[Boeks]

Just a thought on your stripped screw. I'm not even sure this would work, but you could give it a try. I've got an old hand-crank drill I inherited from my grandpa. You may want to see if you can track one of those down from an older neighbor (young guys don't use these anymore!) or a pawn shop, put a stripped screw removal tip on it and try that. They kind of look like a manual hand blender. No electric involved. Only problem you may encounter is being able to put enough pressure on the screw. You may float away too much. Maybe have someone help hold you in place while you give it a try?

Again, don't know if it will work, but maybe it's worth a shot.

 

[S1ngram]

I have had this same exact problem (with the FC anyway). I started up a brand new pool with well water. It was gross, but I never had algae at all. I'm still not done with slam and I'm about out of reagent for testing so I may be "flying blind" for a couple of days. So far, I have spent $130 on 63, 128 oz. jugs of bleach (10%). Each time I go into town, I buy 12 more jugs of bleach. I agree, it does seem never ending. I've been slamming since Friday last week. Some would say that's not very long, and I've read a lot of the horror stories on here, so I know that in the scheme of things I haven't been working at it for an excess amount of time. I have run the test about 10 times each day and added bleach when needed, and brushed walls and vacuumed most days so I'm hoping this will all pay off shortly. Good luck to you!