SLAM Confession/Question

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Update late tonight:

FC: 9

CC: 0

CYA: 20 (eyes might be tricking me during this inside, under a lamp test, as I think I can still see an ever so feint outline of the black dot even at the 20 mark)

I added about 1 hour of water earlier in the day. The family swam in the pool from 3 to 7.

Wondering if I should leave the chlorine where it's at since it's higher than the shock FC for 20 CYA.

Same question as last night, just a different CYA, so I think I will experiment by leaving it alone and checking in AM. Basically crystal clear in shallow; the deep is blue and I can see the drain clearly but it's still not totally clear.
 
And this morning:

FC: 9.5

CC: 0

Water is the same. At this point, could it be the other chemical readings in the water that are keeping it from sparkling? Again, it's a clear, pretty blue, just not crystal clear. Calcium, Alk, pH, etc? Except for ph, I haven't been testing those this week and figured I'd address those when the SLAM is done.

- - - Updated - - -

(I also realize I need to be patient with the pump and let it keep filtering)
 
Update:

Last night at around 10pm (after a full day of swimming and blazing sun):

FC: 8

CC: 0

pH: 7.5

The water is close to crystal clear, but not in the deep, so I assumed I haven't finished the SLAM. However, I thought the SLAM target was CYA*.40, so I figured 8 FC was okay, and didn't add anything.

This morning at around 8am (with a little sun):

FC: 7

CC: 0

pH: 7.5

CYA: seems closer to 30 now, rather than 20

Water is the same as last night. Also, I am still noticing some small, light-brownish deposits along the seams and on the floor in random places. Also noticed some really small brown spots in the deep end on the incline part of the wall. Brushed them all to the drain. The spots are by no means pervasive or significant.

I read the other post at the top of the today's forum regarding "brown dust, clear water." Can't tell if my spots are live algae being held at bay, dead algae waiting to be filtered, or mustard algae (sure hope not!).

Added 2 gallons of 8.25% (nice and slow) at the deep-end return to get it from 7 to 12. I tried to mix it up real good with the pool brush (I do see, after all, white bleached out parts along the edges on the floor--worried that I might have misapplied the massive amounts of Cal-Hypo from last month or misapplied the SLAM bleach over the last week.

So far, my lingering issues = (1) a less than crystal clear deep-end and (2) tiny little brownish deposits that I sweep away, only to have them return.
 
SLAM is CYA*0.4 if CYA is over 25. Up to CYA 20 25 SLAM is 10FC.
Mustard algae grows in shaded (from sun) areas only, if it's random (i.e. both in shaded and non-shaded areas) then it isn't mustard.

With CYA ~30 I'd definitely advise bumping up your FC.
I haven't read through the history, have you ever deep cleaned your filter, or considered adding DE to your filter?
 
Last edited:
Abigail K said:
SLAM is CYA*0.4 if CYA is over 25. Up to CYA 20 SLAM is 10FC.
Mustard algae grows in shaded (from sun) areas only, if it's random (i.e. both in shaded and non-shaded areas) then it isn't mustard.

With CYA ~30 I'd definitely advise bumping up your FC.
I haven't read through the history, have you ever deep cleaned your filter, or considered adding DE to your filter?
Click to expand...

I am back to assuming a target of 12. I tested again at the end of the day and it was still 12 with 0 CC. I found more little brown spots this morning. Jumped in to see if I could scrape it up with my fingers, but it was too fine. I then took the leaf/water vac thing I have (the one with the water hose and the net) and vacuumed the deep--there were a few leaves.

Anyway, I noticed a good bit of the brown stuff mixed in with the debris and it's gritty, like sand. The clump of stuff had a sort of fishy smell--hoping that's normal when stuff sits at the bottom of the pool for a few weeks (especially when you have leafy, organic debris in there).

So, you might be on to something with the deep clean--have no idea when that was last done. Maybe it's kicking sand back. I will look into that.

Thanks!
 
Algae/Main Drain

I had the SLAM Question/Confession post over the last 2 weeks.

Started a SLAM on 6/23 after a vacation and "passed" the SLAM by the end of the week (the only lingering question being that the deep-end water wasn't perfect--it was clear, but not perfect, but I was continuing to pass the chemical tests). I know crystal clear water is requirement #3. As I noted on that thread, I kept noticing brown deposits each morning, at the end of the SLAM and after the water was nice and blue. When I leaf-vac'd the deep, the minimal stuff I pulled-up was quite gritty like sand--it was sand, in fact. When I try to get it up with my fingers, it's too fine. It definitely dusts-up when I brush it--looks like little dead algae clouds along the floor. The brown stuff is on the angled portions of the walls in the deep and on the floor of the shallow and along the seams. I feel like I'm brushing dead algae. I brush it each day from the shallow floor to the deep. The shallow looks great afterwards, the deep clouds-up a bit, and then it settles back to being pretty clear, but not perfect (maybe not quite as clear over the last 2 days, though--there's a bit of a worsening). I assumed at the end of the SLAM on 6/30 that I needed a deep clean on the filter (but haven't done one yet) and stopped the SLAM.

Anyway, the shallow is nice and blue and clear like I prefer, but the deep is starting to get cloudy again, particularly, of course, when I sweep the brown stuff to the main drain.

I did an FC/CC test just now, and it was 3.5 FC and .5 CC. It was 5 at the end of yesterday and I didn't add anything.

CYA is up to 40 from 20 since I threw a bag of trichlor shock and a trichlor puck in the skimmer on Saturday (wanting the CYA to climb a bit, and I have some bags and pucks to burn through).

Added 57 oz of 8.25% tonight to get the 3.5 to 5.

Three questions:

1. Does it sound like I have a relatively controlled algae outbreak--it's been like this a few days but isn't really getting worse--or is it possibly sand from the filter that needs to be deep-cleaned? Struggling to distinguish between the 2 since the shallow end looks good and the deep is cloudy, and given that I did notice today, with my fingers in the shallow, that some of the residue is gritty like sand.

2. I noticed today that my main drain has virtually no suction when the skimmer and the main drain are wide open. It has very slight suction when I close off the skimmer line. Should I have noticeable suction in the main drain? Could it be clogged or not working properly, such that the deep-end is not filtering, hence the slight cloudiness and lingering debris?

3. I have a "chlorinator" on my pool pump. There's nothing in it. I noticed during my SLAM that water was leaking out of the top of it pretty steadily. I opened it up, confirmed there was no chlorine in it, and figured that it should be "off" if I am not using it. That appears to have stopped the water leaking out of it. Should it be off when there's nothing in it?

Thanks as usual.
 
1) What you describe is normal. The deep end is deeper, so light passes through more water, so the very slight haze is more visible. It isn't any different from anywhere else in the pool, you can just see the haze more easily.

2) Main drain suction can be quite substantial and still feel like it is trivial. Modern anti-entrapment drains spread out the flow so you hardly notice it. At the same time it could be clogged. The only way to tell for sure is to set the system to draw water from only the main drain. If the flow essentially stops in that setting then there is a main drain problem.

3) The tablet feeder should not leak regardless. You can leave it off for now, but longer term you should either fix it or remove it. It shouldn't matter if it is on or off when empty.
 
Starting to think I'm in denial on the fact that it's likely algae. Problem is that I'm super low on the FC test chemicals.

How can I eliminate the deep-clean as being the issue? Should I sweep the shallow perfectly clean and then leave pump off all day? Should I go ahead and assume a SLAM is needed and test it that way (ie if a SLAM makes it look better then algae was the problem)?
 
To remove multiport for deep clean, do you have to remove the plumbing from the port--I'd assume so and assume that the PVC screws off and should not be glued on? Haven't looked at mine or tried yet (I'm at work).
 

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My filter was hard plumbed. I did not notice that there was NO way to get the top off until I wanted to look at my sand last summer!

I went to Lowes and bought removable connectors and had my husband put them on for me. Works great now. I close my valves coming from the pool, undo the unions, unscrew the top of the filter and look at my dirty, bug filled sand LOL

Kim
 
Also, I checked the main drain, as suggested above, by turning off the skimmer line and leaving the main drain on full. Water was still flowing, the pump stayed primed, and pressure only dropped from like 11 to 10 or so. Probably kept it like that for a minute or two without issue. As anxious as I am to deep clean, just to knock that off the list, the thought of cutting lines, etc. to get to it is a little daunting, especially when my cloudiness issue is worsening (i.e. if it was just sand getting back into the pool, I'd think that the problem would not be worsening). A SLAM it is. Might have enough R-0871 to do a SLAM test or 2 this evening. Can pick up some more tomorrow afternoon. Should I wait until tomorrow when I know I have plenty of R-0871 or get started today and err on the side of too much FC?
 
I would start now and get the R-0871 as soon as possible. It isn't ideal but it's a partial day of killing vs. a day of algae growing in my mind. With vinyl I'd be careful about how you guesstimate the higher FC level without the chems to test.
 
Update:

The water had worsened when I got home last night and I had more brown deposits.

Initial Tests:

FC: 3
CYA: 30
ph: 7.8

So, I added enough Lo N Slo to get pH down to 7.2 and added 3 gallons of 8.25% to get FC from 3 to 12.

Re-Tested 3 hours later (I am low on R-0871, hence the late test) at around 10:00pm:

FC: 18 (see question below)
CC: .5 (could barely tell it had any pink in it)

This morning:

Water doesn't look any better. Tests:

FC: 14.5
CC: .5 (again, could barely detect any color change)

More brown spots in the shallow and I can see a slight brown film on the walls. I brushed it up again and into the deep.

If my tests are right, then that would suggest something's in the pool that shouldn't be. I tested at 7:30am and sun came up at 6:33 so I can't imagine I lost 3.5 FC in an hour.

Questions:

1. I did my initial test with the Taylor color-coded test. So perhaps I "increased" to 18 (I was shooting for 12) because I started higher than I thought I was at? I was definitely not at 5 on that initial test, though. Can you accurately test FC below 5 with the color-coded Taylor test for SLAM purposes? In any event, I would have thought I'd lose a good bit if I have a SLAM-worthy problem. I lost 3.5 overnight, though, so there you have it.

2. Is it fair to say that the brown spots I've been seeing since June 23 (even after I thought my SLAM was done) are algae? Does non-mustard algae grow visibly in little deposits? If it's brown, then is it dead?

3. Is it possible that I have a filtration problem that is dumping sand in the pool that is worsening? I guess if the SLAM doesn't help over the next few days, I can turn off the pump and see if I still see the deposits.

I get more reagents tonight--funny how scary it is to run low on that stuff! Ha.

Thanks!
 
How about taking some photos of those brown "spots" so we have a better idea of what you are seeing. Also a photo looking down into the pool at the steps is nice to determine the clarity of the water from step to step.

DLBjr said:
So, I added enough Lo N Slo (BioGard?) to get pH down to 7.2 and added 3 gallons of 8.25% to get FC from 3 to 12.
Click to expand...
If you are using up what you have, good. Using inexpensive and easily available muriatic acid works too and is in the "Pool Math" calculator. http://www.menards.com/main/paint/c.../sunnyside-muriatic-acid/p-1479906-c-8156.htm

If you have a broken lateral in the filter it will allow sand to get blown into the pool. Can you try to capture some of the "spot" and feel if it's sand or something else ??
 
kiss4afrog said:
How about taking some photos of those brown "spots" so we have a better idea of what you are seeing. Also a photo looking down into the pool at the steps is nice to determine the clarity of the water from step to step.

If you are using up what you have, good. Using inexpensive and easily available muriatic acid works too and is in the "Pool Math" calculator. http://www.menards.com/main/paint/c.../sunnyside-muriatic-acid/p-1479906-c-8156.htm

If you have a broken lateral in the filter it will allow sand to get blown into the pool. Can you try to capture some of the "spot" and feel if it's sand or something else ??
Click to expand...

Definitely using-up old stuff. When I have tried to capture it before, it was too fine. I did feel some grit in it, though, like sand. Will see if I can take some pictures. Thanks!
 
Back to your earlier post, yes, the "holy cone" should come right off the standpipe. It's a loose friction fit, while the "holy cone" to the multiport is a much tighter friction fit. As you said before, you must have something in between the standpipe and the cone that's keeping it on there. Any small, skinny instrument that can mechanically break the "seal" would work, otherwise try using water to dislodge it.

I seem to remember someone else having a similar issue, but I can't remember what the solution was. You can try a search, or just browse the pumping station forum. There's comparatively less traffic, so it shouldn't be too much work.
 

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