Tired of bad pool, advice--SLAM question

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tam87

tam87

0
Bronze Supporter
Feb 2, 2015
28
New Port Richey, FL
Hi All,
New to forum, but have been reading/studying ALOT on your site..so here is my situation and I think based on what I read, what I should do--
Started about 3 months ago with cloudy water and pool company kept giving us more and more stuff to put in, looked like we had some persistent algae that kept coming back and we just cannot keep chlorine up despite having done "superchlorination" on SWG and keeping output at 100% for several long periods of time still not getting chlorine up. The last thing they had us do was use a chlorine free oxygenating shock(not so good I have learned), a bromine algae remover (BAD I have learned), along with "Optimizer" (which I have since learned is Borax and actually pretty good for pool), then crazy amounts of ph reducer after Optimizer, and FINALLY more stabilizer. Water clear but still hardly any chlorine and still a little bit of algae looking stuff that keeps coming back in a few spots. water clear but I am sure not for long since very low chlorine. So thinking I need to do chlorine SLAM with bleach??
Test with new Taylor Kit (Wow my husband and I felt like mad scientists!)
.4 FC
.2 CC
CYA 90
TA 120
190 CH
PH 8 (took 4 drops of acid reduction part to get down to 7.8ish)

Should I get this PH lower before shocking? I assume shocking is correct route at this point....
Thanks all really enjoy reading about my pool, man that's weird! LOL but here in Florida pools are serious business!
Tammy
 
Welcome to the forum. :wave: I would SLAM the pool but do some other work and understand some things first.

1. Do not use the SWG to SLAM. It really won't work well. You must SLAM with liquid chlorine or bleach.

2. Lower your pH down to around 7.4 or so, then ignore it completely during the SLAM

3. In your 7500 gallon pool, I would drain about 2k and refill. This will reduce your CYA to around 65, making the SLAM much more manageable. This is not a mandatory step but EVERYTHING gets a bit easier when your CYA is below 90 or so.

4. You must follow the SLAM article. It is not a one time dosage but a process of elevated chlorine over a period of days and will clear your pool.

5. You can do some final tweaking after the SLAM is complete but I would focus on nothing else but the above and then making sure I followed the SLAM article precisely.
 
Welcome to the site. Do exactly as Dave suggests and you will be amazed at the results.

I've managed pools with the pool store method and with TFPC method...the difference is mind boggling. I've had zero issues with my pool on the TFPC method. It's so simple and the results are exactly what you want...a trouble free pool.

Once you get it lined out, remember that you still need to check the chemical balance. Many people around my part of the world are told that a SWG takes care of everything. They are very disappointed when they end up with a green pool...
 
Thanks guys!!--soo glad I found you all! Will be working on this soon and will let you know how it goes. Heading out to get our jug of M-acid and bleach jugs and will follow SLAM article! Ill be sure to order my kit refills from you too!
 
Hi tam87
welcome to TFP!

I second what everyone else has already said. Test your FC as many times as you can during the day and add bleach as necessary to keep it at SLAM level as much as is possible, and you will have sparkly water in no time.

If you need help with anyting, just ask.
 
I will take a guess and say you are using the K2006. Few things I will add is go on and order refills for the FAS/DPD. You will run out fast doing a slam. Also you showed .4 for FC and .2 for CC. Use the 10ml sample to save on your regents and multiply by .5 or divide by 2 on your drops. You will still be accurate enough. Ask questions. That's what this site is for. Everyone on here had to start and learn somewhere. It really is easy to learn when taken in small steps.
 
Welcome to the best pool place in the world!

It is fun to take control of your pool as you have found!

Just read what was written to you above and you will be good to swim

The search on this forum is nice. If you cannot find what you want/need PLEASE feel free to ask. We LOVE to help!

Kim
 
Hi and welcome
here is a link to the slam article http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl
here is a link to the target shock levels http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock
as you can see, needs way more chlorine at higher CYA levels
when you perform the overnight chlorine loss test http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/136-perform-the-overnight-fc-chlorine-loss-test-oclt
as mentioned to help your reagents last longer http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/24188-Extended-Test-Kit-Directions
it is daunting at the start
but by summer you will be an expert and helping out others here, and bragging how sparkly your pool is and how easy to maintain
 
WOW I don think our pool has ever been this clear!! Which tells me it was never quite right since it was finished in September! My fiberglass walls were actually shining in the sun today! LOL We added the bleach based on the tables and brought FC up to proper shock level around 6:00PM last night. I tested chlorine at 10:00 PM and again in the morning before sun up and we had not lost any FC!! and CC was down to .5. I added a reaming 2/3 jug bleach to hold it through the day which it did. Going to do another overnight test tonight and then I believe that's it for the slam right?
BTW--We did not do partial drain to lower CYA--we have really expensive city water and we are going to try and maintain with higher CYA--if it doesn't work out, we will do a partial drain later.
Questions--When should I turn the SWG back on? I assume when chlorine falls back to single digits..I plan on keeping it around 5 ish range.
When should I start to test other readings and level out as needed?
Thanks again all! Ill post a pick tomorrow of my sparkling water! LOL

- - - Updated - - -

I just did the 30.00 donation but forgot to put my username on the forum on the Paypal page-sorry!
 

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If you passed all three things for the slam then just let it fall to maintenance levels. I don't have a swg so just keep you FC in the recommended range for your cya. Another think to think about, you may have to play with your swg. Now that you know you have no organics in the water, all your really fighting is sun burn off. Your run times maybe less now to maintain FC. Another thing is as it heats up and summer comes into full swing you FC demand will probably change. That another problem people have with swg's. It's not a set and forget. Testing is still needed. Good luck. You will also learn that it's hard to turn pool stored people. When they tell you how good your pool looks, let them in the secret but don't push unless they do. Just smile to yourself and let it be. That's really true for bleach dumpers like myself.
 
I don't have a SWG, but with a CYA of 90, I think you need to target your CYA higher than the 5 you mentioned. For a CYA of 80, the target level is 6, so at 90, you should be at 6 or 7. Someone with a SWG will advise, I'm sure.

Congrats on your clear pool. Fun to be in charge, isn't it?!?!?!!!
 
While 90 ppm CYA is not listed on the FC/CYA chart in pool school, 80 ppm CYA call for 4-6 ppm so you should ALWAYS have your FC around 5-7....no lower. I would target 7 ppm as marianparoo suggests.

BTW, that 2k drain (to reduce CYA) would have cost about $10.00 in the majority of the country. You will quickly burn that up in your extra FC costs.
 
You may get to dump water if you get rain this spring too. I guess you can do a wait n see on the CYA level.
 
Thought this pic showed how clear it is now!! I am monitoring my levels twice a day for now, but I think I have a pretty good basic understanding thanks to this forum and web site. I am sure Ill be back for questions along the way ;)
20150205_205741.jpg
 

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