First SLAM Prep - Ready to get this Algae!

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Jeffc2112

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Apr 20, 2015
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Katy, TX
Hi ya'll from South TX.

I've been in my house for a year, and not knowing any better kept the FC at 1-3 with tabs, and couldn't figure out why my filters were constantly clogged...until I found TFP. Now I know the issues, just got my TF-100 and am ready to get started. I attached a pic, it's pretty green since I've let it sit, prepping for the SLAM, can't wait to see it in a week or so, and post a better pic!

I had a pretty good feeling my CYA was going to be very high, due pool store tests (albeit not always accurate), and the fact that I've been using tabs solely. So, while I waited for the TF-100, loaded up on bleach, and did some filter maintenance, I drained half the pool to lower what I anticipated to be high CYA. Just refilled and did my first couple tests with my kit. Full test results to come tomorrow, but wanted to get the first initial readings on CYA and pH.

The CYA is about 85, but will retest tomorrow when I start the SLAM. Better than it was (from pool store tests), but thought it would be lower after draining half the pool, wanted to get it below 60 or 70... Also checked the pH and it was 7.5, I had a little MA left (maybe a pint) so I put that in to lower it a little bit. The basic Chlorine test from the K-1000 test was negligible, which I knew, I haven't put anything in knowing I'd be slamming soon. I didn't do the FC test yet, will do it tomorrow, but I know it's going to close to zero.

Couple questions:
- I think I'm good to start with a higher CYA of 80-85, knowing it'll take more bleach. Also, since the water is a little murky, maybe it's not quite as high?
- With a pH of 7.5, maybe a little lower, I should still be good to start right?
- Any helpful tips for a newbie prepping for a first SLAM to start Friday after work? Should be able to get through a few bleach/test cycles before Friday overnight, and then I'm ready to spend all weekend continuing it.

Thanks, Jeff
 

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Best to lower the PH into the 7.2 to 7.4 range before starting. You are close to that now, so it shouldn't be a big deal to lower PH just that little bit. As it happens, lowering PH before a SLAM is more important when CYA is high, so certainly worth doing.

Otherwise, have at it.
 
Thanks all, I will try to lower the pH a bit more Jason, and will deal with the higher CYA for now. Being is south TX, my thought is that this higher CYA actually benefit me by protecting the FC more from the abundant direct sunlight I have? (albeit with more bleach during the SLAM...) I haven't tested the CH yet, will do shortly, so I'll see how the calcium looks and decide.

Thanks again, more test results and initial thoughts on the SLAM to come tonight.

Jeff
 
Ok, underway! I retested the CYA and confirmed it is about 85, so I'll have to go with it. I added 60 oz of MA to bring the pH down a little more, it was 7.5, will retest in an hour. According to Pool Math, with a CYA of 85, I added 4 gal of 10% liquid chlorine, and 1 gallon of 8.25% bleach. Should get me pretty close to the shock level of 35, so I'll test the FC in an hour. Brushing the walls now and bottom now. Will plan to clean the cartridges in the morning, I've seen a psi increase from 18 to 22, but anticipating much higher in the morning. I'm used to seeing 18 for 1 day, and then 34 until I clean them, and THAT'S the reason I'm SLAMMING, will be nice to see the pressure hold steady, for once, in another week or so.

Full test results to come in an hour...

Jeff
 
Hi Jeff,
Here is my tip for slamming. The first couple of 3 days. Hit It Hard! Dont go more than 2 hours without testing and bringing the FC back up. If you are diligent about it the first 2 or 3 days, you will be loads of bleach ahead of the game.
 
85 ppm CYA is still high but if you want to live with it, ok. AsDave said, Hit it and Hit it hard.
 
Thanks Dave, that's the goal, I'm getting a good start tonight, and have the weekend to continue hitting it HARD. Casey, I'll live with the 85 CYA for now, I actually drained half of the 15,000 gallons this week, as I awaited the kit, and fixed a part on the filter. Knew it would take more bleach, but I'm ready to swim... ;) Will that higher CYA actually serve me well though, in terms of protecting the chlorine better from the south Texas sun?

So, after the first few hours, I think I already see a difference, but we'll see better in the morning. Here's the first full set of test results from 8:30pm:

CYA 85
pH 7.4
FC 35 (right on target!)
CC 2 (what I expected, or I guessed I'd have some reading above .5)
TA 140 (high)
CH 175 (low, after reading up, I think this explains why I'm seeing the pebble tek coming off and ending up in the Polaris and filter...)
psi 30 (started clean at 17, will clean in the am)

New readings at 11:30pm:

FC 35
CC 1
psi 31

That all seems positive, I was expecting a quick drop in FC, but it's holding ok, and the CC has dropped. The filter is getting more clogged, which tells me it's working. I think I can get the TA down over time by adding MA to lower pH and then letting the aeration from the waterfall raise the pH back up without also raising TA. With the CH, should I work on that now, or wait until the SLAM is over? Seems like I need it up to about 300, so pool math recommends 278 oz of Calcium Chloride Dihydrate. Not sure if I worry about either of these immediately, or wait until the SLAM is done, thoughts?

Off to bed, more tests in the am, if you're still following along ;) Thanks, by the way, to the whole group here, I've given way too much money to the pool stores for bad advice and subpar recommendations that were actually harming my efforts to keep my water balanced, my filter cartridges running clean, and my pool swimmable (i.e. I've had algae all this time, and they didn't have any idea why? Maybe because my FC was kept at 1 or 2 and my CYA was 130 or so, by their tests..."add more pucks", they say, HA!).

Jeff
 

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Good job!

I love it when people see what's really been going on with their pool after running their own chemistry and gaining a little knowledge. And the Store has no clue why you've been getting green.... :roll:

Good for you man! :goodjob:
 
Just concentrate on FC & CC during the SLAM. You can always use Cal-hypo to chlorinate later on to raise the CH. Down near the bottom of pool math, Effects of Adding Chemicals will tell you how much each pound of Cal-hypo will add. Work backwards from that and only buy enough to get you to your target and use that for daily chlorination until it's gone and then switch to bleach.
 
Great, thanks Richard and Patrick. So this morning I had an FC of 29 (shock level 35), and the CC was very hard to read, but I'd say it was .5. Gonna check pool math now on how much bleach I need. I'll worry about the other stuff later Richard, and will read up on Cal-hypo, does that raise CYA at all? Definitely need to clean the filters now too.

More to come, Jeff
 
Thanks Kim, will do that now and post when we get back from dinner. So I cleaned the filters a few hours ago, since they were clogged pretty bad, I'm going to do it twice tomorrow, I think the reduced circulation will slow my process. Pressure's back down to 16psi and the flow is back to full. So the results were pretty similar, not much change, maybe I'll see more when I get back due to the circulation increasing, and I'll see an FC drop.

FC 35
CC .5 maybe? I don't see much there, at least very unnoticeable
psi 20

It's still pretty green, so I know I've got a lot more to go, but I'm surprised that I didn't lose any FC since the last test an hour and a half ago.

More to come, and I'll post a pic in a bit.
 
Thanks pooldv, it seems to be going well. Just did a test and the FC is holding at the shock level of 35, and the CC is 1. The pressure on the filter is up to 26, so I'll reclean in the morning, I'm guessing the pressure will be back up to 32 or so by then. I'll be interested to see the pool in the daylight, it seems like it's clearing up, but that could be the lights. Tomorrow morning I'll post pictures that I took at 6pm today (saturday), and new ones I'll take in the morning, I think it'll show a big difference.

More to come, Jeff
 
Yeah, cartridge filters and algae are a rough combo, especially at first. I like those Pleatcos though. My Pleatcos are a lot better than the original Pentair cartridges.
 
So things continue to improve, I woke up this morning with an FC of 29 (shock level 35) and the filters weren't as bad as I thought they'd be (24psi, clean is 16, normal clogged pressure I've seen over the last few months has been 32-34). So I added what I thought to be the right amount of bleach, but added a bit too much, guess I need to use a measuring cup as I go from gallons to oz. New FC reading this morning was 39, so a little high, CC's remain very difficult to read, probably around .5-1. I think as the water clears the CC test will be easier to read. When I was able to clean the filters the pressure was up to about 28, so it's now back down to 16psi and the waterfall is flowing better. After brushing the pool, the water is much less green, and more cloudy, so that's good, can't wait until tonight and tomorrow, should improve well.

The pain I'm realizing with high CYA, in addition to amounts of bleach, is the number of drops of R-0871 that I have to put in, 70-78 drops...my thumb is sore!

I'll attach some pics showing the improvement, but I've got to resize them...

Jeff
 

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