You can run a CH test and if it's fairly low you can use the cal-hypo for SLAMing the pool until the CH gets to between 300 & 400 ppm. While you don't need CH in a vinyl pool, it won't hurt anything as long as it doesn't get too high.
Hi from N Alabama
- Thread starter GearHead36
- Start date
Thanks. Tested CH yesterday. It's 225.
- - - Updated - - -
Thank you.
You could use a little of the cal-hypo, but be careful not to use too much.
You can use Poolmath to figure out how much you can use.
You can use Poolmath to figure out how much you can use.
We used the pool for the first time last night. Yaaay! Thanks for all your help.
The criteria for the completion of SLAM is:
CC is 0.5 or lower;
You pass an OCLT (ie overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less);
And the water is clear.
We passed A & B. And for C... it IS clear, but not quite crystal clear yet. I can finally see the main drain in the deep end, which is almost the same color as the liner. It burned our eyes a little. I think I need to bring up the pH some. I have it at 7.2 right now.
The criteria for the completion of SLAM is:
CC is 0.5 or lower;
You pass an OCLT (ie overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less);
And the water is clear.
We passed A & B. And for C... it IS clear, but not quite crystal clear yet. I can finally see the main drain in the deep end, which is almost the same color as the liner. It burned our eyes a little. I think I need to bring up the pH some. I have it at 7.2 right now.
Update:
The pool is clear... again... after a slight setback. We had the pool clear, then yesterday I noticed that the main drain had a LOT of gunk clogging it up. So I* cleaned it out, and wound up depositing most of that gunk around the pool. So I vacuumed and skimmed the pool. And vacuumed and skimmed some more. And some more. Finally got it clean enough to use again, but it wasn't perfect. I also found some algae in the light recess. So I did another mini-SLAM last night, and ran the pump and Polaris since last night. It's nice and clear again.
* My daughter actually did the cleaning. The pain in my ears from the pressure was too much.
Now on to the maintenance phase.
Thanks to all who got us this far.
The pool is clear... again... after a slight setback. We had the pool clear, then yesterday I noticed that the main drain had a LOT of gunk clogging it up. So I* cleaned it out, and wound up depositing most of that gunk around the pool. So I vacuumed and skimmed the pool. And vacuumed and skimmed some more. And some more. Finally got it clean enough to use again, but it wasn't perfect. I also found some algae in the light recess. So I did another mini-SLAM last night, and ran the pump and Polaris since last night. It's nice and clear again.
* My daughter actually did the cleaning. The pain in my ears from the pressure was too much.
Now on to the maintenance phase.
Thanks to all who got us this far.
For those who like pretty pictures...
Here is what we started with:
And here is what we have now:
You can even see our Polaris on the bottom of the far (deep) end. The first photo was on 6/20, but we didn't have our TF-100 test kit yet, so we didn't start our SLAM until 6/22. The pool was clear on 6/27, but the weather wasn't conducive to good photos. The weather turned good on 6/28 when the 2nd photo was taken. BTW, both photos taken with the pump running.
Doing it again, I think I could shave a couple of days off that. I didn't realize how fast algae could eat chlorine in the beginning, and I let the FC drop too low a couple of times.
Here is what we started with:
And here is what we have now:
You can even see our Polaris on the bottom of the far (deep) end. The first photo was on 6/20, but we didn't have our TF-100 test kit yet, so we didn't start our SLAM until 6/22. The pool was clear on 6/27, but the weather wasn't conducive to good photos. The weather turned good on 6/28 when the 2nd photo was taken. BTW, both photos taken with the pump running.
Doing it again, I think I could shave a couple of days off that. I didn't realize how fast algae could eat chlorine in the beginning, and I let the FC drop too low a couple of times.
So proud of the job Mr. Gearhead did on our new-to-us pool. Thanks to everyone here who advised on the proper procedures for rehabbing the "on it's way to swamp" pool!
He did a great job and the Wife of Gearhead deserves some credit too. I seem to remember a few times where you tested and dosed when he couldn't. And you've shown excellent patience throughout this ordeal. Kudos to you both. 
She deserves a lot of credit. She did numerous tests, dosings, cleanings (skimming and brushing), and a filter change. And our daughter helped, too. She skimmed the surface a few times, and cleaned the main drain. It was definitely a team effort.He did a great job and the Wife of Gearhead deserves some credit too. I seem to remember a few times where you tested and dosed when he couldn't. And you've shown excellent patience throughout this ordeal. Kudos to you both.
MrsGearHead36 found a day with great lighting for making pool photos. Here's the latest & greatest shot of our pool:
From this angle, you're probably looking through about 20' of water into the deep end, where the Polaris and the drain are quite clear.. Thanks to everyone who helped us get our pool to this. However it DOES show how faded our liner is. Oh, well. It was faded when the water was green, too.
From this angle, you're probably looking through about 20' of water into the deep end, where the Polaris and the drain are quite clear.. Thanks to everyone who helped us get our pool to this. However it DOES show how faded our liner is. Oh, well. It was faded when the water was green, too.