Almost ready to SLAM, some questions

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what is your TA reading? pH rises from the alkalinity in the water and aeration. your pump has been running a lot so lots of aeration which raises pH. that's why we push our pH low before the SLAM. cant test your pH if your FC is over 10. even if it has fallen for some reason, you want to keep it in range. so if it fell lower than 7.2 you need to raise it. especially with people swimming in the pool. don't want too high/low pH.

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for the water clarity, it will take some time with the sand filter and babysitting with DE but you will get there.
 
mackguy said:
Ok, here we go.

0 Hour test results

FC= 6PPM, CC=.5PPM
PH=7.3
CYA~20-23
TA=60

Goal
FC=12+
PH=7.5
CYA=~35
TA=80

Per Pool Math
Add 113oz (volume) of Baking Soda to bring TA to 80 and PH to 7.34
Add 3lb of DiChlor - Raise FC by 6.6 to 12.6, raise CYA by 6 to 29 Lower PH by .25 to 7.13
Add no more than 2 additional lb of DiChlor to maintain FC and bring CYA to ~35, PH may fall to ~7.

Do I need to bring the PH higher before starting SLAM, or worry about it after finishing SLAM? I read it can't be easily measured/controlled during SLAM.
What about TA? Before or after SLAM?
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DaninFLA said:
what is your TA reading? pH rises from the alkalinity in the water and aeration. your pump has been running a lot so lots of aeration which raises pH. that's why we push our pH low before the SLAM. cant test your pH if your FC is over 10. even if it has fallen for some reason, you want to keep it in range. so if it fell lower than 7.2 you need to raise it. especially with people swimming in the pool. don't want too high/low pH.

- - - Updated - - -

for the water clarity, it will take some time with the sand filter and babysitting with DE but you will get there.
Click to expand...

See above for my test Pre-SLAM, and expected ranges per what I have added... I never did add any Baking Soda, just 5lb of DiChlor and Bleach.

I will try to get a TA and PH reading tonight, though it may be difficult as we're not getting much sun, and most days I've only lost around 3ppm FC total..
 
DaninFLA said:
you need to filter out all the dead algae and get the water crystal clear. you are getting close, but its one of those things where you want to go to 100%. you've had this mess for weeks and you are getting close, don't skip on the last 5% and risk having to do it all over again. the water will get crystal clear, as in I can throw a quarter into my deep end of the pool and with the pumps off, I can tell if its heads or tails. of course your pool is a bit deeper. but your pool really is going to get that clear. based on your picture yesterday, you are not there. the water looked pretty hazy.

have you removed your lights? I forget and am too lazy to go back and read :)

if you feel your water is getting pretty clear, then you add the DE and it should help finish off clearing the pool. BUT, are you still getting dead algae clouds blowing off when you brush the sides and bottom of the pool? if so, keep at it. brush as much as possible and keep vacumming it.

but kimkat said, you need to be around when you do the DE for backwashing, as it will probably need it a lot.
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Well I finally got the light out, you were right, disgusting back in there! What's more concerning though is that the fixture was flooded, and bulb had a hole in the side.. strangely though the fixture seems sealed, as I did not notice any water come out of it when I removed it and the seal around the glass remained airtight even after removing the holding ring.. I'm baffled!

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
 
There is a niche in the pool wall that remains flooded. There is a light capsule that is airtight (actually watertight :)) and the bulb is inside the light capsule. There should be a ring that holds the bezel and lens to the front of the light capsule. Did the light capsule float?

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Yes, that's where the algae runs and hides when we SLAM.

There is a niche in the pool wall that remains flooded. There is a light capsule that is airtight (actually watertight :)) and the bulb is inside the light capsule. There should be a ring that holds the bezel and lens to the front of the light capsule. Did the light capsule float?
 
pooldv said:
There is a niche in the pool wall that remains flooded. There is a light capsule that is airtight (actually watertight :)) and the bulb is inside the light capsule. There should be a ring that holds the bezel and lens to the front of the light capsule. Did the light capsule float?

- - - Updated - - -

Yes, that's where the algae runs and hides when we SLAM.

There is a niche in the pool wall that remains flooded. There is a light capsule that is airtight (actually watertight :)) and the bulb is inside the light capsule. There should be a ring that holds the bezel and lens to the front of the light capsule. Did the light capsule float?
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Underwater light puzzle

The lens appeared to still be airtight, BUT the inside of the fixture was flooded with water... No it did not float.

Also the shallow end of the pool has no fixture at all, just a backing plate at the rear.
 
Got to use the pool both Mon and Tues, sure was great! I'm hoping I found one of my problems though, I think the bottom drain had been blocked by a tile... there's a section of tiles that had fallen off and I retrieved about 14 from the pool floor, as well as part of a gate latch, a large coil spring, and a golf ball. Now I can actually see the bottom drain from the surface (still not perfectly clear, but at least visible).

I think part of my problem is at ~10' down the water wasn't really circulating with the drain blocked.
 

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You can turn one or more of your return eyeballs so that the push water down and around the deep end until you can work on the bottom drain.

Some pools do not have bottom drains and work just fine.

BUT one time I forgot to turn the valve back to open on my bottom drain and my water started to loose it's shine. Come to find out the water that was sitting in my bottom drain pipe was brewing some nasty getting ready to happen. Once I opened the valve and shoot some bleach down into it things go jewel like again!

Kim
 
you can also find jets that are designed to push water down if needed.

for a stuck jet, I find it easiest to adjust when the pump is off and to use something like a stick to help adjust the nozzle the way you want it.

honestly, since your pool was so green, it might make sense to remove all the jets and clean them. they can hold algae behind there as well. just unscrew each one, then scrub them good and replace. can re-adjust angles at same time
 
Well I'm at 2 weeks since starting SLAM, still getting green stuff on the walls, but still meeting CC and OCLT.
DE and having the bottom drain unblocked have definitely improved clarity... I can now see the bottom drain from the surface though it's still not clear.

My Aquabot has finally started picking up more of a sand texture stuff than green gunk and pine needles though... I don't think this pool has had a proper cleaning in years!
 
DaninFLA said:
well I have learned that 90% of people don't do things right and/or maintain their property. we just bought a house 4 months ago, which looked great when you walk thru it and bought it. then when you own it, you just see little things that the previous owner did, and I just shake my head. its like, hey, I am can do this repair half-way and spend $15 or I can correct the problem and do it correctly for $20. and they always do the shortcut way. people just don't take pride in their possessions anymore, but will be the first to complain when something stops working that they neglected to maintain.
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We just went through this. Just bought a house, inheriting a pool. The house & pool looked nice at showing. Then we got an inspection, and found several issues related to maintenance. We negotiated with the seller, and came to an agreement. Immediately after closing, we drove to our new house... to find a green pool. When they showed the place, it was crystal clear. And the maintenance items.... Grrr. They had a handyman do some "repairs". I put repairs in quotes because the the work he did wasn't worthy of a barn. Then, like you, there's all the little things we're finding, too. My wife found poison ivy in the mulch bed in the front yard. Unfortunately, she didn't recognize it, and got it pretty bad. The owners HAD to know that it was there. There was also yard debris piled up in the corners of the yard, yet we have city garbage collection that includes yard debris. At least there were no major issues. I can do maintenance updating.

DaninFLA said:
I would get that light cleaned out, there is still algae back there probably
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I didn't really believe this, but fate intervened and convinced me otherwise. During our SLAM, our light burned out, so I removed it, and found a leak in the housing. While it was out, I though, "I might as well clean out the niche. There's probably nothing there, but why not?" When I cleaned it, a green cloud emerged, so I brought the FC back up to shock level one more time, and it seems to be doing fine now.
 
Yes, so far I've removed from the pool
A) pounds and pounds of pine needles... if I'd put them all in the same place I could probably use them as mulch!
B) Deflated (destroyed) innertube
C) Broken "U" part of chain-link gate latch (one was missing when we got the house... no idea how it ended up in the pool!)
D) 14 rim tiles (not sure if there's a special name for them?)
E) Random short & stout coil spring
F) Golf ball
G) Half of a telescoping extension pole

I think that about covers it... Now it's mostly down to actual "dirt", dead algae etc..
 

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