I am two weeks into a SLAM to get my 26K gallon AG pool operational. I have seemingly tried everything under the sun to get my pool clear - it is currently a cloudy light blue and has not improved much over the last week (maybe 5% better in one week). If I look closely I can barely see my pool robot at the bottom.
I am stumped on why things aren't clearing up faster. At the current rate, I would estimate it could take another 4-6 weeks for clarity to reach an acceptable level. Here are my questions:
FC: ~12 - 14ppm
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.5 - 7.6
TA: 110
CH: 200
CYA: ~30 - 35
- Deep cleaned sand filter
- Passed OCLT for over 1 week
- Using cellulose fiber to speed filtration (almost gone through 3lbs so far)
- CC is 0.5
- Pool robot is running several hours throughout day
- Multispeed pump running on high 24/7
- Backwashing when PSI increases ~25%
- FC has been kept at SLAM level for my given CYA
- Overall pool chemistry is good
I am stumped on why things aren't clearing up faster. At the current rate, I would estimate it could take another 4-6 weeks for clarity to reach an acceptable level. Here are my questions:
- Is it possible I have filtration issue that would requiring replacing the sand? When I deep cleaned the filter I saw no signs of channeling, but cannot confirm the quality of all the sand or how it was treated before I inherited the pool. I also don't see and cellulose fiber pass through my return when adding it, so I think my laterals are in good condition.
- Since I am passing OCLT and have a CC of ~0.5, do I still need to maintain FC at SLAM level? It's becoming really expensive keeping this up for 26K gallons for over 2 weeks now. I lose around 5ppm FC on average during the sunny part of the day, so am forced to add cal-hypo every day
- What exactly is the white cloudiness of the pool caused from? Dead algae? Some other matter floating around? Whatever it is, my filter doesn't seem to be catching it quickly. I manually scooped and had my pool robot remove a massive amount of leaves and other debris about 3 weeks ago, but I don't think this should be an issue now.
- Is it worth considering a clarifier or floc at this stage? I know TFP doesn't seem to approve of these products, but I am not having success following their SLAM method - and continuing to supply my pool with 1-2lbs of cal-hypo a day, and adding CYA as needed, is getting expensive, especially when progress is extremely slow. I would probably need 40-50lbs of shock to complete the SLAM (since I am technically not to supposed to stop SLAM until the water is clear)
FC: ~12 - 14ppm
CC: 0.5
pH: 7.5 - 7.6
TA: 110
CH: 200
CYA: ~30 - 35