First SLAM - finished at last!

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Re: First SLAM - persevering...

Leebo said:
On the other hand I'm not sure how I got 25 last night when yesterday morning I added 2 gallons of chlorine to the pool after I tested it at 18, which according to the Pool Calculator was supposed to bring it to 22... So maybe my test results are suspect?
Click to expand...

This was what made me wonder about your last OCLT. Any time after the sun goes down is just fine to start your OCLT (bit late for me to be adding this in) so your starting number of 9:45 is perfect. Let's see what this morning brings. :D

Good Luck!!!
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I can see how that is unclear.

Timeline:
Friday morning: tested water, FC 18. I added 2 gallons of chlorine which was supposed to bring it up to 22 according to Pool Calculator (since have switched to Pool Math), but didn't test again to verify that.
Friday sunset: tested water again and was surprised when I got FC 25. Didn't add anything because I was going to use this for OCLT.
Saturday morning: Tested again for morning portion of OCLT.

Clearer? :)

In other news:
ran pump/filter yesterday after adding chlorine and turned it off when we got home from visiting relatives
9:45 last night - FC 32
pump/filter came on at 1 and turned off at 5.
7:30 this morning - FC 30

Added 2 quarts & 3 cups chlorine at 8:00, turning on pump/filter to run for 4 hours.
 
Re: First SLAM - persevering...

A drop of 2 this time......soooooooo close! For now keep it up at 32 and brush often. Keep back flushing when needed and vacuuming never hurts anyone. :D I don't see it being long.

On a quick side note, that doesn't matter much at this point.......
Do you have a SWG??

Keep it up.....it's going well!!!!
 
Re: First SLAM - persevering...

Well, yesterday I must confess I didn't keep after it. After morning chlorine addition didn't visit the pool at all...

This morning FC was all the way down to 23.5.

Holidays over, visiting and family time over, back to school for my daughter and back to SLAM consistency today for me. :)
 
Re: First SLAM - persevering...

Things were coming along ... then I ran out of the chlorine reagent (have reordered but it's not yet arrived) so I'm kind of shooting in the dark about how much chlorine to add/when to add it.

It's been on the colder side here (lows approaching or below freezing, highs in 40s and 50s) almost all week.
 

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Re: First SLAM - persevering...

Reagent came in finally!

This morning's result:

FC 28

I had added a gallon of chlorine yesterday afternoon, so I'm guessing I didn't do all that great at keeping the pool at shock level w/o the aid of a testing kit, or there is still something very much alive in my pool, or both!

My plan is to add 2 gallons now to bring it up to around 37.
 
Should I Drain to Lower CYA?

I have a relatively long thread going about my attempt to slam my pool with a CYA of 80. I've not been terribly consistent with it due to various factors, and I know that is part of why it is taking so long.

Money is tight and my husband and I are dismayed at how much money we have spent on chlorine since we moved in to this house on October.

We are wondering if lowering the CYA would make the process go faster and/or cost less in chlorine?

In my city I need a permit to drain pool water and need to get the chlorine level down to zero first

What would you do?
 
Re: Should I Drain to Lower CYA?

LaVidaVi said:
I have a relatively long thread going about my attempt to slam my pool with a CYA of 80. I've not been terribly consistent with it due to various factors, and I know that is part of why it is taking so long.

Money is tight and my husband and I are dismayed at how much money we have spent on chlorine since we moved in to this house on October.

We are wondering if lowering the CYA would make the process go faster and/or cost less in chlorine?

In my city I need a permit to drain pool water and need to get the chlorine level down to zero first

What would you do?
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At the higher CYA level, it should not actually take much more chlorine than it would at a lower CYA. Granted the FC level is higher, but the algae should only consume the same amount of FC. Sounds like your problem with the algae is that you may not be following the SLAM process correctly. The better you maintain the FC the faster the process.

BTW, I am going to merge this back into the other thread.
 
Re: First SLAM - persevering...

Yes, still have CC and haven't passed an OCLT. The water looks pretty good, can see to bottom, refracts light, etc. Only visible algae is two small spots of what appears to be black algae in recessed areas in the plaster, one near water return and one in center of pool on the slope toward the deep end. However, when I brush I consistently raise up a small cloud of "dust", especially on the steps.

I went for a few days without testing the water because I ran out of the chlorine testing reagent and although I knew it was running out and ordered it in advance it still took longer than expected to arrive.

I am currently testing the water in the morning and evening only, running the pump for a few hours in the day and four or so hours in the middle of the night.
 
Re: First SLAM - persevering...

LaVidaVi said:
OK .... what am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...
I would do a few different things than what you have been doing.

1. Keep the chlorine level above 32 ppm. Use 5ml of water for testing and count each drop as 1 ppm until you want to do an OCLT.
2. Run the pump longer than what you are doing, preferably 24/7.
3. Do not rely on the cleaner, I'd remove it so it isn't exposed the the high chlorine for so long. Brush the pool every day.
4. Run the water through all of the plumbing including those solar panels. Not sure if you have solar panels, might have been someone elses profile. But make sure you run the water through all the plumbing.
5. Remove and scrub any lights and niches.
6. If still having problems, break down the filter and clean it.

Earlier you had a 2 ppm loss on an OCLT, if that is still true then you should be very close to being finished. How much are you losing overnight now?
 
Re: First SLAM - persevering...

ping said:
LaVidaVi said:
OK .... what am I doing wrong?
Click to expand...
I would do a few different things than what you have been doing.

1. Keep the chlorine level above 32 ppm. Use 5ml of water for testing and count each drop as 1 ppm until you want to do an OCLT.
2. Run the pump longer than what you are doing, preferably 24/7.
3. Do not rely on the cleaner, I'd remove it so it isn't exposed the the high chlorine for so long. Brush the pool every day.
4. Run the water through all of the plumbing including those solar panels. Not sure if you have solar panels, might have been someone elses profile. But make sure you run the water through all the plumbing.
5. Remove and scrub any lights and niches.
6. If still having problems, break down the filter and clean it.

Earlier you had a 2 ppm loss on an OCLT, if that is still true then you should be very close to being finished. How much are you losing overnight now?
Click to expand...

1. In general I have been trying to keep the chlorine above 32ppm, that is until I lost my ability to test and misjudged how much I needed to add... though before Thanksgiving I was using Pool Calculator and targeting a lower level of free chlorine and during the holidays there were a few days when I was away from the pool too long and it dipped down. I plan to keep it above 32ppm until this process is over. But reality is that I'm a busy mom of two kids and am 5 months pregnant and things don't always go according to plan. When I started running low on reagent last week I switched to doing the 5ml test version of the test, counting each drop as a ppm and will continue that.
2. We cut down the pump run time to save on electricity costs ... money is tight and I was told that 8 hours would be sufficient at this point since we don't have visible debris in the water.
3. I can take the cleaner out. I can be more consistent with brushing the entire pool, not just the trouble spots.
4. No solar panels, not sure what you mean by all the plumbing.
5. There is a light and removing and scrubbing *could* be done... but with daytime highs in the low 50s and overnight lows below 30, it will be a VERY chilling experience!
6. We broke down and cleaned the filter (actually we installed all new grids because the old ones were shredded) just before beginning this process, and have backwashed once during it.

I just regained ability to test, so I don't know my overnight loss at the moment. I could do a test tonight if you think it will be worth it.
 

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