First SLAM - Is This How it Goes?

[mgtfp]

Check out what happened to NorcalX at the beginning of the season.

Wasn't the problem there overinterpretation of daytime FC-loss? In the end, he still passed OCLT at FC 38 (going down to 37.5 over night).

 

[Newdude]

Wasn't the problem there overinterpretation of daytime FC-loss? In the end, he still passed OCLT at FC 38 (going down to 37.5 over night).

Very well could have been. It was months ago and I only remembered the similarity. Blackout read it through and there was lots of other relevant stuff in the saga so it worked for other stuff too.

 

[blackout]

Well, how about that?!

9:15 PM: 20 FC, 0.5 CC
6:45 AM: 19 FC, 0 CC

I wanted to give the lower SLAM level a try and it seems to have worked! If last night didn’t hold I was ready to take some time tonight to dive into the niches with the vacuum. I’m going to keep an eye on it and give it another OCLT tonight but, wow!

I’ll report back tomorrow to (hopefully) close it out. Thank you all!

 

[wireform]

Looks like you're done but I recommend you go it ONE more day with the slam and another OCLT tonight. Better be sure then sorry. We've seen end of slams with a good OCLT only to have it return a few days later. That's why one more to be extra sure you're good to go. Pool can be use as long as the FC isn't higher then the slam level per the cya you have.

 

[blackout]

Looks like you're done but I recommend you go it ONE more day with the slam and another OCLT tonight. Better be sure then sorry. We've seen end of slams with a good OCLT only to have it return a few days later. That's why one more to be extra sure you're good to go. Pool can be use as long as the FC isn't higher then the slam level per the cya you have.

Yeah that was my gut reaction this morning to the test - do one day more to be safe. I dialed my SWG in to create 4 FC through the day and added another ~20oz so hopefully I'll stick the landing later tonight when I test.

 

[blackout]

Well last night I lost 1.5 FC and had 0.5 CC showing, so I raised the FC back up and went out at lunch time to remove lights. One seemed pretty spotless, the other seemed mostly spotless but a few tiny pieces of gunk came out (probably from construction but who knows). On and on we go! I'm leaving the lights out overnight and I'll post back tomorrow.

One dumb question/theory: could this be living in my filter housing? If I run the pool at 30 GPM (which is what I normally do for 7 hours a day, 60 GPM for another 2 hours, SLAM notwithstanding), I am at 1-2 PSI on the gauge. So that means for 22 hours a day, I am at 0-2 PSI. Is that low enough to where something could take hold in there even if water is flowing? I think my next step is going to be to clean the filters again but this time giving the filters a little extra chlorine bath as well as chlorine scrubbing the housing.

 

[Newdude]

Well last night I lost 1.5 FC and had 0.5 CC showing

What was the target FC that you ‘lost’ from ?Going from a 24 for example to a 22.5 could very well just be user error. Going from a 5 to a 3.5 is harder to mess up. Hopefully the extra day knocks it out of the park either way.

 

[blackout]

What was the target FC that you ‘lost’ from ?Going from a 24 for example to a 22.5 could very well just be user error. Going from a 5 to a 3.5 is harder to mess up. Hopefully the extra day knocks it out of the park either way.

16 to 14.5. I wanted to raise back up to 20 and retest but I am running low on R-0871 (last night I ordered my 2nd 2 oz bottle in 9 days!), so I consciously left it at 16 last night.

Yesterday during the day it went from 19 to 16 with ~4 created from the SWG so it was still consuming during the day

 

[Newdude]

Yeah that’s too much.

 

[blackout]

So here's where I am, after technically passing a SLAM last night. No bathers in the pool since Sunday, except for me jumping in the other day to remove the lights.

Wednesday night OCLT:
Wed 10 PM - 17.5 FC, 0 CC
Thu 7 AM - 16 FC, 0 CC

Thursday morning I also tested CYA and it was between 40-30, closer to 30, but rounded up to 40 and thus left FC at 16. Left the SWG at 60% (~2.6 FC). We had both sun and a monsoon Thursday.

Thursday night OCLT:
Thu 9 PM - 13 FC, 0.5 CC
Fri 7 AM - 12 FC, 0 CC

I ordered more R-0871 a few days ago but it's due to be here on Monday, so I am trying to ration it. I called every pool shop in the area and they don't have it, so I'm a little stuck from a frequent testing standpoint. Also a couple days ago I ordered the cleaning cap for the IntelliChlor and that's due to arrive in Wednesday; want to give it a clean to rule out that it's not working. I'm inclined today to raise the FC manually with an initial dose to 16 FC and add 3 FC worth during the day.

I also don't know how my CYA has gone down from 70 to 40 (closer to 30) in 20 days, but at least it makes the SLAM a little easier for now; I'll take any win I can at this point.

If I can pass tonight, I'm going to let it drift down, test for (and ostensibly fix) pH and test for phosphates (on the off chance that it's super high and it's buffet time for whatever algae persists). If I can't pass tonight...

 

[Texas Splash]

I also don't know how my CYA has gone down from 70 to 40 (closer to 30) in 20 days

That wouldn't be possible unless one of two things happened. Either the testing was off or there is a water leak. If it was a water leak, it would certainly mess-up all the other levels as well, especially salt and CH which normally don't drop unless water is changed. So if the salt and CH haven't changed much and only the CYA, it would point towards a testing error.

CYA Testing:
Proper lighting is critical for the CYA test, so you want to test for CYA outside on a bright sunny day. Use the mixing bottle to gently mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently mix again. Recommend standing outside with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body at waist level. Then, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. To help the eyes and prevent staring at the dot, some people find it better to pour & view in stages. Pour some solution into the viewing tube, look away, then look back again for the dot. Repeat as necessary until you feel the dot is gone. After the first CYA test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, gently shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate your own CYA reading. Finally, if you still doubt your own reading, have a friend do the test with you and compare results.

 

[blackout]

That wouldn't be possible unless one of two things happened. Either the testing was off or there is a water leak. If it was a water leak, it would certainly mess-up all the other levels as well, especially salt and CH which normally don't drop unless water is changed. So if the salt and CH haven't changed much and only the CYA, it would point towards a testing error.

Yeah I don't get it. I have scoured this website for the last year and have read the directions a number of times. Back to the sun, glance. Pour it back in and try again to confirm. Reference the Taylor reference photo to make sure it's the dot and not the bottom of the tube. I don't know. Early in the season, I was a first time pool owner and only knew what I learned here. I thought I had clean water but one thing that still befuddles me about this whole process is that my water is definitely cleaner now. When I was researching filters I remember learning from a clarity standpoint it will really show itself at night, and so when I would see a haze floating by the light I thought "Well, I guess that's the difference between cartridge and DE." Fast forward to now with daily vacuuming for two weeks and at night, I don't see ANYTHING floating by the lights. So, long story short, maybe my water was just not clean early in the year, clouding things up and making the dot disappear sooner than it does now?

I don't think I have a leak because I've not had to put much water in all season (maybe an inch or so twice) and we haven't had much rain.

As an aside, I really do appreciate your help! This site is great - I just became a Gold Supporter

 

[Texas Splash]

Of course there is the testing variance of about +/- 15 ppm, and the degradation of CYA anywhere from 3-5 ppm each month to take into account. Once in a great while we do hear of owners who experienced an odd CYA drop and it could only be attributed to a bad batch of stabilizer. I felt that happened to me a couple years ago with one brand, so I tried another and the CYA seemed to hold better.

 

[Newdude]

When I was researching filters I remember learning from a clarity standpoint it will really show itself at night

I use my 500W light as my water checker a lot. This was the start of pollen season :

And a few weeks later as it was finishing


proven by the OCLT of course. You can usually tell either problem right away with the light.

 

[blackout]

Of course there is the testing variance of about +/- 15 ppm, and the degradation of CYA anywhere from 3-5 ppm each month to take into account. Once in a great while we do hear of owners who experienced an odd CYA drop and it could only be attributed to a bad batch of stabilizer. I felt that happened to me a couple years ago with one brand, so I tried another and the CYA seemed to hold better.

Maybe, I grabbed mine from Home Depot in early May, which is like two weeks after the last snowfall around here. It was dusty sitting on the shelf in the outdoor (but covered) gardening section, so who knows how long it had been out there.

 

[blackout]

I use my 500W light as my water checker a lot.

These pics are pretty much what I saw! I was just going off of filter pressure after pollen season and since mine hadn't gone up at all, I didn't clean it until this SLAM.

 

[Newdude]

These pics are pretty much what I saw!

The start of pollen season coincided with the end of my SLAM so I was hazy for a while. The light tells all though. It’s my favorite 3 second tester.

 

[blackout]

Success (I think!)

7/24/2020 9:19 PM​	13.0​	0.0​
7/25/2020 6:17 AM​	13.0​	0.0​

So I learned a lot, and I still walk away with some mystery. It's still weird to me that CYA fell so fast. Just yesterday I lost 0.5 FC per hour between my daylight tests (more than my SWG can theoretically produce at 100%; I had it off yesterday and used liquid) before losing 0 overnight entirely - I think I was fighting the sun early on as much as the life in the pool.

But now my pool is actually clearer than I thought possible, I feel like I know what to look for a little better going forward. Next SLAM I'm testing CYA early and more often, ordering a lot of R-0871 early, not using the SWG at all during the day and taking everything out of the pool right away.

I'm putting a wrap on this one, for now... Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[Texas Splash]

 

[cowboycasey]

Nicely done, BRAVO....