Without replenishing the CYA that was broken down over winter, you have nothing protecting FC from UV degradation. How much CYA have you added and when? Can you post a full set of results?
How long does SLAMing, on average take?
- Thread starter suziequsie2945
- Start date
I measured out CYA to bring it up to 30 on Friday. At this point, there has to be CYA in the pool, right?? That was days ago. Haven't tested the CYA since the results don't show until a week later. I can't post any results right now because I am shocking and the pH and all other tests are not valid during the process. I posted my results when we initially opened it on Friday, but I don't think that is helpful at this point.
Plus, a low CYA wouldn't contribute to FC loss overnight, right? (Gonna not add my nighttime chlorine to rule out testing error for my overnight loss in the meantime.)
Plus, a low CYA wouldn't contribute to FC loss overnight, right? (Gonna not add my nighttime chlorine to rule out testing error for my overnight loss in the meantime.)
Hmm, I'm not seeing your test results on Friday. Was it in a different thread perhaps?
Correct, overnight FC loss is caused by organic contaminates. I was talking about your loss between 5:30am and 10:00am, which would certainly be affected by low CYA. What kind of CYA did you add, liquid or granular? What method did you use to add the CYA?
Correct, overnight FC loss is caused by organic contaminates. I was talking about your loss between 5:30am and 10:00am, which would certainly be affected by low CYA. What kind of CYA did you add, liquid or granular? What method did you use to add the CYA?
Here are my results from Friday right after opening, filter running over an hour (these are not current results):
FC: 0
TA: 50
pH: 7.2
CYA: <20
CH: 120
cc: 1.5
I didn't do anything with pH or TA yet. Just concentrated on the CYA and SLAM.
The thing is, we don't get a ton of sun between 5:30 am and 10:00 am, so I feel it's a pretty decent loss for a time we don't get a ton of sun. We get some, but certainly not full sun. I think last year, on average, we lost about 2 to 3 ppm per day (don't quote me on that).
I guess my question now is since I have 0 CCs, and the pool is crystal, why do I need to continue to SLAM? Since there are no contaminates in it, I would assume I am ok to let up and stop SLAM. If not, why not? What else could be causing the issue besides CYA? If it is a CYA issue at this point, SLAMing is not helping that situation anyway, so I don't see the point in continuing to SLAM it, but I could be wrong, which is why I am asking
I used solid/granular CYA, via sock in skimmer and in front of return.
Have you had an overnight chlorine loss of less than 1 FC? Yes = you're done; No = you're not done
No means you still have something in your pool eating FC that is entirely unrelated to CYA or sunshine. Test late after dark, test early before sunrise for OCLT. Brush brush clean clean everything during the day before.
No means you still have something in your pool eating FC that is entirely unrelated to CYA or sunshine. Test late after dark, test early before sunrise for OCLT. Brush brush clean clean everything during the day before.
Been doing all of that! Anyone want an inground pool? I'll give it away for free! Heck, I'll even throw in the house as well
Suzie,
I'm in the same boat as you. I was down to an OCLT of 3 for 3 nights in a row. Now I'm at 5-6 for the past week. This is my first year of trying this and I've about had it.
I'm in the same boat as you. I was down to an OCLT of 3 for 3 nights in a row. Now I'm at 5-6 for the past week. This is my first year of trying this and I've about had it.
Hang in there
It is so frustrating, I know!! This is my second year doing this but last year, because of TFP, I had a beautifully crystal clear pool all summer long, compared to the previous year when we had an algae bloom, which led me to here, who helped me clear it upI just tested my CYA for the heck of it. I shot for 30, but it is coming up as 20 today. Now, it hasn't been a full week (added it on Friday), but do you think this CYA number I got today is accurate, or should I wait at least until Friday to retest before adding any more?
At this point if you stopped the SLAM you'd burn at least whatever FC you're losing at night EVERY DAY for the whole season instead of 1 or less. So over the course of a short season say 4 months that's roughly 120 days x 3 extra above normal usage FC = 360 FC. That's just under 11,000 ounces of 8.25% bleach in a 20K gallon pool. That's an extra 90 gallons of 8.25% bleach. $3 a gallon = $270. And that's if you don't get an algae outbreak due to not killing it all in the first place.
It should be short term pain, long term gain.
It should be short term pain, long term gain.
You were at 16.5 this morning but what was the FC last night?
If you can not pass the OCLT there is something in the water consuming the chlorine and it will just take more time and chlorine to break it down. Having low CYA and high FC will lead to a larger than normal drop during the day such as you are seeing.
Two of the three criteria have been met, but passing the OCLT will complete the SLAM process and reduce your chlorine usage to normal this summer.
I failed the OCLT last night. The results were a 3.5 drop in FC. I did not know about the low CYA and high FC leading to a larger than normal drop during the day. That is the culprit, I am sure, at least for the drop during the day. As mentioned above, I added the CYA on Friday (measured for a CYA of 30), and just went ahead and tested the CYA today for the first time since the addition and it came out to 20 (from a CYA of 0 initially). I know you should wait a week to test the CYA, but do you think since it's showing up now that 20 is my true number? Should I leave it alone at 20, or should I add more to shoot for 30, like I tried to initially?
BTW, do you guys test every single time before adding more during the day when SLAMing, or do you make an estimated guess throughout the day? I ALWAYS test before each addition but I am almost out of my FAS-DPD testing solution and powder. I just had to reorder more so I am wondering what y'all do.
Always test before adding any chemicals or else you are flying blind.
Use 30 for your CYA level and do not add any more for now.
Use 30 for your CYA level and do not add any more for now.
If you're not already doing this, you can conserve reagents by using 10ml of pool water for the FC/CC test, a single scoop of 0870 powder, and 2 drops of 0003 reagent. Each drop of 0871 reagent is 0.5 FC or CC, depending on when you add it.
One can make a good argument for using the full amounts of 0870 and 0003 in order to get an equally dark colour with a shorter column of water, but I just cover my ears and go la-la-la-la whenever that argument occurs to me.
None of my friends own a pool or hot tub, so I only have to argue with myself
One can make a good argument for using the full amounts of 0870 and 0003 in order to get an equally dark colour with a shorter column of water, but I just cover my ears and go la-la-la-la whenever that argument occurs to me.
None of my friends own a pool or hot tub, so I only have to argue with myself
If you have not done it yet, check for places where algae might be hiding, like light niches, and under steps, these places tend to have poor water circulation allowing the algae to survive during the SLAM process.
Finally done SLAMing. Passed the OCLT, CC, and pool clear tests. Now, I am letting the levels drop to normal. When is the best time to test pH and TA at this point? Does the FC level need to be near normal for them to be accurate?
When the FC drops to 10 then the pH test will be valid and you can start to adjust at that time.
Thank you!! I wish you the very best and I am cheering you on
Sent you a PM yesterday but not sure you got it.