SLAM confusion

[Crusje]

So I've been slamming for a week. CC 0.5 yesterday 0 today, OCLT 0.5 yesterday 0 today. I cleaned out the lights yesterday. Water is clear but there's dead algae on the floor. Am I supposed to keep going until I vacuum the algae? I don't have a stick vacuum only the robot do it's slow going on that department.

Passing criteria says :

• AND pool water is crystal clear with no visible sign of algae (dead or alive) on floor and walls

 

[Texas Splash]

That dead or alive verbiage is there to protect others who really try to take a shortcut. Some pools take much longer to filter out the dead stuff. By passing the OCLT and having no FC loss, you are probably okay, but we'll leave it up to you if you want to maintain just a bit longer. We know it's exciting and chlorine isn't cheap.

 

[clambert1273]

Yup until it's all gone! Trust me on this one it's very easy to ignore that part & convince yourself it's fine but its not. Just keep it going until it's all gone brush it up so filter can catch it. It should poof and make the water look bad. Then it's just waiting on filter to snag it

 

[Mdragger88]

You don’t have your signature filled out.
What kind of filter & robot do you have?

 

[Crusje]

You don’t have your signature filled out.
What kind of filter & robot do you have?

I have a Hayward sand filter and Polaris cordless freedom. The filter basket on the robot fills up every 30-45 minutes so I have to pull it out and empty it. Maybe I should just buy a vacuum or have the pool people come and vacuum it. Or I can get the silt net from ProTuff and just fish it out with the net.

Yup until it's all gone! Trust me on this one it's very easy to ignore that part & convince yourself it's fine but its not. Just keep it going until it's all gone brush it up so filter can catch it. It should poof and make the water look bad. Then it's just waiting on filter to snag it

What's the rationale for it? It's dead, not consuming chlorine so I'm just trying to figure it out.

 

[clambert1273]

I have a Hayward sand filter and Polaris cordless freedom. The filter basket on the robot fills up every 30-45 minutes so I have to pull it out and empty it. Maybe I should just buy a vacuum or have the pool people come and vacuum it. Or I can get the silt net from ProTuff and just fish it out with the net.


What's the rationale for it? It's dead, not consuming chlorine so I'm just trying to figure it out.

Rationale: if you're seeing dead stuff still means live stuff still being killed.

 

[Mdragger88]

I have a Hayward sand filter and Polaris cordless freedom. The filter basket on the robot fills up every 30-45 minutes so I have to pull it out and empty it. Maybe I should just buy a vacuum or have the pool people come and vacuum it. Or I can get the silt net from ProTuff and just fish it out with the net.


What's the rationale for it? It's dead, not consuming chlorine so I'm just trying to figure it out.

The idea is that Dead algae was recently alive at some point- if you’re continuing to see dead algae accumulate that means you are still killing. It should get less & less each day. Don’t call it good until it’s gone.
A basic $25 manual vacuum is core tool in a pool owner’s arsenal even if they don’t use it often. Your pro tuff pole should work on most manual vac heads.
Keep running the bot too does it have fine filters?
Sand filters are the slowest to clear so just keep at it.
You can try adding a little de to help the filter catch the finer stuff if you’re home to babysit the filter & backwash as needed.

Add DE to a Sand Filter

A clean pool filter will increase the efficiency of your pool! ... your filter are to backwash it, clean the manifolds and grids, and add new DE.

www.google.com

 

[Crusje]

Yup until it's all gone! Trust me on this one it's very easy to ignore that part & convince yourself it's fine but its not. Just keep it going until it's all gone brush it up so filter can catch it. It should poof and make the water look bad. Then it's just waiting on filter to snag it

Rationale: if you're seeing dead stuff still means live stuff still being killed.

Yeah it's definitely new dead stuff it can't possibly be the old dead stuff. So basically this continues indefinitely until I decide to get a non robot vacuum is what you're saying.
It's definitely way less than over the weekend before I ran the robot and scooping stuff out. No fine filter so I guess I have to get a manual vacuum and a hose and skimmer plate.

 

[clambert1273]

No not indefinitely. Once Slam has killed it all you won't see any more dead stuff. That's why it's an exit criteria. It will go away even if it doesn't seem like it. You could vac it out but I just ran my robot pretty much all the time plus brushed it up into water

 

[woodyp]

Don't waste your current investment in time, energy, and money (chlorine) by stopping too early!

 

[Mdragger88]

The bot, even without a fine filter should stir it up so it goes into the filter - this is where the de comes in handy.
Not sure if a finer filter is available for your bot (worth looking into)
but some have been able to rig a skimmer sock to assist their bot- ymmv there.
Vacuuming the bulk to waste even 1 time would really help the filter out & lighten its load.

You probably don’t wanna hear this but a week long slam is not terribly long. You’re getting there! Just keep going!

 

[Crusje]

Skimmer socks are amazing. Now I want a chlorine generator so I don't have to manually add chlorine. Should I raise my cya to 50 so I don't lose so much on the daytime? It's at 30 now.

Would closing the tfp way prevent the swamp opening? My phosphates are way over 4000 according to Leslie's. I have a lot of trees and foliage. Everyone I ask around here says it's normal to have green openings.

 

[Mdragger88]

Maybe just bump to 40 first and see how it goes.
A 60k gal rated swg would be your best friend

 

[MITBeta]

Everyone I ask around here says it's normal to have green openings.

It might be normal, but that doesn't mean it has to be that way. Close after the pool drops below 60F at SLAM level, open before pool gets above 60F. My pool still had 9.5ppm FC when I opened on May 5.

 

[Mdragger88]

It might be normal, but that doesn't mean it has to be that way. Close after the pool drops below 60F at SLAM level, open before pool gets above 60F. My pool still had 9.5ppm FC when I opened on May 5.

 

[Pauls234]

I've opened/ closed the TFP way for 10+ years and have always opened to clear water with measurable FC still in it.

Here was my open this year.

TFP Clear (with a twist)

Good morning all, I suspect lots of new members this weekend with the unofficial kick off of summer, especially for those of us in the North. I soft opened my pool last weekend, pulled cover off, relubed all the gaskets got plumbing hooked up to get circulation going, water clear, tested FC...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mdragger88]

This is immediately after removing the cover this year - still had 10ppm fc

It is the same every year.
I have no idea if I have phosphates or not - I have never checked & likely never will!
I live in the middle of the woods.

 

[Crusje]

Maybe just bump to 40 first and see how it goes.
A 60k gal rated swg would be your best friend

Why 60k rated? I asked the pool company that's going to service my Hayward heat pump under warranty and they offered the 40k rated one at 2500. Is it beneficial to go bigger?

I definitely had under 2 fc closing last year. I'll bump it to slam in the fall and we'll see. It's a mesh cover.

 

[Mdragger88]

We recommend a swg be rated for at least 2x’s your pool’s volume because their rating is based on them running @100% 24/7 for the size pool they are rated for.
This leaves no wiggle room & means you will deplete the 10k hour life of the cell rather quickly.
Hayward doesn’t make a 60k gal rated cell.
Pentair & circupool have those options.

 

[Pauls234]

The mesh cover can make things a little more difficult in that they let sunlight and organics into the pool water which will consume chlorine vs the solid tarp covers.

Some w mesh covers make it a point to add a little FC during winter but need to make sure to stir the water around with a broom, paddle, or even a submersible pump.

I think the downside to solid covers is some don't like the idea of having to periodically pump standing water from the top, but I've never known anything else and always open to clear water so, I'm going to keep on keeping on.