Still green....SLAM'ing help

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Veccster

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Bronze Supporter
Aug 30, 2016
359
Pittsburgh PA
I guess the key to the SLAM is patience?

We went away on a 2.5 week vacation. Numbers all looked good before we left and water was clear. 2 weeks in a neighbor checked on it and it had green algae forming. I turned the IC40 up to 75% and hoped for the best. Came home to a solid green pool. What happened? Maybe because we left the solar cover on??? PH was off the charts high. Yesterday, I brought PH and ALK back into check.

Anyway, this morning I started slamming.
CYA was 60-65
PH was 7.4
TA was 70
CL was zero.

I dumped in a bunch of bleach and brought FC up to 29. Checked it a couple times today and it was dropping so I brought it back up to 29ish levels. PH is still 7.4.

But the pool hasn't changed color yet. Still solid green.

I guess it just takes time or is there something I'm missing?

20180804_164631.jpg
 
The SLAM Process process does take time. A few days at best. Algae doesn't grow overnight, so it takes a few to resolve. The key is everything on that SLAM page. Maintaining the FC, brushing, cleaning the filter, inspecting the pool, etc. Stick with those instructions and you'll do fine. Have plenty of bleach on hand of the FC and give the SWG some time off during the SLAM. Good luck!
 
Sorry to hear your pool got away from you during your vacation. While I'm less seasoned than many of the pros here, I've seen enough of their advice that'll I'll lend a hand. I have SLAMed several times, also due to vacations gone to pot. It does take patience. You'll have to keep the FC levels in the high 20s for at least 24 hrs before you see significant improvement. Since you likely don't have chunky organics in there like folks opening in the spring, it should clear up soon.

Pretty sure the advice is that chlorine is more effective at lower PH. I'd wager you're safe to drop to 7.0 to speed the process along. The high PH probably prevented your chlorine from keeping up during your vacation, and when algae crept in and got a foothold it wrecked your FC. SLAMing is no fun, so I sympathize for you, but it will work, so have patience.
 
The effectiveness of chlorine at lower or higher pH (7.2 to 7.8) gets a little over exaggerated here on the forum from time to time. The SLAM will work with pH in the 7's but it is slightly more effective when the pH is lower.

Another benefit of lowering to 7.2 or so is the pH test will not be as accurate ay the high FC SLAM levels so bring it down just so you are comforable knowing you will not go over 8.0.
 
Thank you both. I've NEVER had high PH. Actually, I've frequently aerated to keep it from dropping too low. Was shocked to see it off the chart high when I got home.

I never thought to shut off the SWG during this process. I guess I thought the more chlorine the better. I'll go shut it off for the night but will continue running the pump. I'm running higher right now - like 2900. I normally run at 2300.

It certainly is frustrating. Heck of a lot harder now than it was to open at beginning of season.

- - - Updated - - -

duraleigh said:
The effectiveness of chlorine at lower or higher pH (7.2 to 7.8) gets a little over exaggerated here on the forum from time to time. The SLAM will work with pH in the 7's but it is slightly more effective when the pH is lower.

Another benefit of lowering to 7.2 or so is the pH test will not be as accurate ay the high FC SLAM levels so bring it down just so you are comforable knowing you will not go over 8.0.
Click to expand...

OK...so the PH test is not as accurate while slam'ing. Am I ok to add more Muriatic Acid to lower it a bit? How do I know how much to add?
 
If you've never used the pool calculator before, you're in for a treat:

PoolMath

I use it all the time, very accurate I've found. You should be safe you plug in your pool capacity, current PH, then your goal, and it will let you know how much of what strength acid to use. Absolutely must have tool for dosing instructions.

I don't see a timer in your sig, but I've had issues with my timer from time to time. Mechanically it is bulletproof, and hasn't let me down, the dials used to set the on/off times however have frequently come loose in the past. I just checked in on my SWG and was surprised to see the the FC was 1/2 what it typically is. I do run my chlorine a little higher, so I was still fairly safe, but I then found the pump was off, at an hour when it should have been humming. Opened the timer cover and the 2nd off dial had loosened and slid down against the on dial. I run two chunks during the day, and my one 5 hr chunk was reduced to about 5 minutes due to a loose Off dial. I reset the dials and fetched pliers this time to give it a little extra grunt.

Some folks have never claimed issues with their timers, I've heard others with similar dial loosening woes. Just a thought.
 
Thank you. I've used Pool School calculator for sure! It's great. I guess I'll plug in some numbers and see what kind of MA I need to add. I just wasn't sure because I didn't know if the current slam meant the recommendations would be off.

I don't have a timer though. I have an automated system and it controls the SWG and the pump. When the wife asked me if we could get a pool, my stipulation was that it was going to be automated. It's great. Wasn't cheap but is great!
 
Veccster said:
Also, is it safe to use my dolphin cleaner while slamming?
Click to expand...

Sure, as long as you are out of the green swamp stage.

I would not leave it in the pool for extended periods. And wash the filters well and it off with fresh water when it has completed its cycle.
 
Thanks. I put the dolphin cleaner in last night for a run and took it out this morning. It's still a green swamp but there is no sludge or sticks or leaves or debris. It's just green.

It's almost as if someone dumped green food coloring in my pool while I was on vacation. Hmmmmm....maybe I need to review the surveillance camera recordings.

I didn't even lose that much CL overnight.
 

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Problem is the filters get clogged very fast if you have active algae. Not good on the pump in the cleaner.

That green looks suspiciously like copper. I assume no copper containing products have been used in this pool?
 
mknauss said:
Problem is the filters get clogged very fast if you have active algae. Not good on the pump in the cleaner.

That green looks suspiciously like copper. I assume no copper containing products have been used in this pool?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what copper could've been used in pool? Also, it was clear when we left for vacation but turned green just 1 week later.

I cleaned out the 4 cartridges this morning. Didn't look too bad though. I honestly thought that maybe the filter wasn't put together correctly. I had cleaned it out a couple days before going on vacation (seems ironic).

Here is the current pool color....
pool capture.jpg
 
That's better. The picture you had before had that emerald green look ---

You are on the way to blue and cloudy. Good job.
 
Thank you for your confidence. I agree...this looks better than it did 2 days ago. I just thought it would clear up faster - like it does when I first open it.
Maybe it's different because water is warm (currently 85F).

2 days ago:
pool capture - Sat.jpg
 
The warm water makes a difference.

The more you can test and add LC back to your SLAM FC the faster it will go.
 
This is probably a silly question but is keeping the CL this high for this long bad for the liner (or equipment)?

I'm guessing not since SLAM is done by so many on here I just feel like dumping THAT much CL in will bleach out the liner or cause corrosive issues with the equipment.

Just thought I'd ask. Thanks.
 
Current state....day 4 of SLAM
Still holding the CL at 29. CYA has dropped a bit (maybe because of rain) and is at 60-65. PH is 7.2. CC is .5 (sometimes 0).
Can I add CYA mid-slam?

And what causes the pool to be so cloudy??? Is it dead algae floating around?

Pool - cloudy.jpg
 
Do not add any CYA during a SLAM as long as you are above 30 ppm.

The cloudy water is expected. It is dead algae. You now need to filter it out while maintaining the FC at SLAM level. It will take time. Monitor your filter pressure and clean the cartridges when your filter pressure rises by 25% over the clean pressure.
 

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