Giving TFP a Try

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Uncle Rico's Pool said:
It is odd to me that my filter doesn’t seem to be collecting more, but it is brand new this summer. Has glass bead media. I haven’t researched filters much yet, but was told that’s an upgrade?
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I don't know. I bought the house with the pool and am unsure of when the previous owner changed out the media. Alternative media were looked at but pool sand won out just because I didn't want any other variables added to the equation. Supposedly sand is good for 5 years and it's relatively cheap and easy to find at home improvement shops.
 
Ok big turn of events last night. When I woke up this morning and tested the pool I had barely lost any FC! I didn’t do an official OCLT but based on my math I’m pretty confident I lost 1.5FC over 8 hours at the most. I will do official test tonight.

When I came home at lunch, I could see the bottom of the pool! Water is very clear. During the day I lost about 1.1PpmFC an hour so that still seems high. CYA tests at 30 with TF-100 kit.

CC loss is now clearly less than .5.

My questions at this point:

If I pass a OCLT tonight, next steps would be to let the FC drop to normal levels per the CYA chart, correct? Then balance ph etc. I want to do this right, so it doesn’t regress!

What is typical for FC loss during the day? 1.1/hr is high, right? I would be adding several gallons of bleach a day in that case!

If I pass a OCLT tonight, should I consider raising CYA a bit more to retain more FC in the sun? I’m a little gun shy after draining my pool multiple times to reduce previous owner’s 186 to my 30.

Thanks again everyone for walking me through this!
 
He's asking because many people say their pool is clear when it's not clear by TFP standards. How about sharing a picture with the pump not running and the water surface is still?

The number one reason for recurring cloudy water is that the SLAM process was not run to it's proper completion point. We just want to make sure you are not setting yourself up for disappointment.
 

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That's why I always recommend OLCT a second time just to be sure is sure. Some people are so excited when the reach and call it done only to be disappointed a few days later saying " I don't understand, I followed to the "T" ..........
 
Thanks everyone. I had a busy day yesterday and didn’t have a chance to visit the forum and see you posts. I certainly don’t want to start this process again so I will be extra cautious.

Here is the latest:
Water is incredibly clear. I have never seen it this clear. I’ll have to look again tonight, but I’m 99% sure it would pass the heads/tails test you described. CC are below .5. Just finished OCLT and lost MAYBE 1 FC over 6 hours. The last drop is always hard to judge whether it’s playing with your mind or not!

My CYA is 30 so slam level is 12. I always make sure I’m a bit above that at night in case I do lose FC, so I am at 15FC. My plan was to now slowly let that drop today. I imagine it is going to take some time to bring it down to the swimable 6ppm. Let’s say it drops 4 today (does that sound reasonable/normal?). That would put me just below slam level. I would then perform the second OCLT as wireform suggested. Does this seem reasonable or is that slight dip below the slam level risky?

I just hate to add chlorine at this point as it is going to take some time to get levels down as it is.

Thanks
 
What is a safe swimable FC level with a CYA of 30? Is 6 the max? I’m really hoping we can swim this weekend as it’s likely the last weekend we can before close. I hate to have done all this work and not enjoy it, but of course I don’t want to cut anything short and have all my work be for nothing.
 
2-4 ppm FC loss each day. That is during swim season.

It will ramp up in the spring and down in the fall. I assume you close/winterize your pool for winter.
 
Performed another OCLT last night. Was really hard to tell if loss was 1 or 1.5ppm. “Night” was 8hrs. I’m assuming this means I should keep going so I added chlorine this morning. Is it common to have several nights of being really close but not there? Seems like that last bit takes a while.

Thanks
 
Go one more just to be sure. Check it after dark. If it needs add again and check it again 1 hour later just so you know what it is. In the morning before the sun hits the pool check it. That will be the real answer.
 
Make sure you've scrubbed out any places algae could hide - ladders, light niches, vinyl folds (if any), etc. Typically if the water is clear and no algae is visible but OCLT is not passing, some is hiding out somewhere eating your chlorine.
 
Update: My slam is finished! Last night I used the new powder OTPirate sent to replace the dark purple solid that I received originally. (Thank You!!!). This made a HUGE difference in my ability to measure to the exact drop. The other powder got me close enough for the majority of the slam, but I could never pin point the last drop because there was always a slight purple tint. Now the last drop goes in and it is 100% clear.

Water is crystal clear, CC is less than .5 and lost no FC last night. Once the chlorine drops a bit more I’ll start testing the other levels.
 

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