Question @mknauss - water needs some time to fill so I can get suction from the skimmers, so haven’t added DE yet to the filter. Given water is pretty clean for most part Ok to have it on filter or should it be on recirculate until I get DE in it? Pool guy saying it doesn’t matter.
Pool company guy screwed up...
- Thread starter Pperc
- Start date
It does matter. Debris can become embedded in your grids and ruin them. Run the filter in recirculate until you can add DE.
One more issue. Nice black stain near the main drain. I assume this is from debris/leaves on the bottom but it’s definitely worse than last year looking back at old pictures. Could this be black algae or likely just a stain? I tried brushing with the long pole but It didn’t really come off. Thoughts?
Attachments
- May 3, 2014
- 62,771
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
If leaves sat there all winter you most likely have an organic stain from them. FC levels properly maintained will lighten them. May take some time.
When it was vacuumed it was very hard to tell if there were leaves there. It didn’t seem like that many. Hopefully I’ll see it lightened over a bit of time. Sounds like not a reason to panic, yet.
@mknauss quick update. I’m still filling the pool as the water level was very low after vacuuming all the debris off the bottom. Once it’s at the right level I’ll get DE in the filter, start filtering, and post a full set of tests here. Hopefully can get it up to shock level this evening although CYA is going to be tougher to read at night. Will an indoor reading on CYA suffice until tomorrow?
It won't be as accurate. You could put in a jug of chlorine tonight and measure CYA in the morning.
Throw a gallon in amd get it going for now. Once you get a baseline and a quick slam and it levels off clean the pool well gotta hit all hidden spots. Pop the lights, handrails etc. Pass an OCLT amd then try diving down when it warms up amd using some elbow grease on the stain
Thanks. I got the water level up, opened the skimmers, and got the DE filter charged up. At 18 psi which is perfectly normal for me especially at start-up after rinsing the filters before closing last year.
I put a gallon and a half chlorine jugs in with some I had left over from last season. I know it’s probably not quite a strong but probably good enough for tonight. I have 4 gallons of fresh ready to go for starting the SLAM tomorrow and can get more. The pool absolutely needs a good brushing as the wall tile has lots of crud stuck to them at the water line. I’ve never “popped out the lights” before. Is that easy to do? Water is 56 degrees so unless I turn on my heater and heat it up for a day or so getting in doesn’t sound pleasant.
I took a set of readings tonight sans CYA as it’s dark. They are uploaded in pool math.
FC: 2.5
CC: 1
pH: 8.4 (more purple than the top)
TA: 90
CH: 250
Salt: 2600 (SWG is showing low salt, but not low temp)
Temp: 56
CSI: 0.31
Given where the pH was, last thing I did before bed was put MA in to bring it down into a more normal range. Figured that might speed things up in the morning so I didn’t have to wait before getting FC to slam levels.
questions:
1. given salt is low light is on, SWG won’t work. Figure I don’t need to worry about it during the SLAM.
2. heater - on or off? I kind of thought keeping the water cold for now would slow down any algae growth but I also don’t want to get in it to scrub inside of lights while it’s this cold.
3. the stain - pool opening guy suggesting sprinkling some solid chlorine granules on it. Yay or nay? I like the idea of diving down and putting a brush on it but definitely not until the water is warmer!
I will take a fresh set of numbers in the morning including my CYA to figure out a plan.
tags: @mknauss, @zea3
- May 3, 2014
- 62,771
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
New tests this morning uploaded to PoolMath:
FC: 2.5
CC: 0 (this is good news right?!)
pH: 8.2 (true 8.2)
TA: 80
CH: 250
CYA: 30
Salt: 2600
Temp: 57
CSI: 0.15
Filter pressure is up a little to 20 or 19 with sidewall pool cleaner turned on.
Pool actually looks quite good. Clearer than yesterday for sure.
I’m going to bring pH down to 7.6 pre SLAM as I believe that’s protocol.
What’s next? At 30 CYA my SLAM target is 12. Should I add chlorine to get there after I give MA about 15 minutes to mix?
@mknauss @zea3
FC: 2.5
CC: 0 (this is good news right?!)
pH: 8.2 (true 8.2)
TA: 80
CH: 250
CYA: 30
Salt: 2600
Temp: 57
CSI: 0.15
Filter pressure is up a little to 20 or 19 with sidewall pool cleaner turned on.
Pool actually looks quite good. Clearer than yesterday for sure.
I’m going to bring pH down to 7.6 pre SLAM as I believe that’s protocol.
What’s next? At 30 CYA my SLAM target is 12. Should I add chlorine to get there after I give MA about 15 minutes to mix?
@mknauss @zea3
No CCs are good news! Don't be disappointed if they show up again in later tests. CC is constantly being created and broken down in the oxidation process. Less than 1.0CC is nothing to worry about. When you get more than 1.0 CC then we need to check if something is going on.
Yes, lower the pH, and 15 minutes to mix in MA is fine. You are on the right track.
Yes, lower the pH, and 15 minutes to mix in MA is fine. You are on the right track.
- May 3, 2014
- 62,771
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I suggest you bring pH down to between 7.2 and 7.5 as per the SLAM Process
Then use the SLAM level FC of 12 ppm.
Then use the SLAM level FC of 12 ppm.
Great. I just brushed down the tiles as they were mucky.
Going to bring FC up to ~14 now as it’s going to be warm and sunny today and I won’t be able to test/check again until 1-2pm. 3 jugs going in.
I thought about bringing it lower @mknauss but worried that it took my CSI below -0.6 as my CH is so low. Is that something to worry about?
- May 3, 2014
- 62,771
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
That is due to the cold water. We just recommend lowering the pH to low 7's as you cannot test it during SLAM and it is best if it does not rise to the high end.
If you prefer 7.6, that is fine.
If you prefer 7.6, that is fine.
Ok. Pool Math scared me with the warning. I’ll bring it down a bit farther!
If he just added cya its likely not fully dissolved in the water yet so your reading will be artificially low. I’d hold off adding cya for a few days so you don’t overshoot the correct amount and have to partially drain pool again!