First water test before slam

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B

Bille

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Jul 30, 2018
232
Abingdon maryland
Hi all,

I got my replacement tf-100 stuff today and did my first test:

Chlorine- I skipped because I haven't put anything in the pool in over a year.
Ch- 20
Ta- 80
Ph- 7.5
Cya - 0 - I filled the cya tube to the top and could still see the black dot.

So I think I need a trip to the pool store for something for the cya? Not sure if the ch leave is ok or not?
 
ok, lets do this! Your CH is too low, as is your CYA and obviously the FC,. Your TA and pH are fine!

Get some Stabilizer (CYA), liquid chlorine and some Calcium from the store. Use PoolMath (either app or web version) to tell you how much to add.

How does the water look??? Did you remove all debris??

Maddie
 
The pool looks green. We removed debris from the top. I picked up about 16 bottles of bleach and a 5 pound bag of stabilizer. I'll have to run back out for Calcium. Should I start the stabilizer now? Do I put all 5 pounds in at the same time? Pool math said I need 4 pounds 8oz so I figured almost the whole bag would do.
 
Noooooo...you want to take the CYA only up to 30ppm for the SLAM. The higher your CYA, the more chlorine you'd need for the SLAM!

Add you CYA in a sock as you've always done (right??) and get started with the liquid chlorine with 12ppm being your FC level.
 
I have found through experimentation when you put 2 pounds of Stabilizer in a 5-gallon bucket with 4 gallons of water...then let it sit for 1-2 hours....then stir it really well with a brush (like a toilet brush it what I use) ...it dissolves into a milky white slurry rather quickly...and then you pour it in the pool it dissolves right into the water quickly. The old sock method takes days. In your case...you really need to get started with SLAM tonight...I suggest you get CYA ONLY UP TO 30 PPM into the pool using my method and then start the SLAM at Sundown. This will keep the chlorine from being eaten away by sunlight. By morning, all the CYA will assimilate into the pool...Don't forget to run the filter during SLAM. Follow the instructions exactly. It works really well.
 
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In order to get the SLAM level correct and not waste chlorine, be sure to check the Chlorine concentration on the label of the bottle, typically can be as low as 5 and up to 11% Sodium Hypochlorite (Bleach). Big difference between 5 and 11%. Use Pool Math to get it where it needs to be on the SLAM Chart. If it were me, because your CH is soooooo loooooow....I'd use 73% Calcium HypoChlroite. It raises the CL very effectively pound for pound....and also :)raises Calcium at the same time. Win-Win.
 

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Since you have a Plaster pool, it's really important to get the Calcium level up quickly. You say over a year and nothing added. Wow....I hope the plaster isn't being leached away from your pool walls. Get it up to 250-350 asap. You can also use Cal Hypo at lower concentrations to add CALCIUM, like 68% or whatever. Just be sure to NOT use Stabilized Chlorine (Tri-Chlor) loaded with CYA or you'll be in big trouble. Stay away from "Super-Shock" in the 1 lb. bags or Stabilized 3" Tablets. It'll really come back to bite you one way or another.
 
Okay a couple of things. I typo my CH, its not 20, its 200. Do I still need to raise it?

Right now I have 3 pounds of stabilizer in a not so old sock hanging in the pool and I put two bottles of clorox bleach in per pool math to take it from 0 to 12.
 
Leave your CH alone, regardless. You don't need it for the SLAM and you may not need it after you test post slam. There is NO rush on CH.

You are on top of this. You can assume your CYA is in there (even though it may not show up on the test) so you are ready to SLAM, I believe.

Follow the article precisely and be prepared for a rapid deterioration of chlorine if your pool is that green.
 
200, not 20...big difference. I feel much better about your pool walls. You'll be able to see and touch them in a few days. If you were using 73% Cal Hypo the SLAM process would take you right up into the minimum CAL acceptable level, 250 to 275. I have plaster and keep mine around 450-500, and I SLAM every year when I open with 73 Cal Hypo. My pool is always perfect thereafter for the entire season with my SWG. You can even go into the CAL=550 range, no worries. I think that FC level is going to drop fast with Sunlight and as bad as your algae sounds. Keep an eye on it. I'd get that CYA asap into the pool using my method also.
 
if pool math said 3 pounds for CYA = 30 and you put three pounds in a sock ...and half of it is still in the sock...one can assume it's somewhat equally distributed in the pool and 15ppm. CYA is notoriously slow-dissolving. For example, If you add it to the skimmer by pouring it in...it'll sit in your filter for a week and if you backwash...you'll lose some of it. I think "D" is saying go ahead and proceed as if it were 30. It's oK to let CYA come up to 30 during SLAM. You are running the filter during SLAM....so the sock method will allow CYA to continually go higher over the night as it dissolves. The CYA is needed primarily to bind the FC against sunlight. As I recall, the half-life of FC in a pool w/o CYA is 2-3 hours in bright sunlight.
 
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BTW, most people put the sock into the skimmer basket....put a rubber band on the open end...Just make sure the sock does not get into the pipes....fast-flowing water coming into the skimmer basket and through the sock will dissolve the CYA faster than what it sounds like you are doing...hanging it over the edge of the pool into the waterline. I still swear by my 5-gallon bucket CYA adder method, posted earlier in this thread. Add mostly dissolved milky CYA slog at dusk, sweep the small amount that falls on the pool floor into the drain, let the filter run an hour, ....and the TF-100 test kit measures it at the proper level calculated by Pool Math at daybreak.
 

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