Pentair IC-40 Mass Confusion

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It could be black algae... is it slimy or green when rubbed on white paper?

Pour some liquid chlorine in there and scrub it the best you can :)
 
This morning I did my 3rd OCLT since starting this adventure. I'm growing frustrated. Lost 4.5 overnight as opposed to 4 the two nights prior.

I cleaned everything last night. I even removed the light in my shallow end - it had some white dust behind it but no algae. I mean… should I pull the main drain at this point? I don’t use it often, so possibly that’s a culprit?
 
This is the point of POP, pool owner patience.. You only started your SLAM on Monday.. no need to do an OCLT yet as you are still in the beginning of the SLAM... In may take a week and some people take 3 weeks to get through it..

If you lost 4.5 FC last night you are still fighting Algae in the water.. continue to SLAM testing every 2 hours or as much as you can..

Is your water clear now?
how much is the FC dropping between the 2 hour checks?

My water just looked dull and my SLAM took 3 days and it never turned green or even a green tinge... :)
 
cowboycasey said:
This is the point of POP, pool owner patience.. You only started your SLAM on Monday.. no need to do an OCLT yet as you are still in the beginning of the SLAM... In may take a week and some people take 3 weeks to get through it..

If you lost 4.5 FC last night you are still fighting Algae in the water.. continue to SLAM testing every 2 hours or as much as you can..

Is your water clear now?
how much is the FC dropping between the 2 hour checks?

My water just looked dull and my SLAM took 3 days and it never turned green or even a green tinge... :)
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Thanks, I appreciate the response.
Pool has been clear the entire time. I had CC of .5 in the beginning, but that’s gone. I haven’t tested every two hours as I’m working 12-hour days. Tonight I’ll test at 5, 7, and 9 and report back.
 
You are very welcome and I know it can be frustrating when you are working.. Do you still have your SWG on? I would turn it on 100% while you are gone during the day to help keep the FC level from dropping...

Since the water is clear and 0 CC you should not take to long to get done with the SLAM :)
 
SCRUB EVERYTHING. Did you do, as casey suggested in post 21, rub some of the black stuff on a piece of paper? Add some chlorine to filler and scrub multiple times. Scub behind lights, scrub inside ladder tubes (My slam was extended 3 days because I didn't think about the hollow ladder tubes, after I cleaned those, OCLT went from 2.5 to <1). You have some hidden algae somewhere. SCRUB EVERYTHING.
 
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PoolStored said:
SCRUB EVERYTHING. Did you do, as casey suggested in post 21, rub some of the black stuff on a piece of paper? Add some chlorine to filler and scrub multiple times. Scub behind lights, scrub inside ladder tubes (My slam was extended 3 days because I didn't think about the hollow ladder tubes, after I cleaned those, OCLT went from 2.5 to <1). You have some hidden algae somewhere. SCRUB EVERYTHING.
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Thanks. Tonight I’m going to take the bubblers out and ensure the umbrella post is clean.
 
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Alright. Evening update (pictures just for visual aid).

I came home and immediately cleaned behind both lights. They were spotless (see photo). I also blew a hose into my main drain. I also cleaned the umbrella holder in the swim out - this had a torpedo toy and some green algae. This is remedied and I plugged it for the time being (see photo). Pool is still crystal clear and has never been anything but. So, my questions are:

1) Would this "tiny" bit of green algae in the umbrella holder be my issue?

2) My pool builder is stating that the solar system could be "burning" off the chlorine. My impression is that chlorine doesn't burn off, but rather, the sun eats it. I wouldn't think my solar system would do this. My pool sits at 87-89 degrees and the solar is about 135 on the roof. My pool builder also said "the chlorine you buy at the pool store is weak, so that could also be the problem." (???) Well, I also wasn't keeping chlorine with the SWG.

3) Is there ANYTHING else I should be cleaning? Between yesterday and today, I've cleaned the 4 filters, the bubblers, the umbrella post, both skimmers, the pump basket, cleaned and blocked the autofill, cleaned the waterfall, brushed the sides of the pool and bottom every day this week, and cleaned behind both lights. And as you can see, the pool is very clear.

Thanks again. Don't know what I would do without the support of this group right now.
 

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1) my slam extended 4 days until I scrubbed out the tubes in my ladders, maybe 10"/18" into the pool. Slimy inside. Passed OCLT that night. Was hovering at 2.5 FC loss a night. You would be surprised.
 

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that is a clear pool but you have had algae somewhere as that is the only way you can lose 4.5 FC during the night.. Just keep at it and you will get there I promise :)
 
Night before last, my drop was 1.5, so it appears I've made some progress. Last night I didn't test as I wasn't home. Hopefully tomorrow morning I have less than a 1.0 drop and I can wrap this up.

Question - I'm running the SWG at 100% during the day but am still haven't to add liquid chlorine to maintain shock level. Is this normal? I was guessing the SWG wouldn't be able to realistically maintain 24 ppm, but who knows!
 
Side note. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this. Conventional advice on SWCGs is that you should have one at double the capacity of your pool. Your 32k pool should probably have and IC-60, as your IC-40 will need to run at 80-100% 24/7 to maintain free chlorine levels in your pool and will never be able to increase FC levels on its own. If not too late (probably is, but worth a shot) you might contact your PB about that. Ask anyone here at TFP about SWCG capacities.
 
BowserB said:
Side note. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this. Conventional advice on SWCGs is that you should have one at double the capacity of your pool. Your 32k pool should probably have and IC-60, as your IC-40 will need to run at 80-100% 24/7 to maintain free chlorine levels in your pool and will never be able to increase FC levels on its own. If not too late (probably is, but worth a shot) you might contact your PB about that. Ask anyone here at TFP about SWCG capacities.
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Got it. That would have been great to know. At least I'm not too far off, and I'm sure it could be worse.
 
How did you test a TA of 38?

EDIT -- earlier you said you have a ColorQ - please put that in your signature.
I would not trust that data point. Use your K2005 for the TA test if possible.
 
Unless you had been adding a lot of acid, there was no reason for your TA to go down.
 
Alright... I'm back. It took from Sept 5th until now running my SWG at 20% to get back to 6-7. Once I reached that level, I turned it up to 80% and left it. Yesterday, I'm down to 2.5. I added 2.5 gallons of chlorine and went to bed. Just measured it again and I'm at 4 while running the SWG at 100% 24 hours per day. NOTE: we did get a ton of rain last night, as we have this week, but I didn't think I could lose this much chlorine over it.

Any ideas? I feel like I had a huge success and then lost it? I'll be doing an OCLT again tonight.
 

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