Calcium hardness high

[mmesqc1578]

Thanks. I reviewed it again and see the cya and fc must be balanced. I didn't realize before that it buffers the fc. I see that in the cya article. My cya is probably at 50 if I round up.. I have an autocover, does this mean my cya can be kept lower or I should still aim for between 70 to 90? I plan to close the pool in next two weeks if I can get everything balanced correctly and rid the supposed algae. Should I try to raise my cya to 70? I can put some in my skimmers tonite while running swg 100%. Or focus only on getting to the oclt for now?

 

[reggiehammond]

This late in the year, CYA a bit lower is probably fine. The cover helps, but you’ll have to see what has best results. More CyA and less SWCG % or Vice versa.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Ok. I am curious how come you recommend I wait until FC 5ppm before I do the OCLT? I see the chart says Target FC 4 for 60 CYA and the OCLT directions says at least 3ppm before running the test. Thank you again for your help.

 

[reggiehammond]

You can do it at 3, but if you fail you go under the minimum and invite algae. Starting higher allows you to fail without necessarily going into algae land.

 

[mmesqc1578]

You can do it at 3, but if you fail you go under the minimum and invite algae. Starting higher allows you to fail without necessarily going into algae land.

Makes sense. Will get to 5ppm first. When I do the oclt, can I keep my autocover on at night? I read on here that autocovers can use up fc?? Can I use my autocover at night if I need to slam? Thanks!

 

[PoolStored]

Thanks. I reviewed it again and see the cya and fc must be balanced. I didn't realize before that it buffers the fc. I see that in the cya article. My cya is probably at 50 if I round up.. I have an autocover, does this mean my cya can be kept lower or I should still aim for between 70 to 90? I plan to close the pool in next two weeks if I can get everything balanced correctly and rid the supposed algae. Should I try to raise my cya to 70? I can put some in my skimmers tonite while running swg 100%. Or focus only on getting to the oclt for now?

It is much harder to slam at a cya level of 70-90 (nigh impossible). I would leave at 50 and do OCLT. Will give you best chance of doing slam before close, IF necessary.

 

[PoolStored]

Makes sense. Will get to 5ppm first. When I do the oclt, can I keep my autocover on at night? I read on here that autocovers can use up fc?? Can I use my autocover at night if I need to slam? Thanks!

Auto cover should not make a difference. Is it in contact with the water? If no, it will not make a difference. Is it dry when you cover the pool? If it is dry, it will not have algae, so again, it will not make a difference. If you had a solar cover that was wet, sitting around, it may have an impact on FC usage if it has algae, but not likely with auto cover. To be the absolute safest and best OCLT, leave the auto cover off.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Auto cover should not make a difference. Is it in contact with the water? If no, it will not make a difference. Is it dry when you cover the pool? If it is dry, it will not have algae, so again, it will not make a difference. If you had a solar cover that was wet, sitting around, it may have an impact on FC usage if it has algae, but not likely with auto cover. To be the absolute safest and best OCLT, leave the auto cover off.

It does rest on top of pool water. I will leave off for oclt. If pool fails test, how can I be sure slam will remove algae from underneath autocover?.... Should I close autocover at nights during slam so it touches the chlorinated water and kills any algae on it?

Can I assume leaving my led microbrite lights on will not affect oclt or slam process? Would like to leave on at night if cant use autocover for safety.

 

[mmesqc1578]

OCLT results....went from 5.2 to 4.4 ppm in 7.5 hours overnight with autocover closed. Since I am at almost 1ppm should I still slam to be safe? Still want to get rid of recurring brown debris on deep end floor corners.

 

[reggiehammond]

OCLT results....went from 5.2 to 4.4 ppm in 7.5 hours overnight with autocover closed. Since I am at almost 1ppm should I still slam to be safe? Still want to get rid of recurring brown debris on deep end floor corners.

Yes, I would.
If you don’t have organics, your SLAM will be over incredibly fast. If you do have organics, you’re likely early enough that It’ll go quick anyway. With water temps dropping, this should be pretty dang easy. I’d start SLAM with cover off, then once FC stops moving, I’d add cover and continue SLAM, keep track of any changes to FC.

 

[mmesqc1578]

I did an oclt again last night and still lost 1 ppm fc. Today is 4th day of slam. I'm still not sure if it's algae or simply debris. Is it normal to wake up to debris in same spots each day? It collects in same spots.....floor seams of vinyl liner, in deep end floor corners and creases and on some deep end hopper 45 degree angle walls. It always forms in a line, not patches.

Is slam effective if fc goes plus and minus 2ppm of target fc?

 

[mmesqc1578]

Yes, I would.
If you don’t have organics, your SLAM will be over incredibly fast. If you do have organics, you’re likely early enough that It’ll go quick anyway. With water temps dropping, this should be pretty dang easy. I’d start SLAM with cover off, then once FC stops moving, I’d add cover and continue SLAM, keep track of any changes to FC.

Here's a few pics of what I see

 

[Bperry]

Here's a few pics of what I see

Does it disperse when you brush it? Looks more like dirt than algae. But make sure you are really precise with the OLCT. Both tests need to be without any sun shining on the water. If you lose 1ppm or less, the water is clear, and don’t have algae, the SLAM is done. So you can see that one drop of reagent can push you over the pass/fail line on the OLCT.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Does it disperse when you brush it? Looks more like dirt than algae. But make sure you are really precise with the OLCT. Both tests need to be without any sun shining on the water. If you lose 1ppm or less, the water is clear, and don’t have algae, the SLAM is done. So you can see that one drop of reagent can push you over the pass/fail line on the OLCT.

Yes when brushed it does disperse in water like a cloud. I used the .2 test for the fc and I did do in dark both tests. It's the water is clear parameter that I'm struggling with bc I do wake up to these areas of brown debris each day. Do most ppl have debris in pool floor daily? We are surrounded by many trees and its fall here so many dropping leaves.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Yes when brushed it does disperse in water like a cloud. I used the .2 test for the fc and I did do in dark both tests. It's the water is clear parameter that I'm struggling with bc I do wake up to these areas of brown debris each day. Do most ppl have debris in pool floor daily? We are surrounded by many trees and its fall here so many dropping leaves.

I'm thinking to try keeping autocover closed for the day after running my dolphin cc plus vacuum and brushing to see if the "dirt" reappears in same places.

 

[Bperry]

Yes when brushed it does disperse in water like a cloud. I used the .2 test for the fc and I did do in dark both tests. It's the water is clear parameter that I'm struggling with bc I do wake up to these areas of brown debris each day. Do most ppl have debris in pool floor daily? We are surrounded by many trees and its fall here so many dropping leaves.

Do you have a sand filter? Asking in case sand is blowing out the returns. The only debris on the floor is mine is leaves and those are easy to tell from algae.

 

[mmesqc1578]

Do you have a sand filter? Asking in case sand is blowing out the returns. The only debris on the floor is mine is leaves and those are easy to tell from algae.

No, it's a pentair clean and clear 520 sqft cartridge. We did hose it out about 2 weeks ago as well.

 

[Bperry]

No, it's a pentair clean and clear 520 sqft cartridge. We did hose it out about 2 weeks ago as well.

Well assuming the filter cartridge doesn’t have a hole allowing sediment through it could be algae.