Just opened. Passed oclt. See dust on bottom. Do I slam?

[offtheclock]

If I fail OCLT tonight I need a new plan. Seems like my FC drop has slowed to 3ppm in between doses which ends up being about 4 hour. Not entirely confident I have got past this. Tonight I saw a little dust in the vinyl seems in shallow end. Not 100% it was algae could be pollen as there is a yellow ring around the top now.

 

[Mdragger88]

If u fail the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test the plan is to continue the SLAM Process.

 

[Newdude]

Sunlight (UV) and organics deplete the FC. If you lose it overnight with no sun, something is growing.

Usually the clear water SLAM goes quick, but yours is dragging. Insted of giving up and ensuring a swamp, double down and find the algae hiding in plain sight. Ladder rails, light niches, autofill, water features, all up in the skimmer. (I'm talking colonoscopy 'up in there'), etc. It is somewhere and you need to find it and clean it. Or it keeps reintroducing it to the water. Every last inch is suspect until proven otherwise.

 

[offtheclock]

OK input needed. Performed OCLT last night. Tested twice last night and twice this morning being very careful each time. At 530PM I was at 21FC and dosed 52OZ to get to target of 24 (Suspected) at 830PM i came up with below results. I do not think I achieved my target of 24 and my 530PM of 21FC was actually lower than that. Between those times there is virtually no sun on my pool.
Last nights #s:
1st - 21.5 (Letting drops free fall)
2nd - 19.5 (Small amount of pressure with consistent timing of drops)
Avg. 20.5
This morning
1st - 23 (Letting drops free fall)
2nd - 20.5 (Small amount of pressure with consistent timing of drops)
Avg. 21.75

No idea how my FC #s are higher this morning.

CC .5

There has been no algae dust spots in two days however last night i saw a faint line of dust along one of the liner seems in the shallow end. This could be pollen as there was a yellow ring on surface of pool now as well. My pool is very simple with no where really for this algae to hide. Ladder was just put in, stairs are liner over and my lights are micro brights. I checked around lights, returns and the two skimmers and everything looks clean. I have never seen anything on the walls and stairs but I have scrubbed them a couple times as well.

 

[Newdude]

OK GREAT !!! This time of year is a bit tricky as the pollen will seem like algae and vice versa, but having the yellow ring is a good omen.

The .5 CCs tells a better story than the wonky FC #s so I'm very happy there. I'd hold SLAM another day just to be sure.

Make up a 5 gallon bucket of test water with a known PPM to fine tune your technique. Just like anything else, we all have our own spin on it. We just need to find yours.

 

[offtheclock]

OK GREAT !!! This time of year is a bit tricky as the pollen will seem like algae and vice versa, but having the yellow ring is a good omen.

The .5 CCs tells a better story than the wonky FC #s so I'm very happy there. I'd hold SLAM another day just to be sure.

Make up a 5 gallon bucket of test water with a known PPM to fine tune your technique. Just like anything else, we all have our own spin on it. We just need to find yours.

Ok sounds like a plan. I will come home at lunch again and hit it one more time to 24FC. We are supposed to get 2 in of rain today so it will be cloudy as well. Then is supposed to be sunny and in the 70s for a week. Is it best to leave SWG off so that FC can fall for several days and do another OCLT test once PPM is lower so I can get a better count. In the mean time I hope to see NO algae dust spots develop. In the seams would be more like pollen settling as before I had streaks and circles of algae over the floor. Also need to order a fresh supply of regents! Thank you.

 

[Newdude]

Is it best to leave SWG off so that FC can fall for several days and do another OCLT test once PPM is lower so I can get a better count

Ab-SO-lutely. Clearly there is an issue with the drops. Less drops will be less issue. If you are off 10% at 6, it's one drop and everything looks fine.

Thank you

We got you.

Also, if you are replacing the FC drops, the problem may solve itself. Take the tip off and clean it and go gentle with a needle or something to make sure there are no crusties in there.

 

[offtheclock]

Went home at lunch and FC had not dropped from 20.5. Going to say this is a win. Topped it off one more time and I am done. Now onto getting gas ran to my new heater and figuring out why I keep getting some water behind my liner when it rains. Come on summer.

 

[Newdude]

Monitor it closely when it falls to target range until your comfortable it will hold day to day.

Aiming for 1 or 2 above target range would serve you well as you get dialed in this season. Then be on the lookout for the times the daily demand increases as the season ramps up. Steer clear of minimum and you'll be on easy street.

 

[Mdragger88]

To be safe do another oclt tonight at whatever fc level it is - this should also have a little less margin for error since it will be less drops to count. However u hold your tongue when testing tonight, do the same in the am. Consistency is the key - not achieving the perfect score persay.

 

[offtheclock]

Performed another OCLT but did not get to check until 10am this morning after sun had been out for two hours. Showed a 1FC loss and .5CC. Getting some dust again on pool floor. Not sure if algae or pollen. Currently at 9FC. Had planned to hold it there and turned my SWG back on but now I’m not sure. Daily loss has been small if you view my logs. Thank you.

 

[Newdude]

You did good. Normally, although a 1FC loss is a pass, I don't personally like them. 1 FC overnight, with some sunlight, makes me like it more.

I'd use the SWG to maintain 2 above target range for a week or so. The pollen may be consuming some of your FC, which fools the eyes and the tests. Running a skootch hot will serve you very well for now.

 

[offtheclock]

We probably also got 4 inches of rain after I slammed as well. Running robot and going to give a good scrub. Thinking it may be a good idea to bring FC up high one more time to kick out if something was brewing?

 

[zea3]

If you are getting pollen accumulation you should be seeing it on outdoor surfaces too. Check anything that stays outside near the pool will get a layer of pollen that you should be able to see fairly easily. Also you can try collecting some of the debris in the pool and smear it on a piece of white paper. If it is algae it will leave a green streak.

 

[Newdude]

We probably also got 4 inches of rain after I slammed as well. Running robot and going to give a good scrub. Thinking it may be a good idea to bring FC up high one more time to kick out if something was brewing

If you stayed well above minimum, even with the rain and whatever else, you are fine.

 

[offtheclock]

Don’t know what to think. Sunday and Monday was sunny and nice. My SWG was back on and I was trying to fine tune it and was at 60%. That had me at 11FC but no dust. Turned it down to 2% today and we had a lot of rain. Was trying to fall back to top of target which I achieved of 9FC. Sun came out late this afternoon and when I got home there is the dust again in the liner seems and a couple dimed size spots. So it seems when I fall under 10-11FC dust comes back.

 

[Newdude]

The rain washes lots of pollen off of everything. The trees, the bushes, the patio, etc. You'll get what you should have gotten today, and tomorrow and the next days all in one shot.

Keep an eye on it. It will probably be fine tomorrow. Even if it rains again tomorrow, everything is clean for a couple of days.

You are always welcome to OCLT, and anytime you wonder about algae is a prime factor in needing to.

 

[offtheclock]

The rain washes lots of pollen off of everything. The trees, the bushes, the patio, etc. You'll get what you should have gotten today, and tomorrow and the next days all in one shot.

Keep an eye on it. It will probably be fine tomorrow. Even if it rains again tomorrow, everything is clean for a couple of days.

You are always welcome to OCLT, and anytime you wonder about algae is a prime factor in needing to.

That’s a good thought about the rain washing everything in. Would explain why I had the dust come back this past Saturday after two days of rain and then be gone Sunday, Monday and Tuesday while sunny. Will see what it does tomorrow. Bumped my swg back up to 40% to see where that lets the FC land at. Will either need to go to 20% or adjust run time to get back to 5 FC.

 

[wireform]

Keep the FC on the hot side for another week to help with what you've got.

 

[Orion7319]

Don’t know what to think. Sunday and Monday was sunny and nice. My SWG was back on and I was trying to fine tune it and was at 60%. That had me at 11FC but no dust. Turned it down to 2% today and we had a lot of rain. Was trying to fall back to top of target which I achieved of 9FC. Sun came out late this afternoon and when I got home there is the dust again in the liner seems and a couple dimed size spots. So it seems when I fall under 10-11FC dust comes back.

I’m kinda close to you and I get that dust as well. Most of mine seems to be from oak leaves that seem to dissolve into that dust in a matter of hours. It took me a long time to figure out it wasn’t yellow algae, but I have observed the leaves breaking down. If it’s just on the bottom of the pool and not on the sides of the pool it’s probably not yellow algae. High levels of chlorine does seem to help to break it down completely. Also running my robot everyday really helps.