No CYA - How is this possible?

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MITBeta said:
He meant "sock" method.:ROFLMAO:

Put the stabilizer in a big sock and hang it in front of a return jet. Don't let the sock touch the side of the pool. Squeeze periodically to speed up the release. If it doesn't all fit in one sock, use more, or refill when empty.
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Ummm could be a thing, catch a duck, tie a bag of CYA to it and make it swim around dispersing then CYA evenly….. just don’t tell PETA….
 
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An update - it is going well. I had to postpone a day - as I was pouring bleach into the pool yesterday it splashed into my eye and I had to go to the eye doctor to get it checked out. (Always wear goggles was the hard lesson learned there.) Anyway, today, I had to add about 3 rounds of bleach to get the ppm maintaining between 5-10. I am so happy to report that it worked! I started adding my CYA afterwards. I did do a CYA test (I read later that I need to wait a day to test it), but the CYA came back as 30 with only adding about 2.5 lbs. That shouldn't be enough to get to 30, but I am leery of adding more so I don't overshoot. Perhaps I did have some after all in the water? Or would that be a bogus reading?

Will the SLAM continue to be effective without knowing exactly if I have enough CYA in there? Right now I'm maintaining 10 ppm (which is what the CYA/Chlorine chart shows for zero CYA). It is maintaining 10 ppm really well with zero CC (I have only done that test once, just now). The pool is clear, some powdery dust continues to form (I'm guessing dead algae/organic matter). But far, far less dust than before. I have brushed, and will vacuum this afternoon to get rid of the dust once it all resettles after brushing. I'm going to up the ppm to 12 in case I do have 30 CYA in there. Is there harm in overshooting the ppm maintenance level?

Thanks!
Julie
 
CYA below 20ppm or so isn't able to be read by the test, so you could have had some in there to start. If you got a reading of 30, just SLAM as if your CYA is 30. You can test again in a day or two and adjust as needed.

If you go far over you risk damaging your liner or other pool surfaces and equipment. It is also a bit wasteful as you'll lose more to the sun than you should. But 10ppm vs 12ppm is pretty minimal so long as you have any CYA in the water.
 
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Good morning! Feeling a bit frustrated here. I have been slamming since Friday morning, as noted above. Each day the water is crystal clear, clearer than ever. The SLAM process initially appeared to work - the FC levels were not losing as much in between testings. The OCLT was improving each day - the first night I lost 7.5 ppm, the second night I lost 4.5, the third I only lost 3.5. There is hardly any dead matter on the bottom of the floor compared to when I started. I am testing very often - between 2 and 4 hours throughout the day. I am starting to run low on testing reagents, so nervous about testing more often since this seems to be taking forever. I did reorder a test, and hopefully it shows up tomorrow. Yesterday, I decided to re-test the CYA. I believe I am at 40, not 30, where I had been setting my FC target to 12. So I upped it to 16 yesterday. I added a lot yesterday - and it never seemed to stabilize at all anywhere near 16. The highest readings I ever got on FC were 14, 13, 13.5, and finally 15.5 (30 minutes after adding LC again before my OCLT). I guess I'm just confused. I have brushed, run the vacuum, manually vacuum up any debris and skim. My filter seems to be fine, pressure-wise. My pool is in the shade for 75% of the day. I have brushed in the nooks and crannies. I plan on taking my ladder out today (if I can get the bolts loosened.) in case that is the culprit. There is a light, but I've brushed around it and I would have zero idea how to remove a light to clean. Is there something I'm missing? Why would there still be so much algae in there to drop the FC so much if it is crystal clear? I'm feeling like I'll never pass the OCLT test and I've gone through so many jugs of various bleach and LC, I can't even keep track. Perhaps 30-35 by now since Friday. Any more tips? I just can't believe with all my diligence and so much testing - I have basically done nothing for the last 4 days but maintain this pool - that this isn't done yet.

Another question - I have read we can swim up to SLAM levels, and school gets out this Friday. We really really want to swim! If we swim, will this just make the SLAM process take even longer to accomplish?

Thank you for any more assistance!
 
A few things to follow-up. From Friday to today (4 days) is not excessively long for a SLAM. Some people have to go quite a bit longer, but their pools might have looked much worse. But just because the water appears clear doesn't mean it's algae free. The chemistry doesn't lie unless there is a testing error. So hang in there. As for the light, post a pic or two if you can. If it's a removeable light with a niche behind it, that could be an issue.
 
Texas Splash said:
A few things to follow-up. From Friday to today (4 days) is not excessively long for a SLAM. Some people have to go quite a bit longer, but their pools might have looked much worse. But just because the water appears clear doesn't mean it's algae free. The chemistry doesn't lie unless there is a testing error. So hang in there. As for the light, post a pic or two if you can. If it's a removeable light with a niche behind it, that could be an issue.
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+1. I had to do my first SLAM in more than a decade this spring, and even without visible algae it took a week.
 
Thank you both for all the info. I’ll continue to keep the faith. Here are pics of the light. And some of the ladder caps and rungs. The ladder was clean before we put it in (I assume at least - my husband said he cleaned them last fall and it sat in our garage all winter). So maybe it’s the ladder that is the problem. I’ll try to figure out how to clean the ladder but will keep it out for now.
 

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You are doing great! There's only one more thing you need -- POP (pool owner patience).

I had to perform a SLAM myself this year after my SWG quit without me noticing. It went well past what I expected, even though my water looked clear. Turns out I had some algae growing underneath my waterfall that I didn't see.

Keep at it. Done properly, the TFP method always works.

IMG_20220607_090358621~2.jpg
 
That pool light looks like it might be removable with the screw on top, but I'm not as familiar with it, so I'll let others chime in there.

Have you checked the weir door or skimmer throat yet? Back of the weir door / foam on it? If you're losing FC overnight but the pool looks clear, it's usually a hidden spot that has algae.
 
I don’t mean to sound dumb but what am I looking for on the skimmer door, throat etc.? It’s not “foamy”. There is some black above the water line that doesn't wipe off and a bit of something else around the inside area where the basket goes. Do I just get a scrub brush and scrub it? I don’t know how I’d get any sort of bleach in there without it diluting right away. Here is a photo of the inside of one of my skimmers. Thanks!
 
Thank you - the magic eraser was perfect. I’ll monitor those areas more carefully. I think they were dirty all last year too so I didn’t think anything of it. I’m thinking we probably had algae all last year and just didn’t know it. Anytime I shocked the pool last summer I’d get the same dead material. But I’d just vacuum it up and thought it was all clean again. Most likely not as it happened every time I shocked the pool. And the pool store had no idea what it was so I just continued on.

I already feel more empowered - thank you!
 
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IceShadow said:
That pool light looks like it might be removable with the screw on top, but I'm not as familiar with it, so I'll let others chime in there.

Have you checked the weir door or skimmer throat yet? Back of the weir door / foam on it? If you're losing FC overnight but the pool looks clear, it's usually a hidden spot that has algae.
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Oh gosh now I see - the “foam” is on the back of the door! Duh. Rookie here, thanks for the extra grace!
 
JulieVa said:
Oh gosh now I see - the “foam” is on the back of the door! Duh. Rookie here, thanks for the extra grace!
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Yep, the weir door is the floating plastic that tries to remain just below water level to help with skimming action and pushes above the water level in the event the pump stops (to keep whatever may be floating in the skimmer, in the skimmer). The foam on the back of it can get algae sometimes and need to be cleaned off. :)
 

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