Hello from redneck Georgia

[ericafrancesca]

My husband and I recently bought a house that came with a pool. We had never intended to own a pool, but here we are! And I hope to enjoy it.
Currently the pool is green...so I am reading all the great pool school articles and will plan on SLAMing soon.
It is a rectangular in-ground pool with a spa / waterfall thing attached.
The plumbing looks confusing and scary so a guy is planning to come teach me how to work all of it.
I have degrees in chemistry and microbiology so (fingers crossed)...at least that part may not be too tricky for me? I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Be sure to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info. See mine as an example. Include which test kit you will be using and if you are on a well there in Lula.

Enjoy the forum!

 

[woodyp]

Welcome. Have you ordered one of our recommended test kits to SLAM with?

 

[Jimrahbe]

e,

Welcome to TFP.. A great place to learn how to maintain your own pool, even if you are a microbiologist...

In some cases it makes more sense to drain and refill a pool rather than perform a SLAM. It just depends on your pool and your test results.

Tell us more about your pool. Show us some pics of the pool and equipment pad, and we can get you pointed in the right direction.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[dfwnoob]

Welcome to TFP, @ericafrancesca !

The plumbing looks confusing and scary so a guy is planning to come teach me how to work all of it.

If you post some good pictures of your equipment pad and all the stuff on it, we'll help you figure all that out.

I have degrees in chemistry and microbiology so (fingers crossed)...at least that part may not be too tricky for me? I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

I could never get either of those degrees and my pool is clean and sparkling. You'll be fine!

 

[ericafrancesca]

Thanks for responding!
I ordered the TF-Pro with Smart Stir, it should arrive this week. I've included my pool details in the signature.
That is an interesting idea about refilling rather than SLAMing. To be honest, the pool was clear when we bought the house 2 months ago...and has only grown algae in the past 3 weeks. We hadn't gotten around to dealing with it until now So I am hoping it is not too late to SLAM.
You can see my picture of our pond (hesitate to call it a pool yet)...feeling a little guilty that the dragonflies won't be able to breed anymore once I clean it.

 

[Texas Splash]

I am hoping it is not too late to SLAM.

It's never too late to do the SLAM Process, but with the rising costs of chlorine, sometimes owners find it cost effective to replace a good amount of water before starting to help remove some organic material before-hand. But exchanging water isn't a "must-do" item. Until your kit arrives, try to add one gallon of liquid chlorine per day and brush the pool well all over. Don't try to do much more until your kit arrives. Once it gets here, we can coach you through the SLAM Process or anything else you may have questions about.

 

[Jimrahbe]

e,

I have the TF-Pro with smart-stir and love it..

Once you get your test kit check your CH and CYA. If either of those tests are very high, then your only choice is to drain at least some water. There is no good alternative to reducing them any other way.

In my mind when the cost of liquid was cheap, then it made a lot of sense the SLAM. Now that liquid chlorine is so much more expensive, it could easily cost less to just drain and refill.

I just got through working on a rent house pool that I had to drain and refill because of plaster issues. That pool is about 14K and it cost me about $50 or 60$ dollars to refill it. That is only about 10 gallons of liquid chlorine.

In my mind it does not make sense to SLAM if you are going to have to spend more money on chlorine than you would water.

You should let your test results, and the cost of your water, decide which approach is the better one.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ericafrancesca]

Sounds good.
This may sound like a dumb question:
I imagine the re-filling part is easy (just aim a hose into the pool)...but the draining part is less clear to me. Is is just like draining a fish tank where you siphon off the water with a hose?

 

[Jimrahbe]

e,

As far as your equipment pad is concerned, it is a pretty standard Pool and Spa set up.

It should not take you any time at all to come up to speed on what each valve does.

You have an automation system which switches between the Pool and Spa mode with the simple push of a button.
You have a large cartridge filter, which is good.
You have a single speed pump, which not so good.
I do not see the 'dreaded' chlorine tablet feeder, which is good, but curious how the previous owner chlorinated the pool.
I also do not see a Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG) which is sad..

We have plenty of members here that will be glad to run through what each valve does, just let us know when you are ready.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[Jimrahbe]

e,

To drain it is best if you used a sump pump of some kind, but using a hose to siphon, will work just fine, but slow. I know this because I accidently drained about half a pool when, I disconnected a fill hose at the house end with the other end still in the pool. Did not even notice until I came back the next day..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[mknauss]

but the draining part is less clear to me.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ericafrancesca]

Thank you everyone. I get my test kit in the mail tomorrow and will post the results.
You all have been so helpful indeed.

I also do not see a Saltwater Chlorine Generator (SWCG) which is sad..

There is a chlorine generator, it's just a bit hidden in the bottom left of this picture. And it's almost underground, probably because of ants which we have since killed.

 

[Jimrahbe]

e,

Even after you showed me a pic of the SWCG, it took me a minute to even find it..

Wow..

Do you know if it even works?

Did you get the TF-Pro or the TF-Pro Salt? Both will work, but the 'salt' version comes with a salt level test.

If you do a drain and refill, you will have to add the cost of the salt.. 12 bags or about $100 bucks..

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ericafrancesca]

Did you get the TF-Pro or the TF-Pro Salt? Both will work, but the 'salt' version comes with a salt level test.

If you do a drain and refill, you will have to add the cost of the salt.. 12 bags or about $100 bucks..

I got the TF-Pro and then additionally got a salt test, pH meter, and additional FAS/DPD chlorine testing reagents.
I know, the SWG is really in a bad place. If it needs to be replaced I will ask you guys what the best replacement is. TBD.
Thank you!

 

[ericafrancesca]

Question - I am getting my test kit today but I am sure I won't be able to get a representative water sample with the pump off and the rainstorm this morning...
Based on my pictures does anyone know how I can turn my pump on to circulate the water? I know it is automated but I'm hoping there is just a manual on/off switch.

 

[Jimrahbe]

e,

Did you turn the pump off? Most automation systems run a schedule that turns the pump on for x hours a day. Assuming that you did not shut off the power to the automaton system, you should be able to go the panel and push a button marked with something like pump or filter or pump/filter.

That said, I doubt it matters all that much. If this were my pool I'd just go out with a sample bottle and stick in upside down up to my elbow. Flip the bottle over and let it fill and then remove it.

As this is your first test, you might need a little practice, so I'd run two or three tests with samples from different spots around the pool.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[ericafrancesca]

Okay, so I waited until the automated pump had run through an hour-long cycle before collecting the sample:

pH >8.2 (need to use my electronic pH probe to get the true pH, but I need to get deionized water to calibrate it first)
FC = 1 ppm
CC = 3.5 ppm
TC = 4.5 ppm
CH = 175 ppm
TA = 70 ppm
CYA < 30 (the black dot never disappeared)
NaCl <1000 ppm

From these numbers I am thinking (please correct me if wrong):
-All the rainstorms we've been having have diluted the salts
-I should go ahead and SLAM rather than replenish water since none of the salts appear to be too concentrated (maybe? - perhaps I should calculate relative costs)
-The gallon of liquid chlorine I put in yesterday has killed some algae and raised the CC levels
-If I SLAM the pool I need to raise the CYA first

Thoughts?

 

[PoolStored]

Okay, so I waited until the automated pump had run through an hour-long cycle before collecting the sample:

pH >8.2 (need to use my electronic pH probe to get the true pH, but I need to get deionized water to calibrate it first)
FC = 1 ppm
CC = 3.5 ppm
TC = 4.5 ppm
CH = 175 ppm
TA = 70 ppm
CYA < 30 (the black dot never disappeared)
NaCl <1000 ppm

From these numbers I am thinking (please correct me if wrong):
-All the rainstorms we've been having have diluted the salts

Not likely. 1" of water in my pool is 500 gallons out of 30,000. More likely that it is a longer term (lots of water exchange over long time) reduced your salts.

-I should go ahead and SLAM rather than replenish water since none of the salts appear to be too concentrated (maybe? - perhaps I should calculate relative costs)

Go ahead and start the slam, worry about salt after.

-The gallon of liquid chlorine I put in yesterday has killed some algae and raised the CC levels

OK

-If I SLAM the pool I need to raise the CYA first

Thoughts?

Use pool math to figure out how much Chlorine Stabilizer (CYA) you need to add to get to 30ppm. Use dry stabilizer and put it in a sock and hang in front of a return or in the skimmer (SOCK IN THE SKIMMER). At the same time, while the cya is dissolving, use a target of 10ppm FC and start slam. When the CYA is dissolved use 12 as your target. You could also be a bit conservative and add enough to add 20 and test CYA again 24 hours after dissolved. My guess however, given the neglect of the pool, your CYA is negligible.

SLAM ON!

 

[ericafrancesca]

I'm finally ready to start SLAMing my pool. I cleaned the filter cartridges, learned how to work the pump, pH adjusted to 7.5, CYA added (still dissolving overnight but almost at 30ppm).

The thing is...I am confused about how much liquid chlorine to add in order to bring the FC up to shock level of 12ppm

This morning my FC was 1 and CC was 7
So I added 3 gal of "Pool Essentials" brand 10% liquid chlorine
I waited 30 minutes with the pump running and then sampled. The FC had only risen to 2ppm. The CC apparently dropped to 2ppm (?)

I'm not sure if the liquid chlorine has lost its potency or what. I don't see how I can get to FC of 12 by using this stuff...poolmath says it should only take 1.8gal to raise FC to 7ppm but that is clearly not the case.
Any advice?