Hi folks,
I’ve got a newly built pool in North Central FL that we cut the ribbon on in April 2023. Details in the signature. I had my pool builder start off doing the maintenance and it seemed haphazard so, being an engineer, I did some research and found TFP. I’ve read all the ABCs and even done some deep dives on further details and read some pertinent forum threads. I’ve since taken over my own maintenance for the last 9 months and have my TF-100 test kit. This is a long post but I’ve learned a lot reading from you guys and I’m trying to cut down on important missing information.
I’ve had to slam my pool probably 3 or 4 times in total since we first put water in it up until Now which is a little over a year later. I feel like I’m getting better at keeping it clear and the chemicals balanced. Im pretty strict when I say clear. It’s a 7ft deep pool and if I can’t see the Phillips head screw pattern on my drain when standing over the coping in the deep end, then it isn’t clear in my book.
In the winter it isn’t cold enough to “close” the pool but definitely too cold to swim. So with no bather load I find keeping the chemicals balanced and the water crystal clear was a snap. I keep CYA around 75 and FC I let fluctuate between 12-24 which is shy of SLAM level and I have no issues.
But now that the season has started back up I’ve got kids and their friends in the water, as well as a young Australian shepherd who LOVES to swim and be in the pool.
I’m writing this thread for a few reasons. First to introduce myself, second to give some data on what I notice about my slam experience and my dog in the pool, and third to see if anyone has any insight into whether I’m on the right track or not.
For background, I only use CYA powder, never tabs. Baking soda for alkalinity, muriatic to lower the PH, and liquid Cl as needed for a boost or a slam. I haven’t put anything else in the pool. I run my pump at 45% (43Gpm) 7am-7pm and drop it to 20% in the evenings. I never turn it off. I’ve got dogs and dog hair that require constant skimming.
Currently finishing a slam because we had a pool party about 2 weeks ago and the water got a tad cloudy on me and I noticed my SWG could not keep up even when set to 75%. This is unusual especially with the SWG being set that high. My FC balance each day of testing continued to fall. I prefer to have my FC on the high side of about 11 with CYA around 75. My FC never fell Below 4ppm but something was clearly consuming the FC faster than the SWG could put it out. (I acid washed the SWG and made sure the FC at the return was 1ppm higher than at the skimmer to ensure it’s working). I cleaned the filter several times because I was hoping maybe it was sunscreen residue but as my FC continued to drop I decided to just slam it to be safe. The water got back to my threshold of clear within 2 days but I was not passing the OCLT for FC loss and my CC’s were between 1.5 and 2.5 for several days. My FC and CC numbers were actually a bit erratic in that the FC would get consumed at an expected rate of ~2-4 ppm
But I’d hit these strange bursts of losing 6+ppm in a short time period, including overnight.
During a slam, when the water is clear I notice that I typically lose about 3ppm of FC on average from the sun plus whatever is being oxidized.
My CYA is currently 55. I had a couple late evenings where I topped my pool off around 630pm to get my FC to about 26 (I know slam is 24 but I go a touch higher to allow for fluctuation). I test again around 830pm and that’s my benchmark for the OCLT when I test before sunrise the next day. Well, I noticed things getting funky when I added 0.8 gal of chlorine to the pool at 630pm and at an 830pm retest the FC didn’t move. I should’ve seen a 5ppm or 6ppm jump from that dose but it didn’t move and there is no sun on my pool from 6pm onwards. This is very out of the ordinary to happen.
I’ve always suspected my dog has an impact but I didn’t pay much attention to it as the TFP forums I read on dogs seemed to indicate they don’t have too much of an effect. Well this slam is taking a lot longer than usual but I kept at the slam and 2 days later passed the OCLT for FC but not CC.
The following day I did not pass the OCLT but CC dropped to 1.5 from 2.5.
I began observing the dog’s behavior as part of the test and slam process and I now believe my dog has a major effect based on my test values.
Ive got a 8foot long 9” deep
Sun shelf in the pool where he likes to hang out. He does this thing where he puts his bottom legs on the next step down from the sun shelf and rests his upper body on the sun shelf. He will lounge like that off and on throughout the day, swim a few laps, and return to his lounge spot. I noticed he was chilling in my pool after I added the 0.8 gal of chlorine as mentioned above and I’m convinced now he’s sometimes peeing in the pool, or his marinating in the water like that is bringing enough organic material into the water to mess up my readings (or both). I can’t otherwise explain why my FC didn’t move up the 5-6ppm 2 hours after I added the Cl so late in the day and why my CC’s are bouncing between 1.5 and 2.5. I suspect this is also why my SWG was not keeping up after the party was done. The dog was so happy that the water was warm again he was back in the pool constantly.
I put him in the house the following night and this time passed my OCLT for FC but the CC had only dropped to 1.5.
It’s not practical to keep him out of the pool, But I’m also not sure I need to slam anymore. I’m planning to finish it out over the weekend and then get my CYA back up and put the SWG on and just watch it closely. I don’t think I’ll ever get my CC down to 0.5 or 0 as long as he’s in the water.
Just wanted to share that experience and see if anyone had any thoughts on fundamental flaws in my logic or if I’m on the right track.
Pic of the little %#^* in his lounge pose attached.
Many thanks for all the info I s learned on this site.
I’ve got a newly built pool in North Central FL that we cut the ribbon on in April 2023. Details in the signature. I had my pool builder start off doing the maintenance and it seemed haphazard so, being an engineer, I did some research and found TFP. I’ve read all the ABCs and even done some deep dives on further details and read some pertinent forum threads. I’ve since taken over my own maintenance for the last 9 months and have my TF-100 test kit. This is a long post but I’ve learned a lot reading from you guys and I’m trying to cut down on important missing information.
I’ve had to slam my pool probably 3 or 4 times in total since we first put water in it up until Now which is a little over a year later. I feel like I’m getting better at keeping it clear and the chemicals balanced. Im pretty strict when I say clear. It’s a 7ft deep pool and if I can’t see the Phillips head screw pattern on my drain when standing over the coping in the deep end, then it isn’t clear in my book.
In the winter it isn’t cold enough to “close” the pool but definitely too cold to swim. So with no bather load I find keeping the chemicals balanced and the water crystal clear was a snap. I keep CYA around 75 and FC I let fluctuate between 12-24 which is shy of SLAM level and I have no issues.
But now that the season has started back up I’ve got kids and their friends in the water, as well as a young Australian shepherd who LOVES to swim and be in the pool.
I’m writing this thread for a few reasons. First to introduce myself, second to give some data on what I notice about my slam experience and my dog in the pool, and third to see if anyone has any insight into whether I’m on the right track or not.
For background, I only use CYA powder, never tabs. Baking soda for alkalinity, muriatic to lower the PH, and liquid Cl as needed for a boost or a slam. I haven’t put anything else in the pool. I run my pump at 45% (43Gpm) 7am-7pm and drop it to 20% in the evenings. I never turn it off. I’ve got dogs and dog hair that require constant skimming.
Currently finishing a slam because we had a pool party about 2 weeks ago and the water got a tad cloudy on me and I noticed my SWG could not keep up even when set to 75%. This is unusual especially with the SWG being set that high. My FC balance each day of testing continued to fall. I prefer to have my FC on the high side of about 11 with CYA around 75. My FC never fell Below 4ppm but something was clearly consuming the FC faster than the SWG could put it out. (I acid washed the SWG and made sure the FC at the return was 1ppm higher than at the skimmer to ensure it’s working). I cleaned the filter several times because I was hoping maybe it was sunscreen residue but as my FC continued to drop I decided to just slam it to be safe. The water got back to my threshold of clear within 2 days but I was not passing the OCLT for FC loss and my CC’s were between 1.5 and 2.5 for several days. My FC and CC numbers were actually a bit erratic in that the FC would get consumed at an expected rate of ~2-4 ppm
But I’d hit these strange bursts of losing 6+ppm in a short time period, including overnight.
During a slam, when the water is clear I notice that I typically lose about 3ppm of FC on average from the sun plus whatever is being oxidized.
My CYA is currently 55. I had a couple late evenings where I topped my pool off around 630pm to get my FC to about 26 (I know slam is 24 but I go a touch higher to allow for fluctuation). I test again around 830pm and that’s my benchmark for the OCLT when I test before sunrise the next day. Well, I noticed things getting funky when I added 0.8 gal of chlorine to the pool at 630pm and at an 830pm retest the FC didn’t move. I should’ve seen a 5ppm or 6ppm jump from that dose but it didn’t move and there is no sun on my pool from 6pm onwards. This is very out of the ordinary to happen.
I’ve always suspected my dog has an impact but I didn’t pay much attention to it as the TFP forums I read on dogs seemed to indicate they don’t have too much of an effect. Well this slam is taking a lot longer than usual but I kept at the slam and 2 days later passed the OCLT for FC but not CC.
The following day I did not pass the OCLT but CC dropped to 1.5 from 2.5.
I began observing the dog’s behavior as part of the test and slam process and I now believe my dog has a major effect based on my test values.
Ive got a 8foot long 9” deep
Sun shelf in the pool where he likes to hang out. He does this thing where he puts his bottom legs on the next step down from the sun shelf and rests his upper body on the sun shelf. He will lounge like that off and on throughout the day, swim a few laps, and return to his lounge spot. I noticed he was chilling in my pool after I added the 0.8 gal of chlorine as mentioned above and I’m convinced now he’s sometimes peeing in the pool, or his marinating in the water like that is bringing enough organic material into the water to mess up my readings (or both). I can’t otherwise explain why my FC didn’t move up the 5-6ppm 2 hours after I added the Cl so late in the day and why my CC’s are bouncing between 1.5 and 2.5. I suspect this is also why my SWG was not keeping up after the party was done. The dog was so happy that the water was warm again he was back in the pool constantly.
I put him in the house the following night and this time passed my OCLT for FC but the CC had only dropped to 1.5.
It’s not practical to keep him out of the pool, But I’m also not sure I need to slam anymore. I’m planning to finish it out over the weekend and then get my CYA back up and put the SWG on and just watch it closely. I don’t think I’ll ever get my CC down to 0.5 or 0 as long as he’s in the water.
Just wanted to share that experience and see if anyone had any thoughts on fundamental flaws in my logic or if I’m on the right track.
Pic of the little %#^* in his lounge pose attached.
Many thanks for all the info I s learned on this site.
but I now know to give it a boost after the party as well. As you suggested. 