Hayward sand filter

Welcome to TFP!

It appears you have a single speed pump - those don't have a built in timer.
Where does the electric line from the pump run to? Show us pics of that.
Is there a separate timer box somewhere? Pics of that will help too.

Here's a few links to read thru:
ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry
SLAM Process
FC/CYA Levels

How are you testing your pool water?
How are you chlorinating?

Can you show a picture of the "built-in" clock? I'm betting its a timer and that's how you would turn it on and off...

On that timer the yellow wheel turns around once every 24 hrs. When the metal on/off pieces go through the bottom position they flip the switch near the bottom of the wheel which turns your pump on and off. You can manually control the switch by just flipping it. To have your pump always on, manually flip the switch and remove the ‘off’ metal piece from the yellow wheel.

Also, I don’t see how big your pool is but half a gallon of MA can be a lot depending on the strength of the MA. Look at the poolmath app to get a better idea of the right amount before dumping it in.

You’re also going to need a better test kit than what you’re using. Look for test kit details in pool school.

Markjc said:

This is embarrassing, I never noticed where the electical line went as it was underground. I think I found it using my inspection report. Let me know if either of those aren’t good enough pictures.

For water testing, I’ve been using a simple test kit I got from Leslie’s, which you fill up two different sides with water add some drops and it tells you your chlorine level and ph. As of right now there is no chlorine, although I did put some of those pucks in there and threw a shock in it. The ph was 8.4.

Thank you for the links! One question I had about the SLAM instructions is do I use Muriatic acid to get the ph to 7.2?

Someone elaborated on the instructions telling me that what I would use to get it down there and I would need a couple gallons of it, adding a half gallon at a time, running the pump continuous and checking every two hours. This made sense but I just wanted another opinion.

Thanks!

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Fill out your signature with you pool, pool equipment (manufacturers and model numbers) and test kit info. This will provide us the necessary info to better help you. See my signature for recommeded information to include.

Test Kits Compared
Without a proper test kit, there is no way you will be able to successfully complete a SLAM Process.
The TF-100 or TF-100Pro is the best bang for the buck as they have more of the reagents used for residential pool care. You aren't going to find either one locally or on Amazon.

It would be best to have a complete set of test results from one of the recommended test kits. Your CYA and CH may both be quite elevated. If so, it may be best to do a water exchange or drain to get those numbers within a better range.

To get your pH to 7.2, you would need to know your present pH, TA and pool volume. Use PoolMath to input a full set of current test results from one of the recommended test kits. PoolMath will compute the amount of MA to get to your target. Do NOT just dump in 1/2 gallon or whatever - you need to add what your pool needs.

During the SLAM Process you only lower the pH to 7.2 at the start. Then you add liquid chlorine to get the FC to SLAM level. Test FC every 2-4 hours if you are able and add liquid chlorine to raise FC back to SLAM level. Continue until you pass all 3 SLAM Process criteria. Don't worry about pH once you initially set it at 7.2 at the heginning of the SLAM. After the SLAM is successfully completed, and FC is below 10, you adjust pH if needed.

Keep asking questions and we will help you out.