Please help! I need this pool clean!

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R

RNeumann

Well-known member
Mar 13, 2019
73
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Pool Size
20000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Newish pool owner here. This is the first year i really screwed up the process of covering the pool. It comes with many great regrets but I have finally won the war over the leaves and pine straw on the bottom of the pool after many hard fought battles.

The water is still very hazy and not clear. I've been running the pump non stop for the last 5 days and backwashing 2-3 times per day. I have been trying to just maintain it by adding a gallon of chlorine every night/other night. What's my next step?

I'm getting a new testing kit in the mail tomorrow but here are the readings from last year's.

Free Chlorine 0
Combined Chlorine 2
pH 7.4
TA 40ppm
CYA <30 the dot never disappeared

Any help is greatly appreciated! :)
 

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Best we wait on your new reagents. But based on those numbers above though, the CYA needs a good 10 ppm to get to 30, and the FC needs to be maintained at "12' to properly do the SLAM Process. Your TA is low so be mindful of that as well. You might want to add 10-20 ppm of baking soda. Remember the PoolMath APP's Effects of Adding can help you with those dosage amounts.
 
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The haze is due to organic activity, indicated clearly by your CC of 2. Since your FC is zero and you've been somewhat aimlessly adding a gallon of chlorine here and there, I take it you have not followed the SLAM Process. At your CYA level, you need to be maintaining 10 ppm of FC (until you can get that CYA up to 30) through the entirety of the process, which means testing at least three times a day. Running the filter constantly and backwashing is good, but you need something to kill off the organisms that are in your water right now.

That said, you might want to check for ammonia first. A CC of 2 isn't off the charts, but it still wouldn't hurt to be sure. To do this:
  1. Raise your FC to 10
  2. Wait 30 minutes and then test your FC level. If it has gone down greater than 80% in that time and your CC is still above 0.5, you have ammonia.
I'm not so sure you have ammonia, but it doesn't hurt to check first. If it turns out you do have ammonia, report back to us or read What is the treatment for ammonia in pool water? Otherwise, proceed with the SLAM process and follow it to a tee.
 
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Texas Splash said:
Best we wait on your new reagents. But based on those numbers above though, the CYA needs a good 10 ppm to get to 30, and the FC needs to be maintained at "12' to properly do the SLAM Process. Your TA is low so be mindful of that as well. You might want to add 10-20 ppm of baking soda. Remember the PoolMath APP's Effects of Adding can help you with those dosage amounts.
Click to expand...
The test kit should arrive tomorrow so I'll get some fresh numbers. I went ahead and added the stabilizer. I loaded up on LC from the store tonight - $5 a gallon geesh. I added 3 gallons to bring the FC up to shock level about an hour ago. Just retested the FC and its through the roof, 2 gallons prob would have done. I'll recheck it again the morning.
 
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PointeTaken said:
The haze is due to organic activity, indicated clearly by your CC of 2. Since your FC is zero and you've been somewhat aimlessly adding a gallon of chlorine here and there, I take it you have not followed the SLAM Process. At your CYA level, you need to be maintaining 10 ppm of FC (until you can get that CYA up to 30) through the entirety of the process, which means testing at least three times a day. Running the filter constantly and backwashing is good, but you need something to kill off the organisms that are in your water right now.

That said, you might want to check for ammonia first. A CC of 2 isn't off the charts, but it still wouldn't hurt to be sure. To do this:
  1. Raise your FC to 10
  2. Wait 30 minutes and then test your FC level. If it has gone down greater than 80% in that time and your CC is still above 0.5, you have ammonia.
I'm not so sure you have ammonia, but it doesn't hurt to check first. If it turns out you do have ammonia, report back to us or read What is the treatment for ammonia in pool water? Otherwise, proceed with the SLAM process and follow it to a tee.
Click to expand...
I was just adding the a gallon every day or so to try and keep the algae at bay while I got all the Crud off the bottom. Now I can start the SLAM process. I did the ammonia test and it seems like we're good on that front.
 
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Morning update. FC is at 13, CC 0. The water is still very hazy and the robot continues to come up with a basket full of leaves which I thought I had gotten. Oddly the pressure on the filter was normal this morning. I backwashed it to be safe anyways. I will add a gal of lc before work and recheck the chemistry later with the new kit
 
RNeumann said:
I've been running the robot almost constantly but I will scrub the ladder by hand to make sure it's good.
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Gave everything a good scrub that the robot might not hit so well - the ladder, steps, return jet. Sadly no light in my pool. The previous owner covered up the fixture when they got new vinyl.

Robot is still picking up decent amount of debris like leaves and pinestraw and some sand? Is it advisable to continue a slam if there is still organic material on the bottom? I'm running the robot all day and it seems like it's pretty much clean but I can't see to the bottom to confirm that. No big dark masses though.

Checked fc it dropped to about 10 and there is still some cc present. Added another gal of lc and will retest with the new kit this afternoon.

Pressure on the pump is still reading 10. So no need to backwash right? The last few days it was jumping up to 20 almost every few hours. Is this normal or does it mean that the water is getting cleaner?

Appreciate all the help from everyone so far. I'm ready to get this pool back on track.
 

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RNeumann said:
Is it advisable to continue a slam if there is still organic material on the bottom? I'm running the robot all day and it seems like it's pretty much clean but I can't see to the bottom to confirm that.
Click to expand...
If the water isn’t clear, you’re not done with the SLAM.
 

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RNeumann said:
Robot is still picking up decent amount of debris like leaves and pinestraw and some sand? Is it advisable to continue a slam if there is still organic material on the bottom? I'm running the robot all day and it seems like it's pretty much clean but I can't see to the bottom to confirm that. No big dark masses though.
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Can you try to scoop any of it out with a leaf net, even though you'd be doing it blind? Yes, still continue on though.
 
Be sure to maintain chlorine at SLAM level until you pass the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test, not just until you have clear water.

www.troublefreepool.com

Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)

The Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tells if the SLAM is finished or if you need to start a SLAM. This article says how to do the OCLT.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

You may get to a point where your water looks clear, but contaminates are still present. OCLT is the only way to confirm you’re in the “clear.”

Good luck!
 
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PoolStored said:
Please remove the ladder from the pool. Clean the inside of the tubes with diluted bleach water. If you can get a brush, brush them inside thoroughly. Ask me how I know...:)

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I have attempted to remove the ladder before but it's cemented into the ground :/
 
Afternoon update. Fc dripped to 8 added another gal of lc. I will be able to check it more often going forward and will maintain slam levels. Robot filter came up almost empty so seems like it's mostly leaf free. Filter pressure still reading normal.
 

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