I need advice on what to "attack" first ...

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Backwashed this morning (2 minutes @ 2000). I noticed a bit of sand in the spyglass when I first started washwash. I replaced laterals early last year so this was a surprise. Also, I never saw "dark green" water coming out during backwash like I have seen in the past. Any comments?

I added water, morning dose of chlorine, swept and then added DE.

The water certainly isn't clear yet but would it be safe to get in with high chlorine level during SLAM? Like much of the country we're having a heat wave and it would be nice if I could get in ... please share your thoughts.
 
Debra Joan said:
Backwashed this morning (2 minutes @ 2000). I noticed a bit of sand in the spyglass when I first started washwash. I replaced laterals early last year so this was a surprise. Also, I never saw "dark green" water coming out during backwash like I have seen in the past. Any comments?

I added water, morning dose of chlorine, swept and then added DE.

The water certainly isn't clear yet but would it be safe to get in with high chlorine level during SLAM? Like much of the country we're having a heat wave and it would be nice if I could get in ... please share your thoughts.
Click to expand...

How is your FC holding? How about CCs?

As stated above the FC at SLAM level is not an issue. Cloudiness can be a drowning hazard if you can't see the bottom.
If you are still burning thru chlorine and/or have high (above 1ppm) CC you may have some eye irradiation due to CC (not due to FC at SLAM level).
 
It's best if you can add more often, up to once an hour. Life is what it is, and when I did my SLAM, I couldn't do it every hour while sleeping (obviously) or during work, so I tested before work and brought to SLAM levels, then each hour after work until bed. Makes it go by quicker.

The cloudiness is up to your filter. Sand filters can take the longest to clear. Use a pole in the water (since you're brushing and vacuuming once a day anyhow) and take a photo from the same spot each day to see if you can see further down the pole each day. That'll give you an idea on if you are progressing. If clearing progress stalls, let us know so we can offer some advice on ways to get that going again. :)
 
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Well, still light green. A little better and can see down a bit farther but still waiting for the beautiful Tahitian blue. Yes, a bit depressed.
Running the vacuum is difficult when you can't see the bottom but I keep trying.

Just tested:
chlorine only 10
CC 1
TC (is this just adding the two together)
pH 7.5
CH 175
TA 90
CYA 40 (I haven't added any stabilizer so not sure why it increased)

Using the CYA chart my new SLAM target is 16

I can check chlorine more frequently over the weekend.
I really don't check CC often. I don't understand why it's so low.
Please let me know if I should adjust anything else (hardness or akalinity) while I increase chlorine.

Thank you all
 
Don’t bother with other numbers mid-slam. FC and the occasional CYA is what you need to test. CCs are burned off by the sun so don’t be surprised if they test low. You’re improving and if you can test more often and keep at the brushing it will help things progress faster. :)
 
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The CYA is still confusing. Is it okay if I use pour the water from the tube in to the bottle and try a second time? Depending on available light it's difficult to know "exactly" when the dot disappears. I thought if I tried again using the same test liquid I might be able to zero in on the number.
 
Debra Joan said:
The CYA is still confusing. Is it okay if I use pour the water from the tube in to the bottle and try a second time? Depending on available light it's difficult to know "exactly" when the dot disappears. I thought if I tried again using the same test liquid I might be able to zero in on the number.
Click to expand...
100% ok. Check out this link and it might help with testing :)

CYA Testing - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
IceShadow said:
100% ok. Check out this link and it might help with testing :)

CYA Testing - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...
That was very helpful ... thank you! I'll test again tomorrow in the sunshine following instructions.

Oh, I heard a "sucking air sound" when vacuuming this morning. I traced it to the coupling on the hose end in the skimmer. I found RTV silicone in the garage and spread it in the grove between the white coupling and the hose where the two meet. Hopefully it will be dry by morning and I'll listen for the fix. If it's still there it might be time for a new hose.
 

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Keep going with the SLAM, seems like you are making progress. Sand filters just take the longest of all the filter types to clear a pool. You are doing good! With that OCLT, you have killed everything (don't stop SLAM), now you are just clearing the dead stuff.
 
You may have some iron in the water if it's still green but you're passing OCLT. That won't interfere with the SLAM. It just means when your SLAM is complete, you might have crystal clear but slightly green water. We can work on that once the water is clear. :)
 
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Chlorine unchanged overnight. The water is still clearing.

chlorine 6
pH 7.2
TA 80
CYA 30

I SLAMed for 3 weeks. More costly than chemicals was my anxiety. Is it typical that after 3 weeks of SLAM, following procedure as best I could, for me not to see the bottom? This made vacuuming quite dificult and the "revolving door" of sending pool water to waste while adding water from garden hose. I do understand that I should have been testing more frequently but my daytime job made that impossible. I was able to test and up liquid chlorine 2-4 times each day. Several of you "talked me off the ledge" more than once.

Secret - My frustration and lack of patience led me to using a flocculant. I raised pH to 8 and with great guilt ... poured it in! 24 hours later everything settled to the bottom, easily vacuumed out leaving me with colorless "almost" clear water. I'm ashamed but .... positive results.

New challenge - help me figure out what's wrong with my filter! How do you know when it's time for a new one? The filter shows no date (S=244T)
and was here when we moved in in 2008. Last year I noticed sand in the bottom of the pool. As directed by TFP I removed the sand, replaced laterals and carefully/slowly added sand after half filling with water. I'll keep an eye out for sand on the bottom as final cloudiness clears but I have noticed a bit of sand in the spy glass when I backwash. I remember someone mentioned that sand might have been visible because I overfilled tank but would that diminish filtering? TFP, are you up for this challenge?
 
Thank you for replying.

After holding chlorine at 16 (CYA was 40, probably came down from all the backwashing and refills) for over a week and having added DE the water remained green and I wasn't able to see deeper than the second step. Copper was suggested for the green color but there's no green at all now. Would flocculant have addressed that issue too?

I just can't believe that after 3+ weeks of SLAM, running 24/7, with water only going from dark green to light green would be considered normal filtering.

One more bit of information ... I remembered the year before my husband passed he had replaced the valve on top of the filter tank.

I've learned so much since joining but made plenty of mistakes since taking over pool maintainance. I constantly read older posts and do searches before I post here. I used the wrong CYA chart ... I ran the variable pump constantly at 3450. My TFP family figured out what I was doing wrong and educated me on those things and more. If it's normal to take over a month to get a clear pool just let me know and I'll try to start earlier in the season next year.

The grandkids didn't want to swim in Gatorade colored water last weekend ... I couldn't get them out of the slightly cloudy pool yesterday .... and here they come now!
 
Your pool is not the worst on here. I still think @LooLooPoolNoob had the worst one in the summer of 2020, that I followed. She had years of accumulated leaves and junk at the bottom!

First test results. Help with raising CYA

Got my TF 100 in today! Wooooo! Time to Slam out and fix this cloudy, neglected for 5 years, mess of a pool. Currently the pool is blue but cloudy. Found out today the bottom manifold of the Hayward is cracked. New one getting picked up tomorrow. New filters to be delivered today. Results as...
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 

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