I'm SLAMing and desperately need guidance

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JoyfulNoise said:
Iron stains are aesthetic issues, not a sanitary issue. Get the water/pool clean, clear and sanitary FIRST then worry about stains later. They aren’t important.
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I was thinking that iron stains (having some texture and bulk) provide extra opportunities for the algae to grow on/in and I wanted to reduce algae habitat.

However, I've read through entire AA post in Pool School and see that my idea of doing AA first was ignorant. I'm sorry I wasted your and @ajw22 time.

I'm looking into the source and incidence date of this iron. I think I didn't have these iron stains all along. I'll add separate post about that.

Thank you!
 
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  1. I have resumed SLAMing last Monday.
  2. Iron. Pool water and fill water samples do not have iron at all, according to Leslie's test. So I conclude that there might be something rusting in murky depths of my pool. Or maybe some rust may be blown off rusty barb wire at the top of (chainlink) pool fence? Test results from 3 days ago, Monday, Nov 28, 2022. 20221201_152111.jpg
  3. After manifold replacement, the filter runs longer after every wash. (By filter run time I mean the time before it builds up too much pressure and the flow disappears). But it is still happening. I'll keep track of filter run time and visibility depth. I think presence of DE in the water is the culprit of this phenomenon.
  4. After manifold replacement, the clarity of the water is also improving. Since Monday, depth of visibility increased improved. 20221201_153614~4.jpg Third step is at 27" depth. So I'll just keep SLAMing. Right now, I think I have all the equipment working close to proper function, for the first time since i began this odyssey. I haven't tried SLAM with everything working, and the kids are hellping to brush the pool. Today the water looks bluer. I have adjusted the image to match the hue as close to real as possible. 20221201_154140~2.jpg
Thank you everyone for your help! I will be back later with more questions.
 
Ignoramus said:
After manifold replacement, the filter runs longer after every wash. (By filter run time I mean the time before it builds up too much pressure and the flow disappears). But it is still happening. I'll keep track of filter run time and visibility depth. I think presence of DE in the water is the culprit of this phenomenon
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*after manifold replacement.......... the filter is doing GREAT. You kill the algae with SLAM and the filter filters it. DEs filter quickly so it clogs as such, needing cleaning. Having some residual DE in the water may be speeding it up even more, but the algae alone will do it too.

Hit the FC as often as you can, every 2 hours is best. You can always test/add early to buy yourself the next couple hours away running errands (etc). It's fairly easy to work around your schedule, especially with a weekend coming up. You can make some real headway there.

As the algae is killed off, the FC will hold longer and longer between adds, buying you more time away. Then it becomes a patience test waiting for the filter to remove all the dead algae. Keep the FC up at that point just in case, you don't want to lose any ground when the battle gets easier, but you'll be mostly brushing and cleaning the filter at that point.

Get the ladder out and cleaned. Those rails hold a gallon or two of old water each. Go on a full blown algae hunt. Every inch needs cleaning/inspection. All up in the guts of the skimmer, the back of the weir door..... Every. Inch.

You got this. (y)
 
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Newdude said:
*after manifold replacement.......... the filter is doing GREAT. You kill the algae with SLAM and the filter filters it. DEs filter quickly so it clogs as such, needing cleaning. Having some residual DE in the water may be speeding it up even more, but the algae alone will do it too.
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Yeah, DE filter is way too efficient at clogging up. 😁 Dad and I actually looked into renting sand filter to use instead; but there was nothing in suitable size/cost.
Newdude said:
Hit the FC as often as you can, every 2 hours is best. You can always test/add early to buy yourself the next couple hours away running errands (etc). It's fairly easy to work around your schedule, especially with a weekend coming up. You can make some real headway there.
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This pool is at school. The weekend is my weak point. I had been thinking of raising CYA so I can put in a lot more chlorine. I can spend some time at the pool each day. And I'll have someone dump in a gallon of bleach or so in the evenings.
Newdude said:
As the algae is killed off, the FC will hold longer and longer between adds, buying you more time away. Then it becomes a patience test waiting for the filter to remove all the dead algae. Keep the FC up at that point just in case, you don't want to lose any ground when the battle gets easier, but you'll be mostly brushing and cleaning the filter at that point.
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I conscripted students' help brushing. It's awesome.
Newdude said:
Get the ladder out and cleaned. Those rails hold a gallon or two of old water each. Go on a full blown algae hunt. Every inch needs cleaning/inspection. All up in the guts of the skimmer, the back of the weir door..... Every. Inch.
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Whoa, I forgot about ladder rails! I had removed steps from the ladder, but I couldn't remove the rails - they look like there was concrete (patch?) poured over mounting screws. Since I can't brush insides, would it help to pour few doses of pool chlorine in to the inside of the rails? There is an offline chlorinator I might be able to repurpose. It's Pentair Rainbow 300-29X.

Skimmers are almost done. Next on my list are:
  • third piece of eyeball fixture in each return line
  • unused side port for pool vacuum,
  • lights,
  • autofill plumbing ,
  • and 6 (or 8?) recessed anchor loops for lane dividing ropes
What did I forget?

Newdude said:
You got this. (y)
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Thank you very much for encouragement!
 
smithkl said:
Thanks to both of you. LAST question (for today :)).
Could I be reintroducing algae from my Polaris and brushes and net? Do I put all those in the water during the slam? Expensive Polaris will be ok?
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I've been SLAMing for a month now. FC target 16. Polaris robot is always in the water. Seems to be ok. But you got me worried. Let's see what the wise ones will say.
 
Ignoramus said:
I've been SLAMing for a month now. FC target 16. Polaris robot is always in the water. Seems to be ok. But you got me worried. Let's see what the wise ones will say.
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Let's put that SLAM FC into perspective:

Under the FC/CYA Levels is a link to Chem Geek's version of the chart that also shows the target FC levels without CYA. From that you can see that TFP's SLAM FC level is equivalent in terms of active chlorine concentrations (HOCl) to FC 0.64ppm at CYA 0ppm. No, there is no typo, the decimal point is at the correct position.

That means that an FC of 4ppm without CYA, where no equipment manufacturer blinked an eye would you bathe their product in it, has more than 6 times higher HOCl levels than TFP's SLAM FC, like for example FC 16ppm at CYA 40ppm.

I think you can draw your own conclusions from that.

It is much safer to run your robot in your pool at proper SLAM level, than to borrow it to the public indoor pool round the corner, that likely operates without any CYA, and maintains FC below 4ppm.
 
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Ignoramus said:
This pool is at school. The weekend is my weak point.
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Riiiiiiiight. I knew that. Whoops. :ROFLMAO:
Ignoramus said:
Since I can't brush insides, would it help to pour few doses of pool chlorine in to the inside of the rails?
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Yes. There are rubber cups that come off that protect the wall from the rails. Swoosh water up in there with a hose, and folks have used a turkey baster to get chlorine up in there.
Ignoramus said:
What did I forget?
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Just do a good once over and check/scrub whatever you find. You're looking for anywhere that old water can hide in plain sight. Auto fills are another overlooked spot. (When applicable).
 
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mgtfp said:
Let's put that SLAM FC into perspective:

Under the FC/CYA Levels is a link to Chem Geek's version of the chart that also shows the target FC levels without CYA. From that you can see that TFP's SLAM FC level is equivalent in terms of active chlorine concentrations (HOCl) to FC 0.64ppm at CYA 0ppm. No, there is no typo, the decimal point is at the correct position.

That means that an FC of 4ppm without CYA, where no equipment manufacturer blinked an eye would you bathe their product in it, has more than 6 times higher HOCl levels than TFP's SLAM FC, like for example FC 16ppm at CYA 40ppm.

I think you can draw your own conclusions from that.

It is much safer to run your robot in your pool at proper SLAM level, than to borrow it to the public indoor pool round the corner, that likely operates without any CYA, and maintains FC below 4ppm.
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Thank you!

Hopefully, this aspect of pool chemistry will become part of my normal thinking.
 
Newdude said:
Riiiiiiiight. I knew that. Whoops. :ROFLMAO:
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Hey, there are too many of us, newbs SLAMing and learning as we go. 😁
Newdude said:
Yes. There are rubber cups that come off that protect the wall from the rails.
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I'll see if I can take those caps off. I serm to recall thatI couldn't remove them the last time I actually went into the pool, but I'm not positive.

Newdude said:
Swoosh water up in there with a hose, and folks have used a turkey baster to get chlorine up in there.
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Ooh, beautiful! Much easier. I've gone into engineering contraption mode, thinking about this, when I really should spend time brushing the pool🤣
Newdude said:
Just do a good once over and check/scrub whatever you find. You're looking for anywhere that old water can hide in plain sight. Auto fills are another overlooked spot. (When applicable).
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Yes, I need to scrub it, too. I have dosed it with half a gallon of chlorine when I discovered it.

Thank you very much!
 
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PoolStored said:
Preach.
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I'm also scrubbing my dad's pool of algae. He's got the same ladder as in your first photo. And a vibrant algae community underside of steps.

Is there a trick to remove the screws? The cap keeps turning with the nut (and wrench). The bolt looks covered in rust and I suspect the rust fused the nut to the bolt.

Thank you!
 
Newdude said:
2 methods Here depending on how stubborn it it.
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I think Iggy is talking about the screws that hold the steps on the tubes. Hit them with PB Blaster, let them sit a bit. Vice grips on the spinning part to hold them. If nuts are shot and wrench doesn't grip the nut and slips, probably another vice grip on them. Those bolts are readily available if you have to destroy them...
 
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PoolStored said:
I think Iggy is talking about the screws that hold the steps on the tubes. Hit them with PB Blaster, let them sit a bit. Vice grips on the spinning part to hold them. If nuts are shot and wrench doesn't grip the nut and slips, probably another vice grip on them. Those bolts are readily available if you have to destroy them...
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In dad's pool the ladder is not removable. Everything has to be done underwater.

However, I think I can use PB blaster on school pool. That will expedite cleaning out the rails.
Thank you!
 

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