Pool Chlorine Level Keeps Dropping (Please help! Incurring astronomic costs in chemicals)

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Yes - totally normal.
Most slams can take a week or more depending on how bad a swamp there is to begin with. It didn’t get messed up overnight so it will take time to eradicate all the algae.
Just keep going & go on a hunt for hidden algae. Take no prisoners! I know it seems like this has been taking forever but in reality you only really started the fight a few days ago. Keep your foot on the gas!
Do ALL the things 👇
*Check & scrub every nook & cranny where algae may hide {light niches, steps (inside & out), drain covers, ladder handrails, skimmer throats/weirs, abandoned lines, autofill, overflow drains, seam flaps, etc.}
*If water can go there, algae can thrive there.
*Run slam level water through all water features & lines for at least a couple hours a day during the SLAM Process.
*Brush & or vac daily (this breaks up biofilms that algae uses to protect itself from chlorine)
*Backwash/clean filter when pressure rises 25%over clean pressure.

If you ever have a problem again do not hesitate to take action. The earlier you deal with things the faster the process is over. You’re armed with the proper tools & knowledge now - & your new internet friends have your back 😊
 
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Mdragger88 said:
Yes - totally normal.
Most slams can take a week or more depending on how bad a swamp there is to begin with. It didn’t get messed up overnight so it will take time to eradicate all the algae.
Just keep going & go on a hunt for hidden algae. Take no prisoners! I know it seems like this has been taking forever but in reality you only really started the fight a few days ago. Keep your foot on the gas!
Do ALL the things 👇
*Check & scrub every nook & cranny where algae may hide {light niches, steps (inside & out), drain covers, ladder handrails, skimmer throats/weirs, abandoned lines, autofill, overflow drains, seam flaps, etc.}
*If water can go there, algae can thrive there.
*Run slam level water through all water features & lines for at least a couple hours a day during the SLAM Process.
*Brush & or vac daily (this breaks up biofilms that algae uses to protect itself from chlorine)
*Backwash/clean filter when pressure rises 25%over clean pressure.

If you ever have a problem again do not hesitate to take action. The earlier you deal with things the faster the process is over. You’re armed with the proper tools & knowledge now - & your new internet friends have your back 😊
Click to expand...

Appreciate it very much!
 
The chlorine is not dropping during the day since your SWG is making up for the losses. That's why it's usually recommended to turn it off during a slam. Although with your lack of chlorine supply I can see why you would leave it on.
 
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Ok so my screen on the computer always reverts back to these funny numericals. When I unplug the 3 connectors behind and plug them back in (the last pic) then it’s fine again and a bit later or after a few days it changes back again and can’t be read properly once again. I managed to adjust the percentage to 0 once I plugged the connectors out and in.
 

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This thread has gotten quite long so I don’t remember if you said you replaced the cell recently. If so it is also recommended to replace the cell cable at the same time. Not sure if the cable can cause what you’re seeing or not.
If you used an oem replacement cell you should use an oem replacement cable.
If you used a generic cell you should use a generic cable. According to inyopools.
Here’s all the info we have on that system if you wish to troubleshoot further

AutoPilot SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
Mdragger88 said:
This thread has gotten quite long so I don’t remember if you said you replaced the cell recently. If so it is also recommended to replace the cell cable at the same time. Not sure if the cable can cause what you’re seeing or not.
If you used an oem replacement cell you should use an oem replacement cable.
If you used a generic cell you should use a generic cable. According to inyopools.
Here’s all the info we have on that system if you wish to troubleshoot further

AutoPilot SWG - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
Click to expand...

I replaced both the cell and cable with an original autopilot cell and also autopilot cable. I took back out the new autopilot cable however after we realised it was the cell and not the cable. I believe the screen was showing the same thing before and after, however I could be wrong, maybe it could have been showing properly the short time that the new replacement cable was connected.
 
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Newdude said:
It's WAY easier to keep it going than to start from scratch. People just want to be done, and I get that, but holding for an extra day or two if the OCLT passes is easy insurance. (y)
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Ok so continue for an additional day or two and keep the chlorine at the level needed, which for me is now 24? Then, in two days or so, do the OCLT?
 

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Newdude said:
I guess it's half a dozen or six. I'd pass the OCLT, and then hold it for giggles.
Click to expand...

Ok so last night when I checked the level was only twenty (from 24) although I turned the SWC back on earlier in the day. Then this morning it was 16 so 4 points less than last night. It’s kind of weird as the night before it hardly went down from dusk till dawn. I put another 3 gallons of liquid chlorine in just now to raise the bar above 24. Something seems off…The pool is clear and blue with no visible algae.
 
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Flukes happen. Or you brushed/exposed one last layer of algae that needed killing.

Did you go buck wild checking and scrubbing every inch? All up in the skimmer, auto fills, ladder rails, removeable light niches, etc ?
 
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Newdude said:
Flukes happen. Or you brushed/exposed one last layer of algae that needed killing.

Did you go buck wild checking and scrubbing every inch? All up in the skimmer, auto fills, ladder rails, removeable light niches, etc ?
Click to expand...

Yes, I even took out the pool lights literally and cleaned all the algae off, then put them back in. The pool was scrubbed every day really well. Wait I think I forgot one pool light in the lower pool, could this be it?
 
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Ok I checked now in the evening and after the SWC running since this morning it’s now at 26 FC, 6 points higher than this morning although I put 3 gallons of bleach inside after testing 20 this morning.
 
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qsch1 said:
Ok I checked now in the evening and after the SWC running since this morning it’s now at 26 FC, 6 points higher than this morning although I put 3 gallons of bleach inside after testing 20 this morning.
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Ok so I checked this afternoon around 4 pm and it was 26, I checked now after dark and it is 23.5. Just letting you all know. I just remembered that the outflow has a pipe inside the pool (which is not covered) going below the pool and out of it (it is quite long), I wonder how best to kill any algae in this. I am thinking a hose and then flush some water out of it? Or should I just cover it? This slam is taking a while, I thought I got it two days ago.
 
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How big is it? Can you get a brush in there like this?
IMG_9369.jpeg
If you get heavy rains that tend to overflow your pool you don’t want to cap it off.
Also Spraying it out & squirting some bleach in there is a good idea. You want to make sure its functioning & draining properly too.
 
Mdragger88 said:
Got any pics of the pool side of the overflow?
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Thanks MD, It is inside the pool and is the pool drain, basically an open 2 inch pipe going out from the bottom floor slab of the pool. It is about 5 - 10 feet if not more long and goes up to a valve (at the end of it, outside the pool walls) which you can open if you wanted to empty the pool. I never once used it.
 
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That’s a main drain - not an overflow drain.
usually (but not always) they are plumbed to the equipment pad and you have the option to pull water through the pump & filter via the main drain or the skimmers or a little of both by turning a valve. Perhaps yours operates this way?
Can you show us your equipment pad with any valves?
* Any functional drains in the pool should also have anti entrapment covers on them for swimmer safety. They make them in all sizes. If you show us what you have we can help you find a suitable cover. Or determine if you can simply cap it & isolate it completely.
An open pipe sounds dangerous & like algae heaven.
 

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