10 years into it, and just now trying TFP Method to fix the swamp

[Luclin999]

Day 23

Overall clarity is still improving slowly. We can now see the faint outline of where the main drain is in the deepest part of the pool. Unfortunately this means that the staining is becoming more obvious as well.

I tried placing a half dozen vitamin C tablets onto one of the stains and they had no real effect so I am fairly sure that the stains aren't iron/rust based and are just really deep set organic ones from the months that the dead vegetation sat on the bottom of the pool.

Here is a comparison of what a stained area looked like both before and after I placed a half dozen tri-chlor pucks on the same spot yesterday afternoon.

Before

After

Aside from the lighting and improved water clarity differences you can see that there was little to no change in the areas exposed to just the ultra-high SLAM levels of free chlorine (38-40 ppm) versus the spot that became cleaner where the tri-chlor tabs sat on it for about six hours.

So unless someone has a better idea, it looks like if I want the stains gone I will have to either add some insane amount of bleach to the pool (50-100 gallons) to try to bring the FC up to several hundreds of parts per million and see if that can dent the staining or else coat the floor of the pool in chlorine tabs or granules.

 

[Luclin999]

Day 24

Continually adding cellulose to the filter then backwashing it after a few hours has improved clarity further. The shallows are now mostly clear and the floor of the deepest parts of the pool can now be seen without effort (but still not crystal clear).

FC has been dropping by just one each night for the past few days and the CC overnight was 0.5 if any. Other than the water clarity, the SLAM is nearly done.

I have been keeping the chlorine levels up way over recommended SLAM levels for a CYA of 50 (FC held up at 40 ppm) to help insure that there is zero chance of a mustard Algae bloom after this is all over, however the heightened chlorine levels have had little to no effect upon the staining.

The staining is apparent across the bottom of the entire pool and will have to be dealt with as my wife has looked at it and won't even consider getting into the pool if it looks like that.

 

[Beens]

I'd be swimming the heck out of that pool, stains or not, once you're done with the slam. Heck, I'd probably be in there now since the bottom is visible. Then deal with stains after the swimming season! I don't think a stain ever hurt anyone.

*edit* maybe not now since you said you're way over slam level. In that case I'd wait til it was back at normal slam level and jump in!

 

[kimkats]

Beens I am with you! A swimming I would go! (under SLAM level for sure LOL)

Kim

 

[northrn]

You've come so far!

 

[Luclin999]

It is definitely better than on Day one.. That is for sure!

Going to vacuum the bottom again tonight and then add more cellulose to the filter when I get up in the morning to see if that helps the clarity issues.

 

[Luclin999]

Day 27

Water is now clear enough to at least see a quarter on the bottom of the deep end of the pool.

Staining in the plaster though is everywhere and obvious. FC levels over 30 haven't done much of anything to them so I am probably stuck looking at them until we end up remodeling the pool.

Overnight FC drop was 1, CC this morning was either 0 or .5 at best.

As this meets the criteria, this will probably be the beginning of the end of the SLAM and will begin letting the FC numbers start dropping down to maintenance levels. Since I held the FC up a bit over SLAM numbers this will probably still take 2-3 days to get down to that point.


Total costs of this SLAM:

Bleach: $328
City Water: $207

 

[kimkats]

You did it! Good job! If you keep up with your numbers you should never have to do this again!

Kim

 

[jmbradwell]

Nice job. You have come a long way and I suspect that you will never let the pool get that way again.

 

[kcindc]

Glad your pool is finally clearing.

I have stains on my pool and scrubbing the !@#$% heck out of them with an algae brush will get them off, but it takes a lot of aggressive brushing for a long time in one spot. I have one small 10' section that haven't brushed yet, but it hasn't kept me or my friends from enjoying the pool.

My pool was stained when I purchased my severely neglected foreclosure. I hired a pool company to drain and acid wash the stains. It is amazing what an acid wash can do.

Oh, the plaster was painted at some point and both the plaster and paint are almost entirely gone. It is an ugly pool, but it holds water. I'll refinish it in a few years, but that won't stop me from enjoying the pool.

 

[lynzizzle]

Any update?