I'm puzzled. I read the other threads and thought I had a good understanding of how to SLAM my pool and get it clear again. Apparently I'm doing something wrong because the algae are back.
First of all, my pool is an Intex above ground pool. It's 24'x12'x52" and holds about 8500 gal. I also have an Intex SWG. I'm in the Tampa Bay, Florida area and the pool gets about 12 hours of direct sunlight each day. Pump runs for 12 hours from 9am to 9pm.
I had the pool for about one month and the pump went bad. Had to wait about a week for them to delivered a replacement pump.
During that time the pool turned green. I ran the pump and SWG nonstop in boost mode for 3 days. It turned for green to cloudy. the water didn't improve or turn crystal clear so I proceeded to SLAM the pool.
After 4 days of the SLAM, CC was 0.5ppm. The water was blue (bit cloudy) but not crystal clear. The OCLT pass (loss of 0.5ppm). I let the FC drop down to 5ppm and it was crystal clear for 2 weeks.
We were getting a lot of rain. And I was not brushing the pool weekly like I should. The pool turn green again. So I thought maybe I didn't SLAM the pool long enough. My fault, so on to attempt #2.
Initial readings on SLAM #2
FC 6.0
CC 0.5
CH 225
TA 100
CYA 40
PH 7.5
Target FC for SLAM was 16. Majority of the time, I had the FC ranging from 16 to 20. The last two days of the SLAM, I allowed it to dip down to 14.5.
After 8 days, the results were:
FC 14.5
CC 0.5
CH 200
TA 70
CYA 30
PH 7.2
CYA went down because I backwashed. I also vacuum/brush the walls and the floors with the water going out to the streets. Top off with water. We had one night of heavy rain (hope this did not add to the problem).
After 8 days, CC was at 0.5. I completed the OCLT and it passed for 4 straight days. I wanted to make sure all the algae was gone and didn't want to stop the SLAM too early as in my first SLAM. The water again was clear but not crystal clear. It had a tint of blue. I used the 8.25% Clorox bleach so I was thinking because the it was concentrated, it would be a bit bluish. I drop a dime in the pool and can see if it's heads or tails.
After a few days, as the FC dropped to about 8.0, it was crystal clear again. I thought the SLAM was a great success.
So I got the CYA up to 80.
The PH was a bit low at 7.2. So I added some Borax to bring it up to 7.5
Patted myself on the back. Now time to enjoy the pool!
It has been clear for a week. I went to brush the pool this past weekend and noticed a bit of algae coming off my pool brush. That's weird. I thought I did everything right.
Now it's starting to turn green again. Today, I took the water sample to the pool store so I can compare their test with mine.
Their results:
FC 4.0
CC 0.0
CH 225
TA 100
CYA 60
PH 7.2
Salt 3200
TDS 5000
My test from today (I just added some Borax this morning, so I'm not sure if the number are accurate yet). May have to test it again in the morning when the Borax settles:
FC 5.0
CC 0.5
CH 200
TA 100
CYA 80
PH 7.8
Any guess to why the algae is back? Am I doing something wrong?
First of all, my pool is an Intex above ground pool. It's 24'x12'x52" and holds about 8500 gal. I also have an Intex SWG. I'm in the Tampa Bay, Florida area and the pool gets about 12 hours of direct sunlight each day. Pump runs for 12 hours from 9am to 9pm.
I had the pool for about one month and the pump went bad. Had to wait about a week for them to delivered a replacement pump.
During that time the pool turned green. I ran the pump and SWG nonstop in boost mode for 3 days. It turned for green to cloudy. the water didn't improve or turn crystal clear so I proceeded to SLAM the pool.
After 4 days of the SLAM, CC was 0.5ppm. The water was blue (bit cloudy) but not crystal clear. The OCLT pass (loss of 0.5ppm). I let the FC drop down to 5ppm and it was crystal clear for 2 weeks.
We were getting a lot of rain. And I was not brushing the pool weekly like I should. The pool turn green again. So I thought maybe I didn't SLAM the pool long enough. My fault, so on to attempt #2.
Initial readings on SLAM #2
FC 6.0
CC 0.5
CH 225
TA 100
CYA 40
PH 7.5
Target FC for SLAM was 16. Majority of the time, I had the FC ranging from 16 to 20. The last two days of the SLAM, I allowed it to dip down to 14.5.
After 8 days, the results were:
FC 14.5
CC 0.5
CH 200
TA 70
CYA 30
PH 7.2
CYA went down because I backwashed. I also vacuum/brush the walls and the floors with the water going out to the streets. Top off with water. We had one night of heavy rain (hope this did not add to the problem).
After 8 days, CC was at 0.5. I completed the OCLT and it passed for 4 straight days. I wanted to make sure all the algae was gone and didn't want to stop the SLAM too early as in my first SLAM. The water again was clear but not crystal clear. It had a tint of blue. I used the 8.25% Clorox bleach so I was thinking because the it was concentrated, it would be a bit bluish. I drop a dime in the pool and can see if it's heads or tails.
After a few days, as the FC dropped to about 8.0, it was crystal clear again. I thought the SLAM was a great success.
So I got the CYA up to 80.
The PH was a bit low at 7.2. So I added some Borax to bring it up to 7.5
Patted myself on the back. Now time to enjoy the pool!
It has been clear for a week. I went to brush the pool this past weekend and noticed a bit of algae coming off my pool brush. That's weird. I thought I did everything right.
Now it's starting to turn green again. Today, I took the water sample to the pool store so I can compare their test with mine.
Their results:
FC 4.0
CC 0.0
CH 225
TA 100
CYA 60
PH 7.2
Salt 3200
TDS 5000
My test from today (I just added some Borax this morning, so I'm not sure if the number are accurate yet). May have to test it again in the morning when the Borax settles:
FC 5.0
CC 0.5
CH 200
TA 100
CYA 80
PH 7.8
Any guess to why the algae is back? Am I doing something wrong?