First time Pool Owner

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Please do not just dump bleach or anything into the pool. Do a test and plug the current and goal numbers into Pool Math and add only what it tells you to.

Yes you DO need to SLAM to make sure to kill ALL of the algae. If you do not you will have to keep doing it over and over. Lets get it GONE!

Kim
 
Good morning Newbie. Yeah, it's important to stay constant with the FC (bleach) and not over-do it ... for a couple reason. 1 - Too much bleach will simply make overcome the water with chlorine. I suspect your water is still chilly, so you probably aren't swimming, but you want to be careful; 2 - If you go too high over your SLAM/shock level, the extra chlorine just gets oxidized faster and doesn't really help as much. It just kind of gets wasted, and we want to help you save money. :)

If my calculator math was correct, by dumping those 6 gallons into the water, you immediately added 38 ppm of FC. Your SLAM shock level is only 31. So one of two things happened: Either you allowed your FC to drop to zero (which would slow-down your SLAM progress) and you added 38 ppm going over your goal by 7 ppm; OR ... You had an unknown amount of FC in the water before dumping the 6 gallons and over-shot your FC goal by a lot.

The FC will sink back down today with the sun, just be sure to use that http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html so you know you're adding exactly what you should be - nothing more (waste) and nothing less (not killing the algae). And most definitely, maintain that SLAM. A massive overload of bleach won't kill the algae just like that. It's a process that can take days. Try to stay consistent and patient.
 
Thank you everyone for the help. I just check my pool FC level and it's at 39 right now. I was being a bit impatient, i won't do that anymore.

Should I keep my FC level at 31 and how long should I keep that level?

My pool is looking very clean and clear today with no sign of algae
 
Getting clearer is great! But yes, try to stay patient (it's the hardest part) and simply keep the FC right at 31. You will do that until you pass the 3 SLAM criteria of:
1. Water is clear
2. You do not lose any more than 1ppm of FC overnight (that's the OCLT)
3. CC (Combined Chlorine) is <.5

Don't let the clearer water fool you. You must pass those three items or algae can easily be hiding or have simply changed color and is in transition. If you have any questions about the 3 criteria required to pass the SLAM, please let us know. Here's the page on the OLCT: Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT). Have a great day.
 
Texas Splash said:
Getting clearer is great! But yes, try to stay patient (it's the hardest part) and simply keep the FC right at 31. You will do that until you pass the 3 SLAM criteria of:
1. Water is clear
2. You do not lose any more than 1ppm of FC overnight (that's the OCLT)
3. CC (Combined Chlorine) is <.5

Don't let the clearer water fool you. You must pass those three items or algae can easily be hiding or have simply changed color and is in transition. If you have any questions about the 3 criteria required to pass the SLAM, please let us know. Here's the page on the OLCT: Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT). Have a great day.
Click to expand...

Since my FC is high right now, I won't need to do anything except monitor those 3 criteria correct?

I will have to read on a bit about the CC level.

Thanks everyone for the help, I have learn quite a bit now.
 
You are correct. The higher FC will slowly drop on its own today and you'll be back to 31-ish. When you get there, try to maintain it. At some point you can check you CC (Combined Chlorine). You want no more than .5 ppm of that. The CC test is performed immediately after the FC test. You don't have to check CC every time you do the FC. Maybe later this afternoon just to see if any CC is showing-up. FYI - CC is your "trash" chlorine, and it's the residual stuff that will eventually get burned-off by the sun.

Once you see that your water is really clear (clearer than ever before probably), you have little to no CC, and your FC is holding more & more throughout the day, then you can try an OCLT over night.

Yes, you have been learning quite a bit. Once you pass the SLAM, you'll be surprised how much you remember and take forward with you for the rest of the swimming season. For now .... patience. :)
 
Hey Newbie...Texas Splash has your back for sure! Only thing I'd add is...you really really need to do some serious reading up in Pool Scool and other links like ABCs etc. it's a little overwhelming at first then it all begins to make perfect sense...then when you practice what you've learned it'll become second nature and you'll be a pool snob!
 
I read probably all the documents trying to understand the ins and outs of swimming pool.

According to the documents I read, you are basically have to watch your FC level daily, especially if it's summer and you're using the pool constantly. However; what if people don't maintain their own pool and have someone come out to maintain it weekly? How do the servicing people keep the FC level at a safe level if they're only coming out once a week?
 
There are a couple ways that pool services get by with once per week service:

1. Elevate FC levels way higher than they should be using bleach or chlorine gas then hope there is some FC left when they show up in a week. They'll usually intentionally try to keep CYA fairly high (100 ppm) to help buffer the high FC levels and be sure to protect FC from sunlight.

2. They just drop in more pucks (trichlor) every week, which works for a while until the CYA gets out of hand. Then they sell the homeowners on other products to attempt to clear the pool such as Phosfree, clarifiers, massive loads of shock and then eventually have their customers perform large partial drain and start the process over again. This is the most common maintenance service, especially in areas where people close their pools in the winter. The winter partial drains help them start the cycle over in the spring.

3. People who have SWG systems and have experience with their pool chemistry can at times get by with testing once per week but if you have a SWG and a recommended test kit (and read TFP), why would you ever need a pool service?
 

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Correct. A "pool service" sounds great, but many of them either don't understand the CYA/FC relationship, or chose to ignore it and do the absolute minimum on their visit. Then in a few months you find yourself right back where you started, and all they can say is "Drain the pool". Once you finish your SLAM, all you have to do is literally add a little bleach each day. Maybe a half gallon or less. Check FC daily and pH every 2-3 days or so. Maybe add some acid every few days. And sweep the pool to keep things moving around a but towards the filter. Unless someone has a physical disability, there's no reason anyone couldn't take care of their pool's daily needs. We hope to help you with that.

As for the wet ground, that can be alarming. Whenever you see soggy ground, you have to first look at the equipment and plumbing closely. Do you see an external leak? If so, let us know or take a pic and post it. If it's merely the ground soggy, you need to look to see if there was any water run-off from another location. We hope to rule-out any underground plumbing. Later we can give you more tips and tricks for detecting a leak if you suspect there is one.
 
Texas Splash said:
As for the wet ground, that can be alarming. Whenever you see soggy ground, you have to first look at the equipment and plumbing closely. Do you see an external leak? If so, let us know or take a pic and post it. If it's merely the ground soggy, you need to look to see if there was any water run-off from another location. We hope to rule-out any underground plumbing. Later we can give you more tips and tricks for detecting a leak if you suspect there is one.
Click to expand...

After some reading on articles about leaks, there are a few things I notice.

1. Whenever my filter running and when water is pumping into the pool, I see bubbles are being pushed out through the outlets in the pool below the water level ( only 1 of the 4 outlets in the pool seem to work)
2. All of my pumps are sitting on a concrete platform and showing no external leaks or wetness, however, the area around the concrete are always wet and soggy.


Sound like I have air leak on suction side and piping below the ground on the pressure side.
 
9


I can't attached image here for the area showing it wet, please see picture below
Wet Pictures, Wet Images, Wet Photos, Wet Videos - Image - TinyPic - Free Image Hosting, Photo Sharing Video Hosting
 
Well, whenever we see air bubbles flowing back through to the pool from the eyeball returns, we suspect a suction side air leak and go here: Pool School - Suction Side Air Leaks. That can be a bit frustrating, but often times it's the smallest thing on that page. The fact that only 1 out of 4 returns have water flowing is odd. But remember this - suction side leaks take place BEFORE the pump, from the skimmer (or drain) up to the front of the pump. Any leak (gap) will allow air to get pulled-in to the lines, thus creating the bubbles. Generally you won't see water coming out from a suction side leak unless perhaps the pump is off. If you have a leak AFTER the pump, that's the pressure side. It will show itself by emitting water either above ground or slowly under.

Since you are still in the middle of your SLAM, we don't want to do too much at once and overwhelm you. But you may want to do the bucket test as noted here: Pool School - Leak Detection. We'll watch for your updates and give assistance accordingly.
 
Okay, I see the equipment. We may need to try the process of elimination for some things. For example, looking at that pic, does the yard slope left to right or right to left? Since your pool return with the in-line chlorinator is on the left, if the ground slopes to the left, water can't go back uphill. One of those pumps (water fall) does not work correct? So it should be off. I don't recall what the other pumps do, but perhaps you can try process of elimination to see if shutting one of for a while makes any difference. But those pumps on the right go right back to the pool wit no filtration, so I'm assuming they are solely for accessories (falls, etc).

If after a while you see no change in the ground drying-out, you may have to have someone dig a bit and poke around to see if they can find the culprit. But don't panic yet. Do the pool leak detection. If you're not losing any significant water, you can address that after the SLAM.

- - - Updated - - -

I went to your 1st post. I see the "cleaner" and "Fall" pumps. What's that smaller item in the middle? I can't quite make it out.
 
Texas Splash said:
- - - Updated - - -

I went to your 1st post. I see the "cleaner" and "Fall" pumps. What's that smaller item in the middle? I can't quite make it out.
Click to expand...

That small pump in the middle is for my polaris to vacuum the bottom of the pool. The cleaner pump & the Falls pump are not working. I am not sure what that cleaner pump is used for.




- Ok I just did an FC test and now my FC level is at 30. So the FC went from 39 @ 11:00 am down to 30 @ 5:00pm.

Should I add 2 oz of chlorine now and let the fitlter run again?
 
Texas Splash said:
For example, looking at that pic, does the yard slope left to right or right to left?

If after a while you see no change in the ground drying-out, you may have to have someone dig a bit and poke around to see if they can find the culprit. But don't panic yet. Do the pool leak detection. If you're not losing any significant water, you can address that after the SLAM.
Click to expand...

The yard slope from left to right. The ground had been wet and damp since I took over the house a month and half ago. I think it was damp and wet for a while from since the previous owner.
 
In that case, 'IF" there is a leak underground, it could be just about any of those items, so we would need to do some process of elimination. But even if we knew which item might be leaking, the ground won't dry-up immediately. You might have better luck going back to the leak detection page first that I gave you. Try the bucket test one day with normal operation and compare. See if you are even showing any water loss. Then the next day shut-off something else (i.e. spa) and see if there's a difference. If you have that waterfall valve on the far left open, try closing that one day and compare as well. If you find a trend in water loss from the bucket test by isolating one item, at least you have a better idea where to go next rather than to just start digging.

It must be frustrating to have that soggy area, but I would stay focused on the SLAM as well. Let's clear-up that water first. If we need to later, we might start a new thread in a different forum for specific attention to your equipment and plumbing issues. But you can definitely do that leak test over the next day or two. Maybe you'll find out what item is contributing to the soggy area.
 

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