Hi, I am on my 3rd day of SLAMming my pool for mustard algae, I have a question regarding the CYA. I am reading so many conflicting ways to properly test for CYA. One site says do it in direct sunlight, another says back to sun, do it at waist level, don’t do it at waist level, etc.. Can someone please tell me the proper way to test. When I first started slamming my CYA reading in sunlight was 25, this was 3 days ago so I’ve been shocking to 12ppm, I tested today on a very cloudy day with no sunshine and after some rain last night, and I am now getting a CYA reading of 40, if this is correct I should be shocking at 16ppm and not 12. When I check on pool in the mornings water is blue, but when I go to sweep I am sweeping green off the floors into the deep end even after day 3 of slamming, the nice blue in the deep turns ugly green after sweeping, now I must admit it is getting somewhat better with each day but it is still green. I have been sweeping 2x per day, backwashing, and checking on FC levels in the morning and late evening and adjusting to 12ppm (It has been dropping to 8-9 and then I add to get back to 12). Is this normal to still see so much green after sweeping on day 3? I know it's a process but I thought I would stop seeing the green at this point. I'm thinking it may be because the CYA is not what I originally thoughta and not shocking high enough. Please help!
SLAMming and CYA question. Still seeing green after Day 3! Please Help!
- Thread starter aesweeps
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Bright sun, but not directly in the sun. The reason for that part is so you don't get a reflection off the surface which will confuse things.
Take a reading, pour the solution back, swirl a bit, take another reading. Repeat until you get fairly consistent results, say within 5 either way. That's your CYA level.
For me, I hold the view tube between my thumb and forefinger taking care not to wrap the other fingers around the tube. I hold it down about waist high while standing on the unshaded concrete patio in full sun. I get a huge amount of reflected light coming up off the concrete and no sunlight directly on the surface of the sample I'm reading. That's what it takes for me to get consistent results that I've verified with the 50ppm standard solution. Your eyes may be different.
Take a reading, pour the solution back, swirl a bit, take another reading. Repeat until you get fairly consistent results, say within 5 either way. That's your CYA level.
For me, I hold the view tube between my thumb and forefinger taking care not to wrap the other fingers around the tube. I hold it down about waist high while standing on the unshaded concrete patio in full sun. I get a huge amount of reflected light coming up off the concrete and no sunlight directly on the surface of the sample I'm reading. That's what it takes for me to get consistent results that I've verified with the 50ppm standard solution. Your eyes may be different.
Richard320 gave you great advice on reading the CYA. You'll get it and don't panic if you can't get more consistent. It is relatively forgiving so keep on keepin on.
Now, let's get your pool cleared up.
Many SLAMs take five days or more. The best advice anyone can give you is
1, Keep your chlorine up. Make your target 16 ppm, you'll be safe.
2. You have to get that green debris out of the pool. Are you vacuuming? Do you have an automatic cleaner?
Respond to those questions and we'll follow up.
Now, let's get your pool cleared up.
So. you see, your SLAM is really working just like it is supposed to.......you just thought it would be quicker.
Many SLAMs take five days or more. The best advice anyone can give you is
1, Keep your chlorine up. Make your target 16 ppm, you'll be safe.
2. You have to get that green debris out of the pool. Are you vacuuming? Do you have an automatic cleaner?
Respond to those questions and we'll follow up.
thanks for the advice on the CYA, I'll try tomorrow when its suppose to be a prettier day with some sunshine, and I'll go bump the chlorine up to 16 as well. In regards the 2 questions: 1. I have Not been vacuuming, I have only been sweeping then backwashing. 2. I do not currently have a working auto cleaner, mine is broke at the moment. I scoop up anything on the bottom daily, like leaves and such, but it's been free of debris for a couple days now, and the green stuff I'm just hoping the backwashing will help. Regarding backwashing, should I be doing this once a day like I have been or less? The pressure and flow has always been good but I figured the backwashing would help rid the green??
That depends on the filter. Sand filters actually work a little better when they're a little dirty, so backwashing too often isn't helping, it might be hurting. DE filters never ever rinse 100% clean, so you might be slowly overloading it. Rule of thumb is 25% pressure increase over clean or noticeably reduced flow. All that backwashing and refilling is also diluting the pool water, so your CYA level is going down.
In any case, you need to get any visible debris to the filter so it can be strained out and ultimately backwashed away, and a vacuum is the best way to do that. That way the chlorine can work on the stuff you can't see instead of trying to break down the stuff you can see.
It will help us a lot with our recommendations if you take a few minutes to fill out your signature. Directions are in this thread: Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post
Without a vacuum or auto vac, you basically are not SLAMming and it will take a VERY long time to clear your pool.
Thanks guys for your help, I really appreciate. I do have a sand filter so I will make sure to not backwash as often or only as needed. And I do have a manual type vacuum, just not an auto vac so I will start manually vacuuming tomorrow as well. Hopefully this helps. Thanks again!
Think about vacuuming to waste. I would go ahead and be adding water in with a hose before you even start vacuuming to help keep up with the outflow.
When you vacuum "sneak" up on the stuff on the bottom. It stirs up very easy. Your pool will be cloudy again so be ready for that.
Good luck!
Kim
When you vacuum "sneak" up on the stuff on the bottom. It stirs up very easy. Your pool will be cloudy again so be ready for that.
Good luck!
Kim
Kim, thanks for that information, I was getting back on here to ask that exact question which was 'what do I do after I vacuum? do I vacuum to waste or just backwash? so now I know. thanks for your help also.
So I can add "mind reader" to my resume now! SWEET! LOL
Let us know how it goes. Ask any and all questions you might have!
Kim
Let us know how it goes. Ask any and all questions you might have!
Kim
Hi Everyone, So I had an emergency with my little boy, I've been watching over him closely and we had lots of appts over the past 2 days, so needless to say I wasn't able to do anything different with my pool, i still kept the chlorine level up to 12ppm thanks to my niece helping out, she also swept the pool but this is basically all thats been done since I first wrote in. I was able to get out there today and was quite surprised at everything. It was probably a good 24 hours since chlorine was last put in and it had dropped from about 12ppm to 8.4, I know that's still a big loss in FC. I swept the pool and surprisingly there was NO green whatsoever, however, the whole pool is Super Cloudy with the white dust, I can't see the bottom anywhere. So I have a few questions..as I mentioned in earlier posts, my initial CYA reading when I first began SLAM was 25 so my shock level of 12ppm was based on this reading. A few days later I was getting a 40 reading, today I got a reading of 35 CYA, duraleigh suggested I bump the FC to 16 to be on the safe side. Since I haven't been able to do this due to my emergency, and the 12FC appears to be working should I keep it at 12 or still bump it to 16?? Also, now that it's the white cloudy stuff do I still vacuum this to Waste?? I got to thinking of the vacuuming to waste, I would hate to go this route due to the amount of water loss with a manual vac and having to keep adjusting the CYA, but I will if it's necessary. Is this the only way to handle the white cloudy stuff?? Thanks in advance for all your help!!
HUGS! I hope your little one will be okay. How scary 
You can keep stirring the stuff up and letting the filter catch it but it will take longer to clear. When you KNOW you will have about 5 hours to "babysit" the filter you can add DE to it to help catch the fine stuff in the sand. BUT you have to be there as each filter is different in what they can handle. We had one that could only handl 1/4 cup of DE and mine likes 1.5 cups so there is no telling until you do it. Here is a link to adding DE to a sand filter.
Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter
Kim
You can keep stirring the stuff up and letting the filter catch it but it will take longer to clear. When you KNOW you will have about 5 hours to "babysit" the filter you can add DE to it to help catch the fine stuff in the sand. BUT you have to be there as each filter is different in what they can handle. We had one that could only handl 1/4 cup of DE and mine likes 1.5 cups so there is no telling until you do it. Here is a link to adding DE to a sand filter.
Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter
Kim
kimkats, thank you for responding, I'll pick up the DE and hope to be able to start this process tomorrow...any suggestions regarding the CYA and the different readings I've been getting, I didn't know if I should bump up to 16 or keep it at 12 since the 12ppm seems to be working??
So I've been adding D.E. to skimmer, about a cup gets it to the additional 1 psi, it then runs for approx. 5 hrs or so before I need to backwash once it gets to about 8 above the normal 15psi. I re-add D.E. and continue same process, been doing this for 2 full days, with the last backwash at about 11pm both nights. So far it looks as if the D.E. is not helping at all. How long of a process should this take?? I've been keeping FC to 12ppm since I'm still in SLAM process, pool was a swamp prior to this. Blue now, but again super cloudy can't see anything. Any suggestions??
It sounds like the DE is working to clear the pool. If there wasn't gunk to remove by filtering, your PSI wouldn't rise like that. The DE is just accelerating the process, which is good. Maybe you should backwash sooner. TFP recommends backwashing at 25% over clean psi so for you that would be at about 19-20. Keep up the patience!!!
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What make you think DE isn't working? Is the time between backwashes the same without DE???
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What make you think DE isn't working? Is the time between backwashes the same without DE???
Have you been taking pictures of your steps during all of this? If not start doing so and posting them here. THAT will show you the progress you are making that your eye cannot notice day to day.
Kim
Kim
With the CYA at 35, using 16 as the target will ensure you are getting the algae. Be sure to scrub all the nooks and crannies of your pool to help your SLAM along.