Chlorine lock?

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OK, to sum up your SLAM so far:
CYA 60 PPM, FC SLAM level 24 PPM
2 days done
SLAM really kicked in today with a higher FC loss (that's a good thing!)
Out of R-0871 (new coming in a few days)
How many times brushed? If known, did the FC loss go up after brushing?

Are you there through the day maintaining, or evening only? If evening only, what's the FC when you got home? Was it sunny that day?

Thinking about it from the sidelines, it's still very early in the SLAM, so patience is important. Being out of reagent is a pain, and hopefully an expert will chime in with a solution. Hopefully, one of the pool stores carries it.
 
Most of us don't focus on the amount of loss unless we're doing an OCLT. It is what it is. The point is to raise FC back up to your goal levels, whatever they may be. Feel free to have fun studying it, no worries; I am not dissing you. Just don't obsess over it.
 
needsajet said:
OK, to sum up your SLAM so far:
CYA 60 PPM, FC SLAM level 24 PPM
2 days done
SLAM really kicked in today with a higher FC loss (that's a good thing!)
Out of R-0871 (new coming in a few days)
How many times brushed? If known, did the FC loss go up after brushing?

Are you there through the day maintaining, or evening only? If evening only, what's the FC when you got home? Was it sunny that day?

Thinking about it from the sidelines, it's still very early in the SLAM, so patience is important. Being out of reagent is a pain, and hopefully an expert will chime in with a solution. Hopefully, one of the pool stores carries it.
Click to expand...

I have been testing about 5 times per day - 7 am, 9 am, 2 pm, 6 pm, 9 pm.

When I get my refils in the mail, I will test CYA again, maybe it is off somehow.

I brush morning and evening.

This morning, I lost 6ppm, so after 3 full days, my overnight loss has gone from 15 to 10 to 7.5, so I guess it is trending in a positive way.

I am heading back to wal mart for another 20 gallons. I figure when this is over, I will still need it for maintenance, so I can never buy too much!

No one is swimming until I get the SLAM done - not sure it is very safe with the high levels of FC, correct?
 
cholmes28 said:
No one is swimming until I get the SLAM done - not sure it is very safe with the high levels of FC, correct?
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While relly not encouraged, swimming is safe up to shock level of FC.

We generally discourage it because with the need to SLAM comes cloudy water. It is never safe to swim unless you can clearly see the bottom of the deep end from the pool deck. You need to be able to see a swimmer in distress.
 
That's good that the overnight losses are dropping. I just talked to someone else who got R-0871 from a Leslie's pool store. It would be good to know what sort of FC level it's been running at.
 
needsajet said:
That's good that the overnight losses are dropping. I just talked to someone else who got R-0871 from a Leslie's pool store. It would be good to know what sort of FC level it's been running at.
Click to expand...

So all the pool maintenance companies must buy all their supplies online, because I have found no pool supply stores anywhere locally except Leslie's. I would think just like plumbing or electrical, you have the well known consumer type stores, then you have the supply companies who cater more toward the people in the trade. But with pool stuff, it seems to not be the same, so online is the only source.
 
So, I cannot find R-0871 locally anywhere, and it is going to be next week before my refill arrives. So do I just stop SLAM until I have it, or do I look at what my daily adds have been and just blindly add that amount or what?

I think it would be helpful to add a comment to the SLAM page about needing refill reagents before starting as well as some range guide on number of gallons of bleach expected to be used. I realize that every SLAM is different and pool sizes vary but people don't realize they could be adding 30 to 40 gallons or more. I cleaned out walmart and now have to switch to 8.25% now.
 
Nope, just keep adding ~about~ what you've been adding so far. By now you should have a pretty good idea of what your daily/hourly ppm loss is.
 

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My R-0871 refill arrived today, and just in time, because I realized that the guys at Leslie's was absolutely worthless. He was using he 10ml FC test, and did not know he had to multiply drop count by .5! He counted 28 drops, and reporting my FC at 28, and said the comupter did not allow him to enter a number that high! He has been working there for 3 months, and said "I am not good at math, I don't ever multiply drops by anything. WOW!

I am beginning to wonder if this is ever going to end. So far I have put in 48 gallons of bleach over almost 6 days, and no where close to losing < 1 ppm overnight.
 
Yes, Marian, I tested CYA again, and it was closer to 50 than 60, but I am leaving the FC shock level based on 60. CC has been zero as close as I can tell. I mean when I add the 5 drops, the water turns a VERY faint pink, I mean you can tell it is not perfectly clear, but it is not red or pink. When I add back in a single drop of 0871, it for sure is clear. So I guess maybe I need to switch to the .2 method, and see how much it really is. Either way, it is for sure not more than .5. The water has been crystal clear the entire time. Even when I started the SLAM, the water was clear, I could see the bottom, which is 8', clearly. I just had some yellow staining that would appear, and I couldn't hold any FC overnight, which is why I started the SLAM. I dropped from 24 to 6 ppm the first night, so I figured something is in the water that needed to be eliminated.

One thing I may be doing wrong, is that I will usually do my final test/dosing around 9 PM. I test, then figure out how much bleach to add, then don't test again until the AM. I am assuming that if I dose at 9 PM with enough bleach to bring back to 24, then an OCLT success would be to have at least 23 ppm the next morning. I am not even close to that. My testing got a bit messed up on 4th day since I ran out of R-0871, but my nightly losses have been:

Night 1 - 18ppm in 12 hours
Night 2 - 10ppm in 10.5 hours
Night 3 - 6ppm in 10.5 hours
Night 4 - 19 (but since I did not test until 5PM that day, it was 35 hours since last test)

They are trending down, which is good, and I will hopefully see this continue, but the puzzling thing to me is that my water has been clear whole time, and I have still added 48 gal of bleach. I cannot imagine how much time and money one who has really green water would have to spend to pass the OCLT. I am getting really tired of having to do this. It is not fun!
 
Yes, you have to start the OCLT after sunset and after the chlorine has had time to mix. The morning reading is done before sunrise.

Your SLAM is about 6 days so far, and that's not unusual. The method works, but there certainly have been a few wrinkles discovered by some people. Usually it's falling below SLAM level too often, or a lack of regular brushing, but there have also been other wrinkles. Hidden algae farms in ladders, light niches, or behind wedding cake stairs, for example. A source of contamination being brought into the pool, such as runoff from a garden. Not cleaning leaves out of the skimmers or pump basket. That kind of thing.

I feel your pain for sure, but mostly want to reassure you that it's worthwhile and will work.
 
cholmes28 said:
One thing I may be doing wrong, is that I will usually do my final test/dosing around 9 PM. I test, then figure out how much bleach to add, then don't test again until the AM. I am assuming that if I dose at 9 PM with enough bleach to bring back to 24, then an OCLT success would be to have at least 23 ppm the next morning.
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To complete the OCLT you should actually test three times. At 9PM (in your example) test to determine how much to add to get to 24. Add that much chlorine. Run the pump 30-45 minutes to make sure the pool is well mixed and test again, this is your beginning number for the OCLT. In the morning run the pump again for 30-45 minutes (if it was not running all night) and test, this is your ending number. Your beginning and ending number should always be the result of a test, not calculated based on how much chlorine was added.
 
Thanks tim5055. That makes more sense. It gets a little confusing, because I have never tested, when there hasn't been an FC drop of some sort, so you are always having to add more.

I tested at 5 pm and it was 5ppm short, so I added bleach to bring it back to 24. Then I tested at 11:30, and it was 20.5ppm, so I lost 3.5. Rather than add more bleach, I am leaving it at that level, and will see how much I lose by 7:30 AM. Tomorrow night, I will do as you instructed, and test again 45 mins after my final dose, and use that as baseline.
 
cholmes28 said:
Thanks tim5055. That makes more sense. It gets a little confusing, because I have never tested, when there hasn't been an FC drop of some sort, so you are always having to add more.

I tested at 5 pm and it was 5ppm short, so I added bleach to bring it back to 24. Then I tested at 11:30, and it was 20.5ppm, so I lost 3.5. Rather than add more bleach, I am leaving it at that level, and will see how much I lose by 7:30 AM. Tomorrow night, I will do as you instructed, and test again 45 mins after my final dose, and use that as baseline.
Click to expand...

You stated you lost 3.5 from 5pm to 11pm, but you really do not know if it ever got to 24. Maybe the bleach you are using is weaker than expected?

Use 20.5 for your base tonight, and either leave the pump running over night or try to get it running before dawn. You really want to try and get the morning test before daylight...which 630 at my house.

Personally, I would not wait till dark to measure and dose. Do that at your convenience in the evening, leave pump running, and then measure again when dark. You just want to make sure you wait the 30-45 after the dose.

I have a feeling your over night lose is a lot closer to 1. Maybe not there yet...but you are about to win.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

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