Went from FC 13 CC 0.5 at 2200 last night to FC 10.5 CC 0 at 0730 this morning. Still zero difference in water clarity though:
http://imgur.com/a/OpGs3
http://imgur.com/a/OpGs3
First time pool owner, sanity checking my numbers
- Thread starter bytecowboy
- Start date
- Mar 24, 2014
- 2,455
- Pool Size
- 32000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool SJ-55
I think this one http://i.imgur.com/E6enr07.jpg looks much clearer and bluer than this one Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet
OCLT shows you are still killing stuff, keep it up!
OCLT shows you are still killing stuff, keep it up!
Shekkie
0
Just a note on the sand filter......
I was having some issues with filtering after acquiring my house and somewhat neglected pool (it looked great but there were lingering issues). I deep cleaned my sand filter several times with minimal improvement. At night loads of fine particles like dust, pollen, or whatever were very visible by the pool lights so it was obvious the filter wasn't working as it should. I emptied the sand from the filter and once I checked the laterals/piping and found them sound I refilled with fresh sand and now the water is virtually dust free in front of the lights at night. When I removed the original sand I found it to be very mucky......I think it was just too far gone from years of neglect and wouldn't filter properly even after my attempts at cleaning. For about $70 it was worth it to be starting from scratch and knowing that the filter is functioning as it should.
I was having some issues with filtering after acquiring my house and somewhat neglected pool (it looked great but there were lingering issues). I deep cleaned my sand filter several times with minimal improvement. At night loads of fine particles like dust, pollen, or whatever were very visible by the pool lights so it was obvious the filter wasn't working as it should. I emptied the sand from the filter and once I checked the laterals/piping and found them sound I refilled with fresh sand and now the water is virtually dust free in front of the lights at night. When I removed the original sand I found it to be very mucky......I think it was just too far gone from years of neglect and wouldn't filter properly even after my attempts at cleaning. For about $70 it was worth it to be starting from scratch and knowing that the filter is functioning as it should.
I have thought about cleaning out the sand, but the only thing that has me puzzled is that the previous owners had the pool professionally opened and they were able to get it cleared up from a green swamp in 6-7 days. Given that, I would think the filter sand should be operational. Something just seems off when I'm also about 6 days in starting from a better baseline and I've seen less progress.
I took the top of the multiport off this morning to check the spider gasket and everything looked fine. Just trying to narrow possibilities.
I took the top of the multiport off this morning to check the spider gasket and everything looked fine. Just trying to narrow possibilities.
Again no pro here, just from reading and limited personal experience, I think the "pros" use tricks like chlorine gas which runs FC levels very high, and pool stores notoriously tell people to put a lot of shock into pool at once which I wonder how high the FC is. There are many people that manage their pools through poolstores in what they believe is successfully. I know many that hire companies to manage their pool and they have what looks to be nice pools with clear water. My question is: are these pools safe to swim in? What other chemicals are they subjecting us too and at what levels? High FC can damage equipment or shorten life of equipment. When I have made mistakes and gone to high on my FC I have seen quicker results, It appears I have gotten away with it (or have I?) My liner has been burned by what looks like some one throwing Dichlor into it for winterization, just spots as if someone took scoopfuls and tossing it in. Or was it me adding too much liquid chlorine before I new much? What effect did it have on seals in pump, etc...? My thoughts are if you up your slam level a little you may get quicker results but it may result in damage or excessive wear on equipment and you can not swim in it (but you are not swimming anyway now). I am sure some of the experts could enlighten us further.
If I'm high-balling my CYA at 30, I'm probably already pushing past my SLAM levels at 12-13 if my CYA is actually closer to 20. To me this seems like an issue with filtering if my FC is getting close to holding during an overnight loss test, but then again I'm brand new to this stuff so maybe I'm way off base 
.
.Read through your thread, and my thought is a filtration problem, and maybe a little impatience problem There are definite stages to a SLAM. The first stage is killing the algae and that's where you will see a large loss of FC initially. The second stage is attacking the stragglers....this is where it is important to brush, clean ladders, behind lights, etc. The final stage is where you probably are, and that's clearing the pool of all the dead algae. This stage can be the most time consuming depending on how optimum your filtration is. A few tricks you can do to speed up the process:
Add about a cup of DE to your sand filter through the skimmer basket. Watch the pressure to make sure you don't over do it. DE will filter out smaller particles than sand alone and will help clear the pool.
Turn the pump off one night and let as much of the gunk settle as possible. That will A) let you see how much dead stuff you have as it will settle on to the bottom of the pool, and B) let you see that without the suspended particles your pool is clearing up. Then CAREFULLY and SLOWLY, vacuum the entire bottom of the pool to waste. This might take a couple of refills but it will help rid the pool of a large quantity of sediment faster. I had two mudslides into my pool along with a high iron precipitation event, and this technique worked for me.
Also, just to give you a gauge, on the iron precipitation event it took me 10 days to clear up and I had no Algae.
There are definite stages to a SLAM. The first stage is killing the algae and that's where you will see a large loss of FC initially. The second stage is attacking the stragglers....this is where it is important to brush, clean ladders, behind lights, etc. The final stage is where you probably are, and that's clearing the pool of all the dead algae. This stage can be the most time consuming depending on how optimum your filtration is. A few tricks you can do to speed up the process:Add about a cup of DE to your sand filter through the skimmer basket. Watch the pressure to make sure you don't over do it. DE will filter out smaller particles than sand alone and will help clear the pool.
Turn the pump off one night and let as much of the gunk settle as possible. That will A) let you see how much dead stuff you have as it will settle on to the bottom of the pool, and B) let you see that without the suspended particles your pool is clearing up. Then CAREFULLY and SLOWLY, vacuum the entire bottom of the pool to waste. This might take a couple of refills but it will help rid the pool of a large quantity of sediment faster. I had two mudslides into my pool along with a high iron precipitation event, and this technique worked for me.
Also, just to give you a gauge, on the iron precipitation event it took me 10 days to clear up and I had no Algae.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably being a little impatient . I think if I hadn't seen the pool water clear before it turned again a couple days later at the very start of this process then I wouldn't be as frustrated.
If I still don't see any progress in the next few days I may give your suggestion a go one night and see what settles in the bottom in the morning. I have a couple bottles of clarifier laying around from the previous owners that I could probably use as well to help it clump up to vacuum the next day.
. I think if I hadn't seen the pool water clear before it turned again a couple days later at the very start of this process then I wouldn't be as frustrated.If I still don't see any progress in the next few days I may give your suggestion a go one night and see what settles in the bottom in the morning. I have a couple bottles of clarifier laying around from the previous owners that I could probably use as well to help it clump up to vacuum the next day.
I haven't seen any evidence of mustard algae, although I can't see deep enough in the pool to tell if there's anything on the walls. But from what I can tell I don't think MA is likely. At this point it's likely just a shortage of POP, I've eliminated pretty much everything else :lol:.
Loss test this morning:
2130 last night: FC = 13 CC = 0
0730 this morning: FC = 11.5 CC = 0
Almost there, although the pool still as murky as ever:
http://imgur.com/a/SXgAj
2130 last night: FC = 13 CC = 0
0730 this morning: FC = 11.5 CC = 0
Almost there, although the pool still as murky as ever:
http://imgur.com/a/SXgAj
Passed the overnight test last night:
Last night 2130 FC = 13.5
This morning 0800 FC = 12.5 CC = 0.5
There's finally a slightly noticeable difference in clarity in the shallow end now: http://imgur.com/a/IrMbG
Just going to keep it up with the SLAM and DE in the filter until it clears up, which at this rate it's looking like it's probably going to be mid-late next week. Appreciate all the advice from everyone.
Last night 2130 FC = 13.5
This morning 0800 FC = 12.5 CC = 0.5
There's finally a slightly noticeable difference in clarity in the shallow end now: http://imgur.com/a/IrMbG
Just going to keep it up with the SLAM and DE in the filter until it clears up, which at this rate it's looking like it's probably going to be mid-late next week. Appreciate all the advice from everyone.
It might go quicker than you think, any way I think you are doing a good job and are making informed decisions which is what this website is all about. Keep posting results and Pics ( I like seeing them, hate posting them) I think many are reading and if any question just ask.
Pool is much, much clearer now. The reflection on the water in the pictures actually makes it look less clear than it is. I couldn't find a quarter close by or I would have tossed it in and told you guys which face it was:
http://imgur.com/a/aN17W
Gonna keep the SLAM up for another day just to be extra sure on the overnight test, don't want to screw this up right at the end. As a post-mortem for how this went for me:
Appreciate all the advice!
http://imgur.com/a/aN17W
Gonna keep the SLAM up for another day just to be extra sure on the overnight test, don't want to screw this up right at the end. As a post-mortem for how this went for me:
- I'm relatively certain the original professional pool opening never killed all the algae. When we had a pool party the day after they finished FC dropped to 0 and then algae took hold.
- Not having at least two weeks free to perform my first SLAM the first go around just wasted time and money; I should have just added maintenance bleach until I had sufficient free time to see it through to the end. Probably ended up wasting $70-80 in bleach.
- The second successful SLAM took 10 days if I include the extra day to be sure of the FCOLT.
- The water stayed very cloudy up until the tail end, but then the last two days went 0-60 in terms of clarity. Having tried all sorts of things I'm not sure I could isolate a single variable that may have contributed to this (deep cleaning the filter, adding DE, or just the timeline of a "normal" SLAM process).
- Thanks to you guys, I didn't buy a single thing from a pool store outside of a pressure gauge for the sand filter. Bleach from Sam's, MA from Lowe's, CYA from Amazon, and Borax from Wal-Mart. Only thing I had trouble finding was POP .
Appreciate all the advice!
Way to go. Sometimes its just about keeping the faith- its funny how pools respond differently but ultimately the formula for overcoming a green pool is consistent- filtering, brushing and keeping up the chlorine.