CC keeps rising

[ktbunger]

This is my 6th day of slamming a swamp and my CC keeps going up. Pool is losing less FC overnight but still significant and water is still cloudy blue/grey. Didn't check CC at first but after a couple of days I noticed the smell and it was at 1.5. two days later it was 2 and today its 2.5. I've used 20 gallons of bleach and maintained pool at 14 - hourly first few days and now I dose it only 3 times a day to get it back up but during the day but it never gets below 10 except overnight. Pump has been running 24/7. I also have a thin white foam on top in the heat of the day - like on a beer....

FC 14 (drops to 9 overnight)
PH 7.2
TA 90
CH 30
CYA 35 (can see dot at 30 but not when tube is totally full so guessing)
Using a k-2006 kit.

Haven't seen any improvement last 2-3 days and the rising CC doesn't seem right and i've never seen foam? Any thoughts. Am i missing something or do i need to continue to be patient. Thx!!!

 

[Texas Splash]

A couple things ....... since your CYA is on the mid-high end of 30, round-up to 40 and increase your FC SLAM level to "16". As for the foam, are you using just the plain/regular bleach? No splashless or scented products right? Nothing else added to the water other than that bleach?

The CC changes mean your pool is killing stuff, so that's good. Stay at it! Our good weather lately and lots of sun should help with oxidation.

 

[tim5055]

You just need POP - Pool Owner Patience

Chlorine working on the organics in the water may or may not exhibit CC increase. CC is burned off by UV from the sun, so if your pool has shade part of the day or not a lot of bright sun you could exhibit increased CC.

Just don't read otehr SLAM posts and think your pool will react exactly the same. Every one is unique in its own way.

Stick with it. Once the algae is killed and filtered out the chlorine will also work on the CC.

Pat already talked about the foam. Is it possible you picked up a bottle of splashless bleach in error and used it? I know I have and it can exhibit a slight foaming from the additives they use to thicken it to make it splashless. No big deal, it will go away and no harm done.

Don't equate “just a little over 30” to a number, the tube is not marked for such extrapolation. Half way between 30 and 40 is not 35. Bump it up to 40 and increase your SLAM level to "16" aas Pat suggests.

Heck, Pat covered it all, why am I typing

 

[ktbunger]

Yes. Just 10% chlorine. Nothing extra has been added since the MA and stabilizer before I started the slam.

 

[JamesW]

Was your cya higher recently?

 

[ktbunger]

it was gone when i first tested a week before slamming and added stabilizer to get it to this point.

 

[Donldson]

CYA 35 (can see dot at 30 but not when tube is totally full so guessing)

If you can still see the dot at the 30 line that means your CYA is LESS than 30, not more.

JamesW was asking because if your CYA was gone at one point then you may have had some ammonia in the pool and are dealing with the aftermath of that. That is probably why your SLAM seems to be going a bit slow and your CC is high, but not much to do about that at this point, just continue to keep on top of the chlorine and it will take care of itself.

 

[ktbunger]

For future reference (and for my friend up the street who is about to start this process from the same condition mine was in) is there something that can be done in advance of the SLAM process that will eliminate the ammonia making the process go faster (and cheaper? the chlorine expense is adding up :0)

Thx for catch on CYA.

 

[domct203]

For future reference (and for my friend up the street who is about to start this process from the same condition mine was in) is there something that can be done in advance of the SLAM process that will eliminate the ammonia making the process go faster (and cheaper? the chlorine expense is adding up :0)

Thx for catch on CYA.

Chlorine is really your answer. The chlorine will win, even if there is ammonia.

While I agree that the up-front cost of clearing the pool can be a bit much, once the pool is clear the rest of the season will be a breeze. You should still come out ahead vs. the pool $tore potions all season.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Donldson]

Yes, there is a simple test and treatment for ammonia. Usually you will find a complete loss of CYA, that is the first sign.

First, get the water circulating and run the normal batch of tests and adjust the pH if needed. Assuming your CYA level is zero you will add enough chlorine to reach 10 ppm FC. Wait 15 minutes and retest your FC and CC. You are looking for a big FC drop and CC increase. If you don't see both of those then it is probably not a problem, you can add enough CYA to bring things to 30 and continue the SLAM as normal.

If you do notice an FC drop and CC rise, then DO NOT ADD CYA YET, it will slow the process and potentially cause the bacteria responsible to create more ammonia. What you will do is add enough chlorine to bring the FC level back to 10. Retest and repeat every 15 minutes until the FC starts to stabilize where you are losing less than 2 ppm between additions. At that point the ammonia has been largely cleared and the bacteria has been eliminated. Now you can add the CYA to bring it to 30 and begin SLAMing as normal.

I will say I use an aquarium ammonia kit when I open pools, but unless you are helping more people open pools then the test I described above is free and quicker than running to the pet store. It is funny, the aquarium test goes from yellow for zero and turns greener the more ammonia there is. I opened my father's pool last year and the test turned blue It took about 20 gallons to clear that out but then only took 3 more days to get his water to to "clear" and then only a couple more before we were at crystal clear.