Brand new green swamp....how to begin with a SLAM?

[Veccster]

OK, so I have this giant green swamp in my backyard. Finally have all the equipment wired up and ready to go. Just need to start adding chemicals.

The pool was filled with our city fed tap water. I have the TF-100 kit and tested CYA this morning. I got NO READING. I'm not sure if the water in the bottle is supposed to get cloudy or turn a color but mine was crystal clear - so the black dot was always visible. Does that mean I have no CYA?

Do I need to add CYA then wait before adding chlorine to start the slamming process?

I also have no chlorine in the pool. ZERO. Not even registering.

PH is above 8.2 - pinker than the 8.2 on the chart.

The only that has been added was salt by the pool builder. This was added about a week ago but the pump wasn't running.

 

[AimeeH]

I would reccomend adding enough CYA via the sock method to get you to 30. And proceed to SLAM level assuming a CYA of 30.

 

[Veccster]

Ok, so at 0 CYA with a 24,000 gal pool, I need to add 100oz of stabilizer. Heading out to buy that now and will put in a sock in the skimmer.

If I turn on the pump, can I turn on the SWG also to start generating some chlorine in the water?


I guess buying each ingredient individually gives me more control. But buying HTH shock bags seems it would do all of this for me - add CYA, add chlorine and lower PH.

 

[tucsontico]

Ok, so at 0 CYA with a 24,000 gal pool, I need to add 100oz of stabilizer. Heading out to buy that now and will put in a sock in the skimmer.

If I turn on the pump, can I turn on the SWG also to start generating some chlorine in the water?


I guess buying each ingredient individually gives me more control. But buying HTH shock bags seems it would do all of this for me - add CYA, add chlorine and lower PH.

DO NOT BUY AND USE HTH Shock! There are unnecessary chemicals in those shock bags and you will not able to control the dosage with precision. You are correct that buying each ingredient gives you more control and that is what you want–precise control over your pool chemistry. You are well on the way to taking control by having and using a good test kit.

If you read and follow the SLAM procedure listed on the Pool School page (Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain) you will get your swamp cleaned up quickly and cheaply. Just remember it didn't become a swamp overnight so it won't be sparkling clear overnight either! Good Luck!

 

[Veccster]

OK so put in 6# of granular cya. Sam's didn't have it so I had to give money to a pool store.

Also added 4 jugs of bleach.

Will wait a day more for the cya to adjust then start the slam.

Im also running the filter overnight. Is it OK to run the swg overnight?

 

[zea3]

The other point about HTH bags of shock is that they use cal-hypo. It does not contain CYA.

We advise keeping the SWG off during a slam just to save a little wear and tear on the system. It won't really help you keep FC at slam levels. That said as long as your pump is running it is safe to run the SWG.

You can assume that the level of CYA you added to the pool is active and dose the FC accordingly. You do not have to wait to start the slam process.