Time to do it on my own

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Dunnma,

As Jason indicated cloudy water is a safety issue. We're divers but we don't go in the pool if we can't see the bottom. If you follow the SLAM process once you get your CYA level down you will get this under control pretty quickly. People that have trouble generally are not doing all the SLAM process correctly. For example they are not checking frequently and get the FC below SLAM level or they are not brushing or running the pump 24/7. Over time many realize you have to do it all then it works fine.

We've had the same water in our pool since 2013. It looked a lot like yours when they originally filled the pool.

Chris
 
lightmaster said:
You got lucky :) Heard about people having a real hard time getting it back in place right
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Yes. I checked with 3 companies (because we didn't know what was going on) but they all told us it would go back but maybe with wrinkles. As far as we can tell it went back perfect.

Also an update I checked this morning and it was 60-70 so either 130-140 for CYA.
 
Hopefully will be able to start the SLAM in the morning. I was looking at the pool calculator and I am not sure what I need to put down for my "source". Is the "bleach" the same as liquid chlorine for slam purposes?
 
Yes bleach is liquid chlorine and that should be your source in pool math. Be certain not to buy and use bleach with additives listed like splashless or fragrance or "Chloromax". You want plan bleach or pool chlorine. Also note the percent % active on the bleach (chlorine) you will be using and type that in pool math in the FC section in front of where it says "weight % beach".
 
Thanks...last question. It looks like I need 11 bottles to get to SLAM FC (based on estimated numbers...will do official before starting). But how many do I really need? For instance I have heard that if after testing you are down half, get it back up again. Should I be looking to get 20 or more 121oz bottles?
 
This is a difficult question to answer and impossible to know until you get this process started. How easy can you get more chlorine? I would guess starting with double the amount you need to get to your initial SLAM FC. Your pool is close to 40,000 gallons and your CYA is 130-140 ppm so that will take a lot of chlorine and it is possible you may not be able to successfully complete the slam, so be aware of that fact and go into this with your eyes wide open. I don't want to be a scare or depress you here but you could spend a lot of $$ and time going forward with a slam now and still be faced with having to drain your pool by 50% to solve your problem.
 
dunnma said:
Thanks...last question. It looks like I need 11 bottles to get to SLAM FC (based on estimated numbers...will do official before starting). But how many do I really need? For instance I have heard that if after testing you are down half, get it back up again. Should I be looking to get 20 or more 121oz bottles?
Click to expand...

Buying extra is a good idea. Look around for the best deal and be certain it has the % Sodium Hypochlorite on the label and nothing else. Usually you can get 10% somewhere at the best actual cost. Leslie's has 10.5% in my area. They use refillable 2.5 gal containers... well worth buying the container for about $5. If that's not available Walmart usually has a pool bleach that is 10% by the gallon. For a pool that looks like that you'll be adding a lot of bleach for a few days at least. But do it and get it over with that will be the cheapest route. Make sure you test and add frequently so you never go below the recommended SLAM level even at night. Also brush and run the pump 24/7. This will ensure your SLAM takes days. Deviations can extend a SLAM from days to weeks. Bite the bullet and do it right it will go waaay easier for you.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 
Thanks Chris. Yeah Oly I am already lowering the CYA. Likely I am going to do the SLAM process tomorrow. I am filling the pool back up now and will run the circulation to finish mixing and will retest the CYA. I will be doing the SLAM process when it is in the 70-80 range.

I went this morning and cleaned out Walmart of all 20 bottles they had. I now have 24 bottles of 10% liquid chlorine.
 

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That sounds like a good plan. Just remember, the more diligently you test your FC and raise it back up to sick level during your SLAM, the better. Just not any more often than once an hour.

Did you check the dates on the chlorine bottles before buying them? I noticed at my Walmart I have to check every single bottle I buy since I've found several with a 2016 date on them this summer. :hammer::shaking2:
 
dunnma said:
I went this morning and cleaned out Walmart of all 20 bottles they had. I now have 24 bottles of 10% liquid chlorine.
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There is a 5 digit date code that starts with 17 (or the year made) and then 3 digits from 001-366 (for the day of the year)
The higher that 3 digit code is, the newer the bottles are. You might want to use those first so you are getting as close to the "full strength" chlorine you can. Once things clear up, then you can use them in any order that you like. Be sure to store them inside, basement if at all possible, heat will degrade chlorine.
 
splashpad said:
There is a 5 digit date code that starts with 17 (or the year made) and then 3 digits from 001-366 (for the day of the year)
The higher that 3 digit code is, the newer the bottles are. You might want to use those first so you are getting as close to the "full strength" chlorine you can. Once things clear up, then you can use them in any order that you like. Be sure to store them inside, basement if at all possible, heat will degrade chlorine.
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Thanks for that...I could never find a date. Makes sense now. My oldest batch was from May 1st. My newest batch is from July 28th.
 
The SLAM has begun! I decided that this morning I would test the CYA and if it was good I would proceed. Turns out it was at 70 on the money. Of course after draining the pool off and on I had 0 FC at all (not surprising). I added my 10 bottles to get above 28 FC for Shock Level.

I will test in about 45 minutes as that will be the first hour.

One question I have is how long should I keep it at Shock level? I see the "rules" state test roughly every hour and when I am done, but do I just keep it at shock level until it is clear and then let it drop down to be .5 CC or less? What if my OCLT has a loss of 1.0ppm or less BUT I am not clear? Do I still maintain shock level?
 
dunnma said:
One question I have is how long should I keep it at Shock level? I see the "rules" state test roughly every hour and when I am done, but do I just keep it at shock level until it is clear and then let it drop down to be .5 CC or less? What if my OCLT has a loss of 1.0ppm or less BUT I am not clear? Do I still maintain shock level?
Click to expand...

Your First SLAM hurdle will be CC of less then 0.5ppm (do you have the FAS-DPD chlorine test?) Or no color change from the OTO drop test @3sec then @3min
... Then no overnight FC loss over 1ppm (OFCL <1ppm) (this is where the FAS-DPD is really needed)
... Then crystal clear water
 
splashpad said:
Your First SLAM hurdle will be CC of less then 0.5ppm (do you have the FAS-DPD chlorine test?) Or no color change from the OTO drop test @3sec then @3min
... Then no overnight FC loss over 1ppm (OFCL <1ppm) (this is where the FAS-DPD is really needed)
... Then crystal clear water
Click to expand...

I am using the TF-100 test kit. Should I be calculating both the FC and the CC each "round"? Or just calculating the FC?

I am going to assume that I should indeed be calculating the CC as well, as that is the end of step 1. If I have CC then I need to bring FC back up to Shock level.
 
Just did my second test at the 2 hour mark. FC was at 25ppm (same as at the 1 hour mark) and this time I tested CC and apparently it is at 0ppm as I see no color change. Does this mean step one has been achieved? Do I go back up to 28ppm on FC and maintain that until I test tonight and then again in the morning for step 2?
 
Maintain 28 on FC as best you can. Think of it as having all three conditions at once, they sometimes happen in order but it really doesn't matter.
 

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