SLAM Progress - slower than hoped

[Salsiccia]

Hi guys,

I started this SLAM on Monday of this week (its now Saturday so its been going 6 days) and while there does seem to be a subtle improvement in appearance in that its marginally clearer, its still greener than I was hoping for.

Entry criteria on Monday morning were:
- pH 7.4
- CYA 30
Based on the CYA of 30 I've been targetting 12 as my shock level.

Day 1 was a slightly erratic start, testing every hour, it settled at 2:00pm (started at 8:00am)
23:30 FC was at 16

9:00am on Day 2 was down to 7 so lost 9 in 9 hours
By 10:00 it was up to 13 and stayed between 12 and 14 all day, again hourly testing.
22:00 FC was 11 so topped up before going to bed

9:00 on Day 3 FC was 10
Adjusted and it never dropped below 12 all day, testing every 2 hours now

Similar results for the remaining days, getting a more consistent hold through the day and dropping less overnight.

My issue now is an accident yesterday while cleaning gutters on my roof for an impending really nasty rain event here in Melbourne has left me with 4 stitches in my leg and crippled movement to the point where I am almost unable to walk and so the SLAM is now in danger as I'm not sure how diligent I can be for the next 2 days or so until I get movement back, so I'm guessing I will be close to starting again in a couple of days.

I guess my question though is is it OK for FC to occasionally drop a little below my target or do I need to try harder to stop that from happening. I'm thinking I need to try harder as I know that the moment it drops below, the algae starts winning. I assume there is no real problem in going higher than my target as well. I've had it at 17 or 18 a couple of times and I assume this is OK. I'm not swimming at the moment so I'm not worried about the health aspects, I just want the green muck gone !

I also bought a new FAS-DPD kit a few days ago when I realised that hourly testing was eating into my supplies. New kit is from the ClearChoiceLabs guys in Qld. I did parallel tests for the first day to make sure it was reading the same as my Taylors kit and it was.

The Mrs is telling me that she thinks the water is definitely starting to get lighter, but I would have expected something more obvious after 5 days, but maybe I'm too impatient.

Thoughts / comments / criticisms all welcome !!!!

Sal



[h=3][/h]

 

[mknauss]

If you FC drops below shock it is still killing algae, just not as fast. So if you cannot keep it up until you recover from your accident, all is not lost. A little higher above shock is OK too, but be aware you have a vinyl liner so do not go crazy as it could bleach the liner.

Take care.

 

[Salsiccia]

Thanks very much for that feedback, much appreciated.
I have managed to hobble out to the pool today for a couple of measures and a top up so hoping not to lose ground.

Comment noted re too much chlorine and the risk of bleaching the liner, thanks for that comment too.
I try to load it up a bit at night before bed with my ideal being that when I get up in the morning its still at shock level (or maybe fractionally below), then I just need to top up and keep an eye on it during the day.

My next problem is due to Super Storm rain conditions at the moment I may have to look at emptying some water out and that's gonna throw my numbers out, but can't really be helped.

 

[Jezza]

Keep at it Sal. The rain shouldn't impact on things too much. Once your FC starts holding you should really start to see an improvement in the water. If you do end up draining a lot of water then it's worth retesting your CYA.