Not Sure Where I’m at in the Algae Fight

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Looks like FL is in for some wet weather, but that never stops a SLAM. :) Keep-up the fight Amanda. If you think it's look good now, just wait until the sun peaks out. Stay on the FC level and all your other daily SLAM chores :blah:, it will pay off soon. :swim:
 
Since I’m in a bit of a holding pattern with the SLAM, I have an equipment question (if it doesn’t belong here let me know and I can start another thread).

Do do I need something to cover/protect my pump?

My last pump was an IntelliFlo VS-3050, and it died after 6 years. Really thought we’d get more use out of it, especially with how expensive it was. In honesty, I never paid much attention to the pump until it stopped working.

With the new pump and all this rain, I’ve noticed it gets a nice puddle formed under the control cover. Is this something to worry about?

This whole pump replacement process was much more frustrating/expensive than I ever imagined and I don’t want to go through it again, at least for a looooooong time!
 
Pumps are designed to be outdoors in the elements, but not in standing water. So if water accumulates around the pad, you might want to see if there's a way to divert water away, or simply remove power from the pump if being submerged in water is a possibility.

As for holding on the SLAM .... never! Attack!
 
I’m not stopping the SLAM, I just meant there wasn’t much I could do with my pool until I finished the SLAM! I’ve come to far to stop now!
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Very good, because you have your own personal cheering section now routing you on. :kim: So stick with it. When in doubt, go back to the basics - verify FC/CYA tests to ensure proper SLAM balance, and manually clean, inspect every inch of that pool for ANY place algae could hide. Have a great weekend.

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Luckily the water isn’t pooling around the base of the pump. As we get heavier rains and head into hurricane season I’ll pay closer attention to how the rain drains from the pump pad.

My only issue is when I lift the little control cover water pours out and I need to wipe away the remainder water.

As for the SLAM, as my pool clears I can see little spots that have been missed by the brush. Due to the cloudiness, I’ve been brushing blind and hoping I was hitting everything.

Thanks for all all the support, advice, and cheering!!
 
Hello again! It’s officially been a week since I started my SLAM!

Today was also the first day in a week there has been SUNSHINE! Rain returns tomorrow, lol.

Pool is looking great but not quite there yet. I feel it’s still a bit cloudy on deep end. I can see the drain in the deep end (5’4”). I even able to spot a clear Solo cup on the floor of the deep end. I continue to brush/vacuum daily. I maintain a FC of 24 (bleach added after the results below).

Today’s test results:

FC 23.5
CC 0.5
pH 7.4
TA 80
CH 250
CYA 60

Picture doesn’t give a good representation of clarity due to the reflection of the screen/trees above. If you look closely you can make out the drain. Compared to the last few I shared, this water is beautiful!
5D2138D2-F03B-43EB-BDD4-9931E3753313.jpg

So at this point, I believe I continue with the SLAM until I feel it’s clear. Once clear, I check the overnight FC loss. Is this correct?

BTW - I just told my aunt in Ohio about this site! She is getting ready to open her pool and is not looking forward to it because of the hassle of dealing with the pool store and chemicals!
 

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Yay! I hear you on the one day of sunshine... I was outside cheering earlier!

Looks much better, and had to laugh about the cup!
 
OCLT an FC Question-

So I think I’m done SLAMing and was prepared to do the OCLT. My FC results:

Thursaday at 9pm 22.5. (It was 22 at noon and I added chlorine to bring to 24)
Friday (yesterday) at 8:00 am 22.5
CC 0.5
Clear water

To me that said done. I didn’t add any chlorine so it could drift down to the maintenance level.

I checked my FC again last night (830 pm) because I was curious how far the drop was after a full day of sun. It was again 22.5.

I checked agin this morning before I left the house (7am) and it was 26. I couldn’t believe it went UP overnight so I rechecked using water from the same sample and got 19. If I didn’t have to leave the house I would have gotten a fresh pool sample and run again.

So... other than user error (a good possibility) what do you think is going on? I can’t imagin maintaining a 22.5 FC for 24 hours especially after a beautiful, hot, sunny day.

I won’t be home to check the FC again until about 1 pm. Depending in on that number should I bring it back to shock level (target 24) and start over? Or do the OCLT again tonight and go from there? So confused!
 
At elevated FC levels user error does start to creep in.

With essentially 0 CC and clear (really clear? Can you see the screw heads on your main drain?) water I would suggest checking your FC today and as long as there has not been a precipitous drop (say 10 ppm or something) I would leave it and do your OCLT tonight with the FC you test at after sunset. It should be in the upper teens or higher.

Take care.
 
I would do another OCLT this evening, but make sure to grab a fresh/new water sample each time from the same spot in the pool for consistency. Also ensure (which it should already be since this was a SLAM) that the pump has been running to mix the pool water really well. Take your time with both tests. By now you've had plenty or practice, so focus on nice, consistent droplets as you go. Not too slow, just nice and steady on each test.

10 ML water sample, one heaping scoop of powder mix to pink, then start counting drops. Divide count by 2. Good luck!
 
So when I got home yesterday I checked and my FC was 21.5 (at 1pm). Checked it twice!!

I ran the OCLT again last night and had a reading of 18.5 both times. Yay!!

My pool is very clear (yep! I can see the screw heads on the main drain!) and now I’m satisfied with my test results. I am done with my first SLAM! I’m going to run my pump a few more days before I decrease the time. Lots of rain this weekend!

Thanks everyone for all your help!!
 
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