slamming without result

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MarianneKeet

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Aug 7, 2018
8
Grass Valley, CA
I am new to the forum but I am following TPF already for a couple of years. We bought our house with pool in the winter of 2012. The first season I followed advise from the pool store which resulted in buying a lot of chemicals and ending up with bleached out spots of the vinyl floor. Luckily I found TFP and learned a lot over the years. Now I have an issue that I'd like help with. Sorry for my simple English, I am from the Netherlands.
I started slamming our pool Sunday morning august 5th. The water was clear but I am dealing with some algae for weeks now. Only a little green on the bottom and the walls but I was loosing chlorine very quick each night.
Readings when I started: FC 0, CC 0, PH 7.8, alkalinity 110, CYA 35. Phosphate 100.
I brought the chlorine level up to 14 with liquid chlorinator 10%. Tested 2 hours later FC 13.5 CC 0. Tested again 4 hours later, FC 9, brought it back up to 14. Next morning FC 10, added chlorine. The rest oof the day same routine as the day before with almost same test results. This morning FC was 10 again after bringing it up to 14 last night. I don't see any change and no dead algae. I wonder if I should keep going or maybe I am doing something wrong. I am brushing regularly and the filter pressure did not go up. Thanks in advance for your help. :D
 
Keep at it maintaining that shock level as consistent as possible.
You might even take the shock level to 15 or 16 to give you a better edge on the lost chlorine over night.

SLAM process usually takes more than just a few days.

I had light case of mustard algae once...that SLAM process was 2 weeks start to finish.

And keep up the brushing daily.
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

Is Grass Valley in the states or are you in Netherlands now? Please add that to your profile.

Sounds like you are following the SLAM Process process very well. :goodjob:

You can try the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to see if you are getting a drop when there is no sun which would indicate there is still something in the water.
It is not clear from your post if your evening tests were after dark and your morning test was before the sun.
 
Can you put what state, province or country Grass Valley is in on your Location within your Member Profile?

Thank you.
 
I found out that the CYA reading was not right. I used the reading from pool store. This afternoon I was there again because I needed reagent and had the water tested for a second opinion. Now they told me the CYA was 90 and that their last weeks readings ( 35) was wrong. Since 90 is very unlikely I did my test and came to 45. I raised the chlorine level to 20. On my way to crystal clear sparkling perfection.
 
My SLAM lasted almost 2 weeks as well. I originally had my CYA # wrong at the beginning of the SLAM which caused the SLAM to take longer than it should have because I wasnt keeping my chlorine at the correct SLAM level. I would test your CYA again and make sure you come up with the same CYA#. My pool ate almost 100 gallons of bleach. In the end, it was well worth it. I dont think my pool has ever been this clear.

Good Luck!
 
A couple of items to check -

1. Flow and uniformity.

Often times in the above ground pools, there is only one return. This can make for stagnant flow patterns in the pool and allow localized depletion of chlorine. When SLAM’ing a pool, especially one that might only have one return, you want to make sure you are brushing your pool frequently. If you can handle twice per day, that would be beneficial.

2. Filter pressure.

You have a DE filter which is great for creating super clear, low particulate water. The one major downside is that they clog up VERY QUICKLY when algae finds it’s way into your pool and then they need to be backwashed frequently.

Do you get good flow out of your return(s)?
What’s your filter pressure at?
When did you backwash last?
When did you strip down and entirely clean out the filter last?

3. Lights and other hidden areas.

Since this is an above ground pool, I’ll assume you do not have a light. However, ladders and pool toys can become reservoirs for algae. Submerged “wedding cake” style steps are even worse in terms of algae. If your pool has ladders or steps, they need to be pulled out and cleaned separately to ensure they are not holding stagnant water in them.

4. Testing and consistency.

You’ve got to test A LOT when you SLAM. At least twice per day. Believe no one else’s results but your own. Pool stores are not your friend when you need accurate and reliable results.

Consistency is key and maintaining FC levels at or above shock levels is absolutely necessary. Your pool is consuming chlorine because there is “junk” in the water that is consuming chlorine (that is kind of an obvious statement). So until that “junk” is gone, you’ve got to keep up the FC levels. You are essentially aiming for a point where there is nothing left in the water that can consume chlorine and your biggest loss comes from sunlight only. That is when and where the SLAM process ends.
 

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Thanks for all the tips, that really helps a lot. The CYA test is the most challenging. Do I see the dot or not? That's why I like to check it at the pool store. I tested again and I see the dot still very vague at 50. I do have only one return but I do brush every time when I ad chlorine or MA, also because the lining starts to bleach out. Today I added chlorine 5 times, so 5 times brushing. I get some workout here. Yesterday I back washed the filter, did not see any green coming out. I totally clean the filter at the end of the summer. The filter pressure was 21 now 19. It always starts at 19. I move the ladder every day and it looks clean. No other toys in the pool except for thermometer. No lights. Only the solar panels, rubber mats where the water flows through. Could that be a problem? The water looks very clear but I am still loosing 7 ppm overnight.

- - - Updated - - -

I wrote the above last night and before I could send it the power went out. A 7 hour outage.
But this morning the test showed only a 2,5 ppm loss:kim:. I know I am not yet done but this feels less hopeless:D

- - - Updated - - -

100 gallons, that is a lot of money:(
 
MarianneKeet said:
Joyfulnoise, I took the ladder out, it does hold a lot of water. Great tip
Click to expand...

Ladders and stairs can be very problematic with algae. Always best to remove them as much as you can and ensure they are clean.

Another thing to keep an eye out for is drag-in. Many times with AGPs, kids get out, run around through the dirt and grass and then jump back in. I have seen people put a basin of pool water or a hose next to the pool entry with the admonition that you only get to go back in if your feet are clean. That helps to keep a lot of grime out of the pool water.
 
The CYA test is the one the stores mess up the most. When doing it yourself, make sure you do the test in bright sunlight with your back to the sun and the tester in the shade of your body near your waist. I like to fill to each level of 10 and test. So, for example, I'll fill to the 100 level and glance in to see if I see the dot. If I see it, I fill to 90 and so on until the dot disappears. Glance in and glance out. Don't stare because your mind will start playing tricks on you.
 
I passed the 3 criteria 2 nights in a row so I AM DONE. Thanks to everybody for all the support. It helped to keep going and I learned so much more. The next time I will be prepared much better. I got something out of every post. Thanks again. Now the job is to prevent it from happening again.
 
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