I’m really beginning to think I’ve got a larger problem going on. I did my overnight FC loss this morning and it’s zero. My CC is still 1. I do believe I’m seeing some small changes in the pool color but I’m still very green. Im just working under the understanding that the algae should be eating away heavier at the FC overnight
3 Week battle with algae
- Thread starter NDFootballFan
- Start date
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,025
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Looking at your poolmath logs the 1ppm cc is still indicative of an issue. Keep with slam.
Are you on a well?
Can you post a pic of the water? Maybe with a pole or something in the water to help see clarity.
Aside from the color what’s the clarity like?
Are you on a well?
Can you post a pic of the water? Maybe with a pole or something in the water to help see clarity.
Aside from the color what’s the clarity like?
Post a picture of the water. How sure are you it’s not a metal contamination green?
Assuming it’s algae, you don’t even need to do the OCLT if the water is green. Having CC is evidence the chlorine is doing something so keep at it.
How often are you testing/adding ? That's the usual suspect for a prolonged SLAM.
The no overnight loss part has me scratching my head with that swamp. 'Metals green' is like tinted water thats otherwise clear. Yours looks cloudy green per the pics, which would be algae.
Unless.
Your pool has actually gone milky with the algae dead / mostly dead, and there is a metal green tint to it, basically looking like it did at the start.
You would lose more FC per day with the elevated FC, but the overnight would be little/no loss.
The no overnight loss part has me scratching my head with that swamp. 'Metals green' is like tinted water thats otherwise clear. Yours looks cloudy green per the pics, which would be algae.
Unless.
Your pool has actually gone milky with the algae dead / mostly dead, and there is a metal green tint to it, basically looking like it did at the start.
You would lose more FC per day with the elevated FC, but the overnight would be little/no loss.
Unfortunately I work 11-12 hour days. So it’s really only feasible for me to test in the morning before work and again when I get home. I add chlorine as needed at those times
Last time the water was tested I had a small amount of copper from an Algaecide I used. I don’t honestly believe then green is from metals. I fill from city water not from a well.
It is what it is sometimes, it just takes longer.
Still tho. No overnight loss points to metals in cloudy water. (Could be iron as well) I bet as the renewed filter does its thing you'll end up with less and less cloud but still tinted.
Still tho. No overnight loss points to metals in cloudy water. (Could be iron as well) I bet as the renewed filter does its thing you'll end up with less and less cloud but still tinted.
Does the overnight temperature play a role? I know algae goes dormant @ under 60 degrees. I’m experiencing night time lows of ~ 60. However, I know water temp is higher.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,025
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Hmmm…. I see a puck floater…
I hope it’s empty for a few reasons:
*You definitely don’t need more cya
*If it is adding cya then your slam level may be wrong as it goes up as cya goes up
*It adds fc - this skews the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test results.
As Newdude mentioned, the more often you test & replenish fc to slam level the faster it will go. Only twice a day is slow going since the algae regains the upper hand some as the fc falls.
Maybe try for twice in the am & or twice in the evening instead of just once for each if you can. Really get after it on your off day- every couple hours if possible.
If you think you may have some iron you can put some polyfill in the skimmer & see if you catch anything whilst slamming.
I hope it’s empty for a few reasons:
*You definitely don’t need more cya
*If it is adding cya then your slam level may be wrong as it goes up as cya goes up
*It adds fc - this skews the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test results.
As Newdude mentioned, the more often you test & replenish fc to slam level the faster it will go. Only twice a day is slow going since the algae regains the upper hand some as the fc falls.
Maybe try for twice in the am & or twice in the evening instead of just once for each if you can. Really get after it on your off day- every couple hours if possible.
If you think you may have some iron you can put some polyfill in the skimmer & see if you catch anything whilst slamming.
I was in the same place as you a few weeks ago, don’t give up hope!!
Everyone on here is great and has great advice!!
It took at least 4 days for me to even see into the water elbow deep. And I did have some times with 0 chlorine loss (still unclear why) But by the end of the week I could see the floor, and now my pool is crystal clear!! I’m still not done with SLAM, but my pool is so pretty
Keep at it and you’ll be so glad you did. (I have an above ground pool too, and when I could see underwater I had to start cleaning around the seams. In some spots there’s an extra 1/4” of vinyl and algae collects under it
)
Everyone on here is great and has great advice!!
It took at least 4 days for me to even see into the water elbow deep. And I did have some times with 0 chlorine loss (still unclear why) But by the end of the week I could see the floor, and now my pool is crystal clear!! I’m still not done with SLAM, but my pool is so pretty
Keep at it and you’ll be so glad you did. (I have an above ground pool too, and when I could see underwater I had to start cleaning around the seams. In some spots there’s an extra 1/4” of vinyl and algae collects under it
)That’s my thermometer I took all the pucks out week before last.
I have some Scale and Stain remover. Is that acceptable to use? By polyfill? You mean like pillow stuffing? This can capture metals?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,025
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Fantastic
hoping you were gonna say that!The sequesterant will only hide the metals if present (sequester them/put them back into suspension)temporarily and is generally broken down by high fc levels so I would hold off on that until after slam is complete & you have actually confirmed the presence of iron with the polyfill or the presence of copper. Sequesterant can only do so much & is expensive so reducing the metal levels as much as possible first will yield the best & longest lasting results.
Yes- polyfill is cheap ole pillow stuffing & yes it will capture any iron if present while brought out of suspension via the high fc level and then you can actually remove the iron from the water. It’s easy to do & can be done in tandem with the slam process for cheap or free.
If you’ve got iron in your fill water, use Polyfill to remove it
EDIT: Found out this method only works if your iron is oxidized already, meaning it’s got a dull or bright green tint to the water, or a nasty brown tint. If you know you have iron in your fill water, but it isn’t oxidized yet, bring your pool to shock level and it’ll turn the telltale green...
www.google.com
The Polyfill trick only works on iron- if you have copper you will need to exchange water to get the level down. I see your leslies test listed a high copper level.
You have two choices here:
continue with the slam as you are and see what you catch (if anything) with the polyfill.
Copper usually presents itself as very greenish but crystal clear water so until you get clarity it will be hard to tell if thats the cause. If it is a water exchange will be necessary at that time.
Or you can do a water exchange now & it will reduce your cya & your copper levels while also making slam a little easier.
Have you added any copper containing products? Algaecides, pucks or powdered products with the word blue/blu in them? That’s usually where copper comes from & would back up the copper results in your first post.
Metals - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
I did add an algaecide that I know had copper in it ~4 weeks ago. Is 0.5ppm of Copper really enough to tint the water? Something new I've also learned is that the Frog mineral pac I have in my former chlorinator also contains copper? At least thats what I've read. But I've run those in my pool the past two years and I've not had an issue like this before.Fantastic
The sequesterant will only hide the metals if present (sequester them/put them back into suspension)temporarily and is generally broken down by high fc levels so I would hold off on that until after slam is complete & you have actually confirmed the presence of iron with the polyfill or the presence of copper. Sequesterant can only do so much & is expensive so reducing the metal levels as much as possible first will yield the best & longest lasting results.
Yes- polyfill is cheap ole pillow stuffing & yes it will capture any iron if present while brought out of suspension via the high fc level and then you can actually remove the iron from the water. It’s easy to do & can be done in tandem with the slam process for cheap or free.
If you’ve got iron in your fill water, use Polyfill to remove it
EDIT: Found out this method only works if your iron is oxidized already, meaning it’s got a dull or bright green tint to the water, or a nasty brown tint. If you know you have iron in your fill water, but it isn’t oxidized yet, bring your pool to shock level and it’ll turn the telltale green...
The Polyfill trick only works on iron- if you have copper you will need to exchange water to get the level down. I see your leslies test listed a high copper level.
You have two choices here:
continue with the slam as you are and see what you catch (if anything) with the polyfill.
Copper usually presents itself as very greenish but crystal clear water so until you get clarity it will be hard to tell if thats the cause. If it is a water exchange will be necessary at that time.
Or you can do a water exchange now & it will reduce your cya & your copper levels while also making slam a little easier.
Have you added any copper containing products? Algaecides, pucks or powdered products with the word blue/blu in them? That’s usually where copper comes from & would back up the copper results in your first post.
Metals - Further Reading
One other question has came to mind. I plan to exchange the sand in my filter. Should this wait until my SLAM process is completed?
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,025
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Anything above 0.3 can cause staining & issues like tinted water, green hair & fingernails etc.
Yes those can definitely be the cause the copper only leaves the water through replacement so the level just builds & builds if you continue to use those type of products.
I would do this now- you need a functional filter to complete the slam. Sand filters are already the slowest at clearing fine particulates no sense in trying to run this marathon with a cast on one leg. You need all the help you can get. Especially if you suspect your sand is funky from floc etc. as mentioned in your other thread.
If this were my pool I would start exchanging water today & change the sand while that’s happening.
Is your pool buried at all?
No, it's almost entirely above ground. A small portion (~30%) of the outside wall is covered with maybe a foot of dirt from leveling at pool installation.
Last edited:
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,025
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
You don’t want to drain lower than 12-18 inches to prevent the liner from shifting.
You also don’t want to drain lower than the surrounding ground on any buried side or a cave in could occur.
If you’re concerned with liner shift or shrinkage (older liner) you can do the no drain exchange instead of draining & refilling as outlined here in section 3.5
Draining - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
So I exchanged water overnight last night. I pumped out from the surface of the pool and then filled hopefully at the bottom. I got a hose on what I believe to be the bottom, but clearly I cant see the bottom of my pool. I let it run for approximately 12 hours. So I should have exchanged 3600 gallons. I probably should have let it run through the day today as well. I just did the math and I only exchanged about 20%. This morning I added 2 gallons of 10% LC and turned the filter back on. I'll complete a water test after work. I wanted to give the water ample time to mix before testing.
- Jun 1, 2018
- 16,025
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Sadly that’s really not enough to get you under the 0.3 ppm threshold for copper trouble but it should at least help with your cya level & lower some of your organic load making the slam a little easier.