SLAM Mistake and Current Test Results - Help

[Mike in CA]

Hello,

I have read much about the BBB method and as a 2nd year pool owner I am following the BBB guidelines. BUT, I made a mistake.

While I was doing the SLAM, I was filling the test tube to 25CM instead of the 10CM line. So I thought I was in the right range (shock 16ppm, daily, 6ppm) but I think I was way under due to my mistake. So, I did seem to get to a 2ppm a night loss, and the pool looks as good as ever. Now my questions....

Should I raise the FC and run another Overnight test? (using the right sample size...duh)

Todays results

FC 4ppm
PH 7.6
Alkalinity 180
Calcium Hardniess 250
CYA 40
It looks like I am in good shape right??

Pump question, I am using the Pentair Legacy pressure side cleaner. It works great, but it has to get up to 30psi to run well and that takes my pump up to about 3,000rpms. I am not getting much debris in the pool, should I run the cleaner daily, or can I run it every couple of days and let my pump run on a lower speed to just filter?

How long would I need to run the pump and at what RPM to do an adequate filtration? It seems like the sweet spot for the pump is around 1,500 RPM, for the least power draw and water flow.

Thanks in advance, and I am looking at Borates next.... but it looks like it will take a lot of Borax and Acid and maybe some aeration to rebalance?

Mike

 

[zea3]

You don't say what your current CYA is so I don't know how high you should raise the FC. You can go ahead and run the OCLT at your current FC level to see if you need to continue shocking.

You only need to run the cleaner when there is debris to clean. Every couple of days should be fine.

As for borates they are not required to maintain your pool. You can add them if you want. The benefits are nicer feeling water and mild algae inhibiting properties.

 

[Mike in CA]

Darn, forgot the CYA level. I edited the post and they are currently 40ppm. I went up that high due to 8+ hours of full sun. I also use a Solar Cover.

Mike

 

[Isaac-1]

For filtration you can run your pump as low as you want as long as you are maintaining circulation and skimming action, which will vary from pool to pool. So if you start seeing a lot of stuff floating on the surface, turn up the pump speed some.

 

[Mike in CA]

Thanks for the info on the pump time. When I have the solar cover on does it still need skimming action? Otherwise I am going to change my pump run time/RPMs to save some power (I have Solar Electric on the roof). I need to do some math to see what the best combination is.

Is there a guideline or estimate as to what the volume of water the pump moves? I have 2 inlets (eyeballs) and if the pool cleaner is not running I use that as a third outlet, so minimal backpressure.

mike

 

[ping]

When the cover is on you will not need the skimmer action as all the junk builds up on top of the cover. If the cover gets dirty while on the pool, I will wash the dirt into the skimmer before I remove the cover.

I suggest to run at low speed for as long as you can to keep the pool clean. You might want to have an hour or so on high speed for skimmer action if the cover is off, otherwise run the pump at a slow speed. Each pool is different on how much debris it gets so you will need to experiment to see what works for you.