Hi. We bought a house six weeks ago that has an above ground 10,500 gallon pool with a Hayward sand filter and pump. The pool had been covered and unused for at least a year, maybe longer. Not knowing anything about pools, we hired a pool service company to open it. They took the cover off, gave me some shock powder, and said to throw in a couple of pounds. Long story short, we were only been able to use the pool one day in the first month. I couldn't get the FC to much above zero, and the recommendations from the local Leslie's store didn't make the situation better. I found this site, read the Pool School info, and decided to SLAM the pool which I've been doing this week. I just did an OCLT and the FC and TC are both 10, so that means the SLAM is finished, right? However, I still have some dark green stuff that settled onto the bottom of the pool overnight, although the water looks great. Should I be concerned about that green stuff? Secondly, what if anything do I need to do to bring the chlorine down to a level where my kids can use the pool? Lastly, I've had a problem with the hose between the Hayward pump and filter blowing off on one end of the connection or the other. It's happened three times and each time we've lost 1000 gallons or more of water. The pressure gauge on the filter consistently reads 11PSI. After the first time the hose came loose the pool service guy put two clamps on each end but we had two more blow - offs. After the third failure I replaced the hose and bought two T hose clamps at a marine supply store ($18 each!). Despite that the hose still seems to be moving a little on the fitting on the pump end. I'm completely paranoid about the hose now and am afraid to run the pump unless my wife or I can monitor the hose. Are these hose blow - offs a symptom of some problem? I emailed Hayward and the response I got was a suggestion to use "barbed fittings." Where can I buy those? I've looked in Leslie's and Namco and haven't seen anything like that. Thank you for any advice you can offer.
Pool newbie - am I done SLAMming?
- Thread starter Luge_slider
- Start date
Welcome to tfp, Luge_slider 
What test kit are you using?
Which chlorine test are you using? If it is the DPD chlorine test, that really does not have the precision up at that chlorine level to know that you pass the OCLT. You really need the FAS-DPD chlorine test. With that said, if those results were precise (again, if it is the dpd they are not) then you would be finished with the SLAM process if your water was also clear. The dark green stuff suggests that the pool is not clear.Luge_slider said:
What test kit are you using?
What does it read when the pump is off?Luge_slider said:
Most hardware and home improvement big box stores will have them. What size is yours?Luge_slider said:
Thanks for the quick reply. I've got the Leslie's DPD kit. I guess I assumed that DPD = FAS-DPD. As Homer Simpson would put it, "Doh!" I just ordered the Taylor FAS-DPD kit from Amazon. From reading about the FAS-DPD test it appears that one big advantage is that I won't have to rely on judging shades of pink any more! Like a significant percentage of men I have somewhat impaired color vision so subtle shades of color are not always apparent to me. I suppose I'll have to start the SLAM regimen all over when the FAS-DPD kit arrives next week. In the meantime, I just got home from work and measured the FC. Its still at 10. Is that too high to allow people to use the pool? My kids are practically following me from room to room asking "can we use the pool yet? can we use the pool yet?"
The pressure gauge reads 0 when the pump is off. I'm not sure what the thread size on the current hose fittings is; the hose itself is 1 1/2" ID. I guess I'll make a trip to the plumbing department at Home Depot tomorrow.
The pressure gauge reads 0 when the pump is off. I'm not sure what the thread size on the current hose fittings is; the hose itself is 1 1/2" ID. I guess I'll make a trip to the plumbing department at Home Depot tomorrow.
What is your CYA level? You're safe to swim as long as FC is below shock level for your CYA level.
like you I went to Leslie's.......big mistake.....I also ALMOST ordered the kit from Amazon....you should return that and get the one recommended here, it is a much better value, and you are supporting the people who help you.....I love this stuff now! These guys here probably won't care either way, they just seem to want to get your pool clean and clear! Enjoy.....
CYA is somewhere a little less than 30, the lowest measurement mark on the test tube I have. The earlier TC measurement where I got a reading of 10 was done with a test strip. I measured it again with the DPD test and got FC=6. Averaging the shock levels for CYA 20 and 30 on the chart gives 11, so I'm below that. I noticed the dark green stuff settling on the bottom of the pool again, so I'll be SLAMming again this week.
Kids can swim as long as you can see the bottom (safety issue--you want to always be able to see the people in the water), and the chlorine level is above minimum and below shock level for your CYA. If they want to swim with a little algae in the pool, it won't hurt them health-wise unless it makes the water too cloudy to see when it's stirred up.
You're going to need the FAS-DPD test to properly SLAM, so you could let them swim now and start the SLAM later. Also, if you have the Leslie's test kit with the DPD test, the best value at this point is likely to buy the FAS-DPD test alone. For example: http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine- ... t-p47.html or purchase the reagents individually. To do this, get all 3 of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-DPD-Powder ... 702&sr=8-7
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-FAS-DPD-Ti ... 804&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/TAYLOR-TECHNOLOGI ... 362&sr=1-1
You're going to need the FAS-DPD test to properly SLAM, so you could let them swim now and start the SLAM later. Also, if you have the Leslie's test kit with the DPD test, the best value at this point is likely to buy the FAS-DPD test alone. For example: http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine- ... t-p47.html or purchase the reagents individually. To do this, get all 3 of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-DPD-Powder ... 702&sr=8-7
http://www.amazon.com/Taylor-FAS-DPD-Ti ... 804&sr=8-5
http://www.amazon.com/TAYLOR-TECHNOLOGI ... 362&sr=1-1
Thanks for all the help, everyone. The FAS-DPD kit should be here in a few days and I'll redo the SLAM process then. When the pool passes the OCLT test the chlorine will still be at shock level, right? How do I bring it down, or will time and sun do that for me? Lastly, is there a good online source for pool parts where I could order the barbed fittings for my pump - to - filter hose, rather than have to make a trip to Home Depot or Lowes? Going to either one is over an hour round trip for me. The pump - to filter hose will move roughly an inch towards blowing off on both ends if I run the pump for a while, despite using marine T clamps tightened down as hard as I can. Its a good thing that the water inside the hose and fitting can't be compressed or I would have long ago crushed the fittings into little bits with the clamps. I read about replacing the hose with PVC pipe and I think I'll do that next year. I'm tired of having to wrestle with the clamps and hose and living in fear that the hose will blow off and pump another 1000 gallons of water onto the ground, every time I run the pump,
As long as FC is blow the shock level and above the minimum for your CYA level you are fine to swim. Sun and any organics in the water will bring the level down over time.