High TC, Low FC. Trying to SLAM.

[Teq]

Hi!
Learning a lot from TFP!. Just bought a house with an 8,000 gallon above ground vinyl pool. Was pretty green when I took off the cover, but not too bad compared to what some people have to deal with on here.

So I just got the filter up and running (DE filter), and trying to SLAM the pool. I dont have one of those FAS-DPD testers, just a set of test strips.

Initial test shows:

~10 TC
~1 FC
7.2 Ph
~100 TA
~10 CYA

I know I am a bit low on CYA. I did add a couple lbs of stabilizer to a sock and threw it in a couple days ago when CYA was at 0. Almost all of it has dissolved into the pool, but the CYA still seems low.

To start the SLAM process, I added the amount of bleach that PoolMath told me to in order to bring FC up to shock level. tested after 5-10 minutes, and there was no change on FC.
After about 30 minutes, added another 121 oz, and waited 10-15 minutes. Testing again is STILL showing FC around 1. It hasn't budged.

Am I doing something wrong? or is this normal, and do I need to keep dumping beach in until the FC is at Shock Level. I wanted to ask here so I dont damage the pool.

Thanks!!!!
I

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

I am not sure many of us are going to be willing to offer suggestions based on test strip results alone. They have just proven to be so unreliable in the past. In addition, many of the test strips will not show an FC when in fact it is high (the color gets faded out).

So, all I can do is highly suggest you invest in one of the Recommended Test Kits if you truly want to take control of your pool ... and not damage it in the process.

 

[Teq]

Thanks, I was hoping to go the cheap route, but I changed my mind and bought a TF-100.... I want to do it right. Hope it will be here by Saturday.

Should I turn the filter off until I get the test kit? Or keep filtering with the FC at 0? DE filter. Slowly getting longer and longer between needing to backwash, and the water is slowly getting better, even with no FC.

If I cant go more than a few hours between needing to recharge it, I should probably turn it off tonight, right?

Thanks!
I

 

[jblizzle]

If you can not monitor the filter, then I would just turn it off ... no point on running in recirculate mode (if you have it) if there is no chlorine to circulate.

Good choice on the test kit, it makes it WAY easier to take control of your pool

 

[mtw4shore]

you could pick up a cheap chlorine test kit at Home Depot or something.

 

[jblizzle]

you could pick up a cheap chlorine test kit at Home Depot or something.

I would not. They would not read over 5ppm anyway. And they have the best kit on the market coming in a few days.

You could certainly keep adding some bleach every day to keep things from getting worse, but that may not really help too much in the long run.

 

[ping]

The pool didn't get green overnight and you are blind without the test kit so I would wait until the TF-100 arrives and tackle it once you are properly armed. If you notice the pool getting darker, then you might want to add a gallon of bleach a day to help keep the algae down a little until the test kit arrives. I would not run the pump overnight if the filter can only go a few hours before needing backwashing. If you have a recirculate valve position, then you can run the pump overnight in recirculate mode when you are properly SLAMing.