Clueless! New to forum

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jhkh

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Jun 20, 2014
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Sumrall, MS
Hi! I'm so excited to have found this website:D I bought a home with an inground pool 3 yrs ago & have been struggling to maintain it through very limited knowledge and many, many expensive trips to the pool store. I just ordered the TFTestkit 100 and, as soon as it gets here, will begin cleaning up my "green swamp". I am so looking forward to learning how to and maintaining my pool myself! THANK YOU!!
 
Welcome to the forum and let us know what we can do to help you tame the green monster !!

While waiting for the kit to arrive you should get all the "stuff" out of it you can by using your leaf rake. The less organic matter in there the less bleach you'll use.
 
Woo hoo!! I got my testkit100 today and got straight to business. My pool is cloudy green, I have already removed tons of leaves from the bottom by blind scooping & using Polaris. I tested the pH which was 8.2. I added 32oz of Muriatic acid and now the pH is 7.5. I am now having torrential rain, so may have to wait to start the slam, but here are the rest of my test results:
FC .5
CC .5
pH 7.5
TA 130
CH 250
CYA 20

I have used the PoolMath calculator.... do I use the calculations for the shock level (10) or mustard algae level (14)? Also, do I start right in with the bleach or do I need to address the low CYA first? And should I wait until the monsoon is over to begin the process? Thanks so much! I feel like I have some control over my pool for the first time in forever:D BEFORE PIC:

 
Just shock level. Mustard only come after the water is clear, and only if you actually have mustard algae.

And start now. While the skies are dark you won't lose any precious chlorine to sunlight. If it looks like the pool will overflow from the storm, maybe drain a little first to make room. Otherwise, let 'er rip.
 
For right now the less CYA the better as the lower your CYA level, the lower your SLAM FC level will be and the less bleach you'll need to use. Did you look at the chart ?? http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock

I'd bring the FC up to 12 as it will drop pretty quickly with all that green. You want to maintain an FC level of 10 at all times for a CYA of 20. Life gets in the way so if you're over a bit and it drops below a bit that's to be expected. BUT, if it drops too low the algae will be reproducing and it's wasting your chlorine.
 
When I had my green monster, I found it moves a little quicker if you go 1-3 PPM over the recommend. This little cushion will allow it to stay at or above the recommend level for your CYA a little longer. If the SLAM level is 12, I would maybe put it 13-15 to get the process going a little quicker. As the pool starts to clear you can then go to trying to keep it at 12.
 

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Good morning,
SLAM is in full swing here :lovetfp: Just two questions right now: Should I have my SWG running during SLAM? On superchlorinate? And also should I be doing the complete battery of tests each time or am I just keeping track of FC during the SLAM?
Thanks so much!!
 
Good job!

Turn off you SWG. Let the chlorine do that work. It will save your cell.

Right now only do the FC test. It is really the only one that matter right now.

Keep taking pics. We love seeing your progress!

Kim
 
It's your choice whether to keep the SWG on or not. But don't use superchlorinate or you risk burning out the element. Running full blast 24/7 may actually overchlorinate the pool as you get ahead of the algae. It will also tend to drive the pH up. And be sure to shut it off when you try the overnight loss test at the end.

During the SLAM, all you watch is FC & CC. And CC isn't absolutely necessary until you've passed the first test, namely, the water is clear and there are no patches of algae visible anywhere.
 
Ok, so SLAM Day #2 underway!! I took y'alls advice and I'm using FC 12 for my slam. Yesterday I was able to be home all day so I tested every 2 hrs and never went below FC 10 at any point. I raised it back to 12 before bed and then it was down to 5.5 this morning at 6:50am. According to PoolMath, it needed 1 1/2 jugs but I will be gone most of today babysitting grandbabies, so I added 2 1/2 jugs (8.25% 121 oz. bleach) hoping it will hang tight until I get back home. I see improvement in the green color, a little lighter today :D

 
Yes, we blind scooped tons of leaves (you can see in the pic that I'm surrounded by massive trees) before I started the SLAM. I also ran the polaris all day yesterday & it only collected a handful of leaves. I don't have a vacuum. I was nervous about leaving the polaris running while I was not home, so it's not running today.
 
jhkh said:
I see improvement in the green color, a little lighter today :D
Click to expand...

That is the "light" at the end of the tunnel !! It will take some time to clear it up but the system works if you keep the faith. Before bed you might want to go to 16 so it doesn't drop so much overnight. As you progress that number should drop closer to you actual SLAM target. At first it seems you are poring chlorine down a hole but it will slowly start to need less and less to keep it at the SLAM target.
Same with being gone all day. Add some extra so you're not dropping down too far.

Is your test kit on it's way ?? Has it arrived ??

I'd still go in there with the rake. Might not get much but anything you pull out is that much less bleach you have to put in. That and keep sweeping :lovetfp:
 
Yes, I posted my test results earlier in this thread. I only did the full battery the first time & since I started the SLAM, I have only checked the FC. Should I do all the tests again & post the results?
 

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