SLAMing but pool is getting greener and cloudier

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francescl

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Jun 3, 2014
40
Fort Wayne/IN
I'm a newbie to this site and a relative newbie to pool ownership... so please bear with me. This is our 4th summer and it has not been a trouble free experience. I've had some bad experiences with pool stores (that's another post) and was happy to find your site. I do have the TF 100 test kit. The pool was doing great (crystal clear) til I had to go out of town (elderly parents live 4 hours away). After the first long weekend that I was gone, I came back to just a cloudy pool (despite my husband's protests that he did everything that I told him to and kept the chlorine up). With due diligence, that cleared up in about 4 days. I had to go out of town again for 4 days and returned on Monday to a cloudy pool (again my husband said that he kept the chlorine up... I had asked him to keep it up to 5 ppm.) Unfortunately, I didn't trust myself and went to the pool store to get their ph decreaser. Test results Monday afternoon were (my test kit readings first):
FC 2.5 (pool store said 3.4)
CC 0 (pool store said .4)
CYA 40 (Pool store said 73) I have tested and retested and each time come out the same (test strips are closer to my result)
CH 250 (pool store said 200)
PH 7.8 (pool store said 7.9)
TA 150 (pool store said 124) They wanted me to add 20 lb of their Balance Pak 100.

By the time I got home from the pool store, the pool had a tinge of green. I added 8 lbs of dry acid (not all at once) and then 3 gallons of 10% bleach. To my dismay the pool was blue green when I got up yesterday morning. My chemical additions yesterday are a bit of a blur because we were entertaining a large group last night and I didn't have time to SLAM (it was so lovely having a green pool) I did try to keep it above 10 ppm yesterday. The ph came down to 7.5 but I'm not sure how accurate that was with high chlorine.

This morning the pool was greener. So I began the SLAM process. With the CYA at 40, I got the FC up to 16 and kept it there (1/2 hour checks at first and then 1 hour checks til it was remaining at shock levels.) I brushed the pool during my wait between readings. There were 0 CC's on most readings but a couple with .5 CC's I started at 7 a.m. and continued til 2 p.m. when I had to leave. I returned home at 7:00 pm to a greener pool. I am at my wit's end. My husband is pushing me to go to the store and get "Algae Shock". I can't believe that it's getting greener with that much chlorine in it. Do I just need more patience or am I doing something wrong? Please help.

38K plaster in-ground, 1 1/2 hp Pentair pump, sand filter (not sure of the size but I have been assured that it's plenty big enough.) Hayward Tiger Shark cleaner
 
francescl said:
So I began the SLAM process. With the CYA at 40, I got the FC up to 16 and kept it there (1/2 hour checks at first and then 1 hour checks til it was remaining at shock levels.) I brushed the pool during my wait between readings. There were 0 CC's on most readings but a couple with .5 CC's I started at 7 a.m. and continued til 2 p.m. when I had to leave. I returned home at 7:00 pm to a greener pool. I am at my wit's end. My husband is pushing me to go to the store and get "Algae Shock". I can't believe that it's getting greener with that much chlorine in it. Do I just need more patience or am I doing something wrong? Please help.
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Yes, you need more patience and more bleach.

Ignore the pool store, trust your numbers. You care about your pool, they care about selling you stuff.

A a SLAM is a continuous process, not a one day addition of chlorine. Additionally, you need to use liquid chlorine; 8.25% bleach or 10/12.5% chlorinating liquid if you can find it locally. Just like you did today, test and adjust as many times as you can a day. Keep the filter running and if you feel you need to be doing something, brush some more. With a little luck it will only be a few days, but be aware - it can last longer.

You need to read and follow the SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain procedures. Anything less is just going to drag out the process of getting your pool clear.
 
I have read and reread numerous times the SLAM instructions and I am using 10% bleach. I got my FC up to shock (16 with 40 CYA... actually went a little higher). Checked it 1/2 hour later and put in more chlorine to get it to shock level (the most that it lost was 1 to .5 ppm during half hour intervals.) Did this repeatedly til it was staying at shock level for the half hour and then started monitoring it every hour. CC's were 0. I did this for 7 hours til I had to leave. When I returned 5 hours later I was hoping to see some improvement but instead it was worse. (It had only lost 1 ppm FC during that time.) This morning it looks pretty much the same as it did last night.... maybe a little milkier green. It lost 4.5 ppm FC overnight. I'll keep at it today but would really like to see some improvement. Should I be shocking it higher? Could the pool store have been correct that my CYA was 73.... I really have tested and retested my CYA and keep getting 40. I'm having a hard time with the fact that it has such high chlorine and it's not getting better.
 
francescl said:
I have read and reread numerous times the SLAM instructions and I am using 10% bleach. I got my FC up to shock (16 with 40 CYA... actually went a little higher). Checked it 1/2 hour later and put in more chlorine to get it to shock level (the most that it lost was 1 to .5 ppm during half hour intervals.) Did this repeatedly til it was staying at shock level for the half hour and then started monitoring it every hour. CC's were 0. I did this for 7 hours til I had to leave. When I returned 5 hours later I was hoping to see some improvement but instead it was worse. (It had only lost 1 ppm FC during that time.) This morning it looks pretty much the same as it did last night.... maybe a little milkier green. It lost 4.5 ppm FC overnight. I'll keep at it today but would really like to see some improvement. Should I be shocking it higher? Could the pool store have been correct that my CYA was 73.... I really have tested and retested my CYA and keep getting 40. I'm having a hard time with the fact that it has such high chlorine and it's not getting better.
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Nope, stick with the FC/CYA chart. You are at 40 CYA so 16 it is. Think of it in the positive, the FC loss you are seeing is oxidizing all the bad stuff in the water.

Sometimes it just takes a while - but you are only a couple of days into it. Have patience.
 
The only thing off are your expectations. This is a marathon, not a sprint and if you try to rush it you will end up with an every bigger headache.

Trust your numbers, trying to verify them with a pool store is like trying to verify an atomic clock with a sun dial... on a cloudy day!

Your impatience is causing you to second-guess your numbers. :calm: Keep calm and SLAM on. Just because you aren't seeing progress does not mean it is not happening. Your numbers indicate that it is working. Ignore your husband, your impatience, anything a pool store suggests, and keep at it. I have seen too many SLAMs work to even question whether it will work. The SLAM process works, the only question is will you work the SLAM process? :p

You are doing great, just take a deep breathe and keep it going. When it is done and your water is clearer than you have ever seen it you will be very welcome to shove it right back in your husband's face... If you want, I can be kinda mean sometimes :cool:
 
Donldson said:
Trust your numbers, trying to verify them with a pool store is like trying to verify an atomic clock with a sun dial... on a cloudy day!
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:goodpost:


Donldson said:
You are doing great, just take a deep breathe and keep it going. When it is done and your water is clearer than you have ever seen it you will be very welcome to shove it right back in your husband's face...
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I was going to say (but held back) that maybe the suggestion should be made that as he knows better, the husband take over all pool responsibilities. I know when my wife starts asking questions, like why I buy bleach 6 at a time I suggest she take over the pool. The conversation usually changes to another subject.
 
I don't know if I would suggest she let her husband take over.. if it were my husband, he would run to the pool store and we would end up broke.

Just hold steady with the shock process... it's painstakingly slow sometimes, but the pool store will take you for a whole 'nother ride! Imagine your pool clearing up only to magically become a swamp a few days later and your back in the store buying more and more stuff.. rinse, repeat... until it doesn't work anymore.

You will be glad when you get through this and have an amazing pool to show off. If you have trouble keeping up with your FC during the day... do it as often as you can, and then be sure to dose it back up after sundown. Without sunlight, you have one less thing working on your chlorine... take advantage of that!
 
Thanks for the support. That's what I need to hear. Another concern I have now is that my chemicals are going to run out for testing. (It's always something, isn't it?) I ordered refills on Monday but don't think they'll arrive soon enough.

Re: husband. When we bought the house, he agreed that the pool would be his responsibility. That didn't last long. It turned green really fast under his care. (In his defense, he does travel off and on.) I was out of town... so he was making many, many trips to the pool store and was so frustrated at everything that he was pouring into the pool with little results. He said, "I might as well be throwing dollar bills into the pool for as well as this stuff is working."

Usually I'm a pretty patient person but my son and his fiancé are coming to town for the holiday weekend. It's disappointing that the pool looks so bad and they won't be able to swim.
 
Think of it in the positive, the FC loss you are seeing is oxidizing all the bad stuff in the water./QUOTE] Except for the 4.5 loss last night, it didn't lose that much between tests yesterday. That's part of the reason that I thought that something wasn't working... that and the fact that it was getting worse instead of better.

Thanks for the Menards tip. Maybe I can run over there in between SLAM testing. ;)
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francescl said:
Except for the 4.5 loss last night, it didn't lose that much between tests yesterday. That's part of the reason that I thought that something wasn't working... that and the fact that it was getting worse instead of better.

Thanks for the Menards tip. Maybe I can run over there in between SLAM testing. ;)
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You seem to be testing quite often, which is good. But the more often you test the "smaller" the loss may be for each test. Without testing overnight it was a 4.5, so yes you can see it's working.

Your killing something and their dead carcasses can cloud the water. You may not want to start now, but later in the SLAM you can add DE powder to your sand filter to filter out finer particles. I keep powder in my sand filter all the time. But, I use cellulose fiber powder which is a direct replacement for DE.
 
I wish I knew Menards had that sale...bought some earlier this spring for that price. Just bought some 12.5% from TheGreatEscape yesterday for $2.50 per gallon which use the usual price.
 
francescl said:
At what point should I add the DE?
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Once you are getting near the end and need that final push to polish the water. As Smykowski
said, right now it will just clog your filter too quickly. But, that doesn't mean you can't go on Amazon and order some now so it will be here when you need it. No need to pay pool store prices. But, you may also find it at Wal-Mart or another big box store.
 
Sorry for just jumping in here........ you said your husband went to the pool store and dumped a bunch of stuff in? What did he put in the pool? I'm concerned he may have put some algaecide in or some other "magic potion" the store sold him that could have copper in it. That would explain the green not going away.........
Also concerned he put tons of shock in the pool that could have raised the CYA.
 
That was 3 years ago that my husband followed pool store instructions and dumped in chemical after chemical. (I wasn't in town... so not sure what it was.) I took over pool care after that but have ended up with issues every time I've had to leave town and he's in charge. I give him detailed instructions but don't think that he's conscientious about following them. (Maybe after this last green up he will be.)
 
LOL ! You need to tell him to step away from the pool! I think the "just be patient" advice is the thing to do here. Good luck. Print out Pool School for your husband and set it in the bathroom. Maybe he'll see it there and learn something. :D
 
So that was wishful thinking that the stuff I was brushing was grayer. I am definitely brushing green stuff again. AAURGH!!! I've kept the chlorine above 16 (probably closer to 18-20) all day. And I've brushed it 4 times already today. (No small task with a 38K pool.) How can it still be getting greener? I know everyone says to be patient but seeing it get worse with such high chlorine is really frustrating. I also rechecked my CYA. Still about 40 (maybe 45... that's why I pushed shock up closer to 18.)
 

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