Going on Vacation - Need Advice

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amccleskey

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LifeTime Supporter
Aug 13, 2014
36
Sugar Hill, GA
FC 20 (currently SLAMing)
CYA 50

I'm new to TFP and would appreciate any advice you can give. I'll be gone for 9 days and don't have anyone who can help with my pool while I'm away. We just refilled our pool last week to bring stabilizers down from 200+ and are in the process of SLAMing. We had a green pool, so fighting algae currently. I should be done with my SLAM before we leave. I would really like to come home to a clear pool if possible and avoid another SLAM. My current plan is to bring the chlorine up to shock level before we leave, add a few pucks to a floater (I really don't want to since it will raise my CYA, but I'm not sure what else to do.), and then cover it with my solar cover (it's clear though).

Two things I wasn't sure of, I've been searching the forum for "vacation" advice and based on what I've read, since my solar cover is clear, I wasn't sure if it would help to maintain my FC or still drop it since UV can penetrate. Also, I read a couple of threads of people turning their pump off. Should I leave it running or not? It's on a timer.

Thanks for all the help. This forum has been amazing. I know more about my pool now than I ever have and it's great! :D
 
I'll give our recent vacation experience (AG pool, smaller than yours, and in a cooler climate).

One similarity in the situations is that we were also just finishing a SLAM prior to leaving on vacation. Our CYA levels were lower (~25 during SLAM). I put in a pound of dichlor (to add chlorine and stabilizer, should bring CYA to upper 30s in our pool), and ran the pump the night before we left. FC the next morning was 19. Put on the solar cover, and turned off the pump. I didn't put in a floater this year, because of concern that the localized high chlorine might be bad for the solar cover.

When we came back a week later, the pool was clear, and FC was down to 9. still respectably above maintenance levels. I turned the pump back on, put in some borax (to raise pH, which had been brought down by the dichlor addition), and the kids went swimming. It was another two days before I had to add more chlorine -- so 9 days total without chlorine addition.

We have an el cheapo Intex pump, and no timer on it -- we didn't trust it to run unsupervised for the week we were gone. If you have more faith in your pump, you may want to have some pump run time during your absence.
 
You still have quite a bit of hot weather to deal with.

If it were my pool, I would bring the FC up to SLAM value the day I left and shut the pump off.

With no one there to check in, I am reluctant to tell you to run the pump.

9 days may not be quite enough to keep you from getting a little green algae but a Quick SLAM process when you return should have you fixed up in no time.
 
For what it's worth, I don't trust my filter pressure while I'm gone on a trip, and so I raise the water level a bit above normal, give the pool some extra chemicals and then take the filter grids out before leaving. I do have someone check on the pool every few days to empty the skimmer and add additional chemicals. Surprisingly, when I come back the water doesn't look that bad. Without the DE grids, I know that there will be maximum circulation and pressure the entire time I'm away.
 
Thank you so much for all the great advice. My plan now is to raise the FC to SLAM level, cover it with the solar cover, and shut the pump off while we're away.

Thank you singingpond for sharing your experience. Great to hear you came back to a clear pool! I was concerned about using the pucks under the cover as well. At this point I am not going to use them. Hopefully, since I just finished a SLAM and am bringing FC to SLAM level that will be enough to keep it clear.

I'll let you know how everything looks when we get back! Hope everyone has had a great weekend!
 
FC 6.5
CC 0
TA 60
PH 7.0
CYA 40

Hi all! Here is an update on how things look now that we're back. We just got back last night. When I pulled the solar cover back the water was clear but there was a greenish film on the floor and walls. I got the pump running last night. This morning the water was cloudy and a slight green tint at the deep end. I had been SLAMing right up to us going out of town. Before we left the pool was no longer green but it was still cloudy and I could barely see the main drain in the deep end. I'm currently raising my TA & PH a bit and then I guess I'm going to bring it to SLAM level again. I really want a clear pool. Here's hoping I'll see the bottom of the deep end soon! :)
 
There's no need to raise your PH or TA now. You can SLAM at the levels they are at. SALM away.
It turned on you because you had no choice to finish the SLAM before you left. You'll get it this time around !?
 

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This is my first time SLAMing and just want to make sure this sounds right? A quick overview of the last 3 weeks I did a SLAM for 10 days to kill algae, went out of town for 9 days. After 10 days of SLAMing the water was no longer green but very cloudy. I could barely make out the main drain. While we were gone I left the pool at shock level, covered with solar cover, pump off. When we got home and uncovered it the water was really clear, FC was 6.5, but sediment was all over the bottom and angled sides of the deep end. Once the pump was turned on again everything swirled up and it's been really cloudy ever since. I vacuumed and back washed in case it was dead algae. I've now been doing another SLAM since Friday. Again keeping the FC at shock, running the pump 24/7, brushing daily, back washing as needed, and the entire pool is still very cloudy and doesn't seem to be improving much. I know I hadn't finished my SLAM before going out of town since the water wasn't clear, but after 10 days and these last few I thought the water would be clearer.

Below are a couple of pictures in case they'll help. In the deep end you can barely see the main drain because it had some leaves that accumulated on it overnight.
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
pwrstrk said:
Sounds like you just need more filter time. Sand filters can take a little longer to clear up the cloudiness than a cart or DE filter.
You can help it out by Adding DE To A Sand Filter.
This the part that you need to have patience with.
Have you passed the OCLT Test and have CC's of 0.5 or less ?
Keep vacuuming up the dead algae. ��
Click to expand...

I passed the OCLT and have 0 CC's. When I vacuumed and brushed today the debris still seemed green. I'm not feeling very confident with my CYA readings so far. I'm certain It's in the 40-50 range, but of course that effects my shock level. I went ahead and bumped my FC to 20 in case I wasn't getting ahead of the algae. I'm going to run another OCLT tonight to make sure I pass again.

Thanks for your help pwrstrk!
 
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