New House came with a neglected pool - SLAM DONE!

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Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Yes, here on the front end, you'll be needing to BW a lot. DE more than other filters on a SLAM so watch it very closely.

I'm about to get repetitive with this statement, but do not let the FC slip under the target value any more than you can possibly help. Letting it slip will cost you time and make it drag on and on. We are seeing this in a few SLAMs already this year, so please be diligent in that. Keep your target value no matter what it takes.

It's a lot of work up front, but it will pay off if you keep up the residual.
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Tests again:
FC: 8
CC: 1

So I CAN backwash with the CYA in the pool? I just added it yesterday. I am adding bleach per the Pool Math calculator, should I be adding more than it tells me to?

The pressure on the filter tank is staying pretty steady, even overnight - could it be inaccurate?
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

If water flow rate is dropping noticeably and the pressure isn't rising then your gauge has issues. It is not uncommon, they aren't usually very good gauges. You can buy a good gauge at tftestkits.net pretty cheap.

Yes, you can backwash with cya in the pool. Why do you think you can't? Did you add CYA with a sock? Or do you think the CYA is clogging the filter and needs to dissolve?
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

You are doing it!!!!!!!!!! NICE!

How did you add the CYA? If you poured it into the skimmer then you will lose most of it if you backwash. If you put it in a sock and hung it in front of the return then it is in the water (not testable yet but it is in there). Of course you would loose a little cya with the backwash but not too much.

It kind of sounds like you do need to backwash. Does your pressure gauge work (mine does not so...)? It sounds like your pressure has gone up so you would need to backwash.

I will leave it up to you if you backwash or not.

Kim
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Ok, Thank you. I will get a new gauge and see what it does. I know I read it someplace, to avoid backwashing if possible after adding CYA. I have it written in my notes. I put it in a stocking and hung it in front of the return by the skimmer. I have been checking it and squeezing it as Kim had suggested a few posts ago. I don't think it's clogging anything, seems fine.

I will try backwashing then. Should I be adding more bleach than what the calculator shows?
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Yes, should be fine to backwash. I think the don't backwash your filter after adding CYA was before the sock squeezin practice came to be. CYA should be dissolved enough not to get caught in the filter and then backwashed out.

Why do you ask about adding more bleach than the calculator shows?
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Because Patrick B said to keep my levels higher (12 is my aim since I don't have a CYA level yet) and I am lower than that, but I am putting in what the calculator is reading to put in.

I'm about to get repetitive with this statement, but do not let the FC slip under the target value any more than you can possibly help. Letting it slip will cost you time and make it drag on and on. We are seeing this in a few SLAMs already this year, so please be diligent in that. Keep your target value no matter what it takes.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will see what backwashing does.
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Ok, I see. You should assume that your CYA level is what you targeted with the amount you added and maintain that amount bleach.
 

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Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

There you go. Stick with the process and you'll see it change. :goodjob:

Not backwashing with recent Cya addition is for putting it into the filter via the skimmer. This is exactly why we say sock, especially when your about to SLAM. You'll just backwash it out if you put it in the filter. Good work!
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Glad to see you got started mickeyb. +1 on what Patrick said re: absolutely not letting FC drop below shock value. Its uber-critical in cases like ths.

When dealing with a black, swamp mess, that might mean using mustard shock value instead, which is higher, but still safe enough, instead of standing by the pool to add every half hour ;)

On my swamp conversion, that meant if my target was, say 12, I would dose to, say 16, so that in a few hours it might be back to 12 again, ready for a maintenance dose. Eventually, you'll notice that you can go longer and longer between doses.

The idea is that you have to outpace the rate of algae growth, which is much harder once temperatures are above 60 degrees.

So, if you dose TO 12 and that's your shock value, and walk away for an hour, and for 50 of those minutes your FC is below 12, then you're really only slamming for ten minutes out of an hour ;) So the swampwoman school of thought would have you slamming hard and heavy at the outset to get a wide lead ;)

Hope that helps you both feel comfortable AND nail it more quickly.
Cheers!
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Ok, thanks for explaining the CYA. I just got back from the store and after adding another gallon about an hour ago and I am at:

FC: 16
CC: 1

I got a new gauge while I was out and 20 more gallons of bleach.

Thank you Swampwoman! I was only putting bleach in after testing, I didn't realize I could be adding it in between to keep it up. I will keep it nice and high now and will keep backwashing.
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Keeping everything up and backwashing...

Do I need to be concerned with the low CH at this point or will that come later? The pool is gunite, so I assume that is an issue with it being too low.
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

MickeyB23, after you backwash are you adding more DE? You want to add about 80% of normal DE. For example when my filter is cleaned and I add DE/Fiber for the first time I have to add 15 cups, when I backwash a lot of that DE/Fiber will also get removed from the filter so I have to add more so I will only add 12 cups.

I believe in a perfect world the preference is to focus on completing the SLAM process before adjusting other chemicals, however I do not believe an elevated Cl will have any impact on adding CH at this time. When adjusting more than one chemical you will want to make sure you allow the first one to mix throughly for 30 to 60 minutes before adding the other. For example, add bleach and wait and hour before adding CH then wait another hour before adding more bleach.
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Ok, thank you both! Thanks for the tip on adding chemicals - I will use that in the future and for now just focus on the SLAM. Yes, I am adding DE in each time - we have a 24 square foot filter, so I've been add 3 scoops (from a DE scooper) after backwashing. I'm not having to babysit the pool so much today. I had an appointment this morning and was gone for 4 hours and I was still above shock when I got back - it has not dropped below since the posts yesterday helped me understand the process better!
Here are pictures from this afternoon. It looks even better in person. I can now see the light and the return in the deep end. The chipping paint isn't as bad, so far, as I would have thought having seen the steps.

Before:



Day2:

Before:



Day2:
 
Re: New House came with a neglected pool - Starting SLAM 4/18/15!

Thanks! They are calling for potential severe thunderstorms here tonight - should I do anything to the pool ahead of time to help keep things on track or will it be ok to keep doing what I am already?
 

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