Starting a SLAM after a flood.

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Pea

Pea

0
May 28, 2015
8
Denton, Texas
Pre-SLAM Test:
CYA: 60
FC: 00
CC: 00
(test didn't turn pink at all ;~; )
TA: 40
CH: 75
PH: 6.8

I got hit by some flooding that turned my parent's pool into a giant mess.
The pool is surrounded by trees and at the bottom of a hill.
We've been following the pool store's advice for a few weeks with disappointing results and ending up starting
from scratch every time the yard decided to migrate to the pool.

So I took to the internet and found this site and started taking in as much as I could.
I ordered the TF100 kit, which arrived today ^_^ and went and bought 24 gallons of Clorox.
While we were waiting I just been trying to get as much out as I can with the net without being able to see the bottom of the pool.

I put 9 gallons in tonight (according to the poolMath form, I needed ~8) and tomorrow I'll probably grab some Soda Ash
from the store to get that TA and PH in line later (or now, I'm not 100% clear on that one).

Am I on the right track?
Did I miss anything?

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I know you guys like pics. It's the least I could do for this awesome resource ^_^
 

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Welcome to the best pool care site!

You are already miles ahead of the game in having the best test kit!

I am assuming that you are doing a LOT of reading in Pool School, so that is another bonus.

Post your test results, and we can go from there.
 
Just me, I just went through a flooded pool, it was silty like yours, I used Floculant, or Floc

Green Pool in OKC - Getting ready for Weekend Attack

Its a huge long thread, I did not start slamming until somewhere in the middle as I had several setbacks before I could even start. The neighbor had a pool guy that recommended FLOC for his pool which was like mine. I tried to go the non-FLOC route at first, and started slamming, but my sand filter was having to be backwashed every 3 hours. So I stopped slaming, used the FLOC got the dirt on the bottom and I could see the drain. I vacuumed the pool 3 times and then the water was light green. Note that I have a well so water relatively free to me so I can do a lot of vacuuming which you will do with FLOC. So if you have to pay for water, consider that in the cost of using FLOC. They may not endorse the use of FLOC here, I have seen mixed posts, I am relatively new to the site, just telling what worked for me. I saw one poster that said it does not hurt, but that it does keep leaving a mess to vac up as it stays in your water and keeps pulling stuff down for a while... I can attest to this as I vacuumed about 5 times. Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain"]This link says to get as much debris out of your pool as possible before slamming, I could not see anything 6 inches down so that, and not seeing any major concerns on this site about it is why I used it.

The people on this site are a huge help, saved me $100s already
 
caliskier said:
Just me, I just went through a flooded pool, it was silty like yours, I used Floculant, or Floc

Green Pool in OKC - Getting ready for Weekend Attack

Its a huge long thread, I did not start slamming until somewhere in the middle as I had several setbacks before I could even start. The neighbor had a pool guy that recommended FLOC for his pool which was like mine. I tried to go the non-FLOC route at first, and started slamming, but my sand filter was having to be backwashed every 3 hours. So I stopped slaming, used the FLOC got the dirt on the bottom and I could see the drain. I vacuumed the pool 3 times and then the water was light green. Note that I have a well so water relatively free to me so I can do a lot of vacuuming which you will do with FLOC. So if you have to pay for water, consider that in the cost of using FLOC. They may not endorse the use of FLOC here, I have seen mixed posts, I am relatively new to the site, just telling what worked for me. I saw one poster that said it does not hurt, but that it does keep leaving a mess to vac up as it stays in your water and keeps pulling stuff down for a while... I can attest to this as I vacuumed about 5 times. Pool School - SLAM - Shock Level And Maintain"]This link says to get as much debris out of your pool as possible before slamming, I could not see anything 6 inches down so that, and not seeing any major concerns on this site about it is why I used it.

The people on this site are a huge help, saved me $100s already
Click to expand...

We probably got some of the same rain! I read through your thread and am hoping I can get mine as clean as yours.
I tried floc (SuperFloc) a couple of times at the recommendation of the pool store and it just kind of sat there.
Also, I don't really have a waste setting on my push-pull valve unless this(http://blog.poolcenter.com/article.aspx?articleid=6492) article has any truth to it.
Other than that, it just has to go through the filter, right?

DaninFLA said:
how is your FC levels holding? you posted that you added it two hours ago, hopefully you retested and added more then
Click to expand...

I tested today at 1:00 (just went out again).
I've been adding water to offset the backwashing.

These are the 1:00 test.
CYA: 40
FC: 28
CC: 1.5
TA: 70
CH: 100
PH: 7.2

And the 3:30 test
CYA: 40
FC: 30
CC: 1

UPDATE

6:30 test:

CYA: 40
FC: 25
CC: 1


I'm thinking the FC should be much lower by now.
I haven't added any thing since last night except for new water.
 
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Yes if you Floc, you have to vacuum to waste, otherwise you need to keep cleaning the filter. if you can't vacuum the pool I would not use floc. I used 2 bottles, let the pool run for 2 hours, shut it off and let it sit for 24 hours, by then I was looking at my drain and a 1/4" layer of silt on the bottom of my pool.
 
@caliskier

I guess I can't then.. Seems it'd go a lot faster if I could.

My leaf gulper came in though. It's cheap and plastic-y but doing a good job picking up pollen fluff and other (larger) debris.
It just kicks up the silt though.

9:30 test results (30 min after adding 2 gallons of bleach)
CYA - Still 40
FC - 39
CC - 1

The time between backwashes is getting longer. But the pool still looks mostly the same (hence no pics yet).
 
Your pool has to be the poster-child of unfortunate circumstances from that flood. What a thick, brown mess. Sorry that even happened to your pool and your neighborhood. But you are bouncing back! :goodjob: Cannot wait to see pics as your consistency and perseverance pay-off to get that pool back to crystal clear. Keep us posted and good luck!
 

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DaninFLA said:
you do not need to keep testing your CYA. its 40, wont change. just need to test FC and CC. keep at it, its going to take a while with the way it started.
Click to expand...

Cool, I'll just test the chlorines then. I'm backwashing a lot and figured "better safe than sorry".

Texas Splash said:
Your pool has to be the poster-child of unfortunate circumstances from that flood. What a thick, brown mess. Sorry that even happened to your pool and your neighborhood. But you are bouncing back! :goodjob: Cannot wait to see pics as your consistency and perseverance pay-off to get that pool back to crystal clear. Keep us posted and good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the condolences. Nothing left to do but keep at it!

8AM TEST

FC: 26
CC: 1

1PM TEST

FC: 23
CC: 1

Brushed and added 1 gallon of bleach.
 
2015-06-05 Update

1AM
FC:41
CC:2

12PM
FC:30
CC: 0

Filter was disassembled, cleaned and recharged.

5PM
FC:24
CC: 1

Filter is only half way to 'clean me' pressure! It hasn't run this long in forever.
Water in the pump viewport now looks more cloudy than 'Swiss Miss'.
I feel like I've made some progress. ^_^
Will add some bleach later to get it back up, then test.
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2015-06-10 UPDATE:


Been keeping up the SLAM. Ran out of R0871 at one point so just added 1-2 gallons of bleach per day.
Kept on backwashing the filter and now....
I can finally see the bottom of the pool!

AM TEST

FC: 37.5
CC: 1

Guess I went a little overboard on bleach.
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Now that I can see the bottom, I would like to start cleaning it out.
So, I've got a couple of questions.

1. Is that silt or algae in the 2nd picture?
2. Is this a job for the brush or the vacuum?
 
your ok on the FC levels, it will come down. great progress!

its probably dead/dying algae or it could be silt/sand..either way, the solution is the same. need to vacuum it out.

when the pool starts to clear up a little bit more, you are going to want to get all the lights out and clean the niche behind them. just leave the light fixture on the edge of the pool until your SLAM is done.
 
For me, I can't quite make-out the material you are asking about, but not sure it matters really. Whether it's dead algae or something else, your SLAM is starting to show its strength. You must of course continue to run your pump 24/7. Remove any “muck” and debris, scrub all parts of your pool to expose any algae, and vacuum/clean (or backwash) filter as necessary. Maintain, Maintain, Maintain! Also try to get some more R0871 just so you aren't wasting bleach. :) Nice to see pics of the change. Stay on it!
 
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