My SLAM is stalled!

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A

ASch

0
Jun 18, 2015
16
Coatesville, PA
Pool Size
28000
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Split by moderator from HERE. jblizzle

I opened our pool to find a green mess. I guess my closing was less than optimal. So, I went ahead, took debris out, and started shocking. Over the next 3-4 days, the green slowly turn into grey, then white. Been SLAM'ing for 7 days since then and the water clarity doesn't seem to improve much. Yes, a little improvement, I can see the bottom of the pool now, but the water stayed turbid, guessing from suspended tiny 'particles'. Been brushing at least once a day, backwashed/changed DE at least every other day. FC levels are 10+ at all times, but my CC stays at 1. Overnight, FC drops 3ppm or so. So I am pretty sure that some organics are left, but I am losing my mind dumping all that bleach in the pool to see no result. Sorry, just getting frustrated.

My CYA is ~20. TA 120, CH 90, pH 7.6. Pool store measured 200 for phosphate (don't have a kit for that).

Any advice what else to do besides just keep on SLAM'ing? Maybe even a word of encouragement would help :)

Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:
Welcome! :wave:

Sounds like you're in that last 10% that takes the 90% of the time.

To be sure: there are no stairs or ladders in the pool that may be harboring algae?

Anything to improve circulation will help. If you have a suction-side vacuum, set it in the pool on it's side so it functions as a main drain. Suspended particles will settle given time, so you might as well have something down on the bottom to catch them when they fall.
 
Richard, Thank you for the welcome and your reply :)

No, there is nothing in the pool, no stairs or ladder. I occasionally (once or twice a day) have my Polaris 9350 running around to scrub the bottom and the walls of the pool. I also thought that running it should improve circulation / turbulence in the pool since it expels a jet of water to propel itself forward. Should I maybe run it more often?

Not quite sure I understand how I should set up the suction-side vacuum you mentioned. Hook it up to the skimmer and have it sit in the middle of the pool sucking water in through there?

Thanks again!
 
Update: FC dropped again from 12 to 10 overnight, CC steady at 1. pH went up slightly (to 7.8), not exactly sure why that would happen (should i test for ammonia?). CYA at 20. Pressure was up ~6-7 psi this morning compared to last night. Bumped filter and re-started. Visually, water clarity same as yesterday.
 
Don't test pH during SLAM, because it will read falsely high after FC is increased above 10.

So, 2 FC loss overnight isn't bad. Just keep hitting it with more Chlorine and don't let up until you are done. The goal is not to fall below target value. Ever if you can help it.
 
Ok. Thanks for the tip on false pH when FC is at shock level. Didn't know that. Thankfully my wife is coming back from a business trip today so she can help with brushing. My back is killing me.
 

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It will take time to filter out all the debris. This is where POP (pool owner patience) comes in! If you take a picture of the pool looking straight down into the water at the same spot and time every day and compare them you will see it is a little clearer every day.

When you change the DE are you backwashing and recharging or do you open up the filter and hose everything off?
 
zea3 said:
It will take time to filter out all the debris. This is where POP (pool owner patience) comes in! If you take a picture of the pool looking straight down into the water at the same spot and time every day and compare them you will see it is a little clearer every day.

When you change the DE are you backwashing and recharging or do you open up the filter and hose everything off?
Click to expand...
Yes. Every time, I opened the filter, hosed everything down (filter housing as well as well as the fingers), flushed all that to waste, and then recharged the DE.
 
New update: This morning at 7am I had 10 FC, now, about 12 hours later I have 4 FC left (and 1 CC). I was at work all day so I couldn't add bleach during the day, and now this ... the water is also more turbid that it was last night or this morning. Clearly something is in my pool that is messing things up. Any other advice besides adding more bleach and scrubbing the wall and bottom?
 
ASch said:
New update: This morning at 7am I had 10 FC, now, about 12 hours later I have 4 FC left (and 1 CC). I was at work all day so I couldn't add bleach during the day, and now this ... the water is also more turbid that it was last night or this morning. Clearly something is in my pool that is messing things up. Any other advice besides adding more bleach and scrubbing the wall and bottom?
Click to expand...

Sadly, no.

You have low CYA, so the sun could account for the loss of FC and the algae rebounding.
 
I bet if you took a pic from the first day and every day after you would see the slight changes in your pool. It is hard to see day to day BUT with a pic we all would be able to see it. It is like watching a child grow. You cannot see it until one day they can reach something they could not before.

I hate that it is taking you so long. Just keep doing what you are doing! It WILL clear up!

Kim
 
I added some more CYA, now at 25. Added 2 more gallons of bleach and my wife and I brushed the whole pool 3 times today. FC sitting at 14.5 right now. I also got a CC of 3.5, which is a lot higher than the 1 I had been seeing pretty much all week. I will monitor for the next hour or two to see if anything changes in those readings. Is CC rising a good thing in my case? I assume it would go up by killing more stuff that's still around, and I just need to keep FC above shock level until eventually it's all taken care of and then it will eventually break down the CC as well. Did I get that right?
 
10pm: FC 14.5, CC 3.5
11pm: FC 12.5, CC 3.5-4 ... definitely something going on. Maybe my wife brushing was the difference. LOL. Going to add more bleach to keep things above 10 overnight if I can.

Cheers.
 

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