Add Water at Beginning of SLAM

[oakridge]

Can I add water to raise my water level at the start of a SLAM process? My water level is below the halfway mark of the skimmers. I want to get all the yellow algae I have by ensuring the tiles are at least halfway in the water. Is that necessary? FC PPM is already at 25 with CYA at 70. All other values are in range. TA might be a bit high at 110.

 

[ajw22]

Yes, you can add water.

SLAM FC for CYA 70 is 28.

After adding the water, test the FC and bring it up to 28.

 

[oakridge]

Sorry I meant 28 FC is my target. I reported the lowest result based on multiple drop tests in my first post. I think it more likely I am at 27 FC.

The pool store has a different CYA reading of 90. So I decided to go up to 36 FC now. The CYA test is a bit subjective so I am erring on the side of caution. I will retest after I get the waterline up. Is my idea about coating the tiles to get at the algae necessary?

 

[ajw22]

Is my idea about coating the tiles to get at the algae necessary?

I don't know if it is necessary but it can't hurt.

Brush the pool often and especially the tiles during the SLAM Process.

 

[oakridge]

Thanks. I'll be counting a lot of drops in the next few days! Isn't life grand?

Also, is it true that:

1. I need to clean all bathing suits snd tool toys in a dilute chlorine solution? I am running my robot right now so it soaks in the pool.
2. My brand new cartridge can just be hosed down with plain tap water after the SLAM passes?

Thanks again!

 

[ajw22]

Also, is it true that:

1. I need to clean all bathing suits snd tool toys in a dilute chlorine solution? I am running my robot right now so it soaks in the pool.

You could but I don't think it is necessary. If you maintain the FC level following the FC/CYA Levels the recommended FC levels will take care of any residual algae. You can run your FC 1-2 ppm high for a while.

1. My brand new cartridge can just be hosed down with plain tap water after the SLAM passes?

Clean your cartridge anytime your filter pressure rises by 25% over clean pressure.

Cartridge Filter Use and Care - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[oakridge]

Thanks so much. I'll run a little high on FC for a bit after (+10%) as I get some minor variance (5-10%) between FC drop test results. After SLAM it looks like I need to do another 24 hours at an even higher FC level due to the yellow/mustard algae. Hope I'm done in two days....

 

[oakridge]

Ok, so last night I measured 30 FC at 10:16pm. So after measuring FC I added 7L of 12.5% Cl. I went to bed with no additional testing.

I measured this morning at 8:15am and got 30 FC again. So it seems the algae ate those 7L over night.

My issue here is that I'm not sure what to think of the CYA test result. I think it is in the range of 70-90. That means a real high FC for shock/final MA shock.

Should I drain a quarter of the pool mid SLAM? Or just push through with the CYA level I have? A CYA of 90 means I need to finish the last 24 hrs with a FC in the low 50s. I hate to shift gears mid-process and potentially put all my other chemistry levels out of balance. Since I have a SWG, the CYA level is actually in range of what TFP recommends (see here and here - the two sources conflict slightly on whether the upper nominal bound is 80 or 90).

Thanks!

 

[ajw22]

SLAMing with a CYA above 60 gets more difficult. The higher levels of chlorine needed burn off on their own and it is difficult keeping the chlorine level needed to kill the algae.

If you have a tough algae problem then it is better draining your water to get CYA of 30-40, do the SLAM Process, then raising your CYA back up to SWG levels after it is clear that the algae is gone for good. There is not a problem running your SWG at CYA 30-40 for a while after the SLAM Process.

 

[oakridge]

Thanks, I assumed that would be the answer. I drained the pool about 25%. FC has been stable around 30ppm for 12+ hrs. CC is 0.5 and water is very clear. The draining of water will unsettle things a bit. Once filled back up though I should need less Chlorine and can hopefully finish this process by Saturday or Sunday morning. Today was overcast so that is working to my advantage.

 

[oakridge]

Is OCLT reliable at high FC levels (35) or is Cl too volatile at that level?

I did a partial drain last week, but my CYA is still 70-80 (aka it barely dropped). So rather than another redrain, I went with it. The past two nights I attempted the OCLT and failed with 1.5ppm loss. Otoh, my results between tests can vary by 1-2 ppm. I'm going slowly, measuring the sample size by ensuring the water meniscus is at 10ml, drops falling at 1 per sec and so on. I'm hoping high FC is causing this test variability.

My water looks amazingly clear. CC is 0.5 (maybe a smidge higher like 0.7). I forgot how clear it can be.

 

[Newdude]

I'm going slowly, measuring the sample size by ensuring the water meniscus is at 10ml, drops falling at 1 per sec and so on

Great. !!!

Is OCLT reliable at high FC levels (35)

It is if you can garauntee you made 70+ drops perfectly perfect……. I know my hand gets a little shaky 30 drops in. During the day more will burn off on its own but if it’s in there overnight, it will be there in the AM with healthy water.

With TFP clear water and a minimal overnight FC loss that could easily be explained by you being human, I’d let the FC drift down much closer to regular levels and see if you pass. You won’t lose any ground if you have to keep SLAMing as the few days it takes to drift down is still highly elevated compared to normal target levels.

 

[oakridge]

Thanks, I decided to kick on my SWG today (boost setting) to combat the sun during the day since my FC was quite stable overnight (pool no longer eating chlorine by the gallon). I will then turn it off at nightfall, wait an hour, test, and then do an OCLT tomorrow morning. The pump is running non-stop. If I have similar variation, I will push it up to yellow algae super-shock levels (40-45 for my CYA) and then let FC drift down from there. I was great at o-chem lab in college so the inability to reproduce tests bugs me. Then again, I need a pipette to better measure reagents and a scale to match what I did consistently in those classes I suspect. Hopefully I don't see the yellow come back. Many sections of my plaster were yellowish with nothing coming off of them while brushing. I had thought it was sign of the plaster aging, but now I realize it was likely algae deep in the pores of the plaster. The plaster and water is stunning right now. Hopefully I am near the end.

 

[Newdude]

Then again, I need a pipette to better measure reagents and a scale to match what I did consistently in those classes I suspect

We have the smart stir. Now all we need is the smart drop. It should be easy with the braintrust of 275K+ members to figure out.

 

[oakridge]

So I have passed the OCLT test and am currently letting FC drift down. I soak all pool toys in the super-shock water. So I have read that running bathings suits through the wash with no detergent and some bleach is necessary. How much bleach do I put into the wash? I cannot seem to find guidance on the proper procedure.

 

[PoolStored]

You don't have to do anything special with bathing suits. Wash as normal.

If you have the right amount of FC in your pool, it can handle anything from swimming suits.

I have a lake with algae. We swim in the lake and jump in the pool all the time. Just keep your FC in the recommended range.

 

[oakridge]

Perfect, thank you. Hopefully as FC returns to normal I don't see the mustard algae come back. That was some nasty stuff! Thanks all for the help.

 

[PoolStored]

Did you test your CC to make sure it was <.5???

 

[oakridge]

Yes! No cc today either though my FC is dropping as I haven't added Cl in two days. I'll keep monitoring and after all is normal, I'll report back to close this thread out

 

[oakridge]

Got in the pool today at FC 14 and CC of 0. It was extremely clear, but I noticed some yellow below my floor returns. I opened them up painfully and brushed out a layer of algae hiding in there. Do I need to re-shock or assume the high FC can manage this small amount of buggers?