Algae and cloudy water

[brasilmom]

So, I am loosing faith that I can turn this around. And that is all I hear from my husband. Do you think this can even be fixed? I am taking the FC reading twice a day and maintaining the SLAM level. We started saturday and honestly there has been no change to the water color whatsoever. Thoughts?

 

[an1vrsy]

Honestly, you have two options. One, SLAM. Add enough chlorine every 2 hours, if possible, to maintain SLAM level. Brush, vacum and backwash when when sand filter pressure goes up. Or second option, replace lots of water, if you are not on a well.

Pool store potions will not solve this algae issue. Pool store potions will empty your wallet and you’ll see no appreciable change in the water. Some of what they‘ll sell you will probably add copper or other unwanted chemicals. Keep the faith SLAM works, it is a process. It didn’t turn green overnight, it will not clear overnight.

 

[brasilmom]

Honestly, you have two options. One, SLAM. Add enough chlorine every 2 hours, if possible, to maintain SLAM level. Brush, vacum and backwash when when sand filter pressure goes up. Or second option, replace lots of water, if you are not on a well.

Pool store potions will not solve this algae issue. Pool store potions will empty your wallet and you’ll see no appreciable change in the water. Some of what they‘ll sell you will probably add copper or other unwanted chemicals. Keep the faith SLAM works, it is a process. It didn’t turn green overnight, it will not clear overnight.

Thank you. We did replace some water on Saturday, and I have been maintaining the SLAM level. We are cleaning the filter right now and I think we may need to add more sand to our filter. This has been very difficult and mostly because we were waiting on the liner replacement. We have now pushed it to the fall, in hopes to use the pool this season. I need to empty the filter and see how much sand it is actually there.

 

[mknauss]

Right now the filter is not your issue. Chlorine is. That level of algae you need to attack this more if at all possible. As Brad said, every 2 hours if at all possible.

 

[brasilmom]

Right now the filter is not your issue. Chlorine is. That level of algae you need to attack this more if at all possible. As Brad said, every 2 hours if at all possible.

Got it. Even if the SLAM level is kept I should add more chlorine every 2 hours?

 

[proavia]

Test every 2 hours and add chlorine to MAINTAIN your SLAM Process level of FC.

Pump needs to be running 24/7.
Brush entire pool at least 2 times daily.

It didn't take a day or two to get into this condition.
It will take longer than a day or two to clear it up.

Take a picture looking down at your steps every day. Compare the daily pictures to monitor your progress.

Stay the course. The SLAM Process works.
No shortcuts.
Send you husband to the store for more chlorine.

 

[brasilmom]

I just took a reading and FC is at 25. CYA at 40. Based on the app, my FC should be at 16

 

[proavia]

When the FC falls below 16, add enough liquid chlorine to get FC back to 16.
Adding chlorine over 16 (for CYA 40) is a waste of chlorine and can cause equipment and liner damage.

 

[brasilmom]

When the FC falls below 16, add enough liquid chlorine to get FC back to 16.
Adding chlorine over 16 (for CYA 40) is a waste of chlorine and can cause equipment and liner damage.

I will monitor it closely. Hopefully things will start to look better soon.

 

[brasilmom]

Test every 2 hours and add chlorine to MAINTAIN your SLAM Process level of FC.

Pump needs to be running 24/7.
Brush entire pool at least 2 times daily.

It didn't take a day or two to get into this condition.
It will take longer than a day or two to clear it up.

Take a picture looking down at your steps every day. Compare the daily pictures to monitor your progress.

Stay the course. The SLAM Process works.
No shortcuts.
Send you husband to the store for more chlorine.

Thank you. Pump is 24/7 and I am brushing it daily. It stirs all the green up and it discourages me even more. Indeed it did not take a day to get to this point, and I am rather upset because the liner installer did not come through. Oh well. Things will get better.

 

[Mdragger88]

Thank you. Pump is 24/7 and I am brushing it daily. It stirs all the green up and it discourages me even more. Indeed it did not take a day to get to this point, and I am rather upset because the liner installer did not come through. Oh well. Things will get better.

Yes they will!
If your bot has ultra fine filters use those. Keep him in service & clean his filters often.
Also if you can manually vac some of the stuff to waste it would help the filter out a bit.
Here’s the manual for your filter showing how much sand etc.

https://hayward-pool-assets.com/assets/documents/pools/pdf/manuals/ProSeries-S310T.pdf

 

[proavia]

It stirs all the green up and it discourages me even more.

Don't get discouraged.
You need to brush - and two times daily would be better right now.
Brushing helps break up the bio-film that forms which protects the algae from the chlorine. BRUSHING IS ESSENTIAL.
Stirring up the algae helps the chlorine kill it and also helps the filter actually filter the dead algae out of the pool water.

Do you know the clean pressure of your sand filter?
Once the filter pressure rises 25% above clean filter pressure, be sure to backwash the filter. You may need to do this several times during a SLAM.
Does the filter have a multi-port valve or a push-pull valve to backwash the filter?
What pump do you have? Single speed or variable speed (VS)?

 

[ozone72]

What was your pH before starting SLAM?

 

[brasilmom]

Yes they will!
If your bot has ultra fine filters use those. Keep him in service & clean his filters often.
Also if you can manually vac some of the stuff to waste it would help the filter out a bit.
Here’s the manual for your filter showing how much sand etc.

https://hayward-pool-assets.com/assets/documents/pools/pdf/manuals/ProSeries-S310T.pdf

My bot has a fine filter, and I will start vac tomorrow morning. I do not have a way to vac to waste as I do not have the hose for it. Thank you much

 

[brasilmom]

Don't get discouraged.
You need to brush - and two times daily would be better right now.
Brushing helps break up the bio-film that forms which protects the algae from the chlorine. BRUSHING IS ESSENTIAL.
Stirring up the algae helps the chlorine kill it and also helps the filter actually filter the dead algae out of the pool water.

Do you know the clean pressure of your sand filter?
Once the filter pressure rises 25% above clean filter pressure, be sure to backwash the filter. You may need to do this several times during a SLAM.
Does the filter have a multi-port valve or a push-pull valve to backwash the filter?
What pump do you have? Single speed or variable speed (VS)?

Thank you. I have been brushing daily and was considering not brushing tomorrow so I can try to vac some of the algae with my bot.

I do not know the clean pressure, but right now is at 15. The filter has a push-pull type of valve. The pump we just replaced the motor and it has a variable speed. We are running it on full speed, 24/7

 

[brasilmom]

What was your pH before starting SLAM?

It was a perfect 7.6. I am not reading the PH during the SLAM

 

[proavia]

Thank you. I have been brushing daily and was considering not brushing tomorrow so I can try to vac some of the algae with my bot.

I do not know the clean pressure, but right now is at 15. The filter has a push-pull type of valve. The pump we just replaced the motor and it has a variable speed. We are running it on full speed, 24/7

You can try vacuuming tomorrow with your bot and see if that helps.
But you will still need to brush after the robot is done - mainly to break up any bio-film and get the leftover stuff mixed into the water.

 

[proavia]

Don't forget to take a picture daily - before brushing or running the robot - looking down at the stairs.
Then compare the pic to prior days pics.
This will be a good initial indication of the water starting to clear up.

 

[brasilmom]

You can try vacuuming tomorrow with your bot and see if that helps.
But you will still need to brush after the robot is done - mainly to break up any bio-film and get the leftover stuff mixed into the water.

Thank you. I have the bot running already and I plan on keeping it all day, taking it out to clean the filters and back in the water. I will take a reading shortly to see the overnight loss and make sure I am maintaining the SLAM level.

 

[ozone72]

It was a perfect 7.6. I am not reading the PH during the SLAM

You should lower your pH to 7.2 before starting the SLAM. This is important bc chlorine works better at lower pH. You can still lower it now. Assume your pH is still 7.6. Add enough acid to bring it down to 7.2.

Is your pool clearing up?