Unless you're entirely clear and your CCs are <0.5, there is no reason to do an OCLT yet. That's the last thing one does to end a SLAM.
Yip
Yip
Algae or ..? Can't tell what's going on.
- Thread starter TxCoolGuy
- Start date
Well, after the huge rainstorm we had yesterday I decided to end the SLAM. The water had been clear for a while, anyway. CCs were <= .5. In fact, I don't even know if there was any algae at all, or if it was just pollen. Cleaning the cartridges (which were in no way pressure bound) and running the pump straight 24/7 for 3 days may have pulled out the pollen, or, perhaps the elevated chlorine killed a bunch of algae. All I know for sure is the pool no longer has a green tint and is blue again. I did have that one major overnight drop which would indicate something organic in the water..so.. going to be careful ..but the rain killed my slam.. Yeah, I'll blame it on the rain!! 
Thanks for all the advice! Right now the pool looks great. If I have a sudden algae bloom I'll come back cryin' and confess my sinin' ways.
Thanks for all the advice! Right now the pool looks great. If I have a sudden algae bloom I'll come back cryin' and confess my sinin' ways.
Glad to hear your pool is looking good again!
I am no expert by any means, but I can say we have had numerous rounds of pollen around here and the pool stayed sparkling. Pine pollen was the worst I've ever seen - my RED SUV wasn't even recognizeable as red - from a distance it was honest to goodness solid yellow after two weeks outside while we cleaned out the garage. The guy at the car wash even did a double take when I told him it was the red one. And every single house in our 3500+ house neighborhood had three 20+ ft tall oaks put in by truck when they were built that are now 20-30 years old so we get hit hard when they pollinate. While the outdoor tables, furniture covers and even the decking had to be hosed down repeatedly the pool stayed looking great.
Then a week or two ago there was a *slight* green tint. Then a slight green tint and just a tiny bit cloudy... Then more cloudy (to the point it looked like suspended particulate like you see in the air when the sun hits just right) though I could clearly still see the drain in the deep end. But not enough to be obvious to anyone who doens't look at it day in and day out. Like you I thought it was probably just pollen.
When I finally got out there to deal with it the following weekend as I started brushing I could see where I hadn't brushed actually had very light coating of green that I couldn't even see with the naked eye until I brushed a section and had a "clean" part to compare it to. I am now fairly certain it was algae growing on the walls. I brushed it off, and it was back in no time flat though not as bad. Did my first SLAM ever, and sure enough cleared it right up.
The long winded point here is - pollen doesn't seem to make the pool look bad. If it has a green tint it's probably something growing/time for a SLAM from my {admittedly limited} experience. Take it for what it is worth.
I am no expert by any means, but I can say we have had numerous rounds of pollen around here and the pool stayed sparkling. Pine pollen was the worst I've ever seen - my RED SUV wasn't even recognizeable as red - from a distance it was honest to goodness solid yellow after two weeks outside while we cleaned out the garage. The guy at the car wash even did a double take when I told him it was the red one. And every single house in our 3500+ house neighborhood had three 20+ ft tall oaks put in by truck when they were built that are now 20-30 years old so we get hit hard when they pollinate. While the outdoor tables, furniture covers and even the decking had to be hosed down repeatedly the pool stayed looking great.
Then a week or two ago there was a *slight* green tint. Then a slight green tint and just a tiny bit cloudy... Then more cloudy (to the point it looked like suspended particulate like you see in the air when the sun hits just right) though I could clearly still see the drain in the deep end. But not enough to be obvious to anyone who doens't look at it day in and day out. Like you I thought it was probably just pollen.
When I finally got out there to deal with it the following weekend as I started brushing I could see where I hadn't brushed actually had very light coating of green that I couldn't even see with the naked eye until I brushed a section and had a "clean" part to compare it to. I am now fairly certain it was algae growing on the walls. I brushed it off, and it was back in no time flat though not as bad. Did my first SLAM ever, and sure enough cleared it right up.
The long winded point here is - pollen doesn't seem to make the pool look bad. If it has a green tint it's probably something growing/time for a SLAM from my {admittedly limited} experience. Take it for what it is worth.
Well, I finally decided to visit your post after you visited mine. For me, I'm convinced mine was pollen.
Did you clean that filter yet? It is probably full of pollen. Mine had a fair amount, and my chlorine demand dropped after getting that organic material out of there.
Good luck! This should all be over soon, if it isn't already.
Did you clean that filter yet? It is probably full of pollen. Mine had a fair amount, and my chlorine demand dropped after getting that organic material out of there.
Good luck! This should all be over soon, if it isn't already.
I did backwash the filter, twice. Once early in the SLAM when the pressure had finally hit the 20-25% mark, and once at the end just to make me feel better. Though pressure wise it had only ticked up ~10% and was holding steady. I should probably at some point do a full cleaning of the filter, but I've never done it before so I am little bit daunted by it. Also figured I should start it early one day while both the builder and pool store are open in the event I break something or need some help.