Algae Removal Advice

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D

Donh

0
Jan 28, 2017
23
Clermont Florida
I have been using the TFP method for the past 2 1/2 years and have done weekly testing religiously. I have used the slam process successfully several times but this time I am struggling. Last weekend I noticed what I thought was a small amount of algae in several places. I believe my FC was low compared to the CYA. Pre slam test results (SWG)
PH 7.4
FC 5 CC 0
TA 70
CH 450
CYA 80
Salt 3200

I started the slam last Saturday using a level of 31; testing and adjusting every 3 hours. I had to work Tues and Wed so had to pause the process. I am not able to pass the overnight test. I don’t have the results from early on but the last 2 days I have lost 4.5 and 6.5.

— It isn’t making sense that my results have gotten worse. I noticed my R871 has a best by date of 9/19 so I will get a new one today.
—The pool water looks very clear.
—I am in central Florida. We did have a tropical storm pass thru end of last wk; 4-5 inches of rain
—I have read the slam docs many times and believe I am following it correctly; pump running 24/7, vacuum, brush and filter clean daily

Any advice is appreciated.
 
The answer is always, "Not enough chlorine!". In your case your target is actually 6 and even though you are in the "safe" range at 5 you are skating on the edge. Target 10% of CYA to make up for testing errors and high usage days. How long do you run your pump? I run mine 24x7 at low RPM so I am always generating and adding a little bit of chlorine.

www.troublefreepool.com

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
Patience, patience, patience. The SLAM Process can take more than a few days. The algae had many days to multiply and now will take many days to be eradicated.

31 is the right target. You don’t say how often you are checking and how much chlorine you need to add. Keep at it. Your Overnight Chlorine Loss Test confirms you have algae even if the water is clear.

Your 9/19 R871 should be fine unless you stored it in high heat.
 
Last edited:
We can help more if we follow your test results. Sharing PoolMath Test logs or posting each test result and chemicals added can let us point out things that may be elongating the SLAM Process.
 
Donh said:
I am keeping a log of the test results and chlorine added and will post it Saturday evening.
Click to expand...

There is a setting on the PoolMath app to automatically share you test results here. Click my name above and you will see the link to my test results.
 
I haven’t switched over to the pool math app yet. Will do that once I get the algae cleared up. Overnight Friday night I lost 2 and thought I would be good last night but ended up worse; lost 3.5. Below are the details. Any comments/suggestions are appreciated.

Fri 6:45 am 23; added 47 oz 10% chlorine
Fri 9 am 31; 0 added
Fri 11 am 30.5; added 6 oz 10% chlorine
Fri 1pm 29; added 23 oz 10% chlorine
Fri 4:30 pm 29.5; added 17 oz 10% chlorine
Fri 6:30 pm 29; added 23 oz 10% chlorine
Fri 7:10 pm (after sunset) 31.5
Sat 6:30 am (before sunrise) 29.5; added 17 oz 10% chlorine
Sat 8:30 am 29.5; added 17 oz 10% chlorine
Sat 1:45 pm 27; added 46 oz 10% chlorine
Sat 4:30 pm 28.5; added 24 oz 10% chlorine
Sat 6:30 pm 30.5; added 6 oz 10% chlorine
Sat 7:10 pm (after sunset) 32.5
Sun 6:20 am 29; added 23 oz chlorine
 
Something's definitely chewing up the FC even at night. Keep it up, you'll win eventually. Also be sure to scrub the nooks and crannies like light fixtures. Also, you may need to set the solar heater to manually open all the time.
 

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Donh said:
It is currently 35. I think I read in the slam docs that the cya test wasn’t reliable during the slam process.
Click to expand...

It is pH that is not valid when FC is greater then 10.

Your CYA is 40 if the dot disappears between 40 and 30. We round up. Halfway between lines in not 5 since the scale is logarithmic, not linear.

How did your CYA go from 80 on Friday to 35-40 now????
 
It was 80 the saturday before last (10/19) I started the slam then but had to pause it for work early last week and picked it up again last Wednesday. No idea how it dropped that much. Only chlorine has been put in the pool since I started the slam. Now what?
 
Donh said:
We did get 4-5 inches of rain after I did the last cya test on 10/19. Would that have caused it?
Click to expand...

You would have had to replace half your pool water to go from CYA 80 to 40. Your pool is more then 8-10 inches deep.
 
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So now I am suspecting that you have a CYA eating bacteria. It eats all of the CYA and produces ammonia as a byproduct which is neutralized by the chlorine. You can confirm this by getting a simple aquarium store ammonia test and testing your pool water. If you have any ammonia at all this is likely the case. It is possible you are in the early stages of that while the bacteria is still consuming the CYA which is why you are maintaining some chlorine. If you don't notice this until all of your CYA is gone usually you'll have 0 chlorine and any chlorine you put in is immediately (15 minutes) neutralized. Keep testing CYA like 2 times a day until it either stabilizes or is completely depleted. If it goes to depletion, do a slam all the way to the end, then add CYA and you should be good to go again.
 
I am in disagreement about CYA consuming bacteria in that pool. The characteristics of that are simply not there.

What I believe you do have is normal algae and normal chlorine consumption as a result. I think you have to confirm the CYA level by testing again and then reporting the results. Next, you will hold your FC at the SLAM level appropriate for the CYA level.

Has the appearance of your pool improved since you started your SLAM? Got a pic?
 

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