Am I Done SLAMing?

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I think you look good. Of course there is no harm in doing one more OCLT test.

One more thing you are missing with the FAS/DPD test. You are now correct in adding 5 drops of R-0003 to see if it turns back to pink. If it stays clear - Completely Clear (no pink), that means you have a CC of 0.0 and you are done. But if you get any pink, even a hint of it, there is one more step..... You cannot assume a .5 reading just because it had a "really subtle color change"..... Grab your R-0871 vial again. Start adding drop wise and counting till it goes back to clear. Divide drops by 2 (or multiple by .5) and that is you CC reading. If you have less than .5 CC's it will turn back to clear after just 1 drop (1 X .5 = .5). That is good. If it takes 2 or more drops to turn back to clear, that is not good. i.e
2 drops = 1 CC
3 drops = 1.5 CC
4 drops = 2 CC and so on.

Trust us when we say the SpeedStir is a very worthwhile investment. These hints of color changes will be much more accurate than trying to swirl with you hand. It is a $40 well spent: Keep an eye on this link I have seen it as low as $30. They update all the time depending on the seller.
Amazon.com : Taylor 9265 - Magneticstirrer, Speedstir, Start-Uppack(Uses9198 Garden
 
mikemass said:
One more thing you are missing with the FAS/DPD test. You are now correct in adding 5 drops of R-0003 to see if it turns back to pink. If it stays clear - Completely Clear (no pink), that means you have a CC of 0.0 and you are done. But if you get any pink, even a hint of it, there is one more step..... You cannot assume a .5 reading just because it had a "really subtle color change"..... Grab your R-0871 vial again. Start adding drop wise and counting till it goes back to clear. Divide drops by 2 (or multiple by .5) and that is you CC reading. If you have less than .5 CC's it will turn back to clear after just 1 drop (1 X .5 = .5). That is good. If it takes 2 or more drops to turn back to clear, that is not good.
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't mention it, but I did do this part. Once I put in the 5 drops of R-0003, if I saw any color change at all (even the super subtle one), I did add a drop of R-0871 to see if the water changed back to crystal clear. The last four tests I did correctly I got:

0.5
0.5
0.5
0 (that was this morning at 5AM)

So, I think that means I'm looking good as far as CC's go. On some of these tests I was seriously squinting at the water and questioning whether the color changed at all, but I put in the drop and recorded them as 0.5 just to be on the safe side because it did look like the single drop of R-0871 improved the water color and clarity ever so slightly. Each one only needed that one drop to get it back to clear.

I'm gonna let the filter run today while we're away, but probably just allow the chlorine levels to start dropping naturally from 20 and see where I am tonight when we get home from the fireworks. Then, I can repeat the OCLT tomorrow morning just to be on the safe side and we should be in the clear to swim on Saturday then (unless the second OCLT tells me there's a problem).

The Speed Stir is in my Amazon cart and I'm gonna watch it for a price drop - thanks!

Thanks again to everyone for your help!
 
Tested this evening after the fireworks and got:

FC: 10.5, CC: 1

So, of course, now the CC is throwing me off. I know the CC of 1 is bad. What does that mean? Bring the pool back up the shock level then to kill of whatever's causing the raised CC levels? I'm gonna test before sunrise just to give the OCLT another go and see what I get, but I'm concerned that I'm gonna get the same results and I'm back where I started with SLAMing yet again. Also wondering why I would get readings of 0.5 and 0 on the 4 previous tests and 1 on this test? Does it have something to do with the lower FC level on this test? Previous test results were:

FC: 14, CC: 0.5
FC: 20, CC: 0.5
FC: 20, CC: 0.5
FC: 20, CC: 0

I'm new to this, so not really 100% understanding what the CC signifies anyway and what needs to be done to get it to the correct level.
 
I am by no means an expert here. My experience with MY pool is sometimes rain and over cast days have raised my CC just slightly to 1 before. I would say the OCLT passing means there is no consumption of FC and you should be good. Also I don't have a speed stir YET. I place my test cylinder on top of a white paper towel and seems to help with those very slight color changes. It seems to amplify the slight pink to make it more noticeable. Hope I am not giving you wrong info but I am sure someone will correct me if I happen to be.

Was writing this as you posted about the rain so maybe that could have done it.:p
 
I will throw another wrench in the works. I tested this morning (unfortunately not before the sun rose, because, in my fireworks induced sleepiness I ignored my alarm, but I got to the pool about 7AM) and, of course, my test results were really weird. I even did two one right after another because I wanted to see what the heck was going on.

First test: FC: 16.5, CC: 0
Second test: FC: 13.5, CC:1

My FC last night at 11PM was 10.5, so you can see that (even with about an hour of sunlight on the pool this morning), I gained in FC, which seems strange. I also went from having no CC's to having some clearly visible ones. Huh?

I'm really questioning how accurate I am with these tests now. As a side note, I grabbed this water from the same place in the pool (it's near the skimmer if that matters, about a foot down). The samples were collected within 15 minutes of each other. Any thoughts as to why this could happen?

One other question I thought of yesterday... if my final struggle is the CC's... is it okay to just grab a vial of 10ml of pool water and the add five drops of R-0003 straight to that and see if it changes to pink (or does it need the previous reagents in it to work). I just feel like I'm wasting a lot of chemicals the other way around. Thanks!
 
Are you pulling the test sample after the pump has been running at least 30 mins in the AM?
I also had some result issues in the past and found out I was not using enough powder for the test. I now use a good heaping spoon and it seemed to help.
 
I've been seeing more and more threads where people are getting varying results on their FAS/DPD test when testing at the same time.

There's actually another thread going on currently where the member is getting different readings as well in different areas of the pool after it's been well circulated. Like you, his FC also "rose" overnight. He was informed that this is absolutely impossible and told with certainty it must be his faulty testing methods. I think the take away is that there will be varying degree of error from test to test and the important part is that you perform each one exactly like the other. In particular this means the way you let the drop fall off the tip. The speed at which you allow them to drop, etc. Even the bottom of the page in Pool School that tells you how to do the test claims their can be as but as much as a +/- 10% error rate.
 
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Bryan C said:
Are you pulling the test sample after the pump has been running at least 30 mins in the AM?
I also had some result issues in the past and found out I was not using enough powder for the test. I now use a good heaping spoon and it seemed to help.
Click to expand...

Pump has been running for days. I will try the heaping spoonful (I'm trying to conserve whatever chemicals I can since I'm testing so often).

I feel like that guy in Jaws. "I'm gonna need a bigger test kit."
 
mikemass said:
There's actually another thread going on currently where the member is getting different readings as well in different areas of the pool after it's been well circulated. Like you, his FC also "rose" overnight. He was vehemently told how impossible that is and it must be his faulty testing methods. I think the take away is that there will be varying degree of error from test to test and the important part is that you perform each one exactly like the other. In particular this means the way you let the drop fall off the tip. The speed at which you allow them to drop, etc. Even the bottom of the page in Pool School that tells you how to do the test claims their can be as but as much as a +/- 10% error rate.
Click to expand...

Thanks. It's good to feel I'm not alone at least! I wouldn't put it past faulty testing methods. It's possible that the test from last night was wrong, too. I thought about retesting, but just really wanted to go to bed, so didn't bother, but the rise in FC this morning just didn't make sense, so I just had to retest.

We're gonna swim today regardless because the water is looking good and I'm feeling confident that things are probably fine and that if there is a problem it can be fixed later during the week when we wouldn't be in the pool anyhow.

I'm gonna watch my testing methods a little more closely. I was allowing the drops to fall one at a time and then swirling between each one. Then, once I got a little more confident, I was letting them kind of plop in there one right after the other, but maybe it's better to go back to the drop, swirl, drop, swirl, drop, swirl method?

I'll have to look up that other thread and see if I get any tips. I assume the test will have some margin of error (and obviously it's possible that I might just miscount a drop or two as it's going into the vial), but it's hard to believe that two tests done within 15 minutes of each other would show that much of a difference.
 
Don't sweat it. Just be consistent every time. We are talking about FC levels on the higher side. If this was a question of whether or not you had 2FC or 5FC, I would say we need to know for sure. But 9.5, 10, 11, 16.5!!!! Unless you have a ridiculously high CYA, you are well sanitized at any of those levels......
Here's the circulation thread I referenced in previous post if you wanted some light reading:
I can't be the only one with this issue
 
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Is your pump running on low? There is also another thread with a variable speed pump that surmises that on low the chlorine isn't mixed in as quickly/well.

There are only a few possibilities to consider here.
Testing error, dosing error or circulation
FC was higher after adding than you thought if you didn't test after
FC wasn't fully mixed in when you tested if you did test after
Your neighbor snuck over and added some bleach in the middle of the night
Pump on high and brushing can eliminate the mixing question
Using the 25 ml sample reduces the margin of error
 
pooldv said:
Is your pump running on low? There is also another thread with a variable speed pump that surmises that on low the chlorine isn't mixed in as quickly/well.

There are only a few possibilities to consider here.
Testing error, dosing error or circulation
FC was higher after adding than you thought if you didn't test after
FC wasn't fully mixed in when you tested if you did test after
Your neighbor snuck over and added some bleach in the middle of the night
Pump on high and brushing can eliminate the mixing question
Using the 25 ml sample reduces the margin of error
Click to expand...

To answer your questions:

Pump has been running on high all week, so circulation is very good. I would think a dosing error is a more likely issue (not enough powder, drops not dropping properly, that kind of thing). It's also possible my test from last night was incorrect, but since I didn't double check I don't really know. Not sure why I got two pretty different test results this morning within 15 minutes. Unless it was just 7AM and I'm not a morning person. My drop counting technique isn't that bad pre-breakfast though.

I'll also note that I haven't added any chlorine to the water at all since 4PM on Thursday (that's about 40 hours before my most recent test). I'm letting chlorine levels fall from SLAM levels right now as things were looking good to me and kids wanted to swim.

The neighbors are pretty nice and not at all sneaky. If they were looking to cause some mischief in the pool they could try vacuuming while they were at it.

Speaking of vacuuming, I have let it go a bit for the last few days. I didn't do it either Friday or Saturday, so I'm not sure if that could account for weirdness in the water when I tested this morning. I vacuumed this afternoon and sucked up a bit of dirt. (Water was so clear I could see all the lovely little pockets of dirt as I went along.)
 
Since we're being honest about pre-breakfast testing I will say that I have never done an OCLT in my life because getting up before the sun hits the pool is never an option. :)

It is safe to swim when FC is above minimum and up to shock level for your CYA, [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA]. We swam every day last summer during a SLAM with CYA at 70 and FC at 28.

Vacuuming neighbors are probably handy. Yay for clear water! Sounds like swim time! :paddle:
 
pooldv said:
Since we're being honest about pre-breakfast testing I will say that I have never done an OCLT in my life because getting up before the sun hits the pool is never an option. :)
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Good to know I'm know the only one who found the thought of waking up before the sun rose in the summertime a bit shocking. I can't believe I did it Friday morning honestly. The alarm went off at 5AM, and all I could think was, "Wow. I must really love this pool."
 
Did quick evening test and here's what I got (using the heaping spoonful of DPD powder, carefully watching each drop go in one by one to make sure they were all about the same size, and swirling well in between in each drop):

FC: 9.5, CC: 0.5

My CYA is 50 and I was shocking at 20 just 48 hours ago, so I think that sounds about right (we've had two kind of overcast days, not tons of sun). Husband and children are swimming now.
 
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