Can I trust my CYA level during SLAM?

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aek511

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May 29, 2014
7
Van Buren, AR
Long story short, I've paid a pool guy for 2 years to take care of the weekly maintenance on my pool (27540 gallons, IG, vinyl, Sand Filter). I decided to do it myself after thousands of dollars spend. He opened it this year and it was a swamp.

Starting levels:
FC = 2.6
pH = 8.0
TA = 250
CH = 125
CYA = 0

I followed the instructions for turning a swamp into an oasis and added: 96 oz CYA, 233 oz dichlor, 76 oz Borax not realizing dichlor added to CYA level. That raised my CYA to 90 so I wasted 4462 gallons, added fresh water, started over at an assumption of a CYA of 60 and followed the SLAM levels for that.
I never could get my FC to the recommended SLAM level even after adding an additional: 60 oz dichlor, 2186 oz of 7.85% Clorox Bleach, and 228 oz Borax.

After battling it for a week my current levels are:

FC = 2.5
CC = 1
TA = 130
pH = 7.0
CH = 130
CYA = 90

So, what do I do now? Drain it to get CYA to 30 and keep SLAMming or is turbidity test not reliable due to the dead algae? I've attached pictures showing what it looked like when it was opened on 5/22 and what it looks like this morning 5/30. Thank you!

photo 2.JPGphoto 1.jpg
 
Welcome! :wave:

If you think the algae is clouding things up, fill the view tube with plain pool water and see if it obstructs the dot at all. I suspect it won't.

Now what I don't understand is that after you added CYA and dichlor, realized you'd overdosed the CYA, drained over 4000 gallons of water, you then used more dichlor. You're caught in a spiral. You raise FC, yes, but you also raise CYA, which means you need to raise FC even higher, and you add even more CYA with the FC and on and on and on. Dichlor and trichlor both add CYA and lower pH. That's why we recommend bleach. All it leaves behind is a little salt.

The SLAM will work at 90 CYA, but the quantities of bleach will be enormous, and when it is cleared, you'll have to maintain the minimum FC at very high levels for the rest of the season.

Realisticly, you'll be happier in the long run if you lower CYA to at least 50 by draining. The SLAM will go easier and the maintenance afterwards, too. I know, easy for me to say; I'm not paying the water bill. But it is what it is. The SLAM instructions have been carefully worked out over several seasons nased on what works and what doesn't.
 
Thanks, that's what I needed to hear. I'll drain the pool tonight and start with a better level of CYA to see where that gets me. I just didn't want to throw away all the money I've spent on chemicals if I'm in the right direction and just needed to wait it out.

I wish I had found you guys 7 years ago, I can't tell you the thousands of dollars I've spent on this pool...I'm hoping for a clean clear cost effective summer. I'll post an update of levels after the drain and refill.


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