CC @ 2.0, but about leave town. What should I do?

[thephatp]

I recently completed a SLAM (on 6/27) treating for a tiny amount of black and green algae, and a decent amount of mustard algae. Since then, my pool has been crystal clear and levels holding quite well (just adding chlorine).

I've been testing every day, and all has been well. This morning, I noticed the chlorine level was getting low (4.5), but figured it would last until I got home this afternoon.

Testing today:

• At 7:00am, FC was 4.5 and CC was 0.
• As of 5pm today, FC was at 2.0, and CC was at 2.0.
  • Not sure why the CC spiked so quickly.
  • Pool water is still crystal clear.
  • Very little debris in the pool (looks like some clippings from neighbor mowing, and a couple leaves)
  • One thing to note--we've been swimming a lot this past week (7 people on Saturday, 3 on Sunday, nobody on Monday, 6 on Tuesday, nobody on Wednesday, 3 people on Thursday, no one today)

According to what I've read, this means I should SLAM my pool. Unfortunately, I'm leaving town Sunday evening, so I have very little time to do a full SLAM. I'll be gone for 6 days.

So...

1. What do you recommend I do between now and Sunday evening?
2. Will I have a big problem when I get back?

 

[mknauss]

The CC test is not consistent with your descriptions. To get a CC of 2, you have to have a fairly large organic impact. Like 15 kids in the pool. And the water would reek of chlorine.

Test it again. Be sure you thoroughly clean your test vial with bleach or alcohol.

 

[thephatp]

The CC test is not consistent with your descriptions. To get a CC of 2, you have to have a fairly large organic impact. Like 15 kids in the pool. And the water would reek of chlorine.

Test it again. Be sure you thoroughly clean your test vial with bleach or alcohol.

Thanks, Marty. Perhaps it was a dirty test tube. I retested, but I'd already poured in some bleach. Would that have taken the CC down to zero on it's own? It been about 30 minutes with the pump running on high.

My new test results were FC = 7 and CC = 0.

I'm going to test again this evening after the sun isn't hitting the pool.

 

[mknauss]

Not that fast. So discount the test with the high CC an outlier and move on.

 

[thephatp]

Not that fast. So discount the test with the high CC an outlier and move on.

Awesome, thanks for the quick responses! And whew!

 

[thephatp]

OK, quick update. I decided to run to Leslie's Pools to have them test my water just to see what they would show. One thing that was surprising: they said my phosphates were at 1000. Obviously, the Taylor test kit doesn't have that test, and my CC is still 0, and pool is crystal clear. So, should I not worry about that?

Test results as of 5 minutes ago:

• FC: 7.0
• CC: 0
• pH: 7.8
• TA: 70
• CH: 230
• CYA: ~50 (looked roughly around 48)

So, those readings + clear water = no worries. Right?

 

[ajw22]

You don’t worry about phosphates. Leslie just wants to sell you stuff you don't need.

Stay out of Leslies and trust your tests. We don’t give any credibility to pool store tests especially Leslie.

 

[thephatp]

You don’t worry about phosphates. Leslie just wants to sell you stuff you don't need.

Stay out of Leslies and trust your tests. We don’t give any credibility to pool store tests especially Leslie.

I figured as much. Thanks for the confirmation. The main reason I test there one a month is in case I have any problems with my plaster (they said having records from a pool store would make it a lot easier to process a warranty). Other than that, it's humorous to see the results of their tests.

 

[frogabog]

I have a feeling your Pool Math App test results would hold up in litigation.