Complete beginner don't what I'm doing. HELP!!

[SJPoe]

You say you have a 20,000 gallon pool.
Pool Essentials Chlorinating Liquid (probably from Home Depot ? ) I could find listed as 10% strength. It'll say right on the bottle.
Punch that into PoolMath and you get 2 gallons needed to raise it from 0 to 10ppm (which if you stop and think about it, 2gallons in 20,000 = 1 in 10,000, but it's 10%, so its 1 in 100,000 or 10 in 1,000,000 = 10ppm )
So, Add 2 gallons, wait 30-60 minutes, re-run your FC test collecting water from at least 6" below the surface.
If it's not 10ppm (or at least significantly above 0 !!! ), and both of your test kits are saying the same thing, it's time to find a different chlorine supplier.

 

[rookie_pool]

Next steps to begin the SLAM Process:
1. Lower the pH to about 7.2.
2. Add about 10 ppm of stabilizer in an effort to get the CYA to 30.
3. Increase the FC to "12" and maintain it as best as possible. Test as often as required to ensure it's holding fairly well.
4. Follow all the steps on the SLAM Process page.

It works!

How come every time I click on the SLAM process link it brings me to this page? Doesn’t really show the instructions or how to test the overnight chlorine lost test.

 

[rookie_pool]

You say you have a 20,000 gallon pool.
Pool Essentials Chlorinating Liquid (probably from Home Depot ? ) I could find listed as 10% strength. It'll say right on the bottle.
Punch that into PoolMath and you get 2 gallons needed to raise it from 0 to 10ppm (which if you stop and think about it, 2gallons in 20,000 = 1 in 10,000, but it's 10%, so its 1 in 100,000 or 10 in 1,000,000 = 10ppm )
So, Add 2 gallons, wait 30-60 minutes, re-run your FC test collecting water from at least 6" below the surface.
If it's not 10ppm (or at least significantly above 0 !!! ), and both of your test kits are saying the same thing, it's time to find a different chlorine supplier.

Got it thanks! Will throw in two gallons now and run the test.

 

[rookie_pool]

Whoa there cowboy! There is no way I would call that still seeing the dot. We need to work on your CYA test technique. I know, it's the most difficult because it is subjective. But it is important to get it right because you also don't want to overshoot with your additions (and I've noticed you seem a little trigger happy--that's ok, happens to all of us).

Mix your sample water and cya reagent in a 50:50 ratio using the provided bottle. Shake it up. Wait 30 seconds. Give it one last shake.
Fill the viewing tube to the 80 mark. With your back to the sun and the viewing tube held waist level, GLANCE into the tube? See a googly-eye? Fill viewing tube to 70, GLANCE again. Keep going until you don't see it at a GLANCE. Don't stare. You can always make it out if you stare. You want it to disappear at a GLANCE. If you didn't see it, don't be tempted to take a longer look, because then you'll be staring and you will see it again or your mind will play tricks on you. Whichever line it disappeared (at a GLANCE) is your CYA level. We don't count in-between. Your answer will be a multiple of 10.

That makes sense now thanks!

 

[jedigrover]

How come every time I click on the SLAM process link it brings me to this page? Doesn’t really show the instructions or how to test the overnight chlorine lost test.
View attachment 424896

Try clearing your browser cache. Sometimes it gets stuck that way and clearing the cache can help.

 

[rookie_pool]

Is this black algae? But it looks more like muddy brown though. It dissolves once i brush it.

 

[IceShadow]

Looks like dirt. Black algae holds pretty well. Could also be dead algae. Check to make sure your pool is clear with an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test.

 

[jedigrover]

Not black algae. Black algae is much darker and appears as spots (that later merge into blobs). Hence its other name: “black spot algae).

 

[Bperry]

Adding 8 gallons at once might bleach out the test? Or is the FAS-DPD not susceptible to that issue?

 

[wireform]

I think you have a higher CYA content in the pool then originally due to the fact you added more then once and if that's the case your slam isn't up to snuff with the CYA ratio. Dial in the CYA test again to be perfectly sure what the slam level ought to be otherwise you're dumping chlorine and never achieving slam.