CYA and Chlorine non-existent...?

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Thebodaclan

Active member
May 30, 2019
33
Danville, iowa
I’m a complete noob here, guided by my brother who loves this site! I’m working with a 24’ round above ground pool that was a black swamp a few days ago. It’s been flash flooding around here so while the first 9 gallons of bleach got rid of the algae and funk that was visible, I’ve still got cloudy water (see picture). I did order a Taylor test kit which came today. Here are my first results:

Ph 7.6
TA 50ppm
Cya test The water was never cloudy
Calcium hardness 250ppm
Adding the powder did not turn the water pink, even after 6 or 7 scoops.

This tells me that I have little to no stabilizer and consequently have little to no chlorine. Do I need to add the stabilizer in first, let the level get up and then add more bleach or can I do it all simultaneously?
 

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Hiya! Well, it looks like you need both liquid chlorine and stabilizer (CYA). DO you have these available?? If not run down to the local Wallyworld and pick up about 6 jugs of 10% liquid chlorine, and two of the 4# jug of granular CYA.

When you get home or are ready, add 73 ounces by weight (I use a diet scale) of CYA in a couple of socks. Hang the socks in front of a return and let them float and not touch the walls. Squeeze the socks once in a while to help dissolve the granules. You'll see milky white fluid come out of the sock.

Then immediately after hanging the CYA, add 2 of the gallons of liquid chlorine....that should bring you up to SLAM level
SLAM Process
For you, you want to keep the FC level at 12ppm as much as possible, while brushing daily and letting the filter work non stop for you. Keep an eye on your filter pressure as it may need backwashing.

Keep this up until its clear. Read the SLAM link I posted so you'll learn how to determine if its over yet.
Don't add ANYthing else to the water at this time, please.

Maddie :flower:
 
I grabbed a liquid stabilizer (I’m a *touch* impatient?) and added that along with the 10% chlorine solution. I’ll test the water again in half hour or so and see if we can finally get some CYA and FC levels! Now to read up on SLAM while I wait!
 
That's fine... I've used it too....just make sure you got all that sludgy stuff off the bottom of the jug cause that's the gold you paid for. And you'll still need to use a bit more to get to your goal...just go for some granular in a few days. Lets see how far this liquid takes you.

Maddie :flower:
 
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Well, I think this means I’m on my way to a usable pool ?
My test this morning looked like this:
7:08 am
FC 6.5
pH 7.4
TA 60
CYA 40
I added 2 more gallons of chlorine and will test again in a couple more hours. I think I’ll get a second filter too, for ease.
My plan is to check the levels a few times a day to keep that FC up at SLAM level and hope nothing else changes much. ?
My husband’s parents are moving in a few weeks from IN to our neighborhood in IA and this pool is theirs. I’m the pool boy. Lol. They’re coming in town this weekend and I’d like them to see a little improvement in the water by tonight. Hopefully they’ll notice the change. ?‍♀️
 
CYA does not change that quickly unless you drained water. So that is testing inaccuracies.

pH test is invalid when FC is above 10 ppm. When you are in SLAM, only test FC. Nothing else matters once you know your CYA.
 
mknauss said:
CYA does not change that quickly unless you drained water. So that is testing inaccuracies.

pH test is invalid when FC is above 10 ppm. When you are in SLAM, only test FC. Nothing else matters once you know your CYA.
Click to expand...
Ok, good to know! So while in SLAM I’m shooting for an FC of around 16 for my 24’ pool until I clear the overnight chlorine loss test...is that basically correct? So just test the FC and keep it there. I’m cleaning the filter a couple times a day/as needed. Also I plan to test the water only a few times a day as it’s not at my own house...
 

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Test and add back to get to 16ppm FC. Clean filter when the pressures rises by 25% over clean pressure.

The more often you raise your FC back to 16ppm, the quicker it goes.
 
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mknauss said:
Test and add back to get to 16ppm FC. Clean filter when the pressures rises by 25% over clean pressure.

The more often you raise your FC back to 16ppm, the quicker it goes.
Click to expand...
The FC seems to be staying high nicely, It is at about 20 right now. I did end up putting in another gallon of chlorine earlier and probably shouldn’t have. I hope that’s not screwing with things. CC is at one. Not to sound impatient (though admittedly I am) at what point should the pretty blue water start going clear?
 
As you have not filled out a signature, I do not know what pool equipment you have. Filter type influences how long it takes a pool to clear. Be wary of overshooting SLAM level FC too much, depending on your pool surface type it can damage it.
 
mknauss said:
As you have not filled out a signature, I do not know what pool equipment you have. Filter type influences how long it takes a pool to clear. Be wary of overshooting SLAM level FC too much, depending on your pool surface type it can damage it.
Click to expand...
Well shoot, I thought I got that filled out. I’ll have to figure out where that is...sorry about that.
I have a cartridge filter and I can show you a couple pictures of equipment as I don’t know what it all is and what would be pertinent.
 

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Cartridge filter should clear the pool in several days. Stay at SLAM FC until the pool is crystal clear and then you pass an OCLT.

See my signature below for an example. If you are on a phone, turn it sideways to see signatures.
 
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CC is a build up of expended active chlorine that is oxidized by the UV from the sun. So you might test some CC first thing in the morning but after the sun has been on the pool surface for a short time it will be gone.
 
To make your SLAM successful in the shortest time, you should be running your pump 24 / 7 until you pass all three criteria for a successful SLAM.

Once you are in maintenance mode, depending on how you are chlorinating and skimming requirements, you can run the pump for +/- 4 hours per day.
 

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