Day 3 of slam… I feel like I have messed it all up.

[SuburbanMom]

Hi guys.

So, long story short I just finished locating and piecing together a Bestway 24x12. She’s all filled up and looking pretty good. Since I had issues with getting filter up and running for about a week, I think I accumulated the beginnings of some algae. Luckily it’s been dying and ending up on the bottom of the pool, at which point I’ve been vacuuming it out to waste so as not to get it in my sand filter.

I began slamming on Saturday. Friday evening I added CYA via the sock method. Over the weekend I have kept an eye on my free chlorine and kept it at least at 10. It’s probably been higher, but unfortunately I can’t test higher right now bc I only have strips that I use for my hot tub which measure free chlorine up to 10. I plan to get a Taylor kit, but I’m going to need to save up for that one. I wish they weren’t so pricey.

So today I tested my cya for the last time with the remaining reagent I had left in my HTH kit. My cya is between 40/45. I tested fc and it’s 10+. I tried to follow instructions I saw for diluting my HTH total chlorine test, but I am not sure I did it right… came back like 25ppm fc? It’s likely I screwed it up bc I really doubt my FC is that high. PH is at about 7.8.

SO ANYWAYS. Am I screwing this up? Is there anyway to know when it will be safe to swim? Is my HTH chlorine test pretty much worthless now that my cya is 40ppm? I was hesitant to super chlorinate/shock because my main goal is for us to swim and enjoy the limited amount of time we have left to do so this summer. (NE OH) Please say I didn’t screw it all up royally!

I hear thunder now rolling in the distance and the sky is turning dark. Please pray that the pool doesn’t get hit with a ridiculous amount of rain while I’m patiently waiting for it to be safe to vacuum again without being zapped and turned into a human pork rind. That would be about my luck.

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Build Type: Vinyl
Volume: 9264 gallons
Chemistry: Liquid Chlorine
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Latest Test Result Summary:
FC: 10.0 (21 minutes ago)
pH: 7.8 (21 minutes ago)
TA: 90 (3 days ago)
CH: 120 (4 days ago)
CYA: 40 (21 minutes ago)

 

[Newdude]

Ok so with one last reliable CYA test, it rounds up and we call it 50. Slam FC is safe for swimming if the water is clear enough to rescue a disabled swimmer. For 50 CYA that's 20 FC. (40%)

Keep the FC free and clear from the min of 4 FC after each days loss. It doesn't matter if you dose to 8 in the morning when you've been losing 3ppm a day, or dose to 8 in the evening after you lost said 3ppm. (Etc etc). If you're going to goof, goof high because it's safe up to 20FC (at the moment). If you lose 10 CYA in August, it's safe to 16 FC.

 

[SuburbanMom]

Ok, that makes sense. The only problem is I’m not sure what my loss is without a reliable free chlorine test. I would assume my cya will stay around the same (ish) unless we have a scorching hot clear day which is rare here.

I’m just kind of scratching my head now bc I feel like I’m never going to know what the levels are without unless I ante up for the Taylor kit. I know previously I was losing 2 parts chlorine per day (morning vs evening test) but this was before I had added any cya (I was just using liquid chlorine) and I also had some active algae I think ( 1 part loss overnight due to that.) That is the reason I decided to slam, mainly to kick the algae to the curb. Cuz it’s slimy and nasty and gross lol.

So if my understanding is correct, I’m always going to want my fc amount to be higher than my cya amount, total chlorine tests register cya and bonded chlorine that isn’t free, so there’s no way to know what my available chlorine is unless I have a specific free chlorine test. My total chlorine is always going to be off the charts now due to cya, right?

Sorry if I sound like an idiot. Still trying to wrap my head around this whole thing.

 

[Newdude]

. I would assume my cya will stay around the same (ish) unless we have a scorching hot clear day which is rare here.

It will remain 50 and maybe drop to 40 sometime next month.

know what the levels are without unless I ante up for the Taylor kit.

The K1515 fas/dpd FC test is about $30.

You don't need calcium, or to test for it.

Your TA is close enough that it'll manage itself.

Your Ph should be nice and stable too, and the test strips will at least let you know if it's far out of range. It's not ideal but it'll do for 5 weeks in a vinyl pool.

So you could stretch the season by buying only the FC test (k1515). Maybe pick up a cheapo HTH drop kit too.

So if my understanding is correct, I’m always going to want my fc amount to be higher than my cya amount, total chlorine tests register cya and bonded chlorine that isn’t free, so there’s no way to know what my available chlorine is unless I have a specific free chlorine test. My total chlorine is always going to be off the charts now due to cya, right?

Not even close. But that's OK, you're new and youre doing GREAT.

You will lose a couple ppm FC per day to the sun and swimming Put it back, plus a little for wiggle room. Remain free and clear above min (4) after all the losses. It's really that simple. If minimum is 4 and you've been losing 2ppm a day, dose to 7 or 8 today.



The season starts with little daily loss, ramps up to 3 or 4 ppm per day, then slowly falls back to little. Think of a bell curve over the season. 'Target range' tries to encompass all points in the season but it's up to you at that time to know what your daily loss has been recently.

3ppm may last a week in April but only 3 hours at noon in August.

 

[SuburbanMom]

It will remain 50 and maybe drop to 40 sometime next month.

The K1515 fas/dpd FC test is about $30.

You don't need calcium, or to test for it.

Your TA is close enough that it'll manage itself.

Your Ph should be nice and stable too, and the test strips will at least let you know if it's far out of range. It's not ideal but it'll do for 5 weeks in a vinyl pool.

So you could stretch the season by buying only the FC test (k1515). Maybe pick up a cheapo HTH drop kit too.



Not even close. But that's OK, you're new and youre doing GREAT.

You will lose a couple ppm FC per day to the sun and swimming Put it back, plus a little for wiggle room. Remain free and clear above min (4) after all the losses. It's really that simple. If minimum is 4 and you've been losing 2ppm a day, dose to 7 or 8 today.

View attachment 598883

The season starts with little daily loss, ramps up to 3 or 4 ppm per day, then slowly falls back to little. Think of a bell curve over the season. 'Target range' tries to encompass all points in the season but it's up to you at that time to know what your daily loss has been recently.

3ppm may last a week in April but only 3 hours at noon in August.

That is all super helpful! Still kind of confusing to me, but I almost failed chemistry in high school lol, so I’m not too surprised. Thank you for your help!

 

[Newdude]

That is all super helpful! Still kind of confusing to me,

We got you in the mean time. Read up, take a minute to process, ask away, read it again tomorrow.

 

[SuburbanMom]

The minimum and target numbers refer to free chlorine, not combined, right?

 

[PoolStored]

Correct.

 

[SuburbanMom]

Correct.

Thanks!!!