Day 5 of SLAM - CC fluctuating from 0 back up- why? Losing steam here....

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T

TXSlater

0
Mar 23, 2017
55
Austin, Texas
Hello everyone - Our pool was just filled over a month ago. Pool company did crappy job of maintaining the pool during the chlorine phase (FC dropped to 0 several times and pH above 8). We took over when they added salt and were able to keep the numbers good, but were running our SWG (IC40) at 80% 24/7. This worked fine for about a week and then suddenly our FC dropped to 0 overnight and CC at 1.5 (CC had been a constant .5 since we started testing). The only things that had changed since having decent numbers for a short time were we installed the pool sweep, autofill hooked up, and added the calcium chloride. Jim pointed out that we shouldn't have been running our IC40 on a 12K pool for 80% 24/7 if our water was good. We started SLAMing last Thursday. We have a CYA of about 60-70 so our target was 28, but were fine with 24.

Thursday overnight 28.5 to 24.5 (CC at 0) - FAIL
Friday overnight 28 to 23 (CC at 0, but we did see some during the day after being at 0 prior day) - FAIL
Saturday overnight 24 to 22.5 (CC back down at 0) - FAIL
Sunday overnight 21 to 17 (CC back up to .5) - FAIL

Note, we were running out of drops, so we weren't able to run as many tests yesterday (why starting is only 21, we just had to guess when adding chlorine b/c we needed drops for this morning). We are officially out of drops (more should be here tomorrow). So we will prob just ballpark the chlorine. My husband has been doing everything, but he is done. I'm going to take the reigns for now (and do work from home, so can add whatever), but we are losing our enthusiasm.

Our pool has been sparkling clean the entire time. How could CC be fluctuating? Should SLAMing take this long if our pool has never looked cloudy or dirty?

Any help is appreciated!
Keri
 
Even though your water is clear there's obviously algae eating up chlorine. Some SLAMs take longer than others, but until you can maintain FC 28 for a sustained period of time, this could go on quite a while. One other idea is to lower your CYA through a partial drain until the SLAM is done so you can run a lower FC and use fewer resources.
 
The CC are the result of your FC killing organics (algae). When you test it they are still in the water, but once sunlight hits the pool they burn off quickly. So the reason you test them in the morning to see if you are done with a SLAM is they are an indicator (plus the FC not dropping) of organics being consumed over night. Once the sun hits the pool, the CC are burned off.

Hope that helps. Stay at it. You are close but the last few days of a SLAM require POP (Pool Owner Patience)!
 
Day 7 and still failing the overnight test. Can anything other than algae cause this? I know this is probably crazy, but the African/Saharan dust has been present in Texas the last few weeks and allergy sufferers are dying. I'm guessing there is no way that is what is causing my overnight test to fail, but my pool sweep is picking up about a handful of sand a day, even with no one swimming. We've never seen any signs of algae and our pool has been and still is very clear, hard to imagine it would take this long of SLAMing. Backwashed and recharged to DE filter this morning. Going to continue, but it is hard b/c we don't see any visible signs of algae. I kinda wish there were so I would at least know what I was fighting. Will the end ever come?
 
The data says you are not done with the SLAM -- but -- it is your pool. You can stop and see if the issues that brought you here and doing a SLAM return. Your choice.
 
Looked at skimmers and every inch of pool surface yesterday and saw nothing, but didn't inspect the lights. I'll put on goggles and do so a bit later. We do have an umbrella holder on our shelf that has a cap on it, so I just removed the cap. I can't really see down there, but I do know they didn't put on the cap until after we filled the pool, maybe gunk has been down there multiplying and seeping out. I sure hope so b/c I'd like to find the source of my misery. We are consistently losing about 4-6 FC per night on our test. If I were to drop the FC to say 12 and we lost the same amount each night for a week, could that mean what I'm doing is having no affect, but if I lost say 7 or more a night then it was getting worse, then it is definitely algae? I don't know how chlorine loss works, is going from 6 to 0 eating the same amount of stuff as going from 28 to 22? I would call on a professional here in Austin, but I think they caused our problem :).

Thanks again for replies!
 
If one more day and another OCLT is not a huge burden it would be advisable. But your pool. You can see if things are OK - you know the process now so you can always SLAM again if you have an issue in the future.

Good job.
 
Running out of drops again (2 oz bottle on its way), so I only tested once during the day and tried to bring it up to about 28. Tested tonight and it is 17.5. I am sure hoping and praying it is 17 tomorrow morning with no CCs. If not, my husband wants to call someone in (who, I have no idea). So frustrating - brand new pool and just anxious to get everything dialed in. Wish us luck!
 

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Please explain to him, you have already "called someone". In fact, you have called many "someone's". There is no one more qualified to take care of your pool, than you. Especially with us backing you up.

- - - Updated - - -

Please post a few pics of your pool. Also, remove the light if at all possible. You might be very surprised what comes out of there.
 
Well, combined chlorine was zero this morning, but we went from 17.5 to 14.5 (couldn't adjust last night b/c we wouldn't have been able to test this morning) and are now out of drops again and won't be able to test until Monday (we can do the standard chlorine test, just not the one that goes high). Thinking maybe we will bring the chlorine under 10, adjust pH, use the generator this weekend to try and keep it somewhat stable and do some swimming and then get back at it on Monday when we have the drops. Is that a bad idea?

When you say remove the lights, what does that involve, am I undoing anything (will the bulb be exposed), or can the entire thing come off the wall (Pentair Intellibrite? I'll post pictures in a bit (on computer now, but will grab phone).
 
My understanding is that there a single screw that hold the lamp housing in place. If properly installed, there is enough wire for the whole lamp housing to reach the deck. The 'niche' area that the lamp housing fits into, has been known to hold 'yuck'
 
You are on the home stretch of your SLAM and you run out of reagent! Bummer.

You can follow your plan of letting the FC drop to below 10 to check pH and maintain the FC with the SWCG if you like. You will hopefully stay static or you might see some retrogression. Once you get your reagents hit it hard. As often as you can test/dose. You were so close.

Remember -- you can safely swim if your FC is at or below shock level based on your CYA; you can see the bottom of the deep end; and your pH is between 7.2 and 7.8.

Take care.
 
I can see your problem and why the SLAM is not finished yet. You are letting the FC drop below the recommended level of 28ppm and each time it drops below that level it slows down the progress to kill off the algae. Keep the FC at or slightly above 28ppm, with a plaster pool I would shoot for 32ppm and not let it drop below 28ppm.

With such high FC levels I would use 5ml of water for each test and count each drop as 1ppm to save on reagents. When you want to run the OCLT then go back to 10ml of water.

This pool has nascent algae, which is very common for a SWG pool that had the FC too low for the CYA level. Stay the course and follow the SLAM procedure and it will start holding chlorine again.
 
We both did the CYA test and agreed it is 60, so we adjusted our target from 28 to 24, but would aim for 26 when adjusting levels. Maybe we should target 28 and not let fall below 24? It would fall below 24 periodically, but not for long and not very far. We assume our pH is sky high right now, but thought we weren't supposed to adjust during SLAM. We've always been able to see the screws on the drain. Considering we don't have any more drops until after the weekend, should we ballpark things with bleach or is that insane if we can't test? Really would like to take a break, but not if that will just reverse everything we have done, although it doesn't seem like we have done much b/c the pool seems to be where it was last week this time.

That is a great idea using just 5ml for the tests during the day and then 10ml for the overnight.
 
If you want to swim this weekend then you can let the FC drop and then start over once you get the reagents. You will lose any ground that you did gain so you need to weigh that into your decision.

If you are not going to use the pool then I would turn the SWG on to 100% and let it run until you get the reagents.

Do you know how much acid you typically needed to add per week?

Use the OTO chlorine test and see what color it comes out. You can keep adding bleach or let the SWG run and maintain the same color for the OTO and the FC should not get too high.
 
Not sure how much acid my husband was adding bc we only handled the pool for a short time before this happened. He said it didn't seem like an unusual amount (whatever that means), but he was testing and adjusting daily. Here is a picture. Pretty much looks the same as it always has (good to us) but I will say when I brush on the shelf, there seems to be a grayish tinge noticeable that follows the brush (also coming out of the bubblers).

Actually, I can't add a photo. Says it is too big. I've made it smaller and still can't figure it out, still says I'm over by the same amount and can't delete a photo from an earlier post. Really hard to believe I have a CS degree. I want my money back.
 

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