You did not waste your time. Technically, as long as the FC is above minimum for your CYA, it is killing algae. It just takes ALOT longer.did I waste my time, chlorine, and electricity all this time doing nothing but making sure it didn't get worse?
Maybe. Maybe less. Maybe more. With it being stagnant for over a year, longer is my bet. Have you gotten ALL solid debris out of the pool?And, will it likely take another full week to clear it?
I think so. We go out every night with a leaf rake, plus brushing the sides. We've had quite a few thunderstorms over the past couple days so we made sure to scoop after those too.Have you gotten ALL solid debris out of the pool?
Test results look great. Just test FC for now. Be sure to clean the cartridge filter when the pressure rises by 25% over clean pressure.
Also, start to figure out how you can take those steps out of the pool. They will be covered in algae.
I do it three times during the week: once before work, as soon as I get home, and before bed. During the weekend I did it 5 or 6 times a day but only for 12 ppm. I will do another CYA test tonight and show it. I put it at my waist yesterday with my back against the sun and filled to a line, then glanced away and back again like I read on here to do. It was between 30 and 40. I also had my BF glance and see if he could see the dot at that line and he couldn't either. Since I have a vinyl liner, if my CYA really is 40 would bumping to 20 hurt it? Last Saturday (4 days before starting the proper SLAM) we dumped 5 gallons of 10% in at once before we realized that was a big no-no.How often are you adding and testing chlorine? I would bump your chlorine higher (20 or so) I would bet your CYA is higher than 40. Can you post a picture of what you see looking down in the CYA tube?
Definitely planning on SLAMing til it's clear and the test passes, I can only see about 6 in deep right now We've been running the filter 24/7 except for rinses for about 3 weeks now.I agree with @mknauss, you did not waste your time! First of all you have a real test kit so good job, that is half your battle. Follow the advice here at TFP and your pool will be crystal clear sparkling water in no time!
I'd consider conducting a SLAM until the OCLT (Overnight Chlorine Loss Test) passes. After that it will just be letting your filter do its job.
how much crud is left in the pool ? I ask because that should be the #1 priority. The decomposing gunk will chew through your chlorine and make you spin your wheels a good deal. Keep the FC up in the meantime, but the crud needs to go.We go out every night with a leaf rake
Excellent job on the weekend. It takes prolonged time at SLaM level to work. As in constant level……. M for maintain. We recommend every 2 hours testing, adding to SLaM and then confirm you hit the target 20 mins later. Do the best you can to get the crud out during the week and 2 days of babysitting next weekend should get you over the hump to where the FC holds much longer and you can resume work/life on Monday with 2 or 3 daily tests the rest of the duration.I do it three times during the week: once before work, as soon as I get home, and before bed. During the weekend I did it 5 or 6 times a day but only for 12 ppm
Chlorine will clean it up. Sounds like you are making progress.I forgot to mention in my original post that we are having a white mold problem.
I forgot to mention in my original post that we are having a white mold problem. Shreds of it comes out in our filter every night. Should the SLAM level of chlorine take care of the mold AND algae problem? We got the steps out last night, covered in green and black algae so I expect to see more progress with those out.