Do you vaccum to waste during SLAM process?

[hawkinsrt]

My Test Kit is arriving in the mail today and I need to SLAM the pool. Green and cloudy, I cannot see the floor of the pool. (12,000 gallons, 3.5 feet deep, Pentar SD40 Sand filter). The SLAM guide says to brush and vaccum every day. Do I vaccum on the filter setting or the waste setting? Is the point of vaccuming to remove large debris or small green filmy particles. I don't like vaccuming to waste cause it loses too much water but I also don't like to vacuum very fine particles into the filter because I feel like it just shoots back into the pool.

 

[Texas Splash]

Do I vaccum on the filter setting or the waste setting?

Either or, but mostly FILTER. Basically vacuum to WASTE when you need to remove the heavy stuff. If just a regular vacuuming for dead algae, dirt, or something, FILTER is fine. Once the filter pressure shoots-up by 25%, then you can do your standard BACKWASH.

 

[Texas Splash]

but I also don't like to vacuum very fine particles into the filter because I feel like it just shoots back into the pool.

Let's keep an eye on this one. Depending on your filter age and the last time the sand was deep cleaned, it may be time to do a deep clean. Or it may just be overloaded from algae material and some of it is simply getting blown back in. But once you've been in the SLAM Process for a few days, or long enough to see positive changes, you should be able to determine the true cause for that issue.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Hawk !!
Cheat by brushing as much as you can to one area. It poofs and stirs up but with a little trial and error you find the right brush speed and can control the poofy cloud. Give it some time to settle and brush it again. It only takes few minutes to brush and after 3 or 4 attempts you have most of the gunk in one spot. Vac it to waste and save the water and your filter.

 

[hawkinsrt]

Hey Hawk !!
Cheat by brushing as much as you can to one area. It poofs and stirs up but with a little trial and error you find the right brush speed and can control the poofy cloud. Give it some time to settle and brush it again. It only takes few minutes to brush and after 3 or 4 attempts you have most of the gunk in one spot. Vac it to waste and save the water and your filter.

thanks for the advice. I started doing this recently. Good to hear others doing it because I wasn't sure if it was doing more harm than good for the water clarity.

 

[hawkinsrt]

Let's keep an eye on this one. Depending on your filter age and the last time the sand was deep cleaned, it may be time to do a deep clean. Or it may just be overloaded from algae material and some of it is simply getting blown back in. But once you've been in the SLAM Process for a few days, or long enough to see positive changes, you should be able to determine the true cause for that issue.

I got the pool last September with this type of media Pixel Glass Pool Filter Media, 40 lb. Bag. Struggling to keep a clear pool this season, as a last resort, l opened the filter last week to find it full of algea. I removed the sand, cleaned the insides and replaced it with this Pool Sand - 50 Pound Bag - SND50. I was noticing some green/brown debris being blown into the pool when the filter first turns on but it didn't seem to matter that much because I kept a clear pool for 4 days immediatly following the filter change. Then this current algea bloom happened and I joined this website. Doing my first SLAM.

 

[hawkinsrt]

I just tested my water with the TF 100 below are my results. I'm concern about my ph and TA because they have been high for over a week and I add 6 cups of 34% muratic acid 2 days ago and it hasn't seem to bring anything down (going off pool store's computer test on 8/9 which had me at ph 8.2,TA 125, FC 5.5, CC 0)

ph 7.8
TA 120
FC 5.5
CC 0
CYA 50
CH 170.

 

[Newdude]

Disregard PH and TA for now. FC 10+ renders the PH test invalid and the normal cycle for lowering TA Is several rounds of lowering PH and aerating it back up.

Only check FC for the duration of the SLAM. The other two will be easy enough to adjust later.

let the FC drop under 10 so you can get a good PH reading. Lower it to 7.2 with MA if it is higher than 7.4 when you test it. Then re-commence SLAM Process

 

[hawkinsrt]

Disregard PH and TA for now. FC 10+ renders the PH test invalid and the normal cycle for lowering TA Is several rounds of lowering PH and aerating it back up.

Only check FC for the duration of the SLAM. The other two will be easy enough to adjust later.

let the FC drop under 10 so you can get a good PH reading. Lower it to 7.2 with MA if it is higher than 7.4 when you test it. Then re-commence SLAM Process

Sorry I had a typo in my last message my FC is 5.5, well below 10. so I should add more acid and retest in like 3 hours?

 

[Newdude]

so I should add more acid and retest in like 3 hours?

30 minutes should be plenty with good circulation. A little longer maybe because AG pools aren’t the best for mixing.