Hi all,
I am in the midst of attempting a Mustard algae SLAM but am not able to even get through the initial SLAM because I am not able to get a proper reading on my FC. My test results are below before I get into this:
FC: 11.5
CYA: 70
TA: 80
PH: 7.5
CC: 0
Calcium: 90
So, my wife and are are in our 2nd season with our pool and have been correcting major chemistry issues from the first season due to our lack of knowledge during our first season (feeding the pool trichlor pucks, not maintaining chlorine well, not cleaning enough etc) and this is why some of our numbers are a little high. We have slowly been draining and refilling and balancing chemicals using the TFP method. Things seems to be coming into balance but a few weeks ago we noticed what we thought was dirt and have now realized is mustard algae. Without doing a mustard SLAM yet we have mitigated it some by using skimmer socks, backwashing the filter and creating a vacuum with our hose using gravity so when we suck out the mustard algae the water just flows into the yard. That has helped actually quite a bit but we are not able to do a proper SLAM because I am not getting a clear FC reading with my Taylor 2006C kit. Our water is crystal clear, CC is 0 but it seems that when I test FC I cannot get a clear reading when the FC is above 17 or so. When the level is 17 or lower and I am adding my 0871 I can get the test water perfectly clear but when the levels go above 17 it always has a slight pink tint to it and I cannot interpret it properly. I have went as high as using 100 drops of 0871 to see if that pink tint would go away and it does not and so I cannot tell what my FC is. I store my test kit indoors at 73 degrees and none of my chemicals are expired. I am a little confused and would appreciate and feedback you may have.
Also, my high FC reading of 17 is because I have attempted a SLAM and realized I am not able to get a good reading so I have let the FC level drop so I can get a reading and then raise it back up to attempt another reading and this is when I figured out I can only seem to get accurate readings under 17ppm and not above that. I have since tested with these levels 4 more times and have come to the same conclusion each time.
Thank you- Doug
I am in the midst of attempting a Mustard algae SLAM but am not able to even get through the initial SLAM because I am not able to get a proper reading on my FC. My test results are below before I get into this:
FC: 11.5
CYA: 70
TA: 80
PH: 7.5
CC: 0
Calcium: 90
So, my wife and are are in our 2nd season with our pool and have been correcting major chemistry issues from the first season due to our lack of knowledge during our first season (feeding the pool trichlor pucks, not maintaining chlorine well, not cleaning enough etc) and this is why some of our numbers are a little high. We have slowly been draining and refilling and balancing chemicals using the TFP method. Things seems to be coming into balance but a few weeks ago we noticed what we thought was dirt and have now realized is mustard algae. Without doing a mustard SLAM yet we have mitigated it some by using skimmer socks, backwashing the filter and creating a vacuum with our hose using gravity so when we suck out the mustard algae the water just flows into the yard. That has helped actually quite a bit but we are not able to do a proper SLAM because I am not getting a clear FC reading with my Taylor 2006C kit. Our water is crystal clear, CC is 0 but it seems that when I test FC I cannot get a clear reading when the FC is above 17 or so. When the level is 17 or lower and I am adding my 0871 I can get the test water perfectly clear but when the levels go above 17 it always has a slight pink tint to it and I cannot interpret it properly. I have went as high as using 100 drops of 0871 to see if that pink tint would go away and it does not and so I cannot tell what my FC is. I store my test kit indoors at 73 degrees and none of my chemicals are expired. I am a little confused and would appreciate and feedback you may have.
Also, my high FC reading of 17 is because I have attempted a SLAM and realized I am not able to get a good reading so I have let the FC level drop so I can get a reading and then raise it back up to attempt another reading and this is when I figured out I can only seem to get accurate readings under 17ppm and not above that. I have since tested with these levels 4 more times and have come to the same conclusion each time.
Thank you- Doug
