First ever SLAM due to green pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
T

Tfloyd

0
Gold Supporter
Jun 5, 2018
60
Olla / Louisiana
Last night our pool water was clear, so clear that I could see that the bottom of pool looked like it had a lot of dirt built up in it from the trees and dust from mowing the hay field around it. It had little to no leaves or acorns in the bottom of the pool because my husband had covered the pool with a mesh leaf net, but it was not above the pool out of the water, it was simply just stretched out across laying on the top of the pool water surface. so we dipped off the leaves from the top of the leaf netting then removed the netting and set it aside. I then decided to brush the pool to stir up the water so the filter could maybe remove some of dirt from the water over night as I had planned to vacuum it today. well that was a mistake on my part because as I brushed the pool, the pool water turned green almost instantly! I had no liquid chlorine so I threw in 2 lbs of dichlor and brushed the pool for an hour and ran the pump all night. of course This morning its dark green and cant even see the bottom of the pool. So now I have to ask for help once again as I attempt my first ever SLAM. I have on hand, 10 gallons of 10% liquid chlorine, one and a half bottles of R-0871, one and a half containers of R-0870 powder. 3/4 bottle of R-0003.

Todays Testing Results

9:30am
FC: 10
CC: 0
PH: 7.7
TA: 110
CYA:Between 70-80
CH: 150
Salt: 2800
Temp: 84

Added 6 & 3/4 cups acid to bring Ph down to 7.2


I then Vacuumed & thoroughly brushed pool, backwashed & rinsed the sand filter, removed ladder, vacuumed again, brushed for 2 hours, then turned off salt water generator, added new filter sock (knee high stocking), Then tested again

1:00pm Test Results

FC: 10.5
CC: 0
PH: 7.2
TA: 110
CYA:between 70-80
CH: 150
Salt: 2800
Temp: 84

Added 3 gallons of 10% liquid chlorine per pool math to bring chlorine level up to 31. and brushed entire pool once again.


Questions:

How soon after adding the chlorine can I test chlorine level again to ensure the proper chlorine level has been reached?
What chemical or cleaning agent should be used to clean the inside of the skimmer? (I noticed the inside walls and the basket are dirty and have a film that is brownish in color)
Also found green on the ladder steps when we removed them, so is Clorox Clean Up Spray ok to clean the ladder with?

Am I proceeding correctly or am I missing anything?

Any and all Help and guidance anyone can give me during this process will be deeply appreciated!
 
I seen large amounts of what I thought was dirt and dust on the pool floor last night when we pulled off the leaf netting, once I started brushing I instantly seen that each brush stroke left a cleared path on the bottom of the pool, and at the end of every stroke a cloud of green floated up and around where I would end the brush stroke. And instantly the pool water grew more and more murky green. So I am assuming what I originally thought was dirt and dust was in fact actually an algae. The leaf netting we removed last night smells horrible, my husband says it smell like fish. When we removed it we immediately noticed tons of dead bugs and mosquitos floating around that had been trapped on top of the netting in the water and therefore couldn't be sucked into the skimmer and removed from the pool water until the netting was removed.

- - - Updated - - -

I did take a pic with my phone today but I have not figured out how to post the pic as of yet.
 
Yeah, that sounds like algae that has been on your floor for a while.

OK, you have started the SLAM......that's a first good step

You will need to brush that pool very often at first. You need to get the algae up into the pool water so the chlorine can kill it.
How soon after adding the chlorine can I test chlorine level again to ensure the proper chlorine level has been reached?
Click to expand...
Well, you can't, really. The chlorine will start to be consumed the instant you put it in so trust that your dosage was correct. What you can do, however is check the FC 3-4 times daily. If your FC is down to say 22, calculate a dose big enough to bring it right back up to 31 again. This is the part of the SLAM that many, many folks misinterpret and they let the FC come down......each time you test, bring it back up to 31 ppm.

Watch your filter pressure and backwash when the psi rises by 25% or so. Keep brushing!

Reread the SLAM article and follow EVERY sentence.....it will work.

Chlrine is all you need to get your pool clear but a little soap and a scrubrush will clean up the steps and then wipe them down with 50/50 Clorox (plain) and water.

You should see progress each day. A picture would still help.
 
dbtgallery.php


- - - Updated - - -

dbtgallery.php
 
Yay for me, I successfully uploaded pics! I have to take that as a win since I felt failure after fighting with the green pool water today. LOL...I vacuumed the pool twice today, (although I literally couldn't even see the bottom to know if I was successfully vacuuming up anything at all or even know for fact that i vacuumed every inch of the pool bottom). After shoving the brush and vacuuming thru the green monster all day today I am now wondering How and when should I clean the pool brush, vacuum brush head and vacuum hose? And at what point during the slam should I clean those due to the fact I am using them almost hourly at this point in the SLAM. I'm sure with the amount of algae that I pushed all these things thru today, they surly must have some algae now hiding inside of each of those items. I can fill an ice chest with 50/50 chlorine and water and soak the brushes but I'm completely lost as to how to ensure proper cleaning of the inside of this rather long vacuum hose. Any advise or guidance on how to properly clean those and when during this process I should address cleaning them will be deeply appreciated.
 
Don't worry much about your brush and vacuum. There is no point in "sterilizing" them if you are just putting them back in algae laden water, Rinse them off is all that's needed.

You should test FC this morning but no reason for any other test until the SLAM nears completion. Remember to calculate a dose that will return your FC to 31 ppm from whatever it currently is. Do the same thing at noon and the same thing again afternoon and evening.

How about your filter psi? Are you seeing an increase?

Nice pics...Thanks! That is algae for sure. Keep brushing it up into the pool water.
 
I backwashed yesterday after vacuuming, the water that came out was nasty, so I continued until the site glass water was clear then rinsed for 5 minutes before returning it to filter. The pressure gauge is still holding steady at about 17, it rarely ever has increased much at all but when it did, the backwash water was extremely nasty. Do you think it would be a good ideal to just backwash each day after vacuuming just to ensure the sand filter remains good and clean and therefore continue to perform at maximum ability? I used the pool math app to figure how much 10% liquid chlorine to add after each testing, just typed in my CYA level of 80 and the current FC level from the testing and simply turned on the SLAM button & the calculator automatically choose 31 as the target FC, so I added the amount of chlorine it instructed me to add and brushed after each addition. Also brushed once in between each testing and addition of chlorine. I Vacuumed again this morning, not sure how good a job I did because I still cant see the bottom of the pool, so just went slow and attempted to get everywhere, then followed that procedure with another brushing of the pool.


Testing Times & Results

3:00 pm-FC: 23.5 (Added, 1 Gal & 2 cups)

6:39 pm-FC: 29.5 (Added, 3cups & 5 ounces)
10:37pm- FC: 28.5 (Added, 1 Quart & 2 cups)
1:08 am- FC:30.5 (Added, 3 cups) so FC would be 31.8 just so I could sleep before next testing cycle)
7:44am- FC: 31.5
10:03am- FC: 29.5



I had read somewhere on the form the advise of "hitting it hard in the begging by testing every 30 minutes until the chlorine begins to hold, then begin testing every hour, to get ahead of the algae and stay ahead of it. So I figured it be more beneficial to proceed as long as I could thru the night last night because the sun wouldn't be eating any of the chlorine up and maybe that would help decrease the amount of chlorine and time required to get ahead of the monster. Not sure if my thoughts about that was correct or not.

I will get a pic of the pool when the sun gets on over the top of the pool so the reflections are not so bad in the pic, but it is changing in color, its now a lighter tint of green and seems to be leaning toward a cloudy white green. My husband said it almost looks like we added a ton of milk to a green pool. LOL
 
Water color changing very nicely because you are doing a good job. I see no reason now to test and add more often than 3-4 times each day. Once or at most twice daily for brushing.

I would think your psi would change more......does gauge go to zero when you turn off pump?

Assuming gauge is working, wait for the 25% increase before you backwash. Backwashing daily is a little excessive and while it won't hurt, you waste a lot of water.

If you stay disciplined with your procedures, you pool will soon begin to turn blue and start to sparkle.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
10:03am- FC: 29.5 (Added 4 cups
12:15pm- FC: 27.5 (Added 2 Quarts & 3 ounces) Brushed Pool again after chlorine addition


Yes sir, the psi goes to 0 when the pump is shut off. I can and will remain vigilant and on time with the pool testing, additions and brushing for the next 48 hours. My concern is that Tuesday morning I can test, brush and make an addition of chlorine if needed to the pool before I leave for work but after that I will be out of town in meetings all day until around 6pm Tuesday night, that means our pool will be unattended for almost 12 hours during this SLAM. I have cleared my schedule and will be available 24X7 for the remainder of the week after Tuesday. Every muscle in my body is sore, even some I didn't know I had. LOL.. So as of now you are seeing positive progress in the pools condition and I certainly don't want to loose any ground we have gained thus far, So What if anything can I do to prevent loosing precious ground during the day Tuesday when I wont be able nor have anyone that can make an addition to the pool for me. I am so afraid all my many hours of labor thus far will all go to waste due to my 12 hour absence and then the green monster will win this war.

Thank You For All Your Help!!!!!
 
Don't worry about Tuesday. As you continue to kill algae and clear your pool, you burn less and less chlorine. Based on your test results you are not losing all that much anyway.

So Tuesday AM, bring your pool to SLAM value 31 ppm.

Then, bring the FC back to SLAM value upon your return,,,,,,Easy Peasy!! My bet is you lose very little in that 12 hour period.

You may be about ready to do an OCLT on Tuesday but hold on it for now.
 
Thank you, I will do exactly that because I was so stressed over having to leave it unattended for so long during a SLAM.

4:00pm- FC: 27.5 (Added 2 Quarts & 3 ounces) Oddly the exact same results and therefore additions as were done at 12:15pm today.
Brushed again (since my child was home from college to do the labor for me),
removed skimmer stocking and inserted a new one (it wasn't hardly anything in it but didn't want to take a chance of giving the algae any place to hid so changing to a new one daily)
PSI on filter still holding fast at 17.


I will test and add required chlorine once again after the sun goes down tonight.
The pool water has changed colors again so I will post new pics, just to make sure things are staying on tract to get to a complete recovery from the green monster attack.
 
What a transformation. The pictures definitely show the effort and results you’re getting. Success is close at hand.
 
Thank you, and I certainly hope to see clear water soon because at this point my upper body muscles hate me due to all the brushing and vacuuming! LOL I’ve discovered I am more out of shape than I thought! Algae has taught me I need to spend a little less time floating around in the pool and invest a bit more time toward working out while in it. LOL
 
Based on how your pool is clearing, I would suggest you plan on an OCLT Tuesday evening.......it'll tell you just how close you are to completing the SLAM.

Post back up if you have questions about it.
 
Date: Time: Results: Additions:
10/8/18- 9:00pm- FC: 28 (Added 1 quart, 3 cups, 2oz
10/9/18- 7:00am- FC: 28 (Added 1 quart, 3 cups, 2 oz
10/9/18- 5:14pm- FC: 26.5 (Added 3 quarts
10/9/18- 9:40pm- FC: 29 (Added 1 quart, 6 oz

10/9/18- 11:00pm- FC: 31.5 CC: 0
10/10/18- 7:20am- FC: 30 CC: 0 (Added 2 cups, 3 oz

10/10/18- 11:15am- FC: 29 (Added 1 quart, 6 oz
10/10/18- 1:42am FC: 28.5 (Added 1 quart, 3 cups, 2 oz
10/10/18- 5:05pm- FC: 29 (Added 1 quart, 6 oz


Swept entire pool at every addition of chlorine, vacuumed & backwashed this morning. Filter PSI still holding steady at 17.
PH Meter shows that the PH is 8.0

Water is cloudy with a temp of 82, Rained all night and pool was overflowing this morning, so I vacuumed and backwashed filter to lower the water level back down.
Should I address the high PH level of 8.0 (per PH meter) back down to 7.2?

Thank you again for all your assistance!
 
Keep running the filter 24/7......you are close. No real point in doing the OCLT because your water is not as clear as it will be.

Many folks have success at this stage by adding enough DE powder to your sand filter to raise psi by ONE (usually less than 1 lb, I think) and observe for 24 hours. Your pool would be a good candidate for that.

No reason now to brush more than once daily and chlorinate more than twice daily......your on the home stretch
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply