First SLAM..help!!

[Ramosalexis46]

This is my first time owning a pool and also my first home. I’ll be quite honest I had no clue what I was getting into with this pool. I’m on day 4 of this “SLAM” and I need some guidance because I’m not sure if I’m doing things right. First off my pool is an 18 round. I have a Hayward s244s sand filter with a Hayward power flo 1.5 hp pump. I’m on day 4 and I don’t know if things are going the way they’re supposed to. My levels are as follows

FC 20.5
CC 1
PH 7.4
TA 120
CH 140
CYA 50

I’ve been maintaining my FC levels at 20 and sometimes 1-1.5 above the target FC for the slam according to the chart. My water went from green to cloudy blue in a matter of hours on the first day and I’ve been in this stage for 4 days now. How long does this process usually take? what am I doing wrong?

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
How are you testing your pool water chemistry? Have you read the SLAM Process?
From your pictures, it appears the SLAM process is moving along. It takes time, days to a week or so, to complete.
I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.

 

[Ramosalexis46]

Yes I read that and some other threads on here in regard to the slam process. I’m testing my water a few times a day with my Taylor 2006 kit. What’s got me scratching my head is how fast it went from green to blue. It was about 7 hours. Since then it’s just stayed a cloudy blue color. I’ve brushed and vacuumed everyday and backwashed my filter 2 times since Saturday. I really hope I’m doing things right. I just figured since it turned blueish the same day it would’ve cleared up faster than what I’ve seen from other people on here.

 

[mknauss]

This is the time we call POP -- Pool Owner Patience.
The majority of algae has been killed. You now need to filter it out. That takes time. Also inspect every where any algae could hide. Do you have a skimmer door, a light, folds in the liner, etc? Clean them, brush them. Also, a sand filter can take longer to clear a pool. Be sure to wait until you see a 25% increase in filter pressure over clean before you backwash.

 

[kellyfair]

Took me a week on my recent SLAM, and I didn’t have green water, just some algae on bottom and on stairs.

Are you running your pump 24/7? Only backwash when filter pressure rises 25%. Edit: LOL, sorry Marty, you already said that!

 

[Ramosalexis46]

Yes pump has been running 24/7 since Saturday.

 

[Texas Splash]

Check closely to ensure you don't have any wrinkles or folds in the liner that could be hiding algae. Other than that, stay the course.

 

[Ramosalexis46]

Just a little update. Came home for lunch earlier around 1pm and checked my FC. It went down from 20.5 PPM at 9PM to 16 PPM overnight. Brought it back up to 20 PPM FC and when I got home at 5 ish it came down to 16 PPM again so I brought it up again to 20 PPM. It was a pretty sunny day here. Pool is still a cloudy blueish color. I just had a question about keeping my FC up to match my CYA of 50...what happens if I go a little over my SLAM Target? Will it have negative effects if for example I add chlorine and it’s 5-10 PPM over?

 

[mknauss]

Going above SLAM level FC makes the active chlorine quite high and it can damage vinyl liners and equipment. It is also not safe for swimming. Loss to UV will be quite rapid. We do not recommend going above SLAM level FC unless under controlled conditions for mustard algae, which is only for 24 hours.

 

[Ramosalexis46]

The reason I ask is I use the pool math calculator and it went over like 5 PPM the other day.. poured a little too much lol. I’ve been trying my hardest to measure accurately and I get it close to slam FC. Occasionally going over by 1-1.5 PPM. Hopefully it has no bad effects on this process. Thank you

 

[kellyfair]

Try to stick as close as you can. I know it’s hard when you can’t be at home most of the time, but the more frequently you can test and dose, the better.

 

[Ramosalexis46]

Dropping a consistent 4 ppm overnight the last few days. Woke up at 7:30am to check my levels and I’m right at 16 PPM FC. Brought it back up to 20 before leaving to work. I put a 1/2 a cup of DE in the filter that I had left over from my old setup. Made sure the PSI only rose 1 lb. hopefully that aids in clearing up the water a little bit. Will check again on lunch.

 

[Ramosalexis46]

Got home around 5pm today and checked FC levels and also brushed down all the walls. Boy is that fun... lol. I also redid the cya test because I don't think I did it correctly the first time. I did it inside and not outside in the sunlight the first time. I did it 3 times and I'm confident that its actually at 40ppm and not 50ppm in my last post I stated that when I got home from lunch around noon my level was at 16ppm and raised back up to 20ppm..when I checked them at 5pm FC read 16ppm again but his time I didn't add more chlorine and decided to wait until 8pm to retest. Retested 40 min ago and FC is STILL at 16ppm 8 hours later and it was sunny all day. I tested twice to make sure it was correct. Pool is a little cloudy still but judging by the FC level not moving does that mean the algae is dead and I can do a OCLT tonight?

 

[mknauss]

Once the pool is crystal clear, then do your OCLT

 

[Ramosalexis46]

Brought my levels up to 16 FC before bed. After 30 minutes I tested and it was at 17. Close enough. Woke up to test and it’s holding at 17 with 0.5 of CC! Pool is still cloudy tho. I feel like this is never gonna end lol today’s day 9.

 

[mknauss]

Have you been using the DE in the sand filter protocol? Are you waiting for your filter pressure to rise by 25% over clean pressure before backwashing?

 

[Ramosalexis46]

Yes I added a 1/2 cup of DE 2 days ago and it went up 1 PSI. My original pressure is usually between 10-11 Fast forward to yesterday and the flow was really low and it was at about 14.5 psi so I backwashed and added 1/4 of a cup since it clogged so fast last time.

 

[mknauss]

The DE process is such that if you add enough to get the 1 psi increase, you then baby sit the filter (check it every hour or so) and when you get the pressure rise to equate to 25% over clean (about 13-14 psi for you) you backwash and start over.
Sand filters can be very slow to clear a pool.
Can you see the brush head if it is on the bottom of the pool?

 

[Ramosalexis46]

This is what I see when it’s all the way to the bottom

 

[mknauss]

Great. Pretty normal for a swamp to clear with a sand filter.

In the next couple days, if you can, do a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. Just to check that organics have been eliminated.