First time Slam today.

Jump to latest Follow Reply
M

mg83

Member
Jun 27, 2023
15
Warwick, Rhode Island
Pool Size
6092
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Ok so heres a little back story. Last year we setup a Coleman 18x48 round and used the included canister filter. It was up mid July to early September. I'm in Rhode Island by the way. All I did was toss in 2 bags of HTH Ultra Shock to start and used 3 inch tabs in the floater for the summer. It stayed clear except for heavy rainy days, then I'd have to add more HTH.

Over the winter we had a tear in the cheapo Amazon cover. We opened it up a few weeks ago and it looked like Swamp Thing was going to come up and greet us. Black water, green scum, mosquito larvae, you name it. I hooked up our new SX2800 sand filter, and began to scoop out like 3 lawn bags of debris.

At the advice of my coworker who has the same pool (and disgusting as well) I dumped in 3 gallons of Austin's Shock 12.5% and let the filter run and backwashed twice a day. It went from black to a pea soup green pretty quick, then to a cloudy teal. I tried cleaning more from the bottom but I was scooping blind because there was still 0 visibility. I put in 3 more gallons a few days later with no results and grew impatient.

So I drained it to about 2 or 3 inches. I had huge branches, acorns, leaves and just nasty swill. I cleaned it and scrubbed the walls and visible algae. I started to refill figuring the fresh water would help dissipate the dirty water that the sump couldn't get and that would be the filters job.

During this time I ordered a TF100 kit and while waiting I tossed in a left over bag of HTH Ultra from last year. The picture shows a fresh fill with 1 bag from June 7th. The picture isnt the best, but you can see the bottom in some spots.

My daughter's last day of school is June 20th. The day the cover came off she's been asking non stop when will it be ready? Hopefully we can get this in order in 11 days.

I have my kit now and I'm not doing anything until I get advice from you guys.
 

Attachments

  • 20240607_092821.jpg
    20240607_092821.jpg
    649.7 KB · Views: 33
Go ahead and start learning your test kit. Follow the instructions that came with it and post your results:

FC (free chlorine)
CC (combined chlorine)
pH (pH)
TA (total alkalinity)
CYA (cyanuric acid aka stabilizer)
CH (optional at this point)

Also, please be advised that a somewhat dirty sand filter filters better than one that has been freshly backwashed. We recommend you learn the 'clean' pressure of your filter (right after a backwash/rinse process) and hold off on backwashing until the pressure rises 25%. For example, if your pump running at high speed has a PSI of 12, your backwash trigger pressure would be 15 PSI at high speed (12 x 1.25). Adjust based on your actual circumstances.

Go ahead and read the basics and SLAM procedures again as you'll need both to meet your deadline.

Pool Care Basics

SLAM Process
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude and Mdragger88
Welcome to TFP! :wave: So it's time to start clearing that swamp. Lower the pH to about 7.2 with muriatic acid. Next add granular stabilizer for a CYA goal of "30" using the sock pre-soak method. Then increase the FC to "12" and maintain that FC of 12 as best as you can until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria as noted on the SLAM Process.

After that sock with stabilizer soaks for about 30-40 minutes, take it over to a return jet and squeeze all the "mush" out. Done.

Focus on brushing, sweeping, and maintain the elevated FC level and you should do fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mdragger88
I just tried the TA test again and cleaned out both vials in the set for a comparison.

Vial 1 - 2 drops = very first change from green. Also, very light.
Vial 2 - 5 drops = a darker shade, like a cough syrup. I also added 5 more drops after the comparison and there was no change. So, I guess this would be the correct reading?
 
Last edited:
Welcome to SLAM! While I can’t help with chemicals, I can help with steps.

I’m about 5 days in on mine. And let me tell you - patience is key. Following all steps - is key. Testing accuracy is key.

My pool started with dark almost black water - thank you to my incredibly rust-laden well. I’ve seen all colors of the rainbow this week - black, brown, orange, pea soup, Arnold Palmer, teal…

Get yourself plenty of coffee, paper towel, some sunshine and you’ll be #BermudaBlue in no time!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Chris.rago64, Newdude and Mdragger88
mg83 said:
I just tried the TA test again and cleaned out both vials in the set for a comparison.

Vial 1 - 2 drops = very first change from green. Also, very light.
Vial 2 - 5 drops = a darker shade, like a cough syrup. I also added 5 more drops after the comparison and there was no change. So, I guess this would be the correct reading?
Click to expand...
yes, Ta of 50 sounds more reasonable.
You continue the test until there is no further change which sounds like the 5 drops you described.
 
Ok I dropped my pH to 7.2 and I loaded up a sock with CYA. I used the whole bottle. The container said it would put me at 40 with a 5,000-gallon pool. Mine is approximately 6092, so I'm less than 40 but more than 30. I'll check my CYA in an hour after I ring it out. If all looks well, I'll dump in the required shock, set the filter timer and call it a night.
 
mg83 said:
Ok I dropped my pH to 7.2 and I loaded up a sock with CYA. I used the whole bottle. The container said it would put me at 40 with a 5,000-gallon pool. Mine is approximately 6092, so I'm less than 40 but more than 30. I'll check my CYA in an hour after I ring it out. If all looks well, I'll dump in the required shock, set the filter timer and call it a night.
Click to expand...
Did you use granular stabilizer?
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Excited to see next test result with a high FC result or a tale of dosing for 12 or 16FC and it going to zero in 2 hours. Either result will help us understand the state of the pool.
 
Mdragger88 said:
Great 👍🏻 had me worried when you said bottle! You can dose fc as if its there.
It won’t register on the test for 24 hours
Click to expand...
Glad I saw this. I left it in the sock over night and wrung it out this morning and still left the sock in. I just took a test and saw the black dot with a full vial.

But here's my test as of 430pm EST, wasn't able to test this morning.

FC 12.5
CC .5
TA 50. Same issue as before. Light red with 2 drops, solid red at 5 drops.
pH 7.2 It's a very fine color gradient from 6.8 though. Like it could go either way depending on the light source. I have a digital pH reader that Amazon says is 6 stops away, so we'll see soon.
CH 100
Cl Br Motts apple juice. I'm guessing I don't worry about this right now.

I've got some oak tree debris at the bottom but I'm not worried about that. I've got a Hayward skimmer coming in Friday to help.
 

Attachments

  • 20240610_164929.jpg
    20240610_164929.jpg
    232.1 KB · Views: 16
Last edited:
Thats just how the ta test is. Pink then barbie pink some call it. If the final change occurred at 5 drops your ta is 50 & 50 is just fine 👍🏻

the phenol red ph test is invalid at fc levels over 10ppm so disregard it. If you’re concerned with low ish ph you can point your jets up to aerate the water some.

It’s probably safe to add another 10ppm worth of cya - obviously yours was quite low to start.

You’re currently sitting a scootch above slam level fc for a cya of 30 so let it ride until the morning.

The yellow oto test only goes to 5ppm and doesn’t differentiate between fc & cc so its of no use during slam.
When was your last liquid chlorine dose?
 
I added 1 gallon of the 12.5% shock this morning around 830am. My pH tester came in and my pH is 7.34 as of 8pm. There's still a tiny bit of CYA in the sock that's still hanging in the pool. I'll give it another squeeze. The store where I get the chemicals just closed, so this late at night its Walmart or bust.
 
mg83 said:
I added 1 gallon of the 12.5% shock this morning around 830am. My pH tester came in and my pH is 7.34 as of 8pm. There's still a tiny bit of CYA in the sock that's still hanging in the pool. I'll give it another squeeze. The store where I get the chemicals just closed, so this late at night its Walmart or bust.
Click to expand...
Walmart is fine - literally the only clorox product we give the green light is their stabilizer. It’s usually the cheapest too.

Also, please try to add all your info to your signature- it helps us help you quickly & appropriately as we guides are constantly navigating multiple threads.

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.google.com www.google.com
 
My test as of 830am. Identical to yesterday, with a slight increase to CYA.

FC 12.5
CC .5
TA 50
CYA - I can still see the dot with a full vial, but it is much cloudier than the past 2 days. I watched this
and at the 1:47 mark it shows dots for low CYA. I'd say I'm 15 ppm based on what's shown.
 
Last edited:

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