First Time SLAM

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I read on a TFP post that I should have been running my filter on recirculate during my slam process until the algae was dead? is this true?
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No. The pump should be running 24/7 with water flowing through the filter to collect the dead algae and chlorinate the filter itself. Running on recirculate is used sparingly when someone is first starting their SLAM and might be away from home all day and no way to do a backwash to reduce the increased pressure. If you've been on recirculate, you haven't done any damage to the filter, only slowed down the process a bit. You want the multiport valve on filter and then need to monitor the PSI gauge for increasing pressure throughout the day. When the pressure increases by about 20%, do a backwash.
 
Just adding an update on progress. I didn't get to make it home on my lunch break to do my normal cleaning and honestly was very discouraged yesterday. To my surprise yesterday the water was even clearer than it was in the morning. Even my wife made a comment that it was looking better. The water is still hazy, but you can make out the pattern of the liner in the shallow end. After I did my normal cleaning routine I decided if my FC was lower than 10 I was going to run a full set of tests. I didn't bring my log book with me this morning so I will post the full results when I get back from lunch. But what I do remember. FC: 8, CC: .5, PH: 7.0, CYA: 30. Note:I did test my cya in the house last night because it was dark out side and I wanted to know what it was. I know this should have been tested in the sunlight. Also, in just my kitchen light I could still barely make out the dot. So I am confident I would have been able to see it in the sun light. I went ahead and added a small sock of CYA and will test it again this afternoon.

I know my PH is a little low, but I went ahead and brought the pool back up to shock level last night because I didn't want algae to start growing again as the water warms ups during the day. When I tested the FC this morning before work it was 12.5.


For anyone that is keeping up I think I have some factors that have been helping me out. This is all my theory anyway :)
1. We have had a cold snap in arkansas the last couple of days with lots rain and my water temp dropped from 61 to 55.
2. I added some DE to my sand filter because it ran for almost two days with no pressure change from a backwash.
- I have followed my manufactures suggestion of backwashing at 8 to 10 psi over my normal.
3. I wouldn't say I was back washing excessively, but I have fought the urge of backing washing before going to bed because I didn't want to get up in the middle of night to check on it. Effectively I think I have let my filter build up some sediment to start capturing smaller particles.
 
Seeing some improvement is a positive sign. But I would try to check that CYA outside next chance you get, and not add anymore stabilizer until you know for sure what it is. If you find the CYA to be closer to 40 after the addition you made, make sure to increase the FC level to "16". If the CYA ends-up being closer to 30, then your FC can stay at "12". Stay on the course and let the bleach do its job. It will work. Have a good day.
 
My results from last nights testing:

FC: 8
CC: .5
PH: 7.0
TA: 30
CH: 20
CYA: 30

Testing this morning my FC was a 12.5. At lunch today it was at 12 and I tested my CYA outside today and I could still faintly see the black dot on 30.

Don't know if it was the way the sun was hitting the water but it looks cloudy again. I tried to get my light off but had issues. I'll try again to see if I have some algae hiding out in there.
 
mclifford said:
I know my PH is a little low, but I went ahead and brought the pool back up to shock level last night because I didn't want algae to start growing again as the water warms ups during the day. When I tested the FC this morning before work it was 12.5.
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Those were my test results from the night before when I got home. Didn't mean to throw anyone off. But I do like the idea of a chlorine gremlin!
 

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I have been trying to take my daily pic in the afternoon when the sun is out. I'll grab one at lunch today. It was looking better this morning. Still hazy but making progress. But it seems to always look good in the morning. I think it might be the way the light hits it.

It seems like am learning something new everyday being a new pool owner. I have been reading a lot on pool filters and recently got off on a tangent of pool vacuuming. I have two skimmers and I shut one of them off while I was vacuuming last night. this was a recommendation I read on a TFP post. This was the best the vacuum had ever worked. The head stayed on the floor much better and seemed like I was picking up a lot of the brown dust on the floor.

my FC was right at 12 this morning.
 
The head stayed on the floor much better and seemed like I was picking up a lot of the brown dust on the floor.
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Let's watch this progress as we approach the weekend. Your FC seems to be holding pretty well. You should begin to see more of a lighter-hazy appearance (almost grey/white) to dead algae near the end of the SLAM while the water continues to clear. If you continue to see brown, you may want to consider inspecting the sand filter to see if what you are seeing (brown) on the floor may actually be sand versus algae. If you could capture any of it with your hand, gritty would be sand while a softer/slimy texture would be algae. Just something to think about as you continue.
 
Looks like I need to become a tfp supporter. It won't let me upload any more pictures :)

I don't want anyone to take offence to this because I have been getting great advice and support. But for my own comfort I contact hayward with concerns my filter wasn't working right etc.. First thing they told me was I needed to flock my pool otherwise I will be filtering for day's before it clears up. I told him I didn't want to do that. so the alternative in fact is using DE to "dirty" the filter to make it filter better. already knew that advice from tfp.

What I focused around was my filter and its pressure. My startup pressure was 12 psi and the recommend cleaning psi is 8 - 10 psi over that. However, I should also take into account the amount of flow I am getting. He said to monitor it closely, but in my case since the water is "clean" and has small particulates in it. It is acceptable to run at a higher psi to help clear out the float particles. He told me to monitor very closely but for a short term clean up running in the 20 to high 20's.

the above advice is all based off of flow. If I am getting good flow the filter can handle running at a higher pressure because the sand filter works better the "dirtier" it gets. It was reiterated to me this is specific to my filter situation.

I know several of you are really good at this. thoughts? good / bad advice?
 
Once your system is installed and you aren't physically changing the hardware, higher pressures coincide with lower flows. This is a function of the pump curve. Higher pressure doesn't mean higher flows. This is why you need to backwash, to maintain adequate (high enough) flows in the system.

We typically don't recommend that you floc. If not done properly, it can ruin the sand in your filter (gum it up) the sand filter valve needs to be turned to pump only to waste. I don't think you are at the point of concern yet. If you want to speed it up a bit, you can add some DE to your sand filter to artificially "dirty" the filter and filter out finer particles. You just need to be around to watch it and make sure the pressure doesn't spike up. It doesn't take much DE to do the trick. See this article in Pool School. Note that each time you backwash you need to put more DE in the filter. We typically recommend a much lower backwash threshold, about 20-25% rise over clean pressures. Higher pressures just relate to lower flows through your system.

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Call line H1 as your clean filter, H2 as your "getting dirty" filter, H3 as your "getting really dirty with DE" filter. You can see that at the "Head Capacity at Constant Speed" line crosses the "System Head Curve", the pressure (head) goes up, but the flow (capacity) goes down. The "Head Capacity at Constant Speed" is what your pump is capable of producing for head/flow combinations. Each pump has its own curve and why there are no numbers on the axis. Look in your pump manual for actual numbers.
 
So I backwash at 3 psi over my baseline? that was my original calculation, but for some reason thought that can't be right.

At that rate it will take months for my pool to clear. Are we sure the 25% applies to sand filters and not DE?

the manufacture suggested in the manual is 8 - 10 psi over base.
 
25% is the typical recommendation. Feel free to wait longer if you want but it just reduces the flow through your filter in there for less watered filtered per minute. What pressure rises are you seeing right now before you backwash? I’m not sure I follow why it will take longer if you backwash at a lower pressure. All that stuff needs to come out of water somehow.
 

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