My PSI seems to be staying consistent at 18 with pump running constant on high. No drop over the SLAM timeframe.
Good info. Be on the lookout for the pressure to actually increase as the water's path through the sand gets narrower and narrower - despite the pump not pumping any weaker - creating higher pressures within the filter pressure vessel. While the PSIs will rise, the return jet will feel weaker.
Once I do get to the backwash stage I assume I backwash into a bucket so I can see clearness of the water? I hope to be able to wait to do this when the new pump is here bc I have to manually turn the shaft with a flathead each time to get it to start.:thumbdown:
The general TFP guideline for backwash is 20-25% - and this was arrived at following significant testing and expert consultation. At the end of the day, given countless combinations of motors and filters out there, this, perhaps more than most, is indeed a guideline and not a rule. By monitoring the return just pressure and the PSI gauge, you can decide your own backwash PSI, as long as it is still under the manufacture maximum, oftentimes, but not always 10 PSI higher than clean PSI. So as long as you can safely delay it, no rush to backwash until new motor. The impact to your timeline is far less than slacking on FC and brushing for example.
Lots of rain yesterday and still drizzling this morning!! My morning test was 28, noon was 27, then dropped to 23 by evening...due to the rain I suppose? Added a gallon and this morning it reads 36??? Brushed yesterday, can see the bottom this morning with a couple splotches of brown. Will get in this morning and brush again before heading to work! Hope to have things leveled off by Thursday bc we will be out of town Friday and Saturday :-?:?:
Worry not! That FC overshoot is temporary as it will fall fast and appears highly unlikely to cause any damage.
As you can see, your FC doesn't fall to zero in a day or anything. The sun eats more than it will as FC falls closer to target where a larger percentage is better protected via CYA ratio, that stubborn brown claiming a lot - but by and large, you're charging towards holding FC much better as the trouble free pools do. Just top FC off before you leave and let it circulate for 20 mins. Then you can either leave the pump on or off, whatever you feel more comfortable with. You may opt to leave it off and let solids settle, then do a VERY SLOW vac when you get home, so as not to kick up the sediment before the vac pulls it in. Some TFPers really swear by the letting it settle then vac approach towards the end of a SLAM, especially with sand filters, which despite their unique advantages, are slower to clean up a swamp without the aid of DE or CF (see below).
As your pool clears - one of two things will happen:
1) you'll be really excited that this crazy
SLAM Process business is as fantastic as the rest of TFP and all will be well soon enough
2) you'll be grateful that it is blue with no more green or brown anywhere - but you'll swear to us that it will never get totally clear and there isn't any progress being made with the cloudiness
If 1, yay!
If 2, take a deep breath - all will be well. One aspect that the SLAM can't account for is how much algae was allowed to grow, and the quantity of grey dead algae that is left on the bottom of your pool and floating throughout it. This is what, at the very end of the SLAM, can drag things out a bit IF your filter is drastically undersized or circulation is insufficient. In your case, I don't think either are a problem, but this is a guess.
If, in the future (not now, your SLAM isn't there yet), you achieve perfectly blue water, no signs of live algae at all, and the cloudiness just will not resolve itself on a timeline you will tolerate, then there is a protocol for that, 100% optional and 100% unnecessary as it does not do anything your sand filter will be able to achieve given enough time - however long or short that may be. Generally speaking, cloudiness after pool is remediated of algae is mostly gone in a week with a properly sized pump/filter using sand. For pool owners who just can't wait, there are two things that can be used to modify the filtering ability of your sand filter. These are
Pool Grade DE and Cellulose Fiber (CF). Pros: speed things up! Cons: more hands on time, more water (and FC) lost to backwashing, cost of DE or CF. These are only suggested in a very small % of SLAMS, but given that the swim season is upon us, and many pool owners have been given the impossible task of immediately reversing algae proliferation that had the luxury of time - I elect to inform you and let you decide what's in your best interest. I tell you now, way ahead of when we *might* have this conversation so that if you know you want it, you have time to research it, source it, and acquire it. There are countless threads about DE or CF and they can be researched on TFP. Ask any questions you have here. Again, totally unnecessary, but if you're willing to do anything for speed, we can discuss it.
