Ooof. It needs a liner vac to keep the liner tight to the walls as it fills. It will likely do as it pleases without one.
First water tests
- Thread starter PoolPadawan
- Start date
Ugh - that looks well above my pay grade, though I've been reading and watching videos showing how to do this since I noticed it this morning. If there are any recommended DIY guides to this, I'm all ears/eyes.
Should I be trying to start that while it's still filling or can I wait until it's full and then tackle that issue?
I also have a lot of debris clean up to do. And actually start SLAM.
Anything that can be done in parallel would be great for my motivation as I am really trying to stay positive here.
Should I be trying to start that while it's still filling or can I wait until it's full and then tackle that issue?
I also have a lot of debris clean up to do. And actually start SLAM.
Anything that can be done in parallel would be great for my motivation as I am really trying to stay positive here.
I think YouTube gave you the basics and that's where I would have gone.
A shop vac would be better than nothing and yours plus a borrowed shop vac on the opposite long wall would be even better.
I'd make sure you didn't ruin the liner first, but adding some chlorine won't break the bank.
We're all riding with you if it helps any.
I'm gonna pretend I didn't read this
Thank you.We're all riding with you if it helps any.
Fortunately, I'm the proud owner of two shop vacs. Gonna sit here with a
So my large shop vac had been through the ringer over 15 years and started making some noises. I used a birthday gift card to replace it with a fancy new one. As I was walking the old one out to the curb i thought of a plumbing back up or such and how I wouldn't want to use the fancy new shop vac for it. Now I have a wet vac *and* a dry vac.
So, same.
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Day 4 update:
After far more trial & error than I would have liked, my liner is no longer floating, and the refilling of the pool continues. By my calculations, I will be able to turn the filter back on sometime this evening. And maybe I'll even be able to test to see where the levels are after all this.
To avoid as much waste (time/money) as possible, is it better if I first spend some time trying to clean as much of the debris (I can tell there's plenty of dirt at the bottom) before starting to add chemicals? Or can I start SLAM as soon as I've tested and just do intermittent cleaning between adding chemicals?
As always - thanks!
After far more trial & error than I would have liked, my liner is no longer floating, and the refilling of the pool continues. By my calculations, I will be able to turn the filter back on sometime this evening. And maybe I'll even be able to test to see where the levels are after all this.
To avoid as much waste (time/money) as possible, is it better if I first spend some time trying to clean as much of the debris (I can tell there's plenty of dirt at the bottom) before starting to add chemicals? Or can I start SLAM as soon as I've tested and just do intermittent cleaning between adding chemicals?
As always - thanks!
Slam away.
Dirt won't affect FC like old algae sludge will. Even then, SLAM away because it needs to go ASAP, but won't get worse while you are scooping it all out.
Dirt won't affect FC like old algae sludge will. Even then, SLAM away because it needs to go ASAP, but won't get worse while you are scooping it all out.
Wonderful!
BUT - I'm seeing that I am about to have a new problem - note that I have a Frog Leap Infuzer. This was sold as a part of the pool package, so I failed to do my own research in advance and see that it was clearly not something I needed. So here I am.
From everything I'm reading here, I'd have to have a plumber come to disconnect it and remove it. There doesn't seem to be a way to just "not use" the thing. And so no matter what, I really need to make sure I have that running with the cartridge or whatever as well and then try to test? And in parallel, figure out how/when to have it removed so that I can stop having that mess everything up for me too?
I AM GOING TO WIN THIS WAR!
ETA: I found some much older posts (2007-ish) that indicate it's possible to just leave it empty & connected and no harm, no foul?
BUT - I'm seeing that I am about to have a new problem - note that I have a Frog Leap Infuzer. This was sold as a part of the pool package, so I failed to do my own research in advance and see that it was clearly not something I needed. So here I am.
From everything I'm reading here, I'd have to have a plumber come to disconnect it and remove it. There doesn't seem to be a way to just "not use" the thing. And so no matter what, I really need to make sure I have that running with the cartridge or whatever as well and then try to test? And in parallel, figure out how/when to have it removed so that I can stop having that mess everything up for me too?
I AM GOING TO WIN THIS WAR!
ETA: I found some much older posts (2007-ish) that indicate it's possible to just leave it empty & connected and no harm, no foul?
For now the cartridge is either used up or will be shortly. Stop adding new cartridges. The massive water exchange probably lowered your metals considerably if they were high.
Day 6? update:
I have cloudy water instead of green water and a liner that is perfectly seated back where it belongs.
Levels as of a couple hours ago:
FC 1.5
CC 1
Ph 7.8
CYA - way too low
TA - 190 (seems my very soft water must have very high TA?)
CH - 150 (victory #1)
Since I needed to add stabilizer to get my CYA up and a little more pHdown to reduce pH, I'm on hold for a bit until the stabilizer, well, stabilizes.
So tomorrow, SLAM begins. Finally. I think.
I have cloudy water instead of green water and a liner that is perfectly seated back where it belongs.
Levels as of a couple hours ago:
FC 1.5
CC 1
Ph 7.8
CYA - way too low
TA - 190 (seems my very soft water must have very high TA?)
CH - 150 (victory #1)
Since I needed to add stabilizer to get my CYA up and a little more pHdown to reduce pH, I'm on hold for a bit until the stabilizer, well, stabilizes.
So tomorrow, SLAM begins. Finally. I think.
This is day 3 of SLAM.
I am still losing a ton (that doesn't even feel like an exaggeration) of FC each day. After a broken vacuum, we now seem to be making progress. That said, I wanted to just get a sanity check from the pros.
I started with a swamp last week. Drained, refilled, fixed a floating liner, retested, and started SLAM. I work from home, so able to test/SLAM every 2-3 hours pretty easily. My SLAM level is 12ppm and I'm averaging a loss of about 6ppm every 2-3 hours during sunlight - and my overnight loss is around that amount as well. I have an 11-year old that is mastering the art of vacuuming, so she is working on that in parallel to get all the algae and calcium deposits out. She vaccums and empties the bucket in 15-minute increments throughout the day and I test and add chlorine every 2-3 hours.
Should I be testing my FC again 20-30 minutes after adding chlorine to ensure I'm getting to SLAM level? I have been following the suggested amount (give or take a few ounces here and there), but I haven't ever confirmed it's getting to 12-ish each time.
Also, given where I started, I'm just glad that while vacuuming, we can sometimes see the vacuum... if I were to guess, the amount of gunk still settled down on the bottom and floating around is the biggest obstacle and my SLAM numbers will start to improve as the removal of debris continues. Does that sound right?
Thanks all!
I am still losing a ton (that doesn't even feel like an exaggeration) of FC each day. After a broken vacuum, we now seem to be making progress. That said, I wanted to just get a sanity check from the pros.
I started with a swamp last week. Drained, refilled, fixed a floating liner, retested, and started SLAM. I work from home, so able to test/SLAM every 2-3 hours pretty easily. My SLAM level is 12ppm and I'm averaging a loss of about 6ppm every 2-3 hours during sunlight - and my overnight loss is around that amount as well. I have an 11-year old that is mastering the art of vacuuming, so she is working on that in parallel to get all the algae and calcium deposits out. She vaccums and empties the bucket in 15-minute increments throughout the day and I test and add chlorine every 2-3 hours.
Should I be testing my FC again 20-30 minutes after adding chlorine to ensure I'm getting to SLAM level? I have been following the suggested amount (give or take a few ounces here and there), but I haven't ever confirmed it's getting to 12-ish each time.
Also, given where I started, I'm just glad that while vacuuming, we can sometimes see the vacuum... if I were to guess, the amount of gunk still settled down on the bottom and floating around is the biggest obstacle and my SLAM numbers will start to improve as the removal of debris continues. Does that sound right?
Thanks all!
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- May 3, 2014
- 62,689
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Stay the course. You can check the FC level 30 minutes after you add if you like, but I would just do it once for your curiosity and not every time.
As you are still losing at night it is not UV taking the chlorine. Still algae to kill.
As you are still losing at night it is not UV taking the chlorine. Still algae to kill.
SLAM Day 6 is complete. My FC loss per hour is slowly decreasing. My overnight FC loss is slowly decreasing. At times, I can see the vacuum at the bottom of the pool. I anticipated and patiently accept this slow progress.
HOWEVER, I have 3 more full days and then I'm going to be out of town for 48 hours (everyone in the house will also be with me). I could maybe ask our neighbors to come over and randomly dump a gallon of shock in every couple hours or so (in line with my tracked additions each day), but I don't see having someone continue my 2-3 hour routine being possible. How much of a setback will it be? Is there anything I can do short of paying someone to do what I'm doing all day, every day?
HOWEVER, I have 3 more full days and then I'm going to be out of town for 48 hours (everyone in the house will also be with me). I could maybe ask our neighbors to come over and randomly dump a gallon of shock in every couple hours or so (in line with my tracked additions each day), but I don't see having someone continue my 2-3 hour routine being possible. How much of a setback will it be? Is there anything I can do short of paying someone to do what I'm doing all day, every day?
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,982
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
If you are doing every two hours, you might make it in 3 days...
Otherwise, yes, have someone add chlorine.
Otherwise, yes, have someone add chlorine.
This gives me some hope and I will take every ounce of it I can get. Thank you!
Since I'm not at the point of actually doing an OCLT, is it okay for me to also be testing/adding throughout the night? Thinking if I could bring my average time between daytime tests/adds down to 2 hours from 2.5 and also add another 2-3 rounds of it during the night, maybe that ups my chance of success?
- Jun 24, 2021
- 15,982
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
When I found TFP is was 6 or 8 days before 4th of July. I worked 7am to 1-2am, every 2 hours the entire time.
I was RELENTLESS...but @Newdude calls me "extra."
I made it the day before the weekend. Pool has never see algae since.
My picture generally shows up next to the word extra in most dictionaries, so I'm slowly putting the pieces together of how to apply that to my pool. After 42 gallons of shock (so far) and trying to squeeze in 10 minutes of vacuuming in between each test, thank you for confirming that I could be doing more. Stay tuned. I will check in again in 2 days
Figured I'd share an update after my first overnight as it seems I picked a great time to start testing during the night... I think I might have finally turned a corner because I woke up at midnight, 2, and 4 (and then I actually get up for the day at 6) and added absolutely no chlorine to my pool overnight. I just added my first half gallon at 9am (could have added slightly less at 8, but that's when I realized I was out of chlorine - boy wouldn't that have been a fun discovery had I needed it at 2am). Anyway, I am starting to see the bottom of my pool little by little, and I am still vacuuming plenty of gunk out of the pool, so I think still a couple days until something resembling "clear" starts to happen... but for now, the alarm is set for every 2 hours and my chlorine supply has been replenished.
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Vac blind and do your best to maintain a pattern. If last time was end to end, do side to side this time. You'll get it all eventually.
I watched mine get clearer before my eyes with the last splotch of crud. Eventually it had lightened enough that I saw a patch over there and within a couple mins of getting it, it went from green to hazy.
The crud chews through FC so the sooner you get it all, the sooner all the FC will get to work on the water.
I watched mine get clearer before my eyes with the last splotch of crud. Eventually it had lightened enough that I saw a patch over there and within a couple mins of getting it, it went from green to hazy.
The crud chews through FC so the sooner you get it all, the sooner all the FC will get to work on the water.
Mr. Extra (or any of the other, less extra, but equally helpful and amazing folks helping me out here
) - talk to me about brushing - can I do this as often as vacuuming? Is there a recommended alternating vacuum/brush schedule you'd recommend that will help get more of the remaining crud out without just constantly churning the water so that tons of stuff is just floating around? I can still vacuum to a pretty full skimmer basket at least a couple times a day, but I've only been brushing once a day (and admittedly, I know this is where I'm not doing the best job).