Full week of slamming and not much progress Pics included.

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Let your test be your guide, rain or shine ;)

I feel you're really close now...23rd is not unreasonable. Since its the weekend, test as frequently as you can and make sure you're above your slam level every minute of the day and I think you'll be golden! You've gotta make up for that bit o lost time when wife listened to the pool guy ;)

(And you can tell her that with confidence because every minute your slam level is not AT slam level, you are literally allowing algae to outpace the chlorine. So if she gives you a hard time about it, you can accurately explain that listening to the pool guy put you several days behind!)

At any rate, seriously, you are on the home stretch. Hit it hard this weekend and put it behind you ;)
Cheers to clear!
 
Not much progress over the weekend. FC Levels got a bit high from me accidentally putting too much bleach. I assume I just need to wait it out until the levels drop? CYA level is now at 30. I got in a big bottle of CYA testing refill so I can't test that more frequently now during this process.
 
Ok, so it sounds like your FC is holding better, meaning you're getting ahead of it, so stay the course on that end.

However, just to check, are you filtering 24/7 and can you tell at all if the water is clearer coming out of the jets? Are you backwashing when the filter pressure gets to be more tan 25% above clean pressure?

From your last pic I'd hazard a guess it might take the rest of this week to completely filter out the cloudiness, but you should see some change in clarity over the next day or so now that you're consistently staying ahead of the algae growth.
 
Filter is running 24/7. Not sure if I can tell about the jets as the water is all kinda tinted green. I am backwashing when the pressure gauge moves up two to three notches. The DE seems to be catching more stuff as the notches jump from the 2psi over to 6psi over in about a day. Without the DE it doesn't move much over a full day/night cycle. 1/4 cup of DE has proven to raise the 2psi as the directions specified. I'll keep at it.

I am starting to get into crisis mode and am entertaining the idea of a drain/refill if I can't get the green out. It would be a tremendous waste of money and that is hard to swallow. I've got 40 people coming over for my 2 year olds pool party on saturday. This is my nightmare. I will give it a few more days and hope it starts looking better.
 
I'll let the TFP pro's comment on the timing, I'm pulling for ya! I just finished my SLAM and I learned that keeping that FC at shock level was the most important thing. Also, I took out my pool lights and cleaned them and the housing they're in. I was close to done, and that seemed to finish it off, since there was green mucky water in there. Do you have lights?

Once you get it done, you'll have the knowledge to ignore the pool store and the pool "pro's", and you'll do a much better job. Case in point, my water was clearish to sometimes green, and my filter was constantly clogging. The pool store, and 5 "pro's" couldn't even fathom a guess why...? One post on TFP, and someone said 'the algae is clogging the filter, and you need to SLAM'. 2 weeks later, and problem fixed.

My wife was very "hesitant" to believe me as well, "the pool store must know better right?"

Best of luck, here's my SLAM story if you want encouragement :) (http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/91829-First-SLAM-Prep-Ready-to-get-this-Algae!)

Jeff
 
Oreo, post up another pic tomorrow morning.
With a sand filter, let it ride to about 25% higher than clean pressure...it catches a little more if its a bit dirty ;)
Sand is slower to clear, but I do really think you're just a few days out now as long as you keep above slam level every minute of the day.
 
Thanks for the encouragement Jeff. FC level has stayed above shock level thanks to a misread on my part. It should be at 12 (CYA 30) but it is at 19 currently. I guess thats better than being below 12.

Swamp, here are the pics from this morning. I can almost see the bottom of the shallow end.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4GQMe95I7SDQjFTMEZCOG9VcWcyWGpMZ2JQRHUzQW1MbG0w/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4GQMe95I7SDT1pyY3BZMENXWkJUbHRJb01XNndBRUc5cU5n&authuser=0
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4GQMe95I7SDLUNoUFJmdlhIYjhxTWZoYXlLUlpkTlRMSy04&authuser=0

Let me know if you can't get to those pics.

Thanks
 
Looking at the new pics compared to the last ones I put up, theres not too much difference. I am home sick today and really feeling like throwing in the towel and draining the pool. I just don't see this thing clearing up in 4 days. Wife is still convinced the pool people would have done a better job than I did but I am sure they would have started with a drain and clean once they saw how swampy it was. I know the SLAM process works as I used that method and this website all last summer (she wasn't complaining when the water looked great.) I think if I had another week this thing would look great. Thanks for all of the help and support during this process. We were so close! Now onto figuring out how to only run the bottom drain and not the skimmer during the drain...
 
Is your pool a vinyl liner type? Can't tell from the pics. You are indeed close but its impossible to accurately predict how much longer from the pics! I know you're under considerable pressure here time-wise.

If your pool is vinyl, don't drain completely or you risk floating the liner, depending on your water table. Leave a foot or so of water in the shallow end...add to top, then drain more again if you need to. Perhaps a partial drain will expedite enough to get you there. Suggest remaining above slam level while you're doing it for optimal results.

Once you've re-topped first time, try to vacuum to waste before doing a second drain. The draining suction may have helped any particulate settle.

Lastly, though not generally recommended here for a variety of sound reasons, you could try floc overnight. Its very hit or miss in general, and if you try it, make sure you're above slam level before you shut off your pump to let it sit. And make sure you get it all out when you vacuum to waste etc.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
That is great advice swamp. It is vinyl and I was actually close to the 1ft level in the shallow. I have started the refill. I have had very mixed results when trying to do a vaccum. Is there a particular setting that the multivalve should be on when doing the vacuum?
 

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Another question. Since I'm only pulling from the bottom, can I turn on the normal mode on the multivalve in order to keep water circulation( edit: during refill cycles)? I figure the water will just shoot out of the jets into the pool. Shouldnt hurt I wouldn't think. But thats why I come here! For answers!
 
I hope I get this right but:
1. Vacuum with the multiport set to waste -- you will be getting rid of the ickiest water on the bottom -- you will also be draining some of the water again when you do it.
2. I don't think you should recirculate at all if you're draining -- multiport needs to be set to waste. Once you've stopped waste/drain, I'm not sure if running the pump while the skimmer line is closed could tax your pump or create unnecessary air lock in your lines...and I believe it would just stir up more sediment. So while I don't know and could be all wet, I'd just let it sit while you fill. Hopefully someone with a little more mechanical insight comes along and sees your post ;)
 
Water has been draining and I started the refill process. Water is crystal clear now. It hurt to drain it but as REM says, everybody hurts.. sometimes. Now onto making sure this doesn't turn back green. I added some bleach to the new water to give it some FC. I assume I need to wait till it's filled before making the other adjustments, PH, CYA, etc? I am hand mixing the water with my brush currently. Hoping that will keep the chlorine mixed in well. Please hit me with any other tips for the refill. I am also browsing the forums looking into what others have done. Thanks again for the incredible support you guys/ladies have provided. p.s. my wife is happy now.
 
Good luck, excited to hear about the pool party! I know it hurts to have drained, but you may have been too close for comfort. Once you get it filled, and retest, then you'll know what to do to keep it clear, and not by listening to the pool guys or pool store.
 
Ok, the pool looks amazing. Now let me see if I can keep it that way... Here are the results from my testing:

FC: 11.5 (I was adding bleach as it filled because I was so worried it would turn on me.. Hope this wasn't a problem.)
PH: 8.0-8.5 (it was a little pinker than the top color)
CYA: 0
CH: ?? (the water turned blue and never turned red. It said if it turned red, you have calcium hardness. I need direction on this one.)
TA: 190

Let me know what you guys recommend and I'll start putting info into the calculator to see what type of stuff needs to be added in. Thanks again for all of the help on this journey!
 

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