Goth to Glam, new pool

[sublimelyoblivious]

It's been a LONG time since I last visited this site. Going to start reading up but thought I would post my before to after pics so far as I've taken my goth black pool to crystal blue.
I think I started a little early and was a bit ill equipped, so it's taken about 2 weeks to get to this point.
We just bought this house in January, and peeled the cover off on April 15th. It was a bit early, but I wanted to get a jump on it after peeking under the mesh safety cover. I thought it would be a bit warmer sooner, but it's been fine. Better to clear the old algae out before new tries to take hold, I guess.
Lots to learn!!! But here's the progress so far

 

[Texas Splash]

Quite the improvement. Nice work.

And ....... welcome back.

 

[Mdragger88]

You’re on your way! Glad you’re back
As you’re clearing your oasis with the
SLAM Process here’s a few tips- if you need reagent refills or a new kit go ahead & order them so you don’t run out
Test Kits Compared

For a successful SLAM Process
you need to continue to MAINTAIN Slam level fc for your cya as often as possible (multiple times per day is best) until you meet ALL 3 end of slam criteria-

You are done when:

CC is 0.5 or lower;
You pass an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
AND
the water is clear.
(Crystal Clear w/no algae dead or alive)

*Check & scrub every nook & cranny where algae may hide (light niches, steps, drain covers, ladder handrails, skimmer throats/weirs, abandoned lines, autofill, overflow drains, etc.)
*If water can go there, algae can thrive there.
*Run slam level water through all water features & lines for at least a couple hours a day during the SLAM Process.
*Brush & or vac daily (this breaks up biofilms that algae uses to protect itself from chlorine)
*Backwash/clean filter when pressure rises 25%over clean pressure.

& Here’s a shortcut to all the basics to help refresh your memory
Pool Care Basics

 

[sublimelyoblivious]

Thank you so much for the direct links! I've struggled with keeping the chlorine up but we've been vacuuming, refilling, dragging out leaves and dead worms, brushing, brushing, brushing. Lots of backwashing/rinse cycles in between. We have set the robo vac in a few times now to help get any left overs we missed with our manual cleaning.
Last pool I had was a couple tries with pop up inflatable ring pools YEARS ago. I think we had a 2500 gal, then a 10k gallon later...
Our best guess so far is 22k-25k gallons for this pool. We will try to get a solid measurement now that we can see the bottom and shape of the pool.
Glad to be back! Looking forward to learning how to not open up a black pool next spring!

 

[proavia]

Welcome back!

What test kit are you using?
How old are the reagents?

Don't forget to update your signature with your current pool info.

https://www.troublefreepool.com/account/signature

 

[sublimelyoblivious]

Oof. I've just stumbled back on the site and still relearning. I'll try to find the settings and look into that, signature is probably for my old pop up. I think that was over a decade ago. I just randomly remembered the BBB system to get back to this site not after using what I have on hand to get the job done. So there will be a reckoning, I'm sure. I'm still trying to calculate the volume precisely to be honest. I'm learning as I go.
test kit: I have had to take samples to the store and use a basic ph/ chlorine kit at home. It's 1 year old. (For a pop up) Ordering another tf100 soon. But until it arrives, that's all I have.
**Also, inherited a bromine hot tub with plumbing issues, a broken pool heater and broken salt water chlorine generator but that's a story for another day! We'll get there in time.