Did you have a specific question? You reported some test results (thank you). One of those was your CYA level, of 50. You use the chart to determine that for a CYA of 50, your FC target level for a SLAM is 20. So when you get to the part of the SLAM instructions that calls for chlorine, you:
- test your pool for the existing amount of FC in your pool
- use either of the Pool Math* tools to determine how much liquid chlorine to pour into your pool to bring your pool to
FC 20.
And your SLAMin!
You continue with the SLAM instructions, testing and dosing to
maintain the FC of 20 as often as necessary.
And you continue to do that until you can pass the three criteria that indicate the algae is gone and the SLAM is over. Those three criteria are explained in the SLAM instructions.
If there's anything unclear about that or the SLAM instructions, just take a deep breath, read everything again, and/or ask here about anything that is not clear, and we'll help you get started.
* Pool Math is an app you can load on your smart phone, or a webpage you can visit
here. It's a calculator. You plug in all you already know about your pool, and the type of liquid chlorine you have available, and either app will calculate exactly how much liquid chlorine to add to your pool to bring your FC level up to 20. It makes the dosing very easy once you get the hang of it.
Don't overthink it. The principal is very simple. Basically, you're pouring in enough chlorine to make the water toxic to algae. And because algae can be stubborn, and well-entrenched, you
maintain that level of chlorine in the water, constantly, until the algae is dead. That's it.
Where the pool store method falls short, is they fail to explain how the process needs to work (or they don't actually know), especially about
maintaining a constant level of chlorine (FC). They sell you shock, you dump it in and you think you're done. Well, that shock will kill
some algae, but not likely all of it. The shock does its thing and in the process is used up by doing so. So while you think you're done, the FC has dropped, the remaining algae recovers and multiplies a day or so later, and you're green and/or cloudy again. So you go back to the store and they sell you more shock, etc, etc. They leave off several key steps that must be performed, and they generally don't tell you how to test to see if ALL of the algae is really gone. So the process never ends. (Sound familiar?) You can't usually cure your pool of algae with a single, extra dose of chlorine. Or even many doses of extra chlorine without knowing how much to add and how often to add it. The SLAM process covers all those missing instructions. The most important of which are maintaining a specific level of FC for a period of time, and testing to see when all the algae is really gone. That might take days, many days, or even a week or weeks. It all depends on how bad your algae is, and how well you follow the SLAM instructions.
Hope that helps. Ask away if not.
