Help!!!

[marianegs]

I am Slamming my pool, (I am on my third day) The water is cloudy, and there is brown/green spots on the bottom.

Here are my numbers:

CYA is 40
FC is 17
PH is 8.2
TA is 90
CH is 80


I brush, and vacuum daily and cleaning the filter. It looks the same for the 3 days, it doesn't seem to be getting any clearer.
Should I try to lower my PH? Is there anything I am missing that I should or should not be doing?

 

[Nectarologist]

Make sure you run the pump 24/7 (you probably are but sometimes people forget to take the stops off the pool timer). If your cartridge filter is rated for your size pool then you probably need to wash it more than once per day. And even if it's rated for a bigger pool you may need to do it more. I had an oversized filter on my last pool and washed it twice per day (for 4 or 5 days) after I opened to a swamp. Small or large filters will work equally well it's just how quickly they fill to capacity. Until it's clear I would not rely solely on the pressure gauge. I would have done it 3x per day but I couldn't due to work. I'd balance the pH myself (someone will know better though but I don't know why you wouldn't).

 

[LFrankow]

Once your FC gets over 10 your ph number is unreliable.
cya/fc ratio looks good, maybe your filter is a bit small.
If you have a way of vacuuming to waste you could let it sit for a day then vac the bottom very slowly to remove the settled stuff, taking pressure off of your filter.

 

[jeffchap]

pH won't read correctly with FC over 10, so ignore that for now.

How frequently are you testing and adding chlorine to come back up to SLAM level? The more frequently you can do it, the faster your SLAM will progress. Hourly is best if you can manage it?

How confident are you in your test readings, especially the CYA? That's a tricky one, and if it's higher than 40, then your FC may be too low. When is the last time you checked it, and what are you using to add chlorine for the SLAM?

 

[Richard320]

All you're missing is time.

You're probably making good progress, it's just not noticeable yet. Think of your pool as a giant CYA view tube. When the CYA is really high, there's not much difference in the visibility in the tube between, say, 100 and 200. You have a lot of turbidity, so you're at the high end of the scale where the graduations are really close together.

Just keep doing what you're doing.

Don't try to adjust anything but the FC for now. Don't even bother testing anything but FC & CC. It will just distract you and the pH reading won;t be accurate at shock level FC anyway.

 

[Fingaling]

You can't balance the ph with FC above 10. The ph test is not accurate at chlorine levels that high. If you had good ph before the slam, assume you still do. If you didn't check or fix it before slamming, you could let your FC drop to below 10 and then test and adjust ph.

Either way, that should only minimally effect the slam.

Are you confident on your cya measurement? its a fairly subjective test. Did you do it in bright daylight?

Is the water cloudy blue? Or cloudy green? And are the spots on the bottom algae or stains?

 

[marianegs]

Thanks everyone.

Can I retest the CYA when the chlorine is high, or will that number be wrong too?

OK, I will just worry about the other numbers. I have been running the pump 24/7. the water is cloudy blue, the only green/brown is on the bottom. When you vacuum it goes away, and when we brush the walls, it gets cloudier, but then clears up some. We both unfortunately both work, so we have been checking it in the morning, then at around 6:00 pm, then around 9:00 pm. Overnight it goes down about 1.5, during the day its going down about 5.

 

[Richard320]

CYA test will be accurate.

 

[LFrankow]

How frequently are you testing and adding chlorine to come back up to SLAM level? The more frequently you can do it, the faster your SLAM will progress. Hourly is best if you can manage it?

This in itself is a gem.
Since you are both working you could try this rotation.
6 pm, test, add, brush
7 pm, test, add, brush
8 pm, test, add, brush
9 pm, test, add, brush