How long?

[poolmedic244]

Opened our pool last Tuesday, March 29th. Pool company put in 2 gallons of shock and 1 qt of Algecide (I wasn't here, couldn stop them!). Pool was open to green with lots Crud on the bottom. Vacuumed the next day, and immediately started SLAM process. Have vacuumed and brushed every day since except yesterday. Very low CYA, but have kept the FC above 10-12. It's clearing, but it's still green 5-6 days later.

On Friday I got my chemicals shipments. I opened the cartridge filter, completely cleaned it out, and added salt and another gallon of shock.

Last night (Sat) checked FC and found that to dropped to 7.5. (cc of 0.5 for a few days now). Added another two gallons of shock. As well as two sock-fulls of CYA. Tested water this morning, FC was 18.

It's clearing, but it's still green 5-6 days later. What am I doing wrong? Or is it normal for it to take so long?

 

[poolmedic244]

Oh yeah...also been running the lump 24/7 since open.

 

[mknauss]

Read the SLAM Process. Following the protocol very closely will shorten the time. Testing and adding chlorine every 2-3 hours will lessen the time needed. Brush daily, vacuum daily if needed, will shorten the time. Check all hiding places, such as light niches, ladders, skimmer throats, etc. Be sure to have your CYA at 30 ppm from the start and also the pH adjusted to 7.2 prior to starting.

 

[poolmedic244]

I didn't have cya at 30. Other than that, I've been playing very close attention. How long should this take?

 

[poolmedic244]

Oh yeah...and now it's raining. That can't be helping.

 

[mknauss]

Typical SLAM process can run a couple days to several weeks. Depending on the diligence of testing, adding liquid chlorine, brushing, etc. Low water temperatures seem to slow the process down too. Be sure all solid organic material is removed from the pool (leaves, sticks, etc) as that really slows down the process.

 

[ajw22]

Oh yeah...and now it's raining. That can't be helping.

Rain will not affect the SLAM Process.

If you check your FC frequently and bring it back up to SLAM levels the process will go faster.

 

[poolmedic244]

Water is certainly cold--45-47 degrees!!!

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Water is certainly cold--45-47 degrees!!!

Well, that's a plus.... slows down algae reproduction. When you close again next fall keep the pool up and running until the water is nice and cool, <60º is ideal. That way you're closing with a sparkling clear sanitary pool and that increases the odds you'll open that way too!

Maddie You don't have to play golf to love The Masters!!

 

[V___25]

Was the pool green before they dumped in the algaecide? Any idea which one or how much? Is it possible that in addition to algae you have some green because of copper from the algaecide?

 

[poolmedic244]

Was the pool green before they dumped in the algaecide? Any idea which one or how much? Is it possible that in addition to algae you have some green because of copper from the algaecide?

I don't think it's green because of the algaecide. It was 1qt. Didn't see what is was, but I know there was copper in there. I use my own TFP-100 test kit, but I did take the water to Leslie's after we first opened, and the copper count was 0.5ppm; a bit above where we want to be, but that shouldn't cause green.

It's been exactly 1 week since the open, it's clearer, but certainly still has a green tinge to it in the deep end (shallow is cyrstal clear). I've got CYA going in through a sock, and been SLAMing for a bunch of days. I was sick with a stomach bug and got fed up on Sunday night and dumped in 4 gallons of 10% shock on Sunday night. The water tested this morning at FC of 32 and zero CC. I'm thinking about another 2-4 gallons this evening, but I'm not sure any more. The water temp is 47 degrees.

I don't want to turn on the heater until we've killed everything and balanced the water, for fear of rotting out my heater. I've never seen it take this long to clear.

And yes, I've been brushing every day.

 

[poolmedic244]

I neglected to mention that I started covering the pool with the solar blanket to try to keep the sun from messing with my slam too much. Uncovered it today to check the color. Latest test was FC of 34, and CC of 0.5. I'd describe the color as a turquoise, not green per se. Here are some pictures, but it's hard to tell from these.

 

[Bperry]

I neglected to mention that I started covering the pool with the solar blanket to try to keep the sun from messing with my slam too much. Uncovered it today to check the color. Latest test was FC of 34, and CC of 0.5. I'd describe the color as a turquoise, not green per se. Here are some pictures, but it's hard to tell from these.

Does your cover have algae on it?

 

[Justin9314]

Speaking from recent experience, I would say keep on keeping on… my slam took nearly 4 weeks. The first 1.5 weeks was on my rookie mistakes (not testing enough, brushing enough, etc.) I became obsessed and plowed through it. After 50 plus gallons of chlorine, my pool is clear and has passed the overnight test. The big piece I was missing was not enough testing. I started testing every 90 mins and I could start to see some significant movement. Don’t lose hope! I almost did but I’m glad I stuck with it. Also, daily pictures was another great tip because sometimes we are too close to it to actually see progress.