In the middle of a 2+ week SLAM.. not making progress

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YippeeSkippy said:
You might want to add a little DE to your sand filter to help trap the smallest schmutz.

Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter

Be aware that each time you backwash it will come out, but its easily replaced too.

Maddie :flower:
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Thanks for the tip. I'll probably give it a shot this weekend.

Just got home after a 12 hour workday and my FC only dropped to 6. That's pretty good considering I had been dropping to that in a matter of an hour or two. Bumped it back to 12 and we'll check later. Still no difference in clarity. :(

Oh, BTW, I checked the pH and I'm still running in the 6.8-7 range.
 
Ok, so my frustrations got the best of me last night. Sigh... I'm just not making progress. Water is still very cloudy and still burning through bleach during the day. I really don't know the history of this pool so maybe the filter just has too much junk in it from the previous owners. I'm going to spend $30 and just replace the sand. I have the next 5 days off so I can spend a lot of time on getting this right. Wish me luck...
 
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you could empty the sand out and clean it if you want, That's what I did and it made a world of difference. if its been sitting and not used you will be surprised and sickened to see what can live in there. If changing it will make you feel more sane then got for it. This process is not for the faint of heart, especially if you are starting in a bad place ( much like I did) it took over 5 weeks and 32 gals of bleach every 4 to 5 days for me to get my SLAM complete, Stay strong and keep on keeping on, the end will be worth it. I truly know what your going through anger, self doubt, anguish, wishing or thinking there has to be a quick fix. There is a fix (its what your doing) you just have to have patience. we are here for you!! please vent, cry, what ever, all you want here but please stay the course
 
rammy said:
you could empty the sand out and clean it if you want, That's what I did and it made a world of difference. if its been sitting and not used you will be surprised and sickened to see what can live in there. If changing it will make you feel more sane then got for it. This process is not for the faint of heart, especially if you are starting in a bad place ( much like I did) it took over 5 weeks and 32 gals of bleach every 4 to 5 days for me to get my SLAM complete, Stay strong and keep on keeping on, the end will be worth it. I truly know what your going through anger, self doubt, anguish, wishing or thinking there has to be a quick fix. There is a fix (its what your doing) you just have to have patience. we are here for you!! please vent, cry, what ever, all you want here but please stay the course
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Thanks rammy, I'm pretty sure I'm going to change out the sand. Like I said, I don't have any history on the pool. When I bought the house last year, it was quite a swamp. Was near the end of the summer so my slight efforts last year didn't make much of a difference. Fast forward to this year after sitting open and uncovered all winter, you can imagine what I started with. Won't take me but a small bit of time to change out the sand and continue with the process.

Thanks again for the encouragement to continue on. As you can imagine, it's quite frustrating not making much progress and listening to all my friends with their fixes.... super shock, green to blue, etc. I keep telling them I'm following a process on TFP.

More to come....
 
Last edited by Geoffro; Today at 07:24 AM. Reason: I calmed down... lol
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I think this is the best part of your thread so far. :joker: In any case, I agree that changing the sand is best considering the questionable history of the pool before. Are you able to see to the bottom yet? Hopefully you've scoured the depths to uncover any surprises that could be lurking. A small pile of muck & junk is all it takes to stall a SLAM. But I suspect the sand will help. After the sand exchange, go back to SLAM basics - verify pH is at about 7.2, verify CYA so you know the proper FC SLAM level, then SLAM-away. Best of luck to you and have a great 4th!
 
As you can see in my signature we have VERY similar pool sizes and sand filter. Slam Kills Algae & your filter cleans the water.

I believe anyone that has taken over a sand filter from a previous owner should replace the sand and start fresh. It is a cheap way to rule out this critical component.

#1 no one has any idea what that previous owner subjected the sand to (clarifiers, flocs who knows)

#2 without opening it up, no one has any idea if the proper level of sand is present. (you already know this but only because you already opened it up)

Those are 2 BIG reasons worth spending $30-$45 dollars and a little time on new sand.

Once that is done, run the filter 24/7, I have kept a diary for the last 2 seasons of following TFP, both times it has taken me 20+ days to clear it from Swamp to Glam and that is with having CYA & pH in order Before I started the SLAM.

As you will see through thousands of threads, TFP works, it just takes time.

Take a picture from the same spot around the same time each day so you can have a factual reference point of visual improvements.

And get some pop (POP = Pool Owner Patience) SLAM is a process not an event.

You will whip this pool into submission.

- - - Updated - - -

Also, with the pump off, brush around the main drain (assuming you have one), one poster this year had a main drain that was very clogged up and he couldn't see it until he swam down to it with a face mask on. Once he cleared that his SLAM seemed to go much quicker.
 
Ok, so I turned off my filter yesterday and disconnected it so I could let the water drain from the filter. I go outside today and I can see the bottom of the pool!!! Woohoo... So, I'm guessing all that cloudiness is dead algae. I'm changing the sand now and gonna hook it up. I just don't want to screw something up and go backwards.

Is there anything I should do now before running the pump again and continuing with SLAM?
 
Making progress... Wasn't so sure the sand that I removed was bad but, it was sticky and milky. Maybe just dead algae and needed backwashing for a long while. Regardless, I've already had to backwash the new sand twice. FC is still dropping but not a lot. The pH was very low and TA was 220 so I turned the jet up so I had a big bubblefest!!! Ran over night and pH came up to 7.4 from 6.8. Switched the jet back to below the water until I'm done with the SLAM. Water is blue but cloudy...not as bad as it was, I can see about 3 ft down. I'm getting there!!! WOOHOO!!!
 

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So, I'm a believer... I'm sorry for even doubting this process before. I am crystal clear and holding. I'm doing an OCLT test tonight and I hope I'm good. I guess I better go read up on how to maintain once the SLAM is done. I'm soooo happy right now!!

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