Just opened. Passed oclt. See dust on bottom. Do I slam?

[offtheclock]

In South Carolina. Had cover on for 4 months. Air temp all this week in the high 70's. Took cover off two days ago on Monday. Opened to a crystal clear pool and a water temp of 55F. FC was at 1.5 still so I brought up to 4FC, 0CC, brushed and had robot cleaner going. Noticed yesterday about 5 - 6 dusty brown spots about a quarter in size. Did a OCLT last night and went from 3 to 2.5FC still 0CC and brushed them away this morning. Just went back at lunch and they are back. Water too cold for salt generator so adding chlorine manually. Do I need a SLAM or just hit it hard with chlorine for a day or two?

 

[Texas Splash]

I would not SLAM at this time. I would increase the FC just a little bit stronger than normal (for your ideal FC range) as insurance. But you passed the OLCT so you should be fine. Continue with the robot, hand-brush any areas it can't reach, and monitor for a week or so.

 

[offtheclock]

Thanks for the response. I just added CYA this morning to get me back to 60-70 so I will bring FC up tonight to closer to 8. Will also run robot again and brush.

 

[offtheclock]

Update: Kept FC up around 7-8 through Sunday. Still got several dust spots that I think is algae. Did a OCLT Sat night 5th and had a 1PPM loss. Sunday the kids swam for alittle. Water temp still 61 degrees. Warm enough for SWG to run. Was out of town Monday - Wednesday late night. Went down this morning and there was a lot of dust all along seems and in much larger strips up to 5". Also a lot of worms because we got a lot of rain. Check FC this morning and still was 6.5 and .5 CC. There is also pollen in the pool that is yellow but the dust on the bottom is brownish. I went ahead and brought FC up to SLAM level of 20 and had robot run. Should I continue? Is this just pollen? This if my first spring with a pool so I do not know. Thank you.

 

[Newdude]

Should I continue?

I would. There is likely some degree of pollen being involved but if you SLAM and didn't need to it's quick. If you fail your OCLT tomorrow, you have a 16 hour head start. Either way, you want the battle now with cooler water. If you limp along keeping the algae at bay until it explodes, you will have a much harder time killing it when it's hot out.

 

[offtheclock]

On third full day of SLAM. Hitting it three times a day. Still losing around 5 PPM of FC in between chlorine additions but there has been little to no algae dust. Really thought I would be through this by today but not yet. Strange thing is my FC was holding 6 PPM during the day before I started slamming so I don’t know why my loss is so great now. Going to do an OCLT tonight to see where I stand but I plan on staying at it through tomorrow.

 

[Texas Splash]

With water that chilly chlorine loss should be slower too. Be sure to inspect every square inch of that pool and places where wat touches. If you have a pool light, that niche might be a problem area, but too cold to get in right now. Hang in there.

 

[Newdude]

Still losing around 5 PPM of FC in between chlorine additions but there has been little to no algae dust

Strange thing is my FC was holding 6 PPM during the day before I started slamming

Are you taking real care to make 48 perfect drops the same way you made the original 12 ? Its alot harder to do, the more you need to make. Human error really becomes a factor at higher FC levels. A smart stir really helps as well.

Hitting it three times a day.

This time is less of a deal with clear water, but for future reference, you want to try for a 2-3 hours apart, not 3 times daily. The first day or two needs to be hit hard and often or it drags along. We get it that life gets in the way too. Do the best you can. But the more you stay at SLAM level, the quicker it goes. You are helping yourself just as much as the pool.

 

[offtheclock]

With water that chilly chlorine loss should be slower too. Be sure to inspect every square inch of that pool and places where wat touches. If you have a pool light, that niche might be a problem area, but too cold to get in right now. Hang in there.

Can’t be hiding in too many places. Just put the ladder in and my lights are micro brights. Scrubbed walls and stairs this morning and ran robot again tonight.

 

[offtheclock]

Are you taking real care to make 48 perfect drops the same way you made the original 12 ? Its alot harder to do, the more you need to make. Human error really becomes a factor at higher FC levels. A smart stir really helps as well.




This time is less of a deal with clear water, but for future reference, you want to try for a 2-3 hours apart, not 3 times daily. The first day or two needs to be hit hard and often or it drags along. We get it that life gets in the way too. Do the best you can. But the more you stay at SLAM level, the quicker it goes. You are helping yourself just as much as the pool.

Speed stir to the rescue. So glad I bought that with this forums advice last summer. I was extra careful in my drops tonight being sure to hold straight up and down and to let gravity do it’s thing.

I will only be able to hit it twice tomorrow so I am hoping for some progress tonight. I am off Monday so if I am not there by the. I will be able to stay on top of it.

 

[Newdude]

Speed stir to the rescue. So glad I bought that with this forums advice last summer. I was extra careful in my drops tonight being sure to hold straight up and down and to let gravity do it’s thing.

Awesome !!!! It sounds so simple but the mind wanders so quick. And for what ? To save 25 seconds that you'll never even know you saved ? Its gotten us all at one time or another.

I will only be able to hit it twice tomorrow so I am hoping for some progress tonight. I am off Monday so if I am not there by then, I will be able to stay on top of it.

We all have other commitments like i said above. We will never fault you for yours. And it still works, it just takes longer.

 

[wireform]

For the future just know that 30 cya should be the highest you want before you're sure the water is completely stable. By bringing up the CYA early as you've just causes you to slam at a higher FC using more chlorine for the same outcome.

 

[offtheclock]

For the future just know that 30 cya should be the highest you want before you're sure the water is completely stable. By bringing up the CYA early as you've just causes you to slam at a higher FC using more chlorine for the same outcome.

100% - Thought I was good to go before I added that. Pool math said I was raising to 60 but I am going to double check that again this morning and do another CYA test. Failed my OCLT last night with a 2.5PPM loss so I am beginning to question if I am not bringing FC up enough.

 

[Mdragger88]

I am beginning to question if I am not bringing FC up enough.

Part of the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test is testing fc level AFTER the night time dose to ensure you are using an accurate starting number.

 

[wireform]

Also pat of OCLT to make sure 30 minutes after bringing the fc to point X and making sure X has been met. For all you know the LC you have is not as strong and isn't reaching the X number.

 

[offtheclock]

Was off today and really stayed on top of it. Noticed less of a FC drop during the day and especially into the evening. Also no algae dust present today at all. Doing a OCLT tonight. Hope I can be done with this. On a high note they came and installed my heater today!

 

[Newdude]

Doing a OCLT tonight. Hope I can be done with

Once the FC holds, its much easier, even failing the OCLT. You want to go one day too long instead of one day too soon. Things will be fine for a few weeks and you'll be back at square 1.

 

[offtheclock]

Once the FC holds, its much easier, even failing the OCLT. You want to go one day too long instead of one day too soon. Things will be fine for a few weeks and you'll be back at square 1.

Forgot to mention retested CYA and I am on the money 60. So that put my SLAM FC level at 24. On my last dosing tonight I over shot some and went to 26.5 according to my last test that I am using my OCLT to base on. Is going over my SLAM level by 2.5PPM going to do any harm to my liner or newly installed heater? Thank you.

 

[Newdude]

Is going over my SLAM level by 2.5PPM going to do any harm to my liner or newly installed heater? Thank you.

Not at all. People miss all the time. Its safe a good deal above SLAM level too, but it burns off quicker at higher levels and you lose some efficiency of the 'extra' added.

 

[Orion7319]

Your chlorine loss does suggest you have algae, but I doubt you have yellow algae. I always have that brown dust in my pool. For the longest time I thought it was yellow algae and was always shocking my pool. Then one day I figured out the brown dust spots were oak leaves. They decompose to that dust very quickly. I have to run my robot everyday and my pump 24/7 and I add DE powder to my sand filter to deal with it. Also I always bring my pool up to slam level when I take my cover off and open my pool because I always have thousands of dead worms in it. Probably don’t need to do that but they gross me out..