Keep SLAM'ing or done?

[thebosman]

Been SLAM'ing since March 22. My water is beautiful blue and almost perfectly clear.
I can see the pattern of my liner on the bottom, but there is still a little haze to the water.
I have not performed the OCLT test yet as I am not sure how clear the water needs to be.
Looking for advice, please.

 

[mknauss]

Sand filters can be the slowest to clear the pool. Have you done the DE process to filter out fines? Are you waiting until you see a 25% rise in filter pressure prior to back washing?

Crystal clear water is just that. You can call heads or tails on a quarter.

You can do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test tonight. See what it shows.

 

[thebosman]

I have not done the DE process as I cannot find the DE. I have been backwashing with even a slight change in pressure. I will try the OCLT tonight. Thanks.

 

[mknauss]

I have been backwashing with even a slight change in pressure.

The funny thing about sand filters, you are better off to let them get a bit dirty before you backwash. They filter better dirty.

Let the pressure rise by 25% over clean pressure prior to back washing the next time.

 

[thebosman]

Well, 1.0 loss exactly. I guess I'll quit slamming and look for some DE.

 

[JJ_Tex]

I'm curious as to what the experts say, but I would be a bit hesitant to stop the slam at 1.0 loss and the water still a bit hazy. I would be tempted to keep the slam up for another day or two while you add DE.

I have a DE filter, so I usually buy the big bags, but I've noticed Walmart carries a box of DE that is ~5lbs. You may look into that instead of the larger DE bag I see at pool stores/lowes/home depot.

 

[thebosman]

Ok, so my pool is clear. I test each evening and I only have .5ppm of FC, 0 CC, pH is up to 7.7. I am adding required chlorine. Should my FC stay higher than this or is this amount of loss normal?

 

[JJ_Tex]

Do you mean you lost .5 overnight, or you have .5 FC total?

 

[thebosman]

I have only .5ppm of FC when testing

 

[JJ_Tex]

Yeah, thats below the minimums regardless of your CYA. What is your CYA? Even at the lowest recommended leve (30 ppm) your target FC is 4-6, with a SLAM level of 12.

Either your chlorine has lost its strength, or something is eating it up.