Unfortunately I only stumbled across these forums a few weeks back. We inherited our pool when we purchased our house in July 2015. It was originally built with a SWG, but the previous owners had converted to chlorine tabs due to the limestone surround being eaten by the salt. We had a few ups and downs with algae and pollen over the last 3 summers, but generally the advice from the Leslie's guy was effective. One other point of note, I added a UV unit so that I could run with FAC around 2%.
This summer we had the misfortune of our erosion chlorine feeder stopping working maybe 1 or 2 days into a 14 day vacation. We came back home to a very green pool. We shocked, algae killed and cleared the water using the requisite Leslie's recommended chemicals, and I managed to get the pool back to crystal clear in time for a swim party a few days later.
The problem is that since then we've not been able to keep the FAC level much above zero and had at least three more recurrences of algae growth. No doubt the 100 degree heat and zero rain for the last month has been a contributing factor. At least 5 shock treatments later, with the Chlorine feeder set on max (6 3" tabs every 3 days), and still no FAC, I started googling for a solution and came across TFP. I performed an overnight chlorine test - raised the FAC to 2% using liquid chlorine at 9pm and measured it below 0.5% at 7:30am the next morning...
Based on that data, it appears that I have a problem that needs to be SLAMed. I began to plan my strategy. I ordered a Taylor K-2006 test kit, and picked up 15 gallons of 10% chlorine from Home Depot. That quantity was based on the CYA level reported by Leslie's (80ppm), and my 33,000 gallon pool. Unfortunately once the Taylor kit arrived, my first CYA test reported a level that is way north of 100. It now looks like I need to spend around $400 on a partial drain and refill ($140 for a pump and hose, $250 for water).
Before I go down that path, are there any other ideas out there? If not, does anyone have an opinion on this pump: XtremepowerUS 1/2 HP Dirty and Clean Water Submersible Thermoplastic Utility Sump Pump 25 ft. Cord-71048-XP - The Home Depot.
It looks pretty basic, but it only has to run for 10 hours, after which I hope to never use it again
Also, if I don't want to reinstate the SWG, what are your recommendations on how to maintain the chlorine level after the SLAM is over? I am fine to add liquid chlorine 3 or 4 times per week based on test results, but if I am gone on a business trip, it is probably more than my wife would sign up to. She is a trooper and looks after the skimmers and brushes etc. She even helps clean the filters. But she may baulk at handling liquid chlorine.
One final point - I guess I could wait until it gets cooler / more rainy, and allow nature to dilute the CYA some. And do the partial drain / re-fill in the spring when I am not running sprinklers and water is cheaper. But I don't know what I would do in the meantime - could I use Potassium Monopersulfate shock + the UV to keep the pool sanitary until the temperature cools down? I could add liquid chlorine before any swimming / hot tub usage to make sure things are safe.
Thoughts / comments?
Thanks
This summer we had the misfortune of our erosion chlorine feeder stopping working maybe 1 or 2 days into a 14 day vacation. We came back home to a very green pool. We shocked, algae killed and cleared the water using the requisite Leslie's recommended chemicals, and I managed to get the pool back to crystal clear in time for a swim party a few days later.
The problem is that since then we've not been able to keep the FAC level much above zero and had at least three more recurrences of algae growth. No doubt the 100 degree heat and zero rain for the last month has been a contributing factor. At least 5 shock treatments later, with the Chlorine feeder set on max (6 3" tabs every 3 days), and still no FAC, I started googling for a solution and came across TFP. I performed an overnight chlorine test - raised the FAC to 2% using liquid chlorine at 9pm and measured it below 0.5% at 7:30am the next morning...
Based on that data, it appears that I have a problem that needs to be SLAMed. I began to plan my strategy. I ordered a Taylor K-2006 test kit, and picked up 15 gallons of 10% chlorine from Home Depot. That quantity was based on the CYA level reported by Leslie's (80ppm), and my 33,000 gallon pool. Unfortunately once the Taylor kit arrived, my first CYA test reported a level that is way north of 100. It now looks like I need to spend around $400 on a partial drain and refill ($140 for a pump and hose, $250 for water).
Before I go down that path, are there any other ideas out there? If not, does anyone have an opinion on this pump: XtremepowerUS 1/2 HP Dirty and Clean Water Submersible Thermoplastic Utility Sump Pump 25 ft. Cord-71048-XP - The Home Depot.
It looks pretty basic, but it only has to run for 10 hours, after which I hope to never use it again
Also, if I don't want to reinstate the SWG, what are your recommendations on how to maintain the chlorine level after the SLAM is over? I am fine to add liquid chlorine 3 or 4 times per week based on test results, but if I am gone on a business trip, it is probably more than my wife would sign up to. She is a trooper and looks after the skimmers and brushes etc. She even helps clean the filters. But she may baulk at handling liquid chlorine.
One final point - I guess I could wait until it gets cooler / more rainy, and allow nature to dilute the CYA some. And do the partial drain / re-fill in the spring when I am not running sprinklers and water is cheaper. But I don't know what I would do in the meantime - could I use Potassium Monopersulfate shock + the UV to keep the pool sanitary until the temperature cools down? I could add liquid chlorine before any swimming / hot tub usage to make sure things are safe.
Thoughts / comments?
Thanks
