My filter might be fighting against my SLAM

[rmasonjr]

I've been SLAMming for about a week now and I think my numbers are on the right track.
My pool is still REAL cloudy, though. And I've noticed a fair amount of sand in the bottom. It's possible it might have been there from last season.



If I remove my sand and check the laterals, will this undo my SLAM progress?
Should I bring any levels up prior to working on the filter? I'm guessing my filter will be out of commission for ~8hrs or so. Possibly longer if I have to order a new lateral assembly.

Thoughts?

 

[domct203]

If you could at least continue to circulate the water while maintaining FC you will not loose any ground killing algae. Keep brushing as well.

If you find that the laterals are damaged, run the system on recirculate until the new laterals arrive.

As far as clearing the dead algae from the water, without a filter that is going to slow down significantly. You could shut the system off for 20 min or so, then vacuum to waste whatever settles on the floor, to try to stay ahead of it.

The most critical part of the SLAM is the maintain... keep that FC at shock level, and circulating.

BTW- that's a great log you have there. If I could make one recommendation, document the amount of FC added, either in ppm or oz. If/when an 'organic' issue tries to infiltrate your pool you will see it in the amount of chlorine needed, even before the water starts to loose it's sparkle.

 

[Texas Splash]

If I remove my sand and check the laterals, will this undo my SLAM progress?

Not really. I mean as long as it's not a significant amount of time. Hopefully nothing is damaged so you can fill it back up and continue with the SLAM.

Something else to consider before emptying ... have you performed a thorough deep cleaning as noted here: Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter? This could help if the sand got compacted, channeled, or filthy. At least this way you don't have to empty it .... yet.

I like your testing log as well. Looks very-much like my Excel spreadsheet which I also include "comments" to show me how much bleach, acid, or other maintenance I do. Nice.

 

[rmasonjr]

If you could at least continue to circulate the water while maintaining FC you will not loose any ground killing algae. Keep brushing as well.

If you find that the laterals are damaged, run the system on recirculate until the new laterals arrive.

As far as clearing the dead algae from the water, without a filter that is going to slow down significantly. You could shut the system off for 20 min or so, then vacuum to waste whatever settles on the floor, to try to stay ahead of it.

The most critical part of the SLAM is the maintain... keep that FC at shock level, and circulating.

BTW- that's a great log you have there. If I could make one recommendation, document the amount of FC added, either in ppm or oz. If/when an 'organic' issue tries to infiltrate your pool you will see it in the amount of chlorine needed, even before the water starts to loose it's sparkle.

Thanks - good idea about running on recirculate - I hadnt considered that.
I do need to start taking better notes on my SLAM progress - I do plan on keeping that spreadsheet going indefinitely!

- - - Updated - - -

Not really. I mean as long as it's not a significant amount of time. Hopefully nothing is damaged so you can fill it back up and continue with the SLAM.

Something else to consider before emptying ... have you performed a thorough deep cleaning as noted here: Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter? This could help if the sand got compacted, channeled, or filthy. At least this way you don't have to empty it .... yet.

I like your testing log as well. Looks very-much like my Excel spreadsheet which I also include "comments" to show me how much bleach, acid, or other maintenance I do. Nice.

Yeah, I actually did the deep clean last season and it churned up some good 'muck'. Didnt take that long and I highly recommend it to others.
I plan on keeping my sand when I check the laterals this weekend. I will use a wet-dry vac and empty it into my tractor's front-end loader to keep it off the ground. I can then put it all back together fairly easy.
I'll post pics along the way.

 

[Mr Bruce]

Just another heads up, the pH test is invalid with FC above 10. You can skip them all except FC/CC during a SLAM, unless you replace a bunch of water and lose CYA.

 

[rmasonjr]

Just another heads up, the pH test is invalid with FC above 10. You can skip them all except FC/CC during a SLAM, unless you replace a bunch of water and lose CYA.

Ah - Thanks!
Yeah, I ran out of CYA reagents and should have them in the mail today...