Need Advise on if I should do a SLAM now - or wait for the test kit

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T

TexasPop

0
Aug 6, 2017
12
Austin
Newbie here. 6 weeks of algae. Really hate Leslie's right now. Refused to buy their algicide this morning after returning a $40 bottle of phosFree (getting smarter). The employee says to me as I'm leaving with my test results and my frustration - "try to add 2 gallons of bleach and see what happens" They also hate that I have an AGP. They mention it every time I go in there. TFTest kit ordered this morning.

What should I do? Kids start school the 22nd. Would love for them to swim this week. Wait until school starts to SLAM? Here are the numbers for my very green pool.

8/7/17
FC 6
CC 6
pH 7.6
TA 70
CH 80
CYA 50
After these numbers, we had to leave town so I added 2 gallons of 8% bleach and hoped for the best

today - 8/13/17
FC 6
CC 6
pH 7.4
TA 80
CH 90
CYA 70

Thanks so much in advance.
 
If it costs less then 100$ to drain/scrub and refill I would go that route, quicker and about the same cost of bleach you will use in a SLAM.
On refill add enough cya to get to 30 use pool math get it in there as you fill.
Once it is half full add enough bleach to get it to 5 FC.
About that time your kit will show up.
Double check your cya and PH with the kit, targets are cya 30, PH 7.2.
Once those numbers are in order add enough bleach to hit 12 FC your SLAM level check your FC level frequently and brush between bleach additions, continue until SLAM conditions are met OCLT 1 or less, CC .5 or less and clear water.
If you had any residual algae after your drain and scrub this should get rid of it.
 
Vac to waste wouldn't hurt. From your pool store tests I am thinking partial drain to lower cya will be in order anyways.
Add half a gallon of 8% bleach per day, brush and circulate. Post a full set of numbers when your test kit arrives.
OAlso look around find a good supplier for fresh bleach, plain unscented date stamp higher then 17180.
 
A bit of a shot in the dark using pool store tests. You can only drain down to leaving 1' of water left in the pool as you have an above ground pool. So I would suggest 1/2 drain. Worst case, your CYA is still too high when you can test it, or, you may have to add some --

Good luck.
 

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1/2 gallon per day will bump your FC to about 7 according to poolmath. Kind of a maintenance dose to keep things sort of under control until you can test your levels.
If you add too much FC at once you will risk bleaching your liner, I have seen this, at my friends house, in real life and you don't want that, trust me.
Tip - Take a picture of your ladder daily at the same time if possible, looking down the ladder. This will help to build the all necessary POP, or Pool Owners Patience.
 
Funny you mention the ladder, Lou. I pulled it out and the kids are getting in and out using the trampoline. Its full of Algae and I just thought I'd think about it another day once I got the water under control.

Test kit arrived this afternoon. Here are the numbers - really hoping I did it correctly. I'm sad my CYA is still high. I drained 1/2 of the water. I did put a full gallon in the first day, against your advice, I'm sorry to say. I was afraid. I guess my numbers show it. Thoughts?
FC - 14
CC - 1
TA - 90
CYA - 60
PH - 7.5
 
You can manage with a CYA of 60. Your pH is not accurate when your FC is above 10. It reads high so you are OK to leave it.

Go into a SLAM Process-- hit it as often as you can for the next couple days. Every 2 or 3 hours if you can.

Take care.
 
There are four stages of SLAM from what I have noticed over the years.
Stage 1, green pea soup
Stage 2, Aqua + cloudy
Stage 3, Blue + cloudy
Stage 4, clear and shiny, SLAM is complete, let the FC slide down to normal levels.
You kind of did a red neck Lou kind of SLAM keeping your FC levels elevated prior to getting your kit, which no doubt has sped things up.
I would maintain SLAM level FC until the cloud goes away, if the algae is 99% dead you won't be loosing much FC to the little buggers, so it can't be too long now.
 
Here are my numbers tonight.

CL - 8
100-TA
75 CH
60CYA
7.2 PH

It's still a little cloudy and blue. I'm planning on putting in 157 oz of 10% bleach tonight. I've been trying to keep the pool swimmable while my kids are not in school. The problem today is that the PH is 7.2 and a little stingy. Is that a Borax thing? Pool calculator says to add 26 oz of Borax but I'm not measuring Borate. I'm a little confused if that is the right thing to do?
 
Hi Texaspop
ph of 7.2 should not be 'stingy'. It could be CC's instead, they are very irritating at very low levels

CC's are basically the waste formed from the FC being used up on algae. CC's go away when you have sunlight on the pool or you add more chlorine

For a CYA of 60 you need to slam at an FC of 24. Every time you drop below 24 the algae will grow faster than it is being killed. This just prolongs the situation

It is safe and comfortable to swim up to your slam level. I would let the slam FC drop to 22-23, allow the kids to swim and have them rinse off as a precaution. I would then raise my FC back up to 24

The more often you test and dose the pool FC up to 24 the faster the slam will go
 

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