New house with pool

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I was out of town on vacation but I got back. I have been doing the SLAM for 2.5 days now. I haven't seen much change yet but I assume it will take some time. So far I am using about 2.5 gallons of bleach a day to maintain 16 ppm of chlorine. I will need to buy more bleach tomorrow. Any ideas on when I should see some change?
 
jtrhodes81 said:
I was out of town on vacation but I got back. I have been doing the SLAM for 2.5 days now. I haven't seen much change yet but I assume it will take some time. So far I am using about 2.5 gallons of bleach a day to maintain 16 ppm of chlorine. I will need to buy more bleach tomorrow. Any ideas on when I should see some change?
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How frequently are you testing dosing chlorine?
 
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jtrhodes81 said:
Testing and dosing 3 times a day.
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The more frequent you can test and add chlorine the faster the SLAM will be… well, until you start depending on your filter filtering out the dead algae (by that point your water won’t be green anymore but will still be cloudy).
 
jtrhodes81 said:
I am finishing day 7 of slaming. My combined chloramines are still at 1 ppm same as day 1 of slaming. I am close to passing the OCLT. So keep slaming right?
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Yes. Sand filters just take a bit longer. Don't test CCs until your pool is clear, then test CC with OCLT.
 
jtrhodes81 said:
I am finishing day 7 of slaming. My combined chloramines are still at 1 ppm same as day 1 of slaming. I am close to passing the OCLT. So keep slaming right?
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How is the water looking? Is it crystal clear?
1ppm of CC indicates there is still some stuff in the water. So keep going. You don’t want to end prematurely and risk another algae bloom, do you?

You are done when:​

 
jtrhodes81 said:
The water is not clear yet. The pool hasn't been opened in 2 years and I raked and vaccumed enough leaves out of the pool to fill 3ea. 5 gallon buckets.
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Yeah, in that position, just keep going.

This should provide some motivation (Click it) --> How Clear is TFP Clear?
 
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jtrhodes81 said:
The pool is clear, but I havent passed the OCLT. Last night I lost 4 ppm chlorine. Also CC is 1 ppm. So I will keep SLAMing?
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Yep. If the pool is clear but OCLT isn’t passed it’s time to look for hidden spots of algae. Can you take photos of your pool and anything in it that isn’t a flat surface? Any lights, ladders, skimmers, drains, etc.
 
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There are a few sticks I can't get out with a net. I was waiting to jump in to get them out. I will fish them out some how. Didn't realize that was the issue. Newbie issue.
Thanks
 
It’s good to get those out but sticks likely aren’t harboring algae. More about pockets of areas your scrub brush can’t reach.
 
jtrhodes81 said:
I guess I was just impatient. I passed the OCLT test this morning and passed CC just now. Thanks for all the help.
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Excellent!

Now make sure that your FC never goes near the minimum for your CYA, and you should avoid any further algae blooms. Add LC and test daily for a week or two so you get an idea of how much your pool is using. Then you can try cutting back to testing every other day or every 3 days, and maybe (depending on usage) you can add some extra FC and only add chlorine every other day or so.
 
setsailsoon said:
John,

Welcome aboard! We get a lot of folks here just like you. Unfortunately also many visited their local pool store and got a lot of bad advice from their "free testing" that then led to BIG $$$$ on special potions. This goes on and on then eventually, out of desperation they searched for a better answer and found us. We don't sell anything, all we have is volunteer experts and pool enthusiasts that volunteer their time to teach you TFP pool methods. They are dirt cheap since we use generic chemicals you can get at big box stores and are identical to the PS chemicals - but way cheaper. People logically assume the pool stores have experts so their tests must be more accurate and they must have better chemicals. We find that's just not correct. The test kits we recommend are recommended because they work and easily get you reliable, more accurate results right out of the box; not because we make any money on them. You can buy at lots of outlets - your choice. One thing we'd ask is that you complete your "signature". This helps us be more efficient with volunteer time and it gets you answers quicker since you have the basic information about your pool that we need to provide advice.

I've been here since 2015 and found this site invaluable for pool care advice. So much so that I now help others too. So again welcome, I hope you find this site as helpful as I have.

Chris
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Good evening Chris,

Notwithstanding my profile, I have been a member for quite some time. I've been in the business for more than 30 years, and now have a small service company. Long story short, every one of my customers get a recommendation to join TFP. In fact, I would refer pool owners to TFP back when I worked for the "Starbucks of the pool industry". Your comments about new pool owners, especially those whose pool came with a new house, are spot on. Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Lyle
 
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setsailsoon said:
John,
Yes, you'll need to just follow the SLAM process. I'll add a short video below for reference. Get as much of the gunk out before you start as possible; it just consumes more chlorine. Check the FC level frequently and bring it back to SLAM level. Several times per day for the first few days on a pool like yours will help a lot. Get used to using a lot of chlorine. For some reason when people do this first time they're reluctant to add enough and this just prolongs the agony. Plus takes a LOT more chlorine. Also, ignore pH after you get above 10 ppm FC. High levels of FC interfere with the pH test. This is why you need to adjust pH first.

Keep us posted and ask any questions.

Chris

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A drop of thiosulfate before adding the reagent will avoid any interference with the test. Meanwhile a high ph (8.0) will greatly reduce the effectiveness of chlorine.
 

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