New Owner SLAM questions

[DarkeHorse]

Good morning to all. First, thank you for the he site and knowledge all the members offer freely, it has been very helpful. I believe I am almost done with my SLAM, but have a few questions.

I have my water tests in pool math, if anyone wants to view them. I’m went from having a green pool, to blue and cloudy, and now I can see the bottom and it seems to be almost crystal clear. My OCLT has passed the last 2 nights, my pump is always running, and I keep the FC at 10-11. So I believe I am heading the right direction. When I vacuum the pool, I am getting what appears to be a light tan type dust, that gets all over my vacuum filter and makes the water in the vacuum chamber cloudy, I am assuming this is dead algae, since it is becoming less each time. I used to see little “puffs” of cloudy water when brushing the pool, not so much anymore. So the question is, do I keep the FC where it is until all this is gone, or do I end the SLAM, keep brushing and vacuuming, and let the filter do the rest.

Have been at this over a week now and happy to see the changes taking place, just getting anxious to use the pool.
Thanks all for the long read.

 

[HermanTX]

Your PM Logs are not attached to your profile. Go into advance settings in PM app.
Your water is not very clear yet based on the photo.
Have you cleaned or backwashed your filter? What type do you have?
You have not indicated your CYA level - if it is 30 then you need to maintain FC level of 12. Do not stop the SLAM until you water is clear. Continue to brush and filter the water to clear it and maintain your FC at the SLAM level for your CYA. If CYA is 40 then FC needs to be 16ppm.

Passing OCLT is just 1 of 3 criteria to complete the SLAM. Keep going because if you stop now it is starting over again when new algae returns.

 

[HermanTX]

Meant to include this so it is clear
You are done when:
CC is 0.5 or lower
AND you pass an OCLT (i.e. overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less)
AND pool water is crystal clear with no visible sign of algae (dead or alive) on floor and walls

 

[DarkeHorse]

Sorry about that, didn’t realize I had to change a setting on PM to allow it to be seen. My CYA levels were 20 which put me at 10 FC and my CC is at 0. My CYA has recently adjusted to in between 20-30, which means I need to push to 12. I understand that the pool water is not yet totally crystal clear, I was figuring that may have to do with the sediment or dead algae, I am picking up. Just wasn’t sure if I needed to continue SLAM or move on. Thank you for your assistance.

 

[DarkeHorse]

Also, I do have cartridge filters, I have been cleaning when the outflow becomes almost a trickle. Trying to catch as much as I can when I brush and vacuum every day.

 

[HermanTX]

Also, I do have cartridge filters, I have been cleaning when the outflow becomes almost a trickle. Trying to catch as much as I can when I brush and vacuum every day.

thanks for the update. Call your CYA 30, then maintain FC at 12ppm. Test every 3-4 hrs. If your previous CYA was 20, you may have been losing a lot of FC to UV rays and thus the "maintaining" part was a little low thus the longer time to get where you are today. But glad you asked before stopping because that just puts you even further behind. So continue with SLAM, brush all areas, clean the filter and continue to vacuum to waste if possible.

 

[Mdragger88]

Btw it is perfectly safe to swim with fc anywhere between minimum & slam level for your cya so long as you can see the bottom of the pool for swimmer safety.

 

[DarkeHorse]

Thanks for that. I have been keeping kid and wife out of the pool while in SLAM. Was worried algae or whatnot might not be good for them. Wasn’t covering the pool either with solar cover, didn’t want to raise water temp and cause algae to grow.

 

[Mdragger88]

Leave the cover off while slamming to allow cc’s to escape. And don’t forget to scrub that cover.
Algae, while unsightly, is harmless. Bacteria & pathogens in undersanitized water (because algae ate it all) is not harmless. as long as you have adequate fc in the water to prevent those and can see the bottom of the deep end so you can rescue a swimmer you’re ok