I don't think so. No ladder as the pool is only 3.5' deep with large steps on one side. One light. Everything has been thoroughly scrubbed down after the initial algae bloom a few weeks back. The water is crystal clear now. I've been brushing the pool down a couple times a day thinking there must be something there eating my chlorine.
New pool, new to pools, chemistry is off. Help!?
- Thread starter SiriusDoggy
- Start date
I don't think so. No ladder as the pool is only 3.5' deep with large steps on one side. One light. Everything has been thoroughly scrubbed down after the initial algae bloom a few weeks back. The water is crystal clear now. I've been brushing the pool down a couple times a day thinking there must be something there eating my chlorine.
The shock, algae control, stabilizer, green to clean, clearify....all the stuff to get rid of the bloom which cleared up very fast.
This is over my head, pun intended, I was asking because sometimes certain chemicals don't play well together. My concern is that in rush to clear the pool, there is something else in the water.
I mostly poke around here and read. Your really quick chlorine drops in such a small pool seems crazy. Any chance one of those cute dogs has "used" the pool. That would definitely eat all the chlorine.
I know it's a long holiday weekend. Hopefully some one with more experience pops in soon.
Any chance one of those cute dogs has "used" the pool. That would definitely eat all the chlorine.
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Haha, no! Two crazy labs that are afraid of the water. They never get in it.
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Haha, no! Two crazy labs that are afraid of the water. They never get in it.
I hate to keep prefacing this with telling you to I'm basically new...but I'm still doing it.
I'd be curious if your CYA has already dropped from 70. If it did, bacteria or some combination of the chemicals might be eating it/converting it to ammonia. The ammonia would eat all the free chlorine.
If the dogs "marked" the pool, that would be another ammonia source.
I'd be curious if your CYA has already dropped from 70. If it did, bacteria or some combination of the chemicals might be eating it/converting it to ammonia. The ammonia would eat all the free chlorine.
If the dogs "marked" the pool, that would be another ammonia source.
The dogs haven't marked the pool. They will not even get in it and they are never around the pool unless we are outside with them so we would have seen it.
I ran FC test this morning at 6:30am and it was 20, down from 26.5 at 11pm last night.
I didn't do or add anything all day having given up on getting it to 28 as suggested for a SLAM.
I just tested it at 7pm and here's the full test results.
FC = 10.5
CC = .5
pH = 8.2+?
TA = 180
CH = 500
CYA = 75
Hi
If your running at CYA of 75 (rounded to 80), then you need to be way higher on the FC. You should be maintaining as much as 31 FC. You could decide to drain some water if you wanted to bring your CYA level down and then you could SLAM at a lower level of FC. I see from reading your thread that you added CYA just recently which means that unfortunately you need the higher FC level. By SLAMming at the lower level you will go around in circles. Other than that you just keep at it - I can see you only started SLAMing a day or so ago it will generally take at least a few days, even with a fairly clear pool.
You can't also get an accurate read on pH when your FC is over 10FC.
If your running at CYA of 75 (rounded to 80), then you need to be way higher on the FC. You should be maintaining as much as 31 FC. You could decide to drain some water if you wanted to bring your CYA level down and then you could SLAM at a lower level of FC. I see from reading your thread that you added CYA just recently which means that unfortunately you need the higher FC level. By SLAMming at the lower level you will go around in circles. Other than that you just keep at it - I can see you only started SLAMing a day or so ago it will generally take at least a few days, even with a fairly clear pool.
You can't also get an accurate read on pH when your FC is over 10FC.
Thanks. You did take into account this is a salt water pool? I am supposed to be between 70-80 CYA.
Yep but those levels are when your pool is algae free.
When you are SLAMming you don't want the CYA level to be too high as it takes more chlorine to kill off the algae.
When you are SLAMming you don't want the CYA level to be too high as it takes more chlorine to kill off the algae.
BTW- The "green to clean" is ethylenediaminetetraaceticaciddihydratediammoniumsulfate. Using it added ammonia to the pool, which created that huge chlorine demand you were dealing with.
Normally I wouldn't disagree with anyone here because I'm such a newb but watching the video and looking at the chart here it clearly says the CYA level for a salt water pool should be between 70-80 before shocking.
- - - Updated - - -
The last time the Green-to-Clean was used was 6/10. And at the time we thought our pool was 3300 gallons so it wasn't even the recommended amount.
Could that still be an issue three weeks later?
My guess is yes. In the threads I've read, ammonia is what would kill chlorine that quickly in a clear pool. I believe a pet store would have a test kit to check for ammonia in aquariums.
The Chlorine / CYA Chart shows what your shock level is based on your CYA. Yes a SWG pool should be CYA at 70-80ppm for daily maintenance.
The SLAM Process article recommends a CYA of 30ppm. Once the SLAM is complete you would raise the CYA for your particular situation. It does not recommend raising to SWG levels as those CYA levels require a higher FC level. It is much more cost effective to SLAM at a lower CYA level.
The SLAM Process article recommends a CYA of 30ppm. Once the SLAM is complete you would raise the CYA for your particular situation. It does not recommend raising to SWG levels as those CYA levels require a higher FC level. It is much more cost effective to SLAM at a lower CYA level.
Then the video should be edited because that is NOT what the video says.
I was just reading about CYA this morning.
"With a SWG the odds of needing to shock the pool go down significantly, which is the main disadvantage of higher CYA levels. Meanwhile, the costs of adding chlorine go up a little (both as a capital investment in purchasing the SWG and in the cost of the cell over it's lifetime). The balance point between the advantages and disadvantages therefore shifts to higher CYA levels."
Effects of high CYA on chlorine demand
As far as these other chemicals for reducing algae, unless you are doing some procedure recommended here which requires you to drop the chlorine and an algaecide to PREVENT algae (and not ust any algaecide), they are bandaids for the real problem. I would put anything in your pool other than that recommended here on this site. You can turn you pool into a chemical stew, and the only people who benefit are the pool store people. If you think this is bad, wait until you get staining from these chemicals (such as algaecides that contain copper).
If it were me, I would probably drain it, and start over. Who knows what's in there now? Water isn't that expensive compared to all these chemicals you are using. Have your test kit ready (and one that is fresh, and hasn't been in stored the sun or heat), and set your pH, Chlorine, Calcium, and CYA. My guess, you would ready to go in a few days.
Also clean your filters for good measure.
That's what I did with multiple partial drains after buying my house. It took a while but I learned my lesson. Now I can't even believe how great the water is. It has no chorine smell, no skin drying or irritation, and is so clear, you can see almost no halo around the pool light. I now test, and add chlorine everyday, and acid as needed.
"With a SWG the odds of needing to shock the pool go down significantly, which is the main disadvantage of higher CYA levels. Meanwhile, the costs of adding chlorine go up a little (both as a capital investment in purchasing the SWG and in the cost of the cell over it's lifetime). The balance point between the advantages and disadvantages therefore shifts to higher CYA levels."
Effects of high CYA on chlorine demand
As far as these other chemicals for reducing algae, unless you are doing some procedure recommended here which requires you to drop the chlorine and an algaecide to PREVENT algae (and not ust any algaecide), they are bandaids for the real problem. I would put anything in your pool other than that recommended here on this site. You can turn you pool into a chemical stew, and the only people who benefit are the pool store people. If you think this is bad, wait until you get staining from these chemicals (such as algaecides that contain copper).
If it were me, I would probably drain it, and start over. Who knows what's in there now? Water isn't that expensive compared to all these chemicals you are using. Have your test kit ready (and one that is fresh, and hasn't been in stored the sun or heat), and set your pH, Chlorine, Calcium, and CYA. My guess, you would ready to go in a few days.
Also clean your filters for good measure.
That's what I did with multiple partial drains after buying my house. It took a while but I learned my lesson. Now I can't even believe how great the water is. It has no chorine smell, no skin drying or irritation, and is so clear, you can see almost no halo around the pool light. I now test, and add chlorine everyday, and acid as needed.
Yes, I agree that the video is a bit misleading. While it does not blatantly say 'increase your CYA levels before a SLAM', I can see how it is mis-leading a bit.
While a SLAM is most effective at 30-40ppm CYA (as mentioned in the text of the SLAM article), it can be performed at CYA up to 80ppm.