Haha no problem, I have an 8 month old at home so I don't even know where I am most times! I got the pump and the pool is currently being drained. What's everyone's recommendation on whether to drain first and then refill or drain (in deep end) while refilling with a hose in the shallow end? I read on here that the latter is the preferred method but also want to make sure that's not counterproductive in that the new hose water is going to be mixing/diluting the pool water that I'm draining and therefore I need to fill for even longer with more fresh water to get the desired net drop in CYA levels. I'm a rookie with this stuff, but I would imagine it would be at least a bit more efficient to drain out the 100% old pool water first to the level that I need to drop to and then fill it up with pure hose water.I just realized too, I actually have the 1/2 hp pump...sorry, having a rough day
Sounds good! Drain is in progress, I only had a garden hose so it's taking a while but should be ready to start refilling by tonight. For a vinyl lined pool, it sounds like I need to keep the water at least at 12-18" in depth in the shallow end to avoid any issues with the liner shifting. I was planning at stopping the drain at 18" just to be safe and then refilling from there.
After a wild week, the SLAM is officially under way. After draining and refilling as much of the pool as I could without risking issues with the liner, my CYA came out right around 70. I can’t go through another drain so I’m kicking it off from here. I used Pool Math to calculate that I needed to add 3 gallons of liquid chlorine to get the water up to SLAM level. pH was at 7.2 to kick the process off.
If my slam FC level is going to be in the 20s throughout this process, is there a more efficient volume to test with than the 10ML sample (.5 ppm per drop)? With that test, I’m looking at 40-50 drops per test so like you said I’m going to run through those liquids pretty quickly. Just curious if there’s an even smaller sample I can work with at a higher multiple (I.e. 1 ppm per drop) to help conserved.
Some heroes don’t wear capes. Check out your handiwork. All the green seems to be dissipating in favor of this beautiful blueness. The water is a bit cloudy where I definitely can’t see down to the bottom. Is that normal when going through the SLAM process, even when the green color is gone? Just want to make sure there’s not anything else I need to correct. CYA has remained steady and Alkalinity is in a good place. Still planning on continuing to maintain SLAM levels per the instructions on here, but just curious about the cloudiness at this point. Thanks again for everything up to this point. My dad was visiting this weekend and actually got to go in!
That's funny. I'm just passing on what others have taught me through the years...
Totally normal to go from green/cloudy to blue/cloudy. Stay on course until the water clears, then consider an OCLT. Backwash/clean filters when pressure rises 25% over clean. You're on your way to a trouble-free pool.
Alright we’re looking good! Pool is clear and overnight loss was virtually 0. Is there an article about what to do after the slam to settle into the normal routine now that the water is good? I’ve been running the pump 24/7 so I’m not sure if I can just drop that to ~12 hours or if I need to ease it down and if I should just let the chlorine naturally drop to an average level.
www.troublefreepool.com
www.troublefreepool.com
Ok awesome thank you! One last thing, I noticed that there seems to be some sort of golden brown material (looks like sand) collecting in the shallow end of the pool where it starts to drop off to the deep end. I tried taking a pic but it doesn’t come out too clear. Any idea if this would be some sort of remnants from the algae or if there’s something else causing it? I’m hoping it’s not somehow sand leaking through the filter. There hasn’t been anyone in the pool all week so it’s definitely not dirt/sand from people swimming.Once FC drops down to target range, begin adding approximately 3 ppm of liquid chlorine daily. Test every day until you determine what your actual loss is and adjust daily dosing accordingly.
As Derek mentioned, there's no right or wrong for the amount of time you need to run your pump. If you have a single speed pump, you want to run it as little as possible while ensuring proper circulation and skimming to save energy. Here are a couple articles that may help guide you.
Determine Pump Run Time
To figure out how many hours you need to run your pump, you need to know how fast your pump works. You can find this here.
Basic Pool Care Schedule
This basic pool care schedule can guide you in creating your own pool care routine. Regular pool maintenance will keep your water sparkling!
