New to trouble free pool

[Texas Splash]

It's not the filter. It's either some algae still in there somewhere, the low CYA resulting in the sun taking FC, or perhaps a combination of both. Can you share another pic or two of the ladder as best as you can please?

I'll tag @PoolStored to see if he has any ideas about removing your ladder.

 

[ko8310]

Thanks so much. Will send you a closeup of the ladder in the morning.

 

[PoolStored]

Lift the white escutcheon plate up from the deck. You will likely see a bolt. Unscrew the bolt about 2-4 turns. Don't remove it. tap/hit it with a rubber mallet, it will dislodge the wedge, allowing you to lift the ladder out.



If there is no bolt, take pictures.

 

[ko8310]

Lift the white escutcheon plate up from the deck. You will likely see a bolt. Unscrew the bolt about 2-4 turns. Don't remove it. tap/hit it with a rubber mallet, it will dislodge the wedge, allowing you to lift the ladder out.



If there is no bolt, take pictures.

Gotcha! Thank you , I had removed the 2 bolts and no wiggle at all. Will follow the guidance in the morning. Hopefully the mystery will be solved and clear water ahead.

 

[proavia]

If you totally remove the bolts the wedge is still stuck and holds the ladder in place.
Leaving the bolts in but loose allows you to hammer the bolt down with the rubber mallet and drives the wedge downward thereby allowing ladder removal.

 

[Mattikuss]

I thought I sent the Father’s Day message yesterday, but I didn’t press post reply. UGH! I have tried to remove the ladder that is in the water as I’m feeling a little frustration as I’m sure everyone has during the slam and progress toward pool clarity is very slow.The ladder has a machine bolt that I removed, however, the ladder did not come off. The pool is still cloudy so I’m wondering if in anyone’s experience are there are bolts attaching the bar that’s in the water to the pool so basically are there four bolts that need to be removed? When I put chlorine in at night, it holds pretty well. Last night I put in 3 gallons of chlorine at 0100 and this morning my PPM was 19 ppm at 07:08 AM EST. I just read it again and I’m at 7PPM. A drop of 12! The pool calculator direct me to pour 3 gallons in to reach 16 ppm. I have been pouring chlorine in regularly to reach the target number. I put in brand new grids in my Pentair filter. The only thing I can believe it is causing me to lose chlorine is the latter but I can’t remove it. Any new suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I've read a bunch of other posts and I don't know how important it is to actually get the ladder out. I think it's a bonus but it seems like people are not seeing recurring blooms with proper chemistry and brushing around the "foreign" objects in the pool. Also, there is no way that algae around the ladder is chewing up 12ppm of chlorine overnight. It's not chemically possible. Are you sure your CYA measure is correct? If it is too low and you are under calculating your SLAM level, then that would be a problem. Also, how often are you cleaning your filters? I had a bloom and was cleaning my filters twice a day for an hour each cleaning. It's not enjoyable but it is necessary to keep the water flowing properly. It also wouldn't hurt to bring your SLAM up even higher. If your SLAM calculation is 19ppm, I would bring it up to 29ppm so that even with a drop, you are in a SLAM. It worked for me.

 

[PoolStored]

I've read a bunch of other posts and I don't know how important it is to actually get the ladder out. I think it's a bonus but it seems like people are not seeing recurring blooms with proper chemistry and brushing around the "foreign" objects in the pool. Also, there is no way that algae around the ladder is chewing up 12ppm of chlorine overnight. It's not chemically possible.

It is possible. It may not be algae, because it needs light to survive, but it can be bacteria...that has a bioshield. Living proof from an actual slam that was going on days. After cleaning the inside of the ladder the pool passed OCLT the next night. The stuff inside was slimy...

3.jpg

• PoolStored
• Jul 23, 2022

 

[Mattikuss]

It is possible. It may not be algae, because it needs light to survive, but it can be bacteria...that has a bioshield. Living proof from an actual slam that was going on days. After cleaning the inside of the ladder the pool passed OCLT the next night. The stuff inside was slimy...

3.jpg

• PoolStored
• Jul 23, 2022

Never considered bacteria. Thanks for the insight.

 

[ko8310]

Never considered bacteria. Thanks for the insight.

Hello all. It has been a challenging week as it will be 2 weeks tomorrow that the journey began with such promising early results to clean and clear the pool. I obviously have been doing something wrong or missed a step because I’m stuck in the doldrums unable to break through with the slam. I tried very hard to remove the pool ladder, but to no avail. FC has mostly been above 20 ppm. My latest two day snapshot is as follows:

6/21/2024 yesterday
01:01 am EST - 16ppm
01:10 am EST - 2 gallons chlorine poured
08:35 am - 24.5 ppm/50 CYA-Brushed and vacuumed pool, backwashed filter
2:40 pm EST 21.0 ppm/50 CYA
3:30 pm EST 2 gallons chlorine poured
Went to work at 7 PM

6/22/2024 today
02:51 am after midnight - 22 ppm No chlorine poured in
10:15 am 21.5 ppm only a .5 drop over about 6 hrs.

I can see about 2 feet into the water when vacuuming and I can see the hose that far but cannot see the bottom. I’ve tried to follow the slam and all suggestions from the forum. The only testing I have been doing is for the FC a couple times a day and CYA every couple of days to make sure it is around 50 CYA. No other testing.
For some reason, there appears to be brown staining at water level around the pool and on the steps. This is a real head scratcher for me. lots of chlorine has been poured in. I’m just not sure why the pool has not cleared. I keep trying And Hope for a breakthrough.

 

[PoolStored]

I would suggest that you test and replace FC every 2-3 hours.

What kind of filter do you have? How often are you cleaning or backwashing? What makes you decide to clen or backwash? You should clean/backwash, not clean pressure. When pressure rises 25% clean/backwash again. Be consistent with this.

Lift up the escutcheons on the ladder and take picture of the attachment.

 

[ko8310]

I would suggest that you test and replace FC every 2-3 hours.

What kind of filter do you have? How often are you cleaning or backwashing? What makes you decide to clen or backwash? You should clean/backwash, not clean pressure. When pressure rises 25% clean/backwash again. Be consistent with this.

Lift up the escutcheons on the ladder and take picture of the attachment.

Thank you for your reply. We have a 36sq’ Pentair DE filter that is 5 yrs old. We switched from DE to the alternative cellulose fiber. It has always done a fine job. I replaced all the grids last week so they are new and water is circulating well. The filter pressure has not gone above 25% but I backwashed it yesterday After vacuuming. Even though I can’t see the bottom, the pool is clear of debris as the skimmer was fairly clean and the strainer at the pump was also fairly clean, but for a few tree seeds. regarding the attempted ladder removal: I unscrewed the bolts several turns, used my rubber mallet to tamp them down to release the wedge but they did not budge. Tried using a hammer, but still no budge. Should I be testing for anything else or stay the Slam course ? Thank you.

 

[PoolStored]

Stay the course. Put a 2x4 under the tubes and pull up. You can also try some penetrating oil

 

[kimkats]

In you last pic I do see some progress. There is a still a it of green but it is moving to blue. Do what you can to keep the FC up to SLAM level as much as possible. Every time the FC drops below SLAM level the algae can try to keep growing.

 

[Texas Splash]

Take a regular Vitamin C tablet and drop it on one of the steps. If it lifts the stain, you have iron in the water. Has nothing to do with the SLAM progress, just good to know. Are you on a well?

 

[ko8310]

Hello all. I have to have done something wrong or failed to follow the right steps along my 2 wk 1 day journey. My CYA has been steady at 50. My FC has been over 20 ppm on avg. Yesterday morning 6/23/2024 FC was 26 ppm after 8 hrs of darkness and 3 gallons of liquid chlorine poured in about midnight that night after little progress. I went to 3 gallons just for good measure. My reading last night 6/23/2024 around 9pm was 21 ppm - a drop of 5 ppm. after a long hot sunny day. Right after the reading I added 3 more gallons around 9:30 pm. I stayed at 3 gallons for good measure.This morning 6/24/2024 my FC was 31 ppm and still 50 CYA. If FC and CYA are in the Slam range, I must be doing something wrong because the color is drifting backwards. I am not on a well- we are on the Cobb County GA water system.I have tried to pull that ladder and it won’t budge. I do not want to cause any physical damage to add to the situation. I really want to thank you all for walking me through this SLAM. You are great and I totally understand and accept that this is a forum and each pool owner must do the heavy lifting on their own pool. Just seems like I’m going backwards. The FC and CYA readings appear to be where they should be for a SLAM. No need to mention but my wife is not too pleased with my results I have to add that I can see the brush on the bottom in the shallow end- maybe 3’ but not clearly when I’m brushing.

 

[PoolStored]

How often are you testing and adding?

 

[Texas Splash]

That is disappointing to see. You were making some great progress, so something definitely changed recently. Let's see if we can re-cap some milestones since this thread is getting a bit long:
- Started just over 2 weeks ago, treated for ammonia immediately; passed through it.
- Unrelated to the chemistry issue itself, but you proactively replaced some filter components.
- The water was definitely improving as noted on June 12th and looked quite good (cloudy blue).
- Today reverted back to the emerald green.
- Two items pending inspection: Ladder and light; possibly a third item (main drain) cover.

Things to check:
- Are you sure there are no bulk items/debris sitting in the deep end?
- How is water circulation?
- How much have you had to backwash or clean the filters?
- When was the last time you confirmed the CYA?
- Are you still using the 10ml water sample size for your FC testing?
- Best you can recall, have any other chemicals been added since all this began or perhaps before the ammonia issue?

We'll put our heads together for you. Hang in there.

 

[ko8310]

How often are you testing and adding?

I test in the morning. FC has been 20 ppm or more the last several days. Since it has been in the twenties I don’t add chlorine.I test before leaving for work about 6 pm. If still in Slam range, I don’t add. I then test after midnight and unless the reading is below 20 ppm will I add chlorine. I go to sleep and test in the morning.The morning tests have held up well especially if I’ve added chlorine after midnight.

 

[PoolStored]

Explain exactly how you test FC including sample volume and FC calculation.

Same for the CYA test.

 

[ko8310]

The pool does not have a light and I brush the main drain when brushing. I have brushed and vacuumed and have no debris in the pool that I have found thru brushing/vaccuuming.Water circulation is great and is a strong flow. I backwashed on Saturday 6/22/2024 even though my psi has not gone over the arrow that indicates the need to backwash. I checked for CYA this morning and the black dot could not be seen at 50. I use the 10 ml water sample and the only other things that have gone in the pool since day one is the stabilizer. I’m sorry for keeping this thread going so long, certainly planned on seeing success sooner