Newbie, but I'll give it a shot!

[thorbach]

WTH...Two days back, I got my pH down (7.3) and CYA up (40), so proceeded to SLAM...
I added 4 gallons of 10% bleach for SLAM process, and brushed/vacuumed.
Yesterday, FC got up to 3.5. I added another 3 gallons bleach (I do this after sun leaves pool in afternoon), and brushed.
Today, I tested FC and it is ZERO (or maybe 0.5). WTH! Still same dark green. Argh, how can this be?
Now it did rain a lot overnight, could this mess with FC level? Also I notice the date on my HD liquid chlorine is from May. Is this too old??
Also seems my CYA has crept up more now to 65. This is a roller coaster.
Do I just keep with the SLAM process, continually adding a ton of bleach, until this thing clears up and FC levels out and sustains?

 

[Newdude]

Yesterday, FC got up to 3.5. I added another 3 gallons bleach (I do this after sun leaves pool in afternoon), and brushed.
Today, I tested FC and it is ZERO (or maybe 0.5). WTH! Still same dark green

Argh, how can this be

Hey Thor !! You need to ‘M’ / maintain the elevated FC for the duration. A swamp can eat it in a few hours and once a day won’t cut it. We prefer testing and adding every 2 hours to make quick work of it, but we all have lives too, so we understand. Do the best you can as often as you can. With a few days to rearrange the schedule for the weekend you can limp along not getting worse and plan to hit it hard on Saturday. In theory it would hold for several hours on Sunday (allowing errands to be done in between) and by Monday it would last long enough to get back to work, still testing and adding as much as you can before/ after and before bed.

 

[thorbach]

Hey Thor !! You need to ‘M’ / maintain the elevated FC for the duration. A swamp can eat it in a few hours and once a day won’t cut it. We prefer testing and adding every 2 hours to make quick work of it, but we all have lives too, so we understand. Do the best you can as often as you can. With a few days to rearrange the schedule for the weekend you can limp along not getting worse and plan to hit it hard on Saturday. In theory it would hold for several hours on Sunday (allowing errands to be done in between) and by Monday it would last long enough to get back to work, still testing and adding as much as you can before/ after and before bed.

Ah, thanks Newdude. I just assumed I needed to maintain from day-to-day. I had no idea it would consume that much chlorine that fast! I have to go buy a whole ton more! But how do i do this when I'm not supposed to add during day, when sun is on pool, right?

 

[ccbill]

Test as often as you can and add liquid chlorine each time you test to bring fc up to SLAM levels. If you are testing during the day go ahead and add chlorine.

If your CYA is 65 your SLAM level is is pretty high - follow the Chlorine / CYA Chart. Double check your CYA. Try to keep the FC at SLAM levels as much as practical, the more you can sustain that the sooner you will finish.

 

[Newdude]

But how do i do this when I'm not supposed to add during day, when sun is on pool, right

You absolutely need to kill the algae around the clock. Sun or no sun it comes out with FC. Obviously the sun will burn off the normal 2-4 ppm daily *plus* what gets wasted to ickies.

If you have anyone who can help during the day, or run home at lunch yourself, it will go quicker. The key is round the clock maintaining.

 

[Newdude]

*and dont get discouraged. You’re new and it’s a lot to process at first. And there is old / bad advice to undo.

Ask away at *anytime* with *anything*. We are a very patient bunch no matter how many times something has been asked before. It’s new to *you*.

You got this. And we got you.

 

[Newdude]

I just assumed I needed to maintain from day-to-day.

Literally hour to hour. Well, 2-3 hours at first, but still. A simple mindset change and you’re well on your way. Do the best you can. We’ll help.

 

[V___25]

I started making long trips to Leslie's, where they told me conflicting analysis and kept selling me different chemicals. Last thing I did was add two buckets worth of dry acid over few days. This was done just before the whole thing went green, so not sure if it had something to do with the issue.

Late to the party on this but did any of the Leslie's potions contain copper, like an algaecide? Did you add any clarifiers or floc?

 

[thorbach]

Late to the party on this but did any of the Leslie's potions contain copper, like an algaecide? Did you add any clarifiers or floc?

Yes, I did previously also attempt to fix cloudy pool with floc and also clarifier, at different times....with no perceived improvement. But i've learned here, that I probably shouldn't use those products anymore?

 

[thorbach]

Folks, thanks so much for not only technical guidance, but also for the confidence and hope that I could get this swamp/pool under control.
Update...I've been sticking with SLAM process for past 6 days (and 20 gallons of shock), and am seeing marked improvement!
However, water is still extremely cloudy. Cloudiness has been problem all along. Do I still stay on SLM process until clear? Or should I be adding anything extra at this point, for the cloudiness?
My goal now is just to get it clear and blue, and close it up until spring.

 

[Newdude]

But i've learned here, that those products only mask the true problem temporarily and usually cause new problems on top of that. I’m DONE with the magic potions now that I know an ounce of prevention whoops a pound of cure.

^^^^. There. I fixed it for ya !!

However, water is still extremely cloudy. Cloudiness has been problem all along. Do I still stay on SLM process until clear? Or should I be adding anything extra at this point, for the cloudiness

Going cloudy / milky means you’ve either killed or mostly killed the algae. Then it shifts to a filtering battle. This stage drags on for most but don’t get discouraged when the quick visual progress slows. Progress is progress. keep an eye on the filter psi and clean at +25%. Brush and vac daily. If you have the time, more won’t hurt and will only help.

Keep the FC up because you’re likely to stir more yuckies free with the brushing. Some days you won’t need much at all, other days you may need a little, so don’t get discouraged there either. It’s a 2 steps forward one step back kinda thing and you’re still ahead.

 

[wireform]

So you know stick with it and us and it'll come around. Stay out of the pool stores if you haven't figured that one out yet. Most pool chems aren't a major issue when too much was used and it's just a matter of time to relevel but stabilizer aka CYA is best to put in whatever you need to in smaller batches sort of to creep up with it slowly. You should have only brought the stabilizer up to 30 which would have you at a lower FC threshold. The only way to reduce it is drain and refill but 60 surely is manageable but trying to stock up on the chlorine can be tuff to say the least. You have to make sure you maintain a slam FC for your CYA level which means 20 minutes after the chlorine you have to check if you attained that level otherwise slam does not work and drags on.

 

[TexEdmond]

Do I still stay on SLM process until clear?

Yes, SHOW THOSE GREENIES NO MERCY.

Or should I be adding anything extra at this point, for the cloudiness?

It depends on your other numbers, but that's not the priority right now. The red drop pH test isn't accurate above 10ppm FC, but it's possible some of the cloudiness might be CO2 ofgassing and and your pH rising back up after you dropped it the first time.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Once the algae is dead, dead, dead...your filter needs time to clear it all out.

Do not ever use FLOC or clarifier.... it won't clear algae and it complicates clearing the pool.

Brush the pool daily to get everything into circulation. Good job for your daughter

Maddie

 

[thorbach]

You might have a bad gauge, or perhaps there is something interfering with water entering its port inside for a stable reading You might try and look at it or clean it out. As for excessive air in the filter, you might have air getting pulled in on the suction side. Check all connections from the skimmer to the pump inlet. You might not see a water leak, but air can get in. They can be tricky.

I thought I’d reply here for FYI purposes.
so there WAS air getting sucked in by skimmer. After adding more water to pool, the pump seemed to like that and finally got back to a nice pressure pull. All good there. Thanks.

 

[thorbach]

Once the algae is dead, dead, dead...your filter needs time to clear it all out.

Do not ever use FLOC or clarifier.... it won't clear algae and it complicates clearing the pool.

Brush the pool daily to get everything into circulation. Good job for your daughter

Maddie

So I’m still sooo frustrated with this pool. I did get it all a nice blue, but never got it clear. Even with keeping FC pretty high (although not SLAM high) for past couple weeks, and cleaning (brush and vacuum) almost daily, but still can barely even see second step into pool.
I need to close this pool up now, so I guess I’ll just mess with it come spring.

 

[Texas Splash]

I need to close this pool up now, so I guess I’ll just mess with it come spring.

Frustrating indeed. One thing for sure, if you don't fallow the SLAM Process exactly, it won't work. With a CYA of 70, your FC needed to be 28, so anything less is almost like wasting chlorine. Just before closing you can always give it one last boost of chlorine to 28. Can't hurt.

In any case, try to open as early as you can in hopes of catching any algae before it gets bad. We'll pick-up where we left off. Good luck!

 

[Mdragger88]

Like tex said , lower than slam level for your cya won’t cut it & using dichlor just increases the cya more which then raises the bar even more requiring more fc. This is why liquid chlorine is best for the slam.
Just for clarification - have u been cleaning the filter when pressure rises 25% over clean pressure? This can happen quite quickly since they filter such fine particles so some people have a spare filter so they can swap out quickly & always have a clean one ready to go.

 

[Newdude]

I need to close this pool up now, so I guess I’ll just mess with it come spring.

Tag us all in when the time comes. @Texas Splash @Mdragger88 etc etc and we will gladly pick up where we left off.

The off season gives you plenty of time to refresh your ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry. Pay special mind to the SLAM Process as well. Things tend to make alot more sense once you've been practicing it for a while. *slaps forehead* Sooo THATS why I needed my FC up !!!! Lol.

We'll be here fairly bored for most of the winter once alot of folks close, so feel free to check in with any questions as you process the abc's.

 

[jseyfert3]

A little motivation for the spring, my above ground pool following TFP advice

We have a lot of awesome pools here, and you or anyone else can too!

How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Only Please).

How clear should my water be? A very common question. Here is mine on a calm morning where I could finally vacuum. Yes I know, I'm still manually vacuuming. It took me 7 years to finally get an SWG, I'm working on a robot. :) So now let's see your water clarity.

www.troublefreepool.com

As others have said, start early next spring. I’d recommend opening almost as soon as the ice melts and it looks like it won’t get a solid freeze again. The cold water should make it easier to get a jump on the algae, and the cold temps and less UV also mean less loss of FC as you SLAM. Once it’s clear it’ll still be too cold to swim but the good news is maintaining it at that point is easy and you’ll have a clear blue pool to look at too.

Welcome, stick with it, and your family will love you next year!