Newbie needs SLAMing advice, and how much sodium hypochlorite in Clorox Bleach?

[JFB]

Kim's right... That is an eyeball return. All you have to do is unscrew it a little (as Kim said it may be tight at first) and the eyeball will move and you will understand the mechanism. Turn the eyeball away from the skimmer, and towards the bottom a little to create a rotating current in your pool... This should help quite a bit with circulation.

Your pressure seems normal to me with and without solar panels. My pressure is similar (12-18 psi) to that, and I have a 3/4 HP pump...

There seems to be air bubbles coming out of your jet, is that the case? If that is so, then it means you have air entering your plumbing somewhere... Of course, with all those couplings everywhere, it would be difficult to diagnose. To be honest, once the season is over, you can get all your plumbing fixed for about 200$ excluding labour. All you need is someone handy with PVC (which I understand, not everyone knows someone who is)... Mind you, anyone on this forum can show you how to do it. If you've ever played with legos, it's pretty much the same except that you glue them together...

AMAZING pics by the way... It's so much easier to offer advice when the problems are presented pictorally (if that's a word!)

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

Hot water rises (because it is less dense), so water flowing from bottom to top on the roof would be the correct way of plumbing.

It's not so much that as you need to pump into the bottom to push the air out at the top and back down toward the pool. If you pumped into the top of the collectors the is a good chance you would retain an air pocket in the panels.

 

[Kiss4aFrog]

If you find the jet(eyeball) hard to adjust you might need to loosen the outer collar. Mine were frozen in place from years of neglect and I should replace them but I loosened them up so I could adjust the eyeball and now I don't tighten them into the wall I leave them loose so I can adjust direction without actually messing with the eyeball itself. Handy to tip one up and ruffle the surface to add/mix chemical and then when done rotate 45deg so it works for getting debris to the skimmer. Until I saw a picture of it I never thought about it being two parts holding the eyeball and adjustable.

To get mine loose I had to gently put it in a vise chucking up on the outer ring and taking two screwdrivers to engauge the two slots on the inner parts inner surface to loosen up the outside from the inside and get the ball to swivel. Mine are old and actually I could feel a small ridge from them being in the same position for many years. That and I'm sure the previous owner was tightening them up in the wall. Tightening them to the wall also tightens that outer ring down on the eyeball and to the inner part. If you have ones that won't adjust it's likely the two parts are jammed together and against the eyeball.

 

[Darlene13]

Okay IF I did it right here is my pump/filter WITH labels!

okay I looked at them and the are small. I am not sure how to make them bigger. BUT I think you can click on them and they will come up bigger.

AWESOME job on the labelling, Kim! Yes, I love the pics with the labels (thanks again for teaching us, JFB!).

It is so much easier to visualize when you can see someone else's set-up! That is SO helpful. And, look at that! You have those black flippy valves, too! Ask your husband what the technical term is, but I kinda like my girl talk

 

[Darlene13]

I've been neglecting to post my numbers!!

Test #39 (last night):

SLAM: 16 ppm FC
FC: 18.5 ppm
CC: 0.5 ppm

I SLAMed to FC 23 ppm.


Test #40 (this morning):

SLAM: 16 ppm FC
FC: 22 ppm FC
CC: 0.5 ppm

So, loss of 1 ppm FC overnight.

And this is what it looked like today in the afternoon:

As you can see, the pole disappears not too far below the surface. You can even see how the pool liner starts to disappear:

When I checked the FC when we got home from my little one's swimming lessons, it had dropped to 15 ppm so we went into the pool!!

Test #41 (this evening):

SLAM: 16 ppm FC
FC: 15 ppm
CC: I knocked it over in my excitement that the FC was low enough for us to swim, LOL! So, I couldn't test CC this time.

The water felt great, and I was able to work on the return jet and repositioned the eyeball! Thanks to everyone for your tips on getting that darn thing unstuck!! I will take a photo tomorrow and you can tell me if the angle is good. Being inside the pool allowed me to drag a net back and forth across the bottom and scoop up more seeds from the trees and the odd leaf. There wasn't much down there. But all the splashing sure got the water churning, plus scooping all along the bottom and then brushing everything down. A very productive little swim! Gave it a good SLAM and hopefully there will be some improvement in the morning! Sure would be nice to get off this plateau!!

 

[undrpressure23]

I see improvement in your water, it's definitely a lighter shade of blue... keep at it, mindset of determination is key.

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk

 

[bridgman]

Hey, that's definitely improving. Remember that green-ness and cloudiness are two separate problems.... and once you fix the green-ness there won't be any more cloudiness happening so your filter will be able to start getting rid of it

 

[kimkats]

I use a ping pong ball to watch my water. I put it in the water in front of the return and see where the it gets pushed to.

If I want the water to go into the skimmer I point the eye ball_____________, if I want to stir up the bottom I Point the eyeball __________.

You will have to play with it.

My thought for you would be getting as much water into the skimmer to be filtered.

That color is MUCH better! You are getting there! Just is taking a LOT of time.

I would turn off the solar panels at night to get that extra push of pressure to the filter.

Kim

 

[Darlene13]

That price for the DE is not bad. I just paid 19.99 for a big box. Not sure of the size.

Good to know, thanks.

I like the idea of shutting off the solar panels to try to filter better.

I can try this, but I honestly don't think it will make much of a difference. The solar panels are closed from 6:00 pm to about 9:00 am, so the majority of the day they are closed!

1.Cannot deep clean filter due to not being able to stop water. Just do a LONG backwash. Make sure your water is high enough so your skimmer does not go dry. Don't forget to rinse before you go back to filter mode.

Yes, that's right. I don't appear to have any way for now to deep clean the sand filter. How long do you consider a LONG backwash? And if I'm doing a longer backwash, how long should I rinse?

2. vacuum hose-I HATE my skimmer plate and do NOT use it! I just stick the hose end down the hole of the skimmer. Works MUCH better!

Excellent, I will do that then.

3.set up the vacuum hose with vacuum head on it upside down to try to get the cloudy stuff in the water to the filter.

Going to head out shortly to get this set-up.

4. get DE and see if that helps BUT you have to be there to watch the pressure.

I ordered the DE from ClearTech, and it's on the way! They will call me when it's in stock, but -- cross fingers -- should be here Monday. The lady that left a voicemail told me July 16th, but the lady that I talked to yesterday told me July 14th. But it should be here, on way or another, next week.

5. Keep up the slam once the girls stop swimming for the day.

Absolutely, yes.

Thanks, Kim!

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I see improvement in your water, it's definitely a lighter shade of blue... keep at it, mindset of determination is key.

Oh, believe me, Matt! I AM determined, LOL!

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Hey, that's definitely improving. Remember that green-ness and cloudiness are two separate problems.... and once you fix the green-ness there won't be any more cloudiness happening so your filter will be able to start getting rid of it

I seem to been stuck on cloudy, though. When I look back through pics, I honestly can't tell a difference over the last two weeks.

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+1 for Kim's suggestions...

Thanks, JFB!

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Your solar panels do not pull much at all. Can you feel the difference with your hand in the skimmer or in front of the return when they are on or off?

I do close the solar panels OFF when I vacuum because the suction is better. I have no idea if there is a difference with the return jet, though. I will check and see. There is good force coming out of the return jet either way, so I don't think that's an issue.

 

[Darlene13]

Kim's right... That is an eyeball return. All you have to do is unscrew it a little (as Kim said it may be tight at first) and the eyeball will move and you will understand the mechanism. Turn the eyeball away from the skimmer, and towards the bottom a little to create a rotating current in your pool... This should help quite a bit with circulation.

Hi, JFB!

I did as you suggested and turned it slightly down and away from the skimmer:

There seems to be air bubbles coming out of your jet, is that the case? If that is so, then it means you have air entering your plumbing somewhere... Of course, with all those couplings everywhere, it would be difficult to diagnose. To be honest, once the season is over, you can get all your plumbing fixed for about 200$ excluding labour. All you need is someone handy with PVC (which I understand, not everyone knows someone who is)... Mind you, anyone on this forum can show you how to do it. If you've ever played with legos, it's pretty much the same except that you glue them together...

So, bubbles are bad? Yes, there are bubbles sometimes. There is no one who comes to mind that I know who is handy with PVC, so all I have is me! I am great at following directions, just need proper guidance I will tackle the plumbing in the Fall, once I start draining the pool for closure.

 

[Darlene13]

I use a ping pong ball to watch my water. I put it in the water in front of the return and see where the it gets pushed to.

I LOVE your ping pong ball suggestion, Kim! That's a great idea!!

I would turn off the solar panels at night to get that extra push of pressure to the filter.

The solar panels are closed as soon as the sun moves away, so from about 6:00 pm to about 9:00 am. I do keep them closed at night because I don't want the cooler water coming back to the pool. They are closed more than they are open, so I don't think that the 9 hours or so that they are on during the daytime makes much of a difference for filtration.

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Until I saw a picture of it I never thought about it being two parts holding the eyeball and adjustable.

Thanks for the pic, kiss4afrog! It definitely helps seeing all the parts of it.

If you have ones that won't adjust it's likely the two parts are jammed together and against the eyeball.

Yup, that was exactly it. It wasn't until I had unscrewed the whole thing and I actually had to pry the eyeball away from the retainer because they were fused together!

 

[Darlene13]

Test #42 (this morning):

SLAM: 16 ppm FC
FC: 21 ppm
CC: 0 ppm

I slammed to FC 23 ppm overnight because I figured with all the churning of the water that it might need a little extra. It dropped 2 ppm overnight.

So, after the FC test and I added the 5 drops of R-0003 for the CC test, there was no colour change to pink. That's the first time that happened. Is that bad or good or meaningless?

Here's what it looked like earlier this afternoon (it doesn't look any different to me):

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Good news is, you have lots of great folks helping you

Yes, I certainly do! And I'm so grateful to all of you!! Honestly, I wouldn't have gotten this far without everyone. So, THANK YOU!!

 

[bridgman]

I seem to been stuck on cloudy, though. When I look back through pics, I honestly can't tell a difference over the last two weeks.

Ahh, OK. My impression was that your poool is still getting less green every day (or at least every picture). I even went back and checked the previous picture before posting last time...

(thinks for a minute)...

guess I'd better go check that the previous picture wasn't a "before" shot

 

[Darlene13]

Ahh, OK. My impression was that your poool is still getting less green every day (or at least every picture). I even went back and checked the previous picture before posting last time...

Hey, bridgman.

All the pictures since June 26th (Post #68) look the same to me! It's blue, but cloudy.

 

[kimkats]

Awwwwwwwwwwww so you already have the solar off overnight. I would keep doing what you are doing.

We will get you there! I only wish it could be faster. It sure is blue now.

With the CC being close to nothing.............I bet it is all dead stuff that needs to come out. SO close........

Kim

 

[Darlene13]

With the CC being close to nothing.............I bet it is all dead stuff that needs to come out. SO close........

Hey, Kim! The CC went back to 0.5 now, so I don't know what is going on!

Test #43 (this evening):

SLAM: 16 ppm FC
FC: 17.5 ppm
CC: 0.5 ppm

The FC was 21 ppm this morning, and I was hoping that it would drop low enough for the girls to swim but it's not! Only a drop of 3.5 ppm since this morning. We had a thunderstorm this afternoon, so I guess not as much FC got used up as usual.

So, after I tested the water, I was skimming off the surface debris with the net and I noticed something. I thought my eyes were deceiving me, so I put an aquarium net over the return jet, and this is what was in it after five minutes:

I'll try to get a bit closer and hopefully it won't become too blurry:

Debris is definitely coming out of my return jet, which I assume isn't good! Could this be the reason why my water is cloudy, and does this mean that my sand filter is not working properly? How do I fix this problem? When I get the DE this week, will that help?

Sorry for all the questions! Thank you!

 

[kimkats]

Okay I see the back wash on your plate for tomorrow.

Here is what I am thinking. I could be wrong but I will give you my whys of thinking.

When you do a back wash do you have a sight glass or do you watch the water as it comes out or how do you know if you have clean water coming out? I know it will be hard for you to watch the water as it comes out of the backwash hose if you do not have a sight glass. Is one of the girls able to turn the pump on and off on your cue?

Make sure you have plenty of water IN the pool while you do this. Maybe even add water as you are backwashing.

Thinking------do a back wash until the water runs clear. Do a rinse. When you do the rinse run it for 30 secs. turn off pump, let it settle for a moment, do another rinse for 30 secs., turn off pump, let it settle, do anther rinse, let it settle That is a total of 3 30 second rinses.

The why-------- This is what it says to do on my sand filter so...............

I would then do ANOTHER backwash and do the rinse just like before.

The why is to stir up the sand and let it settle then stir it up again. Sounds good to me LOL

The stuff can only be coming out of your sand and it had to come out of your pool as some point.

I am hoping that the deep backwash will help your filter for now. If it does not we will move onto plan b

Kim

 

[JFB]

If debris are coming out of your return jet, then your filter isn't filtering properly. Time to take a serious look at that filter... Have you completed the LONG BACKWASH.?

 

[TomBorg]

Whoa!!!!! Even if you had channeling in your sand filter, it still wouldn't let debris that large get through. And is that specks of sand that I see? Is there sand on the bottom of the pool near the return jet?

If it is sand coming into your pool, I strongly suspect you have a broken lateral in your sand filter. If you are mechanically inclined, you can fix it yourself. But since it requires removing the sand, which requires a shop vac and high-quality filter masks, you might just want to hire a pool mechanic to do it for you. Significantly more money, but faster and safer for you and family.

 

[kimkats]

LOL the shop vac I agree with (my poor back and hands when did mine by hand before I found out you can use the shop vac).

The air filter? Why do you say that is needed? I did not see the need when I did mine. The sand is wet so not dusty at all. Now if it were a DE filter I would agree due to the dust and such.

Hopefully a deep, deep clean with work. If not................we move to the next step hand in hand.

Kim