Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

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Pcrider

0
May 25, 2015
86
Marion, KY
I have been slamming for over a week and my numbers are holding steady. The slam would be complete but my water will not clear. It is aqua in color and cloudy and I cannot see any farther than about 4 inches down. Help!!


Fc-12
Cc-0.5
Ph-7.5
Cya-30


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Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

Your numbers look good, but CC is still present. Aqua to cloudy blue to clear are the next steps. What is your OCLT? of FC loss in a 24 hr time frame? Also may be due to sand filter and 3/4hp pump. It may take a while to filter. It also probably wouldn't hurt to bump the SLAM FC to 14-16 ppm just to see if the water changes from aqua to cloudy blue....

Start with the 3 criteria of a SLAM. 0.5 CC or less, OCLT test passing with no more than 1-2 FC ppm loss in 24 hr period. Water is clear (Which it obviously isn't.) Get back to us on the OCLT and we will take it from there.
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

Tested every hour and I adjusted free chlorine with a goal of 16 throughout the day all day yesterday. Only lost 2.5 free chlorine overnight. Combined chlorine is still staying at 0.5. I do feel like we found the root of our problem and I feel like an idiot for not thinking about it. Our steps... we had not removed them. We did so yesterday and found a lot of algae inside. Now that they are out, I’m seeing a very small slight change in color, but not a dramatic change. Will continue slam throughout the day today and pray that the steps were the problem. Our pump is a one hrspwr- signature is wrong. Btw- are my pictures coming through? I can’t see them:(. Any other ideas to help speed things along?
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Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

How is your weather? Hot and sunny? Plus you have algae under your steps which has been removed. CC is still 0.5 If it has been hot and sunny, maybe you should carefully raise your CYA to 40 ppm and hold the FC at
16 ppm for SLAM. Your OCLT loss of 2.5 FC maybe to multiple factors. Algae that was under steps, hot sun burning off 2.5 FC in 24hrs not only due to SLAMing 2-4 ppm higher with a CYA of 30, but also cause of sun.

Keep scrubbing all nooks and crannies, leave nothing unturned in pool and filter, consider bumping CYA to 40ppm and maintain FC at 16, but when you pour bleach in, overshoot for 18-20 ppm. Circulate for 1 hour, check FC ppm, and monitor every couple of hours and let FC fall to 16ppm. Once you fall to 16ppm, see how long it can hold there for overnight with no sun exposure in a 24 hr time frame. If it holds, then check CC to see if CC has lowered.
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

Only lost 2.5 free chlorine overnight.
Click to expand...
That still means you are killing live organics in your pool and need to continue to bring your FC back to SLAM level (12 ppm) until your pool is clear.

There is no point in testing for CC until you can pass the "clear water" portion of the SLAM.

Also a CC of .5 ppm is just as good as CC of 0 ppm......no reason to shoot for 0 CC's.

Has your filter pressure risen 25% over normal? It may be time to clean your cartridges backwash.
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

Draining your pool really doesn't accomplish anything except the loss of chlorine.

Tell us about your filter pressure. Is that an Intex filter? Have you backwashed?

What are your current test results?

Do you have a pic of the pool water?
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

FC-22.5
cc- fluctuating between 0.5 and 1.0
Ph-7.5
cya-30

Backwashing twice a day. Pump running 24/7. Pressure is staying right at 12 which is normal for our gauge. Spent all day vacuuming to waste. There were some leaves on the bottom but not many. Cannot see the bottom and haven’t seen the bottom since last summer:(.
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Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

After 10+ years on the forum, it is pretty clear that Intex equipment is under powered and generally does a poor job trying to clear a pool. We see it time and time again. You didn't answer, but I am assuming that is an intex pump and filter.

That said, you can get that pool clear, it is just going to take some time.

1. If your pressure is staying at 12 psi, why are you backwashing? You should only backwash after a 25% rise in psi.....not before that.

2. When you backwash, are you seeing debris and dirty water in the discharge?

3. With a CYA of 30 ppm, your FC should be around 12 maybe 14........why are you at 22?

4. What did the water look like when you started the SLAM? Exactly how many days have you been SLAMming and how consistent have you been keeping the FC around 12 ppm?

5. It is pointless to vacuum to waste (when your water looks like yours) unless you have solid debris on the bottom. Keep filtering and running your pump 24/7.

The SLAM process is actually a fairly precise method of getting your pool clean but you have to be true to the SLAM article. Do EVERYTHING the article says to do but there is seldom any reason to do any more.
 

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Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

Not an intex. It’s a millennium sand filter and 1 hrspwr pump. Only backwashing because we were seeing some dirty water when doing it and it seems to help intake/output. FC was 22 because I followed the advice of one of the earlier responses to hit 18-20, but I’ve let that drop back to 14-16 today. Water was dark green before slam, but changed quickly to the current aqua color and plateaued. We have found some debri on the bottom and have purchased a leaf vacuum that should be here tomorrow. I don’t think there’s much, but when pulling the brush to the side, some leaves would eventually float up. We raked and netted for about 3 hours yesterday while constantly maintaining shock level of 16. Tonight’s last FC reading was 14 and I’ll test again before sunrise. I’ve successfully SLAMMED the last 2 years, this time seems different. We’ve probably added 50 gallons of bleach, which is getting close to what it took for our Baquacil conversion. We will continue to press on in hopes of sparkling pool water soon :)
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

I'm willing to bet there's still some gunk lying on the bottom of that pool. Try to get it stirred up and raked out as best you can. Once it's clean, POP. Pool Owner Patience - it's a thing.
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

If y’all are right, so is my husband ;) I don’t know which is worse, a cloudy pool or a gloating husband- lol!! The new vacuum got here today and we will start on it shortly so we will see...
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

Continued to vacuum and clean tonight getting a little bit more off the bottom but it does not seem to be covered. Free chlorine is at 10, combined chlorine at zero, pH is at 7.2, CYA is at 30, and the color is still very cloudy and aqua blue. Going to get my free chlorine back up to slam of 14 and keep going. I’m about ready to doze it in.
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

Are you raising your FC to 12 multiple times per day? If so, how frequently?
 
Re: Numbers perfect, SLAMing for Days, still not clear:(

a couple thoughts.

perhaps you need to check the condition of your sand and deep clean it.

are you sure your pressure gauge is actually working?
 

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