Ready to SLAM -- must we fully increase CYA first?

[Burntwoods]

Hi all -

We have finally gotten a chance to pull the cover back on our foreclosure pool, and are ready to move forward with cleaning it up. It has sat for 2+ years unused (but seemingly mostly covered.) We have run the pumps and filters and see that they work, and we have replacement cartridge filters ready to go in.

We have the TF Test Kit, and just ran our first test this morning:

FC - 0
pH - 7.5
TA - 90
CH - 250
CYA - 0

We would like to start the SLAM on Saturday, when we'll have 2 days full time to spend on it. However, we know that we need to raise the CYA first. I've read a little bit that suggests using the powder stabilizer can take a day or so to dissolve.

For our ~41k gallon pool, it seems that we'd need about 164 oz / ~14 lbs of powder. We won't be able to add any until tomorrow (Friday) morning - will 24 hours be enough to time for the CYA levels to rise before Sat morning?

Must we wait for a full reading of 30 on the CYA before we start the SLAM, or can we start adding chlorine while the CYA is still going up?
It should be cloudy/rainy on Sat, if that matters.

Thanks for any help on this!

Matt

 

[Razorhog]

You don't need to wait. Once CYA is added, consider it to be done even though it might take a day or two before it shows up on a test. You might shoot for 20 CYA at first; depends on how much sun the pool gets and if you plan on using pucks to sanitize while on vacation or something.
You could start the SLAM right now without any CYA if you wanted.

 

[linuxninja00]

With CYA truly 0, could we potentially have ammonia on our hands? Wouldn't that eat the CYA just added? If there is ammonia, we'll be eating bleach like candy for a bit neutralizing that.

 

[Richard320]

A black swamp, neglected for two years, and no CYA, all make me fear you might have ammonia. In which case, no, don;t add more CYA. Go straight for the bleach. Target 10 FC. Add it, let it mix, perhaps speed it along by brushing, and recheck FC & CC after 30 minutes. With that swap, I wouldn't be surprised if all the FC is gone; but what you want to see is if you have a huge amount of CC. If you do, then it's a good sign the ammonia and chlorine have mixed. Let us know.

If you add bleach and in thirty minutes you still have some FC left and the CC is low -- like 1 or less -- then ammonia is not likely and you should raise CYA to 20 or 30 just so the bleach has a chance to work on the algae before the sun gets it all.

 

[jblizzle]

That is am amazing color for a pool

I agree with what Richard posted.
Do a quick check for ammonia (low FC and high CC) before adding any CYA.

 

[kellyfair]

The pool is going to be amazing when your SLAM is done. Love the shape!

 

[Burntwoods]

That is am amazing color for a pool

I really hope that it isn't the worst that you've seen!!

- - - Updated - - -

The pool is going to be amazing when your SLAM is done. Love the shape!

Thanks! we're all excited to see what the pool looks like when we can see further down than about 12 inches!!

- - - Updated - - -

Go straight for the bleach. Target 10 FC. Add it, let it mix, perhaps speed it along by brushing, and recheck FC & CC after 30 minutes.

We'll try it as soon as we can get some time tomorrow. Will let you know what happens.

thanks!!

 

[Burntwoods]

well, we got sidetracked by a little pump problem, but seem to have them behind us now. (However we weren't able to run the pump overnight.)

We ran the 30 minute test mentioned above, and didn't seem to have anything suggestive of ammonia.

We were able to get the FC to 12 in 30 min, and the CC never went above 1.0. (either 0.5 or 1.0 in multiple tests over 6 hours.)

We decided to just run with the SLAM and are doing that now.

8 lbs of stabilizer has been added between yesterday and today, and we're at CYA 20 ppm.

we have a Paramount floor cleaner system, but aren't sure if that is actually going to up be up the task of cleaning out the inch or so of muck at the bottom of the pool. Considering trying to get a vacuum hose to hook up directly in the skimmer. We still can't actually tell that there isn't a horse at the bottom of the deep end, but we're hoping not.

latest test results this afternoon (29 hours after start of SLAM):

FC 11.5
CC 0.5
CYA 20

we're adding 10% LC to aim for FC 12-14 ppm.

Matt


PS forgot to add that the pool is now a slightly lighter shade of black now.

 

[linuxninja00]

well, we got sidetracked by a little pump problem, but seem to have them behind us now. (However we weren't able to run the pump overnight.)

We ran the 30 minute test mentioned above, and didn't seem to have anything suggestive of ammonia.

We were able to get the FC to 12 in 30 min, and the CC never went above 1.0. (either 0.5 or 1.0 in multiple tests over 6 hours.)

We decided to just run with the SLAM and are doing that now.

8 lbs of stabilizer has been added between yesterday and today, and we're at CYA 20 ppm.

we have a Paramount floor cleaner system, but aren't sure if that is actually going to up be up the task of cleaning out the inch or so of muck at the bottom of the pool. Considering trying to get a vacuum hose to hook up directly in the skimmer. We still can't actually tell that there isn't a horse at the bottom of the deep end, but we're hoping not.

latest test results this afternoon (29 hours after start of SLAM):

FC 11.5
CC 0.5
CYA 20

we're adding 10% LC to aim for FC 12-14 ppm.

Matt


PS forgot to add that the pool is now a slightly lighter shade of black now.

View attachment 77990

Good news on the ammonia. I think 8lbs should get you close to 30ppm CYA, maybe a tad under for 41k. It's ok to undershoot, you can always add a tad bit later which is easier than removing it. Keep checking that FC and bringing it back up to SLAM values when needed. The more vigilant with keeping it at SLAM the faster it should go. Good work, time to crack open a can of P.O.P (Pool Owner Patience).

 

[Burntwoods]

Good news on the ammonia. I think 8lbs should get you close to 30ppm CYA, maybe a tad under for 41k. It's ok to undershoot, you can always add a tad bit later which is easier than removing it.

Yeah, that's what we thought too. Especially since we understand that there is a delay between addition of the stabilizer and the test result, we thought we'd go low and add up as needed.

Keep checking that FC and bringing it back up to SLAM values when needed. The more vigilant with keeping it at SLAM the faster it should go. Good work, time to crack open a can of P.O.P (Pool Owner Patience).

thanks. we are trying to be vigilant, but we are staying overnight at our "old house" an hour away until the end of the school year (3 more weeks), so we only get to the pool during the day. Hopefully we'll be able to keep the FC up enough to have a successful (and quick) SLAM.