SLAM Advice - 2 Weeks and 100L of CL

[Mdragger88]

Be sure u have checked every nook & cranny - light niches, drain covers, weir door foam - errrywhere, leave no stone unturned. Dead algea was living algea so in order to keep producing dead algae there may be some still alive somewhere & possibly undisturbed. I once had a slam really drag on because i left an algae filled diver toy in the bottom of the pool thinking it was fine because my fc was so high. (I didn’t know it was filled with algea when i made that executive decision)
I removed it & passed all 3 criteria the next day.
Now that you have mostly clear water & the cc’s have lowered you may wanna look into doing the deep clean of the sand filter as mentioned earlier.
Here’s a helpful write up

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...

www.troublefreepool.com

Keep going- you’re almost home!
When u pass ALL 3 end of slam criteria (including no new dead algae) then you can follow w/ the MA protocol for 24 hrs to be on the safe side if u wish. Its not that much more chlorine & worth the peace of mind likely.
Mustard algae usually forms on the shady side of the pool & is often found on walls not just the floor.
Regular algae can be brownish - this leads people to believe they have MA when often they do not. Either way, the treatment is mostly the same except for the extra day of slam & possibly holding a higher target fc level for a while after.

 

[mooseau]

Well, good news and bad news.

The good news is the SLAM is almost complete. I have to say; I don't recall it as clear as it is now. I'm wondering if I've lived with low-level algae and never knew. It has reset my definition of crystal clear.

The bad news is the extra chlorine has raised my salt levels to the point the chlorinator won't work. So I've done a partial drain. Then to top it off, the pump started screaming like a banshee, which I can assume is a worn bearing. I'm going to replace it with an eco pump, but it will take about 5 days to get fixed.

I'm assuming I should continue to SLAM, keep the JetVac off, and run the pump minimally in the hopes it doesn't blow up. I'm also assuming having the kids stir things up will also help to compensate for the reduced runtime.

 

[Mdragger88]

If your pump gives out you can drop a submersible pump in to keep things circulating occasionally & help mix in bleach additions or just use a brush to mix things around.
Glad u r seeing how clear TFP clear can be, sad u are having equipment difficulties

 

[needsajet]

What is the impact if I don't vac (i.e. I don't have one)? I'm assuming just a dirty pool floor and no impact on killing the algae.

You can push it toward the main drain if that's still working, but otherwise you'll need a vacuum, a suction cleaner, or a robot cleaner with fine screens or fabric bag. But also, no matter the filtration, the water won't get sparkly until after the algae is wiped out.

What was your pH at the start of the SLAM, before raising chlorine to SLAM level?

 

[needsajet]

You can use the jet vac for cleaning, and yep, kids swimming is excellent mixing. FC no higher than 40% of CYA I hope.

If they've been swimming while SLAMing, which is fine up to 40%, that would explain the high CC.

Nice pool by the way, and good to meet you via TFP. Sorry I missed the bat signal, lol

 

[mooseau]

I'm still struggling with the SLAM though, but sounds like raised CC (1 now) because of kids. The pool is sparkly and has a minimal smell, but algae are now blooming more. Just when I was a day away, it seems to come back, particularly with higher temperatures.

I've never dropped below SLAM levels, but always FC is higher than 40% to compensate for my ability to top up whilst the SWG is turned off.

I really need to get this resolved as the wife is now pressuring me to drop FC and use a tropical algaecide.

 

[Mdragger88]

Are u certain of your cya level?
Just trying to be sure all bases are covered.

 

[needsajet]

What was the water's pH just before you began the SLAM, before you added the first lot of pool chlorine?

 

[mooseau]

Wow, that's a good point. I can't believe I missed that. It was 7.8. That would explain it. I did put some acid in two weeks ago out of habit, but I'm flying blind. Plus my pump finally died, too loud to fire up. There will be no circulation for two days whilst I wait for a replacement.

What is interesting, is the highest quantity of algae us near my fountain. I inspected the tiles and found what looked like algae near possum poo. I used diluted chlorine to clean it up. However this morning, like every morning, new algae.

I'm now bringing CL down so I can rebalance and retest everything when my new pump is installed. It's been way too long not knowing my PH (one month now).

Good point on CYA. I have both a Taylor kit and a ClearChoiceLabs kit, but in both cases, when tested with a control sample, the dot is different opacity. I'll try again with a Taylor Kit and reference sample to be sure.

 

[Mdragger88]

Wow, that's a good point. I can't believe I missed that. It was 7.8. That would explain it. I did put some acid in two weeks ago out of habit, but I'm flying blind. Plus my pump finally died, too loud to fire up. There will be no circulation for two days whilst I wait for a replacement.

What is interesting, is the highest quantity of algae us near my fountain. I inspected the tiles and found what looked like algae near possum poo. I used diluted chlorine to clean it up. However this morning, like every morning, new algae.

I'm now bringing CL down so I can rebalance and retest everything when my new pump is installed. It's been way too long not knowing my PH (one month now).

Good point on CYA. I have both a Taylor kit and a ClearChoiceLabs kit, but in both cases, when tested with a control sample, the dot is different opacity. I'll try again with a Taylor Kit and reference sample to be sure.

I Just mention it so u can Be sure to round up as there really are no inbetweens.
so if it’s between 70 & 80 then u call it 80 & chlorinate accordingly.
Sorry it’s dragging on - definitely when u get your equipment going get some fresh tests. For ph you need to let fc drop to around 10ppm or less - ph results can be artificially skewed when fc is above 10ppm.
All the others should be unaffected by fc.
Also - not sure if it’s been mentioned, if u use PoolMath logs u can toggle on sharing in the settings & we can see them when clicking on your avatar. This can help when figuring out issues.

 

[mooseau]

Thanks. I do use pool math now, will see why it isn't sharing.

My SLAM mistakes are high PH and lack of scrubbing. At least there is an explanation. It's TFP, there is always an explanation when things go wrong

On the plus side, the pool is still awesome clear.

Back in a few days when things are fully tested and rebalance is confirmed.

 

[Mdragger88]

Definitely be sure to scrub everything that algae hides in the darndest places!

 

[mooseau]

Haha! I'm not THAT far north! But I've seen something similar at a croc farm in QLD!

I've tested some things:

FC: 17
CC: 2
CYA: 30

With a 29 degree days (85F) and high UV, no wonder I'm losing so much Chlorine. Will test PH tomorrow night, as I expect to lose 7-10ppm of CL tomorrow.

So given I was SLAMing at like 2-3x higher, and that isn't enough to keep up with algae, is the bet that my PH is too high?

Also, is it possible Mustard Algae spores come from trees? Near my fountain is where most of the leaves fall, and brushing the leaves I notice more algae. If that is possible, how could I ever recover from a SLAM if algae is daily introduced (the tree is a neighbours tree).

 

[needsajet]

High pH during a SLAM is not a deal breaker for the SLAM, but it requires heaps more chlorine.

While pump is down, don't skip brushing and lose your progress. It's the best way to mix the water and break the stale water over any algae cells hanging on for dear life. Annihilate them. Even partial brushing is great. If all you have is 5 minutes, 2-3 times a day will reduce your time later.

 

[mooseau]

Thanks. I couldn't do much of that today because the booster shot made me feel like I'm on valium.

But my stab in the dark paid off. I nailed the PH reduction, my PH confirmed now at 7.2. My FC is 11.5 and CC 0.5. I've read PH really does make a difference in CL effectiveness, 70% effective at 7.2, and 20% a 8.0.

Without a pump, crystal clear is now just clear. Once I get my pump, I'm assuming I finish the SLAM at 12 FC.

I'm worried about the salt levels, so I'll need to retest and consider another drain.

 

[mknauss]

70% effective at 7.2, and 20% a 8.0.

That is with 0 CYA. If CYA above 0., the pH level has less effect.

 

[needsajet]

Yes, don't worry so much about effectiveness as long as there's CYA. The issue is total consumption of chlorine at high pH, which helps put your 100 L of chlorine in perspective (not to mention yours is a big pool as well)

 

[mooseau]

Well, I'm pretty certain I'm past the SLAM. The pool is crystal clear, CC is negligible, and OCL test checks.

I notice a lot of "algae" at the bottom of the pool, but I'm thinking maybe this is dirt. Because of the tree, leaves are constantly falling, and the Jetvac has a lot of dirt and debris. I'm now wondering if what I have left is just dirt and bleached dirt. The numbers show normal CL loss, skimmer sock shows no caught algae.

I'm feeling I should raise CYA and settle into a new runtime with my new ECO pump (which is freaking outstanding, what a blessing that my old pump died).

 

[Mdragger88]

If it turned white it very well could be dead algae. If this is the case you should be seeing less & less of it every day.
For good measure & peace of mind u could go up to MA slam level for 24hrs (don’t forget to throw all your stuff in there too) then hold the MA target level for a little bit. (There is no exact time frame for this “maintenance target level” as every pool & its conditions are different).
Its not terribly higher & good insurance after all your efforts.
Algea (dead or alive) “poofs” when you get near it even when going slow with a brush or your toes perhaps.
Generally dirt will just move around on the floor.
If it goes away during this time but returns when you lower fc to normal target levels then u know it’s MA & you may need to maintain the higher target for an extended period of time.

 

[mooseau]

I've been at MA SLAM for almost a week once I realised my low CYA!