SLAM is going very slowly. Am I missing something?

[lotboy16]

Hello everyone,

A few weeks ago it finally started staying above freezing at night here in western South Dakota and I figured it was time to start the pool cleaning process. We had quite the algae mess to deal with as weather in SD makes prevention of that in the winter nearly impossible, but I figured with patience and persistence I could clear everything up. We started the SLAM 11 days ago and while I've seen some minor improvement it seems to be taking a lot longer than I figured. We brush and vacuum daily and the pump seems to need backwashed everyday or two. We have an Intex 12x24 Ultra XTR and I know those are know to have some circulation issues. Any thoughts on if we are doing anything wrong or just need to be patient and steady on? Thanks!

 

[Newdude]

Any thoughts on if we are doing anything wrong or just need to be patient and steady on?

Patience. Intex type equipment is horribly undersized. People upgrade it to the much bigger intex type equipment and it's still 3X too small. More traditional equipment is several times the cost of the whole pool with equipment. It is what it is and it's only a problem at times like this.

If you have good drain paths and cheap fill water, I'd drain 3/4 of it and only have to battle the rest once refilled.

Is there any crud/debris on the bottom ? That needs to go. I watched mine go blue in front of me a couple mins after I got the last scoop of bottom crud.

How often are you testing ?

 

[ajw22]

From your PoolMath log it looks like you are testing and added chlorine every other day. You need to be testing and adding chlorine 2 to 3 times a day if you can.

Your CYA is 50 and your SLAM FC should be 20. Is that what you are raising it to?

Test your FC 30 minutes after adding liquid chlorine and confirm you are getting FC to 20.

 

[lotboy16]

From your PoolMath log it looks like you are testing and added chlorine every other day. You need to be testing and adding chlorine 2 to 3 times a day if you can.

Your CYA is 50 and your SLAM FC should be 20. Is that what you are raising it to?

Test your FC 30 minutes after adding liquid chlorine and confirm you are getting FC to 20.

So I'll be honest I'm kinda bad at actually logging test results consistently. We are testing twice a day and adding chlorine as needed keeping it between 18-20 FC. I assume from the other previous comment it's more about patience too. Vacuum is getting a decent amount of what I'd call tan colored sludge. Using a robot vacuum for that job

 

[PoolStored]

So I'll be honest I'm kinda bad at actually logging test results consistently. We are testing twice a day and adding chlorine as needed keeping it between 18-20 FC. I assume from the other previous comment it's more about patience too. Vacuum is getting a decent amount of what I'd call tan colored sludge. Using a robot vacuum for that job

From the SLAM directions:

• Test and adjust chlorine levels as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day. Chlorine additions should be frequent, especially at the beginning. Algae and other organic debris will consume chlorine very rapidly at first. As things progress, you will lose less chlorine each cycle and can add chlorine less frequently.

In addition to the undersized filter, the frequency with which to test and add chlorine (infrequent) is going to drastically extend the slam...

Frequent would be every two hours. My one and, knock wood, only slam was 5 days. That was testing and adding chlorine every 2 hours, 18 hours a day. But, as others here have told me, I'm extra.

Do what you can, but if you can increase the frequency, it will shorten the slam.

 

[lotboy16]

From the SLAM directions:

• Test and adjust chlorine levels as frequently as practical, but not more than once per hour, and not less than twice a day. Chlorine additions should be frequent, especially at the beginning. Algae and other organic debris will consume chlorine very rapidly at first. As things progress, you will lose less chlorine each cycle and can add chlorine less frequently.

In addition to the undersized filter, the frequency with which to test and add chlorine (infrequent) is going to drastically extend the slam...

Frequent would be every two hours. My one and, knock wood, only slam was 5 days. That was testing and adding chlorine every 2 hours, 18 hours a day. But, as others here have told me, I'm extra.

Do what you can, but if you can increase the frequency, it will shorten the slam.

I'll likely be better at it this weekend but my work schedule doesn't really allow more than twice a day during the week. Would going a little extra on the chlorine be advised since it's longer between ads?

 

[PoolStored]

I'll likely be better at it this weekend but my work schedule doesn't really allow more than twice a day during the week. Would going a little extra on the chlorine be advised since it's longer between ads?

We do what we can. . I'm extra, and wanted it over. I did it every two hours, late into the night.

Hit it on the weekends. Do NOT raise to higher than SLAM level...just a waste of chlorine. It is about duration, not level. Higher can cause damage and bleaching of liner. SLAM level is safe for people and equipment.

 

[FlappyLipps]

12x24 above ground pool ?
How expensive is your water?

Most of the time its just cheaper to drain, brush and refill.
Trust me when I say to remove the ladder, the legs are full of algae.

 

[lotboy16]

12x24 above ground pool ?
How expensive is your water?

Most of the time its just cheaper to drain, brush and refill.
Trust me when I say to remove the ladder, the legs are full of algae.

Ya ladder is out, haven't put it back from winter yet so that's not a big deal. We're still a few weeks from warm enough to swim weather her anyway so I'm kinda in determined to see it through mode right now but yes, draining is certainly an option on my mind lol

 

[M T]

The SLAM process is to rid the water of the nitrogen and organic compounds (including dead algae) by breaking them down. The SLAM is at a higher FC/CYA ratio because it is more efficient to break down those compounds at that level. The amount of chlorine necessary to do that (assuming chlorine is the only oxidizer used) is proportional to the amount of those compounds at the start of the SLAM process. The time (days) to finish a SLAM will also be somewhat proportional.

I think you're right to start your opening of the pool early, but the water may be cool enough that you're not getting good oxidation from your chlorine. Another site (OrendaTech.com) suggests using enzymes to help with getting these compounds out of the water rather than using so much chlorine. I haven't tried it so I'm not recommending it, but it does seem that the site is more directed at pools in cooler climes. (However, see Chem Geek's experience - but he was not in a cold climate.)

As for having higher levels of FC/CYA because you can't test & adjust as often, I would go with it, but then I don't have a vinyl pool. I believe it is a trade-off of time versus FC levels, and we know Memorial Day is coming fast. The Chlorine/CYA chart has FC levels up to 60% of CYA for mustard algae.

P.S. I do agree that drain & refill is better in areas with plenty of relatively cheap water. It would be pretty fast too.

 

[ajw22]

As for having higher levels of FC/CYA because you can't test & adjust as often, I would go with it, but then I don't have a vinyl pool. I believe it is a trade-off of time versus FC levels, and we know Memorial Day is coming fast. The Chlorine/CYA chart has FC levels up to 60% of CYA for mustard algae.

Going much higher than SLAM FC on a liner pool is not recommended. It can damage the liner.