Slam questions

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Swampwoman said:
If you passed the OCLT today, let FC drft down, adjust ph per instructions in bottle then apply the sequestrant. You already bought it ;)
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See, that's the thing...I have passed a few times....but over the course of the next day it will drop more and the pool is still green ish. It really seems to fluctuate. Last night though it did not pass:

8/25 pm FC 21
8/26 am FC 18

I still cannot get the numbers right through pool math. I am always overshooting my target fc. I have lowered my gallon input and tried increasing the bleach concentration percentage. This last one I did both and it still overshot.

There isn't a mention of what ph or fc should be on the bottle but from what I read here, ph should be around 7.2 and fc below 10? I think I may continue with the slam this week then possibly use the sequestrant this weekend as I will have more time to work with it.

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singingpond said:
I believe the OP said that the pool water does not look visibly green in the bucket.

I'm sort of sorry I suggested the filter rinse water in the bucket thing in the first place - I was just curious whether it looked like algae (the photo certainly did) and whether the green would fade/change in response to a bit of bleach (it seems perhaps it did). Blivit, please do NOT dump acid into that same bucket with all the bleach that has been added (as someone suggested a few posts ago) - that would be unsafe (bleach plus muriatic acid must be AVOIDED!), as well as uninformative.

I think the real proof of progress is in that pool photo you posted (in the same post as the picture of the filter rinse water) - it really looks noticeably clearer than your first couple of photos. As others have said, finish dealing with algae, and then consider the metals possibility if the pool still has a green tint. If any of your neighbors have pools, perhaps it's worth asking if metals are a known problem in the water in your neighborhood.
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No worries. That bucket is still sitting there...it has gotten lighter but now has this weird white/grey foam on the top lol. I need to find a place to dump it.
 
Remember though, while your FC is over 10 (during a SLAM), you can't test pH. The high chlorine level skews the pH testing. That's why we adjust pH once "before" the SLAM, then forget about it. FC should always be at the SLAM/Shock level listed on the Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart based on your CURRENT CYA. Hope that clarifies it for you.

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If you consistently find over time that after using the Poolmath calculator your test readings are higher or lower than first predicted, it could mean your pool is actually bigger/smaller than originally assumed. So you can experiment by adjusting your pool volume size at the top of the calculator to match what your test readings went to after adding a chemical.
 
Thank you singingpond,
That was me who suggested adding acid, great post by you catching that, I do now remember reading that chlorine and acid together in high concentrations is very dangerous (do not store together). That is another great thing about this forum, if someone (like me) makes a mistake there are many knowledgeable people to catch it. Blivit 79 hope you did not put the acid in.
 
Pool Amateur said:
Thank you singingpond,
That was me who suggested adding acid, great post by you catching that, I do now remember reading that chlorine and acid together in high concentrations is very dangerous (do not store together). That is another great thing about this forum, if someone (like me) makes a mistake there are many knowledgeable people to catch it. Blivit 79 hope you did not put the acid in.
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Nope. "Bucket-O-Muck" is only muck and bleach :)
 
8/26:
fc 17.5
cc 0

Continues to look less green but is still green. Filter runoff is still very green when I clean it.

I suppose I should start planning for how to get out of slam mode. If I were to start doing that what would be the steps? Something like this?:

1. let fc start drifting to below 10
2. test ph once fc is below 10
3. adjust ph if necessary
4. ?

As I am coming off slam do I still leave the pump on 24/7? Or can I go back to my normal 6-8hr run time per day? Is ph where I would start adjusting? Do I also start testing ta/ch/cya and adjust if necessary?

At this point I think I am close but because the pool still has a hazy green color, I am not done. I am also still confused why the filter is still so green when I clean it and why there is still so much "dust" (not sure what it is) on the sides and bottom when I brush.
 
I wouldn't recommend lowering your FC levels yet because you've not passed all 3 criteria of the OCLT yet.

To pass OCLT you need to see<1ppm FC drop overnight
2) CC of 0.5 or less
3 A crystal clear pool (with yours still looking green you'll want to continue with SLAM a while longer so the algae that's still in there doesn't multiply and get worse).

I hope this helps.

EDIT: Mine was 19 days and 76 gallons of bleach exactly.

Pabeader unfortunately he had a huge issue at the beginning which has caused his to be slower than most. Filtering on low was not providing enough circulation to clear the water so several days went by on low with the FC levels not moving so we're just now starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and couldn't be prouder of Blivit for hanging tough and showing that stubborn algae who's boss. So hang tough Blivit just a few more days. I know it's been a slow process and the electric bill is going to be high, but this is the only way to ensure you get it completely killed out.
 
Things have begun to be a bit more consistent.

I test in the morning, then once I get home from work I brush and clean the filter then test again. I will then try to test again before going to sleep. I am seeing minimal drops in fc but it is still dropping. I am adding at most 30-40oz of bleach to get the levels back up. All told, I have added around 5 gallons since I started slamming 10 days ago.

8/27 am:
fc 16
cc 0
 

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Consistency is extremely important, so it's good you have settled into a routine. While we may expect you to go through more bleach, the good thing is that you're saving a little money right now. :) $3 or so a gallon starts to add-up. Keep doing what you're doing, and when extra time presents itself, brush and clean a little more. A little change is better than no change or going backwards. Keep-up the great work!
 
Still consistent. I have noticed fc doesn't really drop much overnight but does tend to drop more during the day and specifically between when I get home (~330 most days) and 730 or so.

Water is still green-ish though is considerably lighter. The shallow end is less green and more cloudy looking. I am still getting this "dust" on the bottom that is light brown that I sweep up every day.

As luck would have it, things could get interesting over the next few days. Tropical storm Erika is looking to come right up through Florida and the governor just declared Florida a state of emergency....awesome. That means at least a lot of rain but most likely power loss so no pump. Hopefully it doesn't affect things for too long.
 
Hello.

It sounds like you are continuing to head in the right direction, and you'll be there before you know it. :)

It might help to attempt to slowly vac the dust you see up before sweeping/brushing, then brush/sweep, and then again vac any particles that you can visibly see.

It's a little extra work, but this will sometimes help lessen the amount that resettles because a lot of times the brushing of the small dust like particles will kind of just throw them back into the water only to allow it to again soon resettle somewhere else on the bottom. So you kind of end up having to play a game of cat and mouse with the small particles trying to catch them.

If there were a way to put a skimmer sock, or knee high in the skimmer basket, or where the returns bring water back into the pool, it too would probably help remove a lot of the smaller particles too. If I remember correctly with your set up the skimmer basket with a skimmer sock/knee high, wasn't an option. Is that correct?

Keep up the great job you are doing awesome. Have a wonderful day. :)

OH and please remain safe during the Storm. Keep us posted
 
Crackerjack4u said:
Hello.

It sounds like you are continuing to head in the right direction, and you'll be there before you know it. :)

It might help to attempt to slowly vac the dust you see up before sweeping/brushing, then brush/sweep, and then again vac any particles that you can visibly see.

It's a little extra work, but this will sometimes help lessen the amount that resettles because a lot of times the brushing of the small dust like particles will kind of just throw them back into the water only to allow it to again soon resettle somewhere else on the bottom. So you kind of end up having to play a game of cat and mouse with the small particles trying to catch them.

If there were a way to put a skimmer sock, or knee high in the skimmer basket, or where the returns bring water back into the pool, it too would probably help remove a lot of the smaller particles too. If I remember correctly with your set up the skimmer basket with a skimmer sock/knee high, wasn't an option. Is that correct?

Keep up the great job you are doing awesome. Have a wonderful day. :)

OH and please remain safe during the Storm. Keep us posted
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My vacuum setup isn't that great. I have the baracuda but it misses most of the bottom (with this dust I can see exactly where the vacuum has been lol) I have a manual vac that is good for larger debris but horrible with this dust. So, what I have been doing is sweeping everything toward the deep end which is where the bottom drain is. I can cover the entire pool like this going over several times and the dust seems to be gone. I then clean the filter when I am done. I have done this every day for the past 6 days or so and every day the dust is back. I suppose I am missing some and it is resettling. Because all of this dust is on the bottom I have kept the skimmer closed/off and have everything diverted through the bottom drain.

I haven't looked into a skimmer sock but did look into slimebags for the returns. That would be more than I want to spend right now. Skimmer sock should work I think but again I have everything diverted through the bottom drain. My skimmer has never really worked all that well anyway.

The storm...part of living in Florida I guess. It's been rather calm the past few years which has been nice. First big storm in this new house so we'll see what happens. I will just be real upset if I lose power for a few days and that ruins all this work I have been doing with the slam.
 
You could probably do a skimmer sock or knee high in the skimmer basket, and since you are choosing not to use it all the time, (which using it too might be advisable to help clear the pool faster too), then just open it a couple/3 hours a day, or so, with the skimmer sock or knee high in the skimmer basket to help in filter out the smaller particles floating in the water.
I suspect it would really help at this point to get them out of there. If you see that it isn't helping you can always close it back off and go back to the way you've been doing, but it might be worth a shot to try it? I wrote this Thread on how beneficial it can be. http://www.troublefreepool.com/thre...-on-the-town-or-a-Winter-hunting-trip-anymore

Also as far as when the storm does hit. If your pool isn't running over should you lose power you can still add approx. a 1gallon per day, if safety aspects allow, and let the rain help mix it for you to keep from losing your progress.

I had to do this when my pump needed repair, and was down for a couple days. I actually used the water from the garden hose, and a broom to continue circulating chlorine in for that same reason. It isn't the idea way for sure, but it seemed to do alright for a couple days, and was in my case, better than nothing. But if the pool is overflowing you'll be losing chemicals with the run over too, so there's no sense in adding more only to have them run onto the ground. So in that case, there isn't much you can do but wait for the storm to pass, recheck your levels, and adjust them accordingly at that time, which will probably work out just fine too. I hope this helps.
 
So the below image shows where I am now. I would say the water is no longer green and is rather clear. The picture shows the deep end where you can easily make out the bottom drain now. The water I think has a cloudy-blue color to it.

This mornings tests:

fc: 19.5
cc: 0

fc was 14 last night so I juiced it back up (aimed for 17..ended up with 19.5 so my calculations are getting closer now.)

So, is it time to move on? If so, how? I will do an oclt tonight but should I change anything leading up to that and if it passes tomorrow, what is next? Can I then switch the pump back to it's normal schedule and let the fc drift down then test everything?20150829_094902_resized.jpg
 
You are close but.........not done yet. Now it is time to get it clear. So clear that you can see the screw heads on the main drain in the bottom of the deep end.

Keep the filter running 24/7 and think about a skimmer sock (knee highs work great for this) to help filter out even more stuff.

Hugs you are getting close!

Kim
 
Hello Blivit,
Wow, it is looking awesome. You are definitely continuing to head in the right direction. I also agree with Kim above that you should continue doing what you have been because it is looking so much better already, and I don't want you to lose the progress you've made. Keep up the great job, all your hard work is paying off. Have a wonderful night. :)
 
Pool continues to clear up. Water looks the bluest that it has ever been but it is a little cloudy. Filter cleaning still results in green water run-off.

I tested yesterday morning, brushed and cleaned the filter then remnants of the storm hit dropping 3-4" of water into the pool. I could not retest or do anything else until this morning.

8/29 am:
fc 19.5

8/30 am:
fc 14

Brushed, cleaned the filter and vacuumed to waste to get the water level down then added bleach to get fc back up.

Am I really looking for the water to be "clear?" Is that even possible with the fc high and not monitoring/adjusting anything else?
 

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