3 Year pool owner here, been following L*****'s awful advice causing my CYA to get wildly out of bounds multiple times a season (140-200). Been reading up on the forums last several months and have been working with my new TF-100 Pro test kit and SLAM'ing to get it back into health for the summer after a 3/4 drain as my starting CYA was 146.
Refilled and started back up with testing with the TF-100 and showed I was 70 CYA, testing at home. I started a SLAM process (understanding my CYA is still on the high side, as I couldn't in good conscience drain the pool again a week later). SLAM starting PH was in the 7.2~7.4 range.
I have been testing multiple times a day, every 2-3 hours, and seeing 2-6 PPM drop throughout the tests. After day 1 was still coming in 1+ of CC, pulled my lights and found small but dense pockets of algae and cleared those. Then realized the insides of my drain covers were coated in thick dark algae, so pulled and cleaned them thoroughly. There isn't a surface left to scrub at this point I haven't aggressively cleaned. (brushing pool floor and walls 1-4 times a day during the SLAM).
Day 2 was showing ~.5 of CC after those cleanings, and CC has consistently been 0 since, but my overnight FC drop is still coming in 2-4 PPM, so I keep slamming and the overnight loss remains out of range. Running the pump 24/7, with auto chlorinator off.
Pool looks great save for some faint spots that I'm beginning to wonder if are mustard algae, or perhaps even some staining. I even got in and scrubbed them fiercely with both brushes and a trichlor tab to see if that would kill off the pockets to no real change. I also fully dumped and cleaned my DE filters and reset them to ensure that wasn't contributing.
I'm at a loss if I need to just keep SLAM'ing and wait for the overnight drop to be in range or if perhaps it's time to got to mustard levels SLAM and then let it all rest. Most of the trouble spots are on stair edges and in the corners, but 2-3 small spots on the floor away from the walls.
Refilled and started back up with testing with the TF-100 and showed I was 70 CYA, testing at home. I started a SLAM process (understanding my CYA is still on the high side, as I couldn't in good conscience drain the pool again a week later). SLAM starting PH was in the 7.2~7.4 range.
I have been testing multiple times a day, every 2-3 hours, and seeing 2-6 PPM drop throughout the tests. After day 1 was still coming in 1+ of CC, pulled my lights and found small but dense pockets of algae and cleared those. Then realized the insides of my drain covers were coated in thick dark algae, so pulled and cleaned them thoroughly. There isn't a surface left to scrub at this point I haven't aggressively cleaned. (brushing pool floor and walls 1-4 times a day during the SLAM).
Day 2 was showing ~.5 of CC after those cleanings, and CC has consistently been 0 since, but my overnight FC drop is still coming in 2-4 PPM, so I keep slamming and the overnight loss remains out of range. Running the pump 24/7, with auto chlorinator off.
Pool looks great save for some faint spots that I'm beginning to wonder if are mustard algae, or perhaps even some staining. I even got in and scrubbed them fiercely with both brushes and a trichlor tab to see if that would kill off the pockets to no real change. I also fully dumped and cleaned my DE filters and reset them to ensure that wasn't contributing.
I'm at a loss if I need to just keep SLAM'ing and wait for the overnight drop to be in range or if perhaps it's time to got to mustard levels SLAM and then let it all rest. Most of the trouble spots are on stair edges and in the corners, but 2-3 small spots on the floor away from the walls.
