SLAM with cal hypo?

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Sammykaggie

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Oct 17, 2017
19
Katy texas
Okay so I am having a number of issues

1. I keep getting algae or cloudy water even though I am maintaining the proper FC levels and my CC is 0.

2. Burning eyes and dry skin! I have a spillover hot tub and my PH goes out of range almost daily. Is this related to PH from the bubbles spilling over or possibly due to the last algae boom that I *thought* was gone, but seems to keep returning. Is there any solution besides turning my pump all the way off a few hours at night?

3. I’m also spending a fortune on bleach; however I finally have a tf100 test kit so maybe I was going about shocking my pool all wrong. All I know is I have gone WAY over budget this past month on pool chemicals and I’m trying to cut costs and finally do a proper SLAM.
**Can I use Pro Team’s power magic + superoxidizer? The package says 47.6 Cal hypo and 52.4 other ingredients
And then use bleach to maintain my levels?

4. Staining of my flagstone. Why does this keep happening?

5. Filter cleaning. Should I soak my filter cartridges after I finish my SLAM? I cleaned them recently but didn’t soak them so I think they have to be taken apart again. ??

6. Phosphates. My level is 2200 ? I know the majority agree phosphates are irrevelevant with a properly sanitized pool but would phos free HELP with keeping it sanitized?

This was so much longer than I intended. Thank you in advance!

Testing with TF100

PH 7.9 just added 3/4 gallons acid. Currently 7.2

Alk 100 just added 3/4 gallon acid. Currently 80

Fc 8.5 dropped to 6.5 overnight (current level)

Cc 0

CYA 50

Borates 48

Calcium hardness 230
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Most of your levels look pretty good, did you test CYA? Loosing 2FC overnight means you have something (algea or otherwise) growing in your water. A proper SLAM with eliminate this.

1. We need to know your CYA level to know what your FC target should be. My guess is you never fully killed the algae so it keeps coming back as your FC drops.

2. Burning eyes if your pH is in the 7s may be related to CCs in your water. They get burned off by the sun so they don't always show up on the test. If you notice a chlorine smell by your pool (typical of public pools) this is actually the CCs that you smell, not the FC. A properly sanitized pool has no smell. For your rising pH, yes water spilling over from your spa causes aeration which typically causes pH to rise faster.

3. A proper SLAM will ensure all the algae is gone. Shocking knocks it back but without a proper test kit like the one you just got, it's extremely difficult to ensure properly sanitized water. Using Cal Hypo will add Calcium (CH) to your pool and is not recommended for use in a SLAM.

4. Someone else can probably help you with this one.

5. Clean your filters when the pressure gauge increases 20% from the clean pressure.

6. Phosphates are irrelevant in a properly sanitized pool. They are basically algae food, in properly sanitized water there is no algae so the food is irrelevant.
 
Oh good, yes new plaster can also contribute to pH rise as the plaster cures. Not sure how long this lasts though, after a year and a half this may no longer contribute.

It looks like your levels are good for starting a SLAM to get rid of that algae! Per the FC/CYA Chart for a CYA of 50, you should raise your FC to 20 and keep it there until you pass all 3 criteria for ending your SLAM. You will need to test your FC as often as you can throughout the day and raise it back to 20. Brush your pool at least once a day and use your vacuum/net to remove as much of the solids as you can. Also keep an eye on your filter pressure and clean your filter whenever it raises 20% higher than your clean pressure.

Good luck and feel free to keep asking questions and/or keep us updated! Stick with what they teach here and you will have TFP in no time!
 
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Please do not use that powdered 'shock' . I am suspicious that the Other ingredients could be MPS, or non- chlorine shock. That will mess up your FC/CC testing for a long time.

You could use some regular Cal Hypo if you like. Your CH could use getting up to 350 ppm or so.

You should lower your pH to 7.2 before the SLAM. Do you an automation system? Be sure to add that to your signature. If you can program the spillover to run just a couple times per day for 30 minutes or so it would help reduce your aeration.

Be sure you have read the SLAM Process article. Understand it is a process, and that you should be checking your FC and adding liquid chlorine back to SLAM level FC many times per day.

Take care.
 
Hi
cfherrman said:
Bleach is typically the cheapest clorine.

If your FC was 8 and cya 50 your not doing a slam, your just wasting time and money.

Slam the correct way per the article is the cheapest and fastest way
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No. I had not slammed yet. The algae was just starting to creep back. It’s very hard to tell if there is algae in the beginning stages with the color of my pebble.

Anyway, I was hoping to get advice on cal hypo and if I could use that to get my chlorine level up to 20 ppm, where it needs to be for my SLAM. I put two 2.5 gallon buckets of chlorine on my last algae boom (before I had a proper test kit) and the algae still came back. I could never even get it up to SLAM level actually.
 
mknauss said:
Please do not use that powdered 'shock' . I am suspicious that the Other ingredients could be MPS, or non- chlorine shock. That will mess up your FC/CC testing for a long time.

You could use some regular Cal Hypo if you like. Your CH could use getting up to 350 ppm or so.

You should lower your pH to 7.2 before the SLAM. Do you an automation system? Be sure to add that to your signature. If you can program the spillover to run just a couple times per day for 30 minutes or so it would help reduce your aeration.

Be sure you have read the SLAM Process article. Understand it is a process, and that you should be checking your FC and adding liquid chlorine back to SLAM level FC many times per day.

Take care.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I used regular chlorine. Where do you get Cal hypo? Just for future reference. Leslie’s? I didn’t check Leslie’s but I went to two other pool stores.
 
You can get the FC level to SLAM level. Just add what PoolMath says, circulate for 30 minutes, test, and then see if your pool volume is wrong. Then test and dose every couple hours at the start of the SLAM.
 

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Sorry I misunderstood! You can use whatever you want for your pool as long as you know what you are putting in your pool and it's effects.

Solid clorine forms have bad side effects but if you plan ahead it's definitely ok. If you get a lot of rain and/or have low ch fill water Cal hypo becomes more attractive, just watch your ch and when you get to your limit switch to something else. Cal hypo has extra binders in it that can build up in the skimmer if I recall and you don't want it in a floater if I recall. Make sure you get Cal hypo only, no extra Chen's in it.
 
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Rain is coming! Ahhh. I started my SLAM on the 11th at around 5. I have been checking, adding and brushing every couple hours and adding chlorine to get to my target levels. (Can I get more regent at Leslie’s?). I’m going to for sure run out by the time I finish this slam. If I ever finish. ???

Question: Do I need to get my SLAM level higher to prep for the thunderstorms that are supposed to go on all day?

I checked this morning and my FC level was 23.5.
My pool doesn’t look much different. Like, at all. It doesn’t look bad but it doesn’t have that crystal sparkling color I am wanting and needing to rest assured the algae won’t return AGAIN.

Is it possible that it is mustard algae? I can’t seem to get the water clear (unless my bubbler and waterfall are on). It seems to look so much better then?

Has it just not been long enough time?

Since I KNOW my PH has drifted up (even without the ability to accurately test because of the SLAM)...should I go ahead and add some acid to guesstimate and get it back to around 7.2. Naturally every single day, eithout fail it drifts up to around 7.8 to 8. Evvvvery day. I haven’t added acid since before the slam when I got it to 7.2.


Thanks in advance. I’m feeling discouraged. Like this isn’t going to work. Am I possibly reading my CYA test wrong? My CYA is normally a huge pain for me and after a summer of chlorine tablets (which I stopped using back in July of last year). It was up over 100 in just December (according to pool store testing.) When I got my own test I read my CYA as 50-55. I was so happy about that I hadn’t even thought maybe there is a reason for this drastic drop. Ammonia? Or maybe I am doing the test wrong?

Thank you to all you pool experts. I’d be lost without you!BE2CC767-F1C0-4F52-B934-4D7741550671.jpegAD448F79-6413-4A65-84B9-0C16056CD31F.jpegE3F59154-ED1A-4709-B55A-81D17F46BD74.jpeg
 
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You are very early in a SLAM. Stay at it.
Rainfall is no issue, except you will get wet when you test and dose!
Do NOT add acid. Adding it blind can be detrimental to your pool, especially your heater.

If you had CYA that could be tested you did not have ammonia. It eats all of it when it happens. And it consumes chlorine instantly.

Patience.
 
Switch to 5 mil tests, they are not very accurate, and order a fas-dpd refill from tftestkits.net right now, then go back to 10 mil tests when you get the refill.

You got this, so many people have done what you are doing exactly, just keep at it.
 
Grey skies work to your advantage. Less sunlight means less chlorine loss to UV.

I would wager large sums of money that FAS-DPD reagent is not in stock at a local store. To make it last longer, use 5 ml sample and each drop counts as 1. That isn't accurate enough for the OCLT precise enough to check CC during normal times.
 
Note that pH tests are invalid when FC is above 10. So don’t bother. Only testing you need to do during a SLAM is your FC.

You said your CYA is 50. But then in a later post you said it tested 50-55. We always round CYA up. So if the dot disappeared anywhere between the 60 and 50 lines you call it 60. If your CYA is really 60 then your shock FC level is 4ppm higher. Being low on your shock target will make your SLAM take longer.

Retest your CYA if you are not sure and round up to the higher 10.
 
ajw22 said:
Note that pH tests are invalid when FC is above 10. So don’t bother. Only testing you need to do during a SLAM is your FC.

You said your CYA is 50. But then in a later post you said it tested 50-55. We always round CYA up. So if the dot disappeared anywhere between the 60 and 50 lines you call it 60. If your CYA is really 60 then your shock FC level is 4ppm higher. Being low on your shock target will make your SLAM take longer.

Retest your CYA if you are not sure and round up to the higher 10.
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THANK YOU! Maybe I was doing this wrong!
 
Richard320 said:
Grey skies work to your advantage. Less sunlight means less chlorine loss to UV.

I would wager large sums of money that FAS-DPD reagent is not in stock at a local store. To make it last longer, use 5 ml sample and each drop counts as 1. That isn't accurate enough for the OCLT precise enough to check CC during normal times.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the great advice to use 5 ml. I assume I double this number and multiply that times .5. I ordered more FAS-DPD reagent. Amazon had a big bottle of it and (fingers crossed I don’t need that much), but I figured it would be better to have more on hand.

My TF kit came with the fas-dpd Reagant bottle not closed all the way so some was spilled out to begin with. I figured it was no big deal since the bottle was so big.
 

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