SLAMing for a week and at a stand still. My 6 kids want to swim!

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C

Carrine

0
Jun 23, 2017
5
Phoenix, AZ
I've been keeping my pool chlorine at 20ppm for a week now and I can barely see the third step in the shallow end. It seems like it has been at this level of visibility for a few days. The pool is blue and cloudy. Do I just keep going and be patient, or is there something I should be doing that I'm missing?

Background:
My pool has been cloudy at best all summer. After cycling in and out of green water 3 or 4 times, and spending a lot of money on algecides and shock suggested by the pool stores, I found this site and decided to give the SLAM method a try. I had my water tested at the store before my test kit arrived. They were:

FAC 0
TAC 0
CH 900
CYA 50
TA 110
PH 7.4

The pool was green at the time, so I understand these results might not be accurate, but I used the CYA they gave me anyway.
So I used my test and kept my pool FC at (or a little above) 20. I have been brushing down the pool at least daily and backwashing when the pressure rises.

Here are the test results from the last few times I've tested:

Wednesday
1:25 PM
FC 19
CC 1
added ~2 cups 12% chlorine

9:10PM
FC 19
CC 1
added ~2 cups 12% chlorine

Today
5:25AM
FC 17
CC .5
added ~1/2 gallon 12% chlorine

2:30PM
FC 15
CC .5
added ~3/4 gallon 12% chlorine

Thank you!
 
Thanks for the replies.
I tried using a net at the bottom of the pool and got a little bit of debris, but not much. I have been brushing daily and backwashing. I just checked the CYA level and I got 50. I have a diverter in my skimmer that I have slightly open. Should I change that?
 
You're doing fine, it'll take a while to clear the water with a sand filter. Are you running the filter continuously? You can add DE to a sand filter to help filter out finer particles. From your description I don't think you want to do that yet. Can you post a picture so we can see the current condition of the water?
 
The minimum SLAM level at 50 CYA is 20, when the FC drops below 20 it makes the overall process take longer. The more frequently you can test and add bleach to keep it at 20 the faster it will go. As was mentioned you can also add DE to the sand filter to help speed up filtering out the dead algae but keep an eye on the pressure gauge as it will also jump up faster, I've had mine jump 10 PSI in 30 minutes when filtering out algae after adding DE.
 
I'm running low on R-0871 for my test kit. I've ordered more, but I probably only have one or two tests left with what I got on hand. Any good ways to estimate levels while I'm waiting? The reagent won't be here for a couple days. I have my old taylor test kit that only measures up to 5 ppm for chlorine. Could I use that with 3 parts distilled water and 1 part pool water? Or is there a better method?

I am very glad I found this site and am quite addicted to reading and finding out all sorts of things about pools! Now if only I could find a site this fun and well put together for meal planning and keeping up with laundry!

Thanks!



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You probably have a pretty good idea of how much chlorine you need to add per day. I'm guessing about a gallon a day will keep you in the ballpark. If you still have enough R-0871 then test every other day until the refills arrive.

Your water looks like you've killed off the algae but the filter is having trouble getting it out. I'd try deep cleaning the filter & adding some DE.

There's a couple videos in this thread showing the deep cleaning procedure:
https://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/73192-Deep-Cleaning-a-Sand-Filter

Adding DE to a sand filter:
https://www.troublefreepool.com/content/133-add-de-to-a-sand-filter
 

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