Starting my first SLAM. Should I adjust anything before adding chlorine?

[thechairperson]

I'm starting my first SLAM tonight (after my test kit gets here). Should I adjust anything before adding the chlorine? My understanding is that I might need to adjust:

• pH: between 7.2 and 7.5
• CYA: only if below 30

Do I need to worry about TA or CH right now?

 

[Richard320]

Without test results, nobody can say.
What if CYA is 90? Do you really intend to try doing the SLAM at 36FC?
What if TA is 20? Then pH will be off the scale but read as 6.8. So we'll tell you to raise TA first, then see what happened to pH and then adjust it as needed. So you can't ignore it.
What if CH is 975? You'll be wanting to lower that number by water replacement. Wouldn't it make more sense to replace the water before you started pouring in gallons of bleach? Why treat it to dump it?

Start by testing everything. If things don't make sense, check Extended Test Kit Directions Archives - Trouble Free Pool You might want to skim that before hand, just so you're vaguely aware of the potential problems and the solutions. You can come back to it while testing if needed.

 

[thechairperson]

Thanks Richard. That makes sense. I'll come back with my test results if it's not clear what I should do. Appreciate the help! Lots to learn.