Switching away from E-Z pool

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I

Irishcolt

Member
Jun 13, 2022
13
NE Indiana
Pool Size
23500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hello all. I'm ready to move onto the TFP process. I've been dealing with white water mold on and off for the past 6-8. I have been researching and ready up on this website on your process and I'm ready to ditch e-z pool and go straight chlorine per the TFP process.

About 8 weeks ago, when the white mold first started, I bought a product call cloud out (same manufacture of e-z pool )along with 2 gallons of liquid chlorine. Followed the pool store instructions and even spoke to the manufacture representative to make sure I do it right so I wouldn't have to keep buying more chemicals. Well after about 5 days I could tell it wasn't completely gone. Spoke to the manufacture representative and he seemed stunned that it was completely gone. He said that there was probably some place that it was hiding and I should go through and scrub everything again. I went through and deep cleaned the 2 drains, skimmer, sand filter. I then realized that I hadn't deep cleaned behind the light. So, I pulled that sucker off and sure enough the mold was caked in there. I went ahead and cleaned it out with the manual cleaner and set the pump to waste. I reached out to the rep again and he indicated to add some cloud out, which I did. Everything seemed to be going good for about a week and then it started to come back.

I was getting tired of dealing with it and had done alot of research on this site and figured I might as well start the slam process. I completed the slam process per the requirements and the pool looked beautiful. I continued to us the e-z pool with liquid chlorine and (1) 3" puck in my Chlorinator for 3 weeks. I checked my all my levels everyday and added liquid chlorine as needed. Well, I have white mold starting to come back again.

Sorry for the long background information, but I'm done with e-z pool and ready to move onto just using the TFP process.

AM I GOOD TO JUST START THE SLAM PROCESS and stop using e-z pool? I do have a Taylor K-2006C test kit.

Thanks in advance as I know you guys will get me straightened out.
 
White water mold is actually a bacteria that grows in under sanitized water. The
SLAM Process should take care of it & maintaining adequate fc in relation to your cya going forward should prevent its return.
EZ pool is an expensive & misguided system that ignores the
FC/CYA Levels & relationship. It’s also actually a bit complicated which is ironically the opposite of it’s claim. Sorry it ate your $$ & left you with a mucky pool🙁

Post all your results & we’ll get you going 👍🏻
Fc
Cc
Ph
Ta
Ch
Cya
 
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I should start using poolmath logs more but I typically just put it down on a sticky note.

These were my values before shocking (I know, shouldn't be shocking), but I didn't want it get worse overnight.
FC=3 - been trying to keep it around 6 for CYA of 40 (which is probably about 50 now that I have been using (1) puck a week. I have consistently checked this and this is why I'm confused to why the mold came back.
CC=0 - sometimes it will go up to .5, but back to 0 after I add liquid chlorine. Plus I think e-z pool messes with this
PH = 7.2 to 7.4 - Trying to keep it at 7.4 but it wants to keep dropping back down to 7.2. Thinking it may be from the e-z pool or the pucks
TA = 175
CH = 400 - e-z pool needs a min of 350
CYA - 40 - this was about 1 1/2 weeks ago. It's probably closer to 50 now that I've used (2) 3" pucks. I will definitely retest tomorrow before starting the Slam.

I did pull the light out again tonight and there was quite a bit of white mold in there. I scrubbed it and left the light out in the pool. I just shocked it with (4) bags of cal hypo since I only had a 1/4 bottle of 12.5% chlorine. Plan to pick more up in the morning and start the Slam. Hopefully I didn't make matters worse by shocking tonight.
 
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Definitely Quit with the cal hypo- your ch is high enough, you don’t want to add scaling to the list of problems.
Stick with liquid chlorine. Other than that you’re good to start the SLAM Process.
Slam level for cya of 50 is 20 ppm.
FC/CYA Levels

For a successful SLAM Process
you need to continue to MAINTAIN Slam level fc for your cya as often as possible (multiple times per day is best) until you meet ALL 3 end of slam criteria-

You are done when:

✅ CC is 0.5 or lower;
✅ You pass an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
AND
✅ The water is clear.
(Crystal Clear w/no algae dead or alive or remnants of white mold)

*Check & scrub every nook & cranny where algae may hide (light niches, steps, drain covers, ladder handrails, skimmer throats/weirs, abandoned lines, autofill, overflow drains, etc.)
*If water can go there, algae can thrive there.
*Run slam level water through all water features & lines for at least a couple hours a day during the SLAM Process.
*Brush & or vac daily (this breaks up biofilms that algae uses to protect itself from chlorine)
*Backwash/clean filter when pressure rises 25%over clean pressure.
 
Thanks for the information! I was a little hesitant to begin the SLAM process again since I didn't know if it would clash with the e-z pool. The first time I did it the pool was clear for about 4 weeks. I made sure to maintain my chlorine around 6, but there was a couple times it went down to 2 and it seemed to be using quite a bit without using the pool and keeping it closed with the autocover. I don't think the SLAM was 100% done the first time I did it. This time I will keep the slam going an extra day or two to make sure it's done.

I will begin the SLAM this morning and keep you guys posted.

Thanks again for the quick response and guidance.
 
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Its some sort of oxidixer, copper sulfate, & other “proprietary” mystery ingredients so hard to say exactly what the interactions/ repercussions could potentially be. It is designed to be used in conjunction with chlorine so that’s reassuring at least.

You really don’t want any copper in your pool as it can cause staining as the level builds up. The only way to remove copper is to exchange the copper laden water with fresh.
TFP also never recommends using mysterious ingredients.
Chlorine, when used in appropriate amounts is both a sanitizer & an oxidizer so in general supplemental oxidizers are usually unnecessary.
The main premise of TFP is to test your water & give your pool exactly what it needs when it needs it - no more, no less- using chems you can measure & know their outcome using PoolMath. The EZ pool product fails to check any of those boxes & unfortunately checks all the no no boxes.
After being certain you have completed the SLAM process aim for keeping fc in the high target range or a scootch above to ensure you don’t broach minimum for your cya.
During the slam be sure to clean your cover & the pit well also.
SLAM ON 👍🏻
 
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Update - Passed OCLT today at exactly 1 ppm. Water is crystal clear and even got complements from people that came over. I will get a pic posted as soon as the rain stops. I plan to let the chlorine drop down to the max 8 ppm for a 50 CYA and keep it there. I will also be doing another OCLT test tonight to make sure its still under 1 ppm loss and no more than .5 CC.

Couple additional questions:
1) When doing the CYA test - I keep filling until I got to 50 and could still see the black dot, barely. I then filled it to 40 and the dot was gone. This would make my CYA 50, correct?
2) Since TFP doesn't shock, how do you handle the FC when you have visitors over? Raise up to say 12-15 ppm and check it once everyone leaves to make sure its at least 8 ppm?
3) Roughly, how much loss of FC should I expect if I leave the cover on all day except to open it a couple hours? Or do I just need to monitor everyday to see how my pool works? Does everyone typically check their FC everyday until they understand their pool?

Thanks again for your help with this!
 

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Irishcolt said:
Update - Passed OCLT today at exactly 1 ppm. Water is crystal clear and even got complements from people that came over. I will get a pic posted as soon as the rain stops. I plan to let the chlorine drop down to the max 8 ppm for a 50 CYA and keep it there.
Click to expand...
Fantastic 🤩
It’s not max- it’s target 🎯
Max is slam level 😁
Irishcolt said:
I will also be doing another OCLT test tonight to make sure its still under 1 ppm loss and no more than .5 CC.

Couple additional questions:
1) When doing the CYA test - I keep filling until I got to 50 and could still see the black dot, barely. I then filled it to 40 and the dot was gone. This would make my CYA 50, correct?
Click to expand...
Yes
Irishcolt said:
2) Since TFP doesn't shock, how do you handle the FC when you have visitors over? Raise up to say 12-15 ppm and check it once everyone leaves to make sure its at least 8 ppm?
Click to expand...
Yes 👍🏻
Irishcolt said:
3) Roughly, how much loss of FC should I expect if I leave the cover on all day except to open it a couple hours? Or do I just need to monitor everyday to see how my pool works?
Click to expand...
Yes 👍🏻
Irishcolt said:
Does everyone typically check their FC everyday until they understand their pool?
Click to expand...
Yes again!
Irishcolt said:
Thanks again for your help with this!
Click to expand...
You’re welcome ☺️
 
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Should post that here:

How Clear is TFP Clear? Let's See (Pics Only Please).

How clear should my water be? A very common question. Here is mine on a calm morning where I could finally vacuum. Yes I know, I'm still manually vacuuming. It took me 7 years to finally get an SWG, I'm working on a robot. :) So now let's see your water clarity.
www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com
 
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Mdragger88 said:
I think I can see the screws in the drain covers from here in Eudora! Bravo 👏 👏👏👏
Click to expand...
Yep, you can even tell they're philip head.

On a side note, I performed the OCLT again. Last night it was 15 ppm. I then closed the autocover for the night to keep the heat in. The first test was about 5 mins after opening the cover and it was 12 ppm. I waited about 15 mins and tested again and got 14 ppm. All regeants are new, so I know that's not the issue. Was the first one an error on my end or do I need to wait about 15 mins after opening the pool before testing?
 
It shouldn’t. Repeating the test is a good idea when critical. Test procedure variations occur.
 
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