Yes, you need to keep SLAMming for a bit. You are getting closer, though. Keep the faith.
The end of Baquacil ...process starting on Sept 15, 2013
- Thread starter bbodb1
- Start date
So after cleaning (with the dolphin and scooping out all debris possible) throughout the day, as sundown approached, I hit a couple of cycles where I got the FC count up to 15.
About 9:30, I took a baseline reading for the OCLT and it was at 15.
This morning, about 6:45 am, I had a FC count of 13.
Getting there!
One problem I face with respect to the SLAM process is I am limited in the hours I can SLAM to pretty much after work. I recall from an earlier comment made that SLAMing this way can still be done, it may take a little longer. Perseverance!
About 9:30, I took a baseline reading for the OCLT and it was at 15.
This morning, about 6:45 am, I had a FC count of 13.
Getting there!
One problem I face with respect to the SLAM process is I am limited in the hours I can SLAM to pretty much after work. I recall from an earlier comment made that SLAMing this way can still be done, it may take a little longer. Perseverance!
Now would be a good time to do a full set of tests and post the results.
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Sent from my Nokia Lumia 1020 using Tapatalk
Well, the SLAM has been passed!
The results from the OCLT I was referring to earlier (in post 62) were close, so I repeated the procedure one more time (the next evening).
That OCLT started at 15 and the next morning I had a FC of 14. I'm calling that as passed!
I will run a full set of tests over the weekend and post the results. Right now, the pool looks incredibly good (I'll post a picture this weekend too).
The results from the OCLT I was referring to earlier (in post 62) were close, so I repeated the procedure one more time (the next evening).
That OCLT started at 15 and the next morning I had a FC of 14. I'm calling that as passed!
I will run a full set of tests over the weekend and post the results. Right now, the pool looks incredibly good (I'll post a picture this weekend too).
At 1:30 pm today, here are the test results from a weekly set of tests.
FC: 0 (but I am only putting a daily maintenance amount in every evening. Is it reasonable to expect the FC count to drop to zero each afternoon after putting in a daily maintenance amount of bleach each evening?)
TA: somewhere between 50-60 the color change was very, very slight at 50, just a bit more noticeable at 60 and then stopped)
CH: 140
CYA: ? the mixture of the solution never obscured the black dot at the bottom of the tube...I am quite confident I followed the CYA test instructions to the letter....
FC: 0 (but I am only putting a daily maintenance amount in every evening. Is it reasonable to expect the FC count to drop to zero each afternoon after putting in a daily maintenance amount of bleach each evening?)
TA: somewhere between 50-60 the color change was very, very slight at 50, just a bit more noticeable at 60 and then stopped)
CH: 140
CYA: ? the mixture of the solution never obscured the black dot at the bottom of the tube...I am quite confident I followed the CYA test instructions to the letter....
pH?
If you've never added CYA, then yes, you'll lose all chlorine in a day. You need to add some.
If you've never added CYA, then yes, you'll lose all chlorine in a day. You need to add some.
So this will be the first time I have added CYA to this pool while operating under the BBB method.
What should my CYA target be?
Since I cannot get a reading on the CYA test, I am assuming I have no CYA in the pool.
Should I use an initial target of 20 on the CYA (which would mean adding 138 oz of CYA?
Seems like a lot in one application....
What should my CYA target be?
Since I cannot get a reading on the CYA test, I am assuming I have no CYA in the pool.
Should I use an initial target of 20 on the CYA (which would mean adding 138 oz of CYA?
Seems like a lot in one application....
Yep. Start slow with 20 as your starting point. Add it to a sock and tie it off over the skimmer or to a floating pool toy. It will take a bit to dissolve and up to a week to register. I keep my pool around 40ppm or so. It gets full sun all day long.
After a bit of a scheduling setback this week, finally have the pool ready for the sock insertion.....
Everything was nice and clean, all foreign debris removed from pool, backwashed and ready for the sock. Here are some photos on this...
Photo of sock dropped in skimmer:
It did not take long for the sock to spread to cover a lot of the skimmer basket:
..so I trapped the top of the sock between the skimmer cover plate and the concrete.
I have started with one-half pound of CYA in the sock.
Everything was nice and clean, all foreign debris removed from pool, backwashed and ready for the sock. Here are some photos on this...
Photo of sock dropped in skimmer:
It did not take long for the sock to spread to cover a lot of the skimmer basket:
..so I trapped the top of the sock between the skimmer cover plate and the concrete.
I have started with one-half pound of CYA in the sock.
So after about 24 hours of the sock in the skimmer, and a squeeze or two about every six hours, probably 2/3rds of the CYA has leached out of the sock. I have added another sock to the other skimmer return basket with enough CYA to hopefully get me to 20 ppm.
By the way, here is a current photo of the pool. Water quality is visually outstanding - water temp is almost 70....
By the way, here is a current photo of the pool. Water quality is visually outstanding - water temp is almost 70....
Attachments
Well now I am a little stumped.
At the end of a sunny day, I have no chlorine left in the pool. As has been mentioned previously in this thread, I expect this because the pool gets a lot of direct sunshine and I have no CYA. I have been adding CYA as documented above, but in performing a CYA test today, I still get NO CYA in the test. (I should mention the second sock is almost depleted as well.)
For the past few days, I have been adding about 1/2 of a 121oz 8.25% bleach bottle each evening so the chlorine has a lot of time in the pool during the night.
I am a bit concerned that I am not seeing any CYA in the test - I thought I wasn't doing it right but I am following the directions I've read that come with the TF-100 test kit.
Water still looks great (and feels great too).
For now, I am staying the course of adding bleach as described above.
Any suggestions here? Should I wait longer to see if the CYA registers before doing anything else?
I did run a TA test and it measured at 60.
PH is right at 7.5.
At the end of a sunny day, I have no chlorine left in the pool. As has been mentioned previously in this thread, I expect this because the pool gets a lot of direct sunshine and I have no CYA. I have been adding CYA as documented above, but in performing a CYA test today, I still get NO CYA in the test. (I should mention the second sock is almost depleted as well.)
For the past few days, I have been adding about 1/2 of a 121oz 8.25% bleach bottle each evening so the chlorine has a lot of time in the pool during the night.
I am a bit concerned that I am not seeing any CYA in the test - I thought I wasn't doing it right but I am following the directions I've read that come with the TF-100 test kit.
Water still looks great (and feels great too).
For now, I am staying the course of adding bleach as described above.
Any suggestions here? Should I wait longer to see if the CYA registers before doing anything else?
I did run a TA test and it measured at 60.
PH is right at 7.5.
If you only added 20ppm, it may not be registering on the test, plus it takes up to a week to show. Keep adding to get to the recommended range. And keep adding chlorine.
There's two things a bit stacked against ya......
Try to add another 20ppm worth (should now take you to 40ppm) of cya to the pool. Do not add it to the skimmer as above, as you may have back washed. Rather hang the sock in front of the return and allow to dissolve.
- Almost all cya tests have a very difficult time reading when the levels are below 20
- Cya can take up to a week to show up on the test
Try to add another 20ppm worth (should now take you to 40ppm) of cya to the pool. Do not add it to the skimmer as above, as you may have back washed. Rather hang the sock in front of the return and allow to dissolve.
Thanks jblizzle and Lebo.
One thing to add - I have not backwashed since I started adding the CYA. Should I still put the sock in front of the skimmer as you noted?
One thing to add - I have not backwashed since I started adding the CYA. Should I still put the sock in front of the skimmer as you noted?
Yes... you can tie it off to your pole and lay the pol in front of the skimmer. It takes a while for the CYA to show up. Just keep dosing the pool with chlorine until you get it all dialed in. BTW... I have to tell you how OUTSTANDING that water looks! It's absolutely gorgeous! 
Casey,
Thanks for the kind words and I can't express enough my thanks to those who have helped with their advice!
Update for May 11:
A good amount of rain in the area this week dumped anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of water in the pool (of course, this started just a day after I had added some water to the pool.....). Still, even with all this added water, no need to backwash as my water depth is still clearly beneath the top of my skimmer inlet and my pump pressure is still fine.
One oddity / surprising observation from cleaning the pool yesterday - I removed the directive caps on the return jets to clean the caps thoroughly and out pops some Baqua goo! I am surprised this stuff is still in the pool!
I am starting another addition of CYA. This time I am using the sock to pole method hanging out in the pool (see attached photo).
Numbers from today's set of tests are as follows:
FC: None
CYA: still not registering
PH: ~7.5
TA: somewhere in the range of 60-70
I still continue to add about 1/2 gallon of bleach each night after sundown.
Thanks for the kind words and I can't express enough my thanks to those who have helped with their advice!
Update for May 11:
A good amount of rain in the area this week dumped anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of water in the pool (of course, this started just a day after I had added some water to the pool.....). Still, even with all this added water, no need to backwash as my water depth is still clearly beneath the top of my skimmer inlet and my pump pressure is still fine.
One oddity / surprising observation from cleaning the pool yesterday - I removed the directive caps on the return jets to clean the caps thoroughly and out pops some Baqua goo! I am surprised this stuff is still in the pool!
I am starting another addition of CYA. This time I am using the sock to pole method hanging out in the pool (see attached photo).
Numbers from today's set of tests are as follows:
FC: None
CYA: still not registering
PH: ~7.5
TA: somewhere in the range of 60-70
I still continue to add about 1/2 gallon of bleach each night after sundown.
Attachments
Well today's tests are still a bit of a mystery, but a bit more label reading may have suggested something I should have considered. First the test results..
No chlorine (and therefore, I assume, no Free Chlorine??)
PH still very close to 7.5
TA 60
I still get no reading on the CYA Test....
Here is where the reading comes in....my CYA is Poolife Stabilizer and Conditioner, a 4lb container.
To date, I have added about 1.5 lbs and just started another .5 lb in a sock (this is right at one half of the 4lb container).
The container suggests that for a 20K gallon pool, I should add 3.5lbs of CYA to get to 20ppm. If I add the entire bottle, I should be somewhere around 25ppm.
The pool calculator says I need to add 53oz by weight to reach 20ppm.
Assuming 16oz to a pound (by weight), I can see I have not added nearly enough CYA to reach 20ppm.
I have two socks of CYA going right now (one is about to exhaust itself).
Is continuing this two sock approach the right thing to do (giving each sock a squeeze once or twice a day)?
Thanks all for any ideas!
I continue to add about one half of a bottle of bleach each night after sundown.
Pool water still looks good.
The process continues....
No chlorine (and therefore, I assume, no Free Chlorine??)
PH still very close to 7.5
TA 60
I still get no reading on the CYA Test....
Here is where the reading comes in....my CYA is Poolife Stabilizer and Conditioner, a 4lb container.
To date, I have added about 1.5 lbs and just started another .5 lb in a sock (this is right at one half of the 4lb container).
The container suggests that for a 20K gallon pool, I should add 3.5lbs of CYA to get to 20ppm. If I add the entire bottle, I should be somewhere around 25ppm.
The pool calculator says I need to add 53oz by weight to reach 20ppm.
Assuming 16oz to a pound (by weight), I can see I have not added nearly enough CYA to reach 20ppm.
I have two socks of CYA going right now (one is about to exhaust itself).
Is continuing this two sock approach the right thing to do (giving each sock a squeeze once or twice a day)?
Thanks all for any ideas!
I continue to add about one half of a bottle of bleach each night after sundown.
Pool water still looks good.
The process continues....
The addition of CYA continues and even though I still can't get CYA to register on my test kit reading, I did take a water sample by my local pool place. Their test did reveal a CYA reading of 6 ppm so I seem to be making progress.
The pool place did mention that with a variance in temperature (we had a run of several days last week with temps much cooler than normal), the lower water temperature would slow the CYA absorption into the pool. As the temps here have returned to normal, it appears the CYA is dissolving a bit faster into the water.
For the record, my water temp did drop to about 70 degrees during the cooler temps but has now returned to 80 degrees.
The pool place did mention that with a variance in temperature (we had a run of several days last week with temps much cooler than normal), the lower water temperature would slow the CYA absorption into the pool. As the temps here have returned to normal, it appears the CYA is dissolving a bit faster into the water.
For the record, my water temp did drop to about 70 degrees during the cooler temps but has now returned to 80 degrees.