The wrong diatomaceous earth

Quandary: whether it makes sense to stop the pump for even a few hours in the midst of a SLAM.
I did stop it overnight, and there was some settling. I vacuumed to waste. Didn't seem to make much difference. I suppose I would need to do this repeatedly.
 
Quandary: whether it makes sense to stop the pump for even a few hours in the midst of a SLAM.
I did stop it overnight, and there was some settling. I vacuumed to waste. Didn't seem to make much difference. I suppose I would need to do this repeatedly.

It doesn’t matter if you stop hit pump or not if the water is holding higher levels of chlorine. You’re constantly loading your filter up with fine particulates so it’s going to take several cycles of settling and vacuuming to waste to get rid of the DE. After vacuuming to waste you should backwash then rinse your filter before going back into filter mode. You can add chlorine using recirculate mode, then shut the pump down and let the DE settle. Then vacuum to waste, backwash, rinse, recirculate more chlorine, settle, etc, etc, etc.
 
Tivo: yes, I do know the 3 rules for stopping the SLAM. I won't bore you with details as to why I stopped the SLAM while the water was still cloudy. I wasn't aware of the concept that cloudiness breeds algae growth.
JoyfulNoise, the idea of wasting pool water is abhorrent to me, and yet I do understand what you're recommending. Stopping the pump violates the SLAM rule of running the filter 24/7. Did I misinterpret that part of the SLAM protocol?
Please explain why one must backwash after vacuuming to waste. And how/why one should add chlorinate using recirculate mode. I have never used the latter mode. What is it?
Thanks.
 
You folks are helpful, and a re-read of my last note makes me appear less than appreciative. Sorry if the tone seemed negative; it wasn't intended that way. I do get confused easily, and disheartened when all my efforts seem futile.
I decided that Recirculate mode means circulate without filtering. Someone please correct me if that's wrong.
I have now vacuumed to waste x2, and will do the same again tomorrow. Is there any harm to leaving the pump OFF for up to 36 hours to let the particles settle, so long as the FC is reading 11.5 to 12?
Thanks again.
 
I decided that Recirculate mode means circulate without filtering.
Correct.
Is there any harm to leaving the pump OFF for up to 36 hours to let the particles settle, so long as the FC is reading 11.5 to 12?
You should be able to get away with it. If the pool water gets a bit cloudy when you start the pump, raise your FC up to near SLAM.
 
Ah, Fall. The solar panels by mid-August no longer contribute to the pool temperature, which has now been stuck at 19°C (66°F) for several days. Brrr...
The pool water has remained largely clear recently. There was a spate of cool and/or rainy days in late August when the solar cover was not removed, although I was diligent in daily testing and maintaining FC at 4ppm. Imagine my surprise when some algae started to appear. Apparently I must diligently brush, vacuum and backwash, as well as maintain the FC.
Thanks to you TFP members, I've gotten over my aversion to the Vacuum to Waste technique. All is fine now.
It seems pointless to leave the summer cover in place, given our minimal likelihood to getting back into the pool. Is there a downside to closing for winter now, rather than keeping up the routine maintenance for another few weeks? We know from past years' experience that this late in the season, the pool is not going to warm up, even if we're treated to a spell of warm temperatures like the 26°C - 79°F - expected tomorrow.
Thanks, as always.
 

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