Totally new to pools, bought a house with one, and of course now green ...

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For a SLAM 30 is good for the CYA as it means less bleach needed. Closer to 40 when your pool is clear and SLAM is done.

There is a reason for the PH to be at 7.2 but.............I don't know the why (sorry :( )

We will work on the vacuum when the pool is full and the SLAM is done. Don't let me forget when you are there.

Kim
 
thanks!

I added a good amount of water, not full as I didn't have that much time though.

I did some tests on where I am right now with the additional water:

PH - 8.0 (Looks between 8.2 and 7.8)
FC - 8.5
CC - .5
CYA - 35
TA - 200 to 240 (hard to tell, have trouble seeing reds and not sure if when it goes "pink" if that is enough)

I am going to go ahead and shock it again here at mustard level assuming 5000 gallons of water based on what i am seeing. Looks like there is light at the end of the tunnel!
 
fully agree!

Alright I went ahead and did another SLAM last night, I started with what I could tell was:

FC - 29
CC - 0 (this may be wrong, I have trouble seeing reds)
TC - 29
CYA - 40

This morning I had:

FC - 27.5
CC - 0.5
TC - 28

Bear in mind I have issues seeing reds and shades of it. It may be I am off say .5 .

Also, why is it okay to have say a .5 level of CC based on the SLAMing instructions?

I am adding more water today, I have to see about getting a better measurement of how much water is truly in there if I don't get to the full line which would then be 9000 gallons.

I see some algae "lines" still, when I brushed them this morning they just dusted up as they usually do. I am wondering if at this point I need to work on the vaccuum to get that all running to get these last bits out as I feel like I am just pushing it around not actually sucking it up. It will suction with less line, I have seen it, just seems odd.

The pump filter combo is actually throwing even more water than I recall now, its like with less stuff coming in, its able to work more efficiently?

I will have to be shutting off the pump when my wife goes to work, so its running right now though. I am not going to add any more chlorine right now, will see what numbers I can get when I get home.

Should I be checking more than just the chlorine levels at this point? I was doing CYA too but not sure if I should do that as much?
 
Cain said:
From what I am seeing for the SLAM method, I'll go ahead and get the PH between 7.2 - 7.5 (why does this need to be lower than the recommended 7.5 - 7.8
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I "think" the reason for this is during your SLAM there will be a tendency for your PH to drift up. Since you won't be able to test and maintain PH while at SLAM levels I think they recommend you take it down to the lower end of the acceptable range in the hopes it won't drift above 8.0 during your SLAM. If this is totally off base I'm sure someone with more knowledge than I will correct me.
 
thanks for the info!

one thing I forgot to mentioned but I noticed this on the way out of the house was that when I went to throw away the testing chlorine I was using, it looked more "pink" than I recall when I did my check for CC.

Does this get darker over time or do I need to wait a bit more to get an accurate reading?
 
Also, you mention that you did another SLAM last night. That's kinda odd since a SLAM is a continuous thing. The procedure is; Test, put numbers into Pool Math, Add as needed to get to proper FC, wait a little while, (an hour or two at the most). Then start over with testing. It's not a one time thing.

pH tends to drift up during a SLAM and since you can't get reliable number with elevated FC it's best to have it low before hand.

The CC measure is just a way to know that the chlorine is working on something. The actual number doesn't matter until you are ready to stop SLAMming and need to verify.

You really should leave the pump on all the time. It can't filter out the dead stuff if it isn't getting to it, right?
 
ScottCh said:
No, you do your FC test followed by the CC test and record your results. If you leave the sample sitting after your testing for any length of time it will start drifting back to pink. This is normal.
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Thanks!

pabeader said:
Also, you mention that you did another SLAM last night. That's kinda odd since a SLAM is a continuous thing. The procedure is; Test, put numbers into Pool Math, Add as needed to get to proper FC, wait a little while, (an hour or two at the most). Then start over with testing. It's not a one time thing.
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By that i mean after I added water the FC level dropped. hence I needed to increase it back up to SLAM levels. Before doing that I had been maintaining the FC at a high level (as I could only tell via the strips) and with the TF-100 Kit at a high FC level (I ran it at the mustard algae kill level) since I figure if its not green, I'll kill both regardless.

As for testing time, based on the SLAM link it says to not to adjust chlorine levels more than once per hour, but not less than twice per day. However, if the chlorine levels are still at SLAM rating that I am targeting, (ex- want "20" but was at "25", drifted down to say "23" over night, but still over "20") then I am assuming no adjustment is needed, correct?

pabeader said:
pH tends to drift up during a SLAM and since you can't get reliable number with elevated FC it's best to have it low before hand.

The CC measure is just a way to know that the chlorine is working on something. The actual number doesn't matter until you are ready to stop SLAMming and need to verify.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Maybe I am confused on the instructions for SLAMing as it makes it sound like you know you are done slamming with one of the criteria being the CC measure at or less than 0.5? So to me, it would matter to know when to stop, or am I reading that wrong?

pabeader said:
You really should leave the pump on all the time. It can't filter out the dead stuff if it isn't getting to it, right?
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Unfortunately from what I am seeing I am not sure how much it is filtering relative to what I am seeing at the bottom of the pool. I am thinking vacuuming and agitating it with the brush is needed to get the most out of it, which I am doing quite regularly (brush in the morning, brush when I get home, brush at night, and try to vaccum what I see though the vacuum part is another issue)

Also, as no one is at the house during the day today sometimes, we currently aren't comfortable just letting it run and run yet in an extended situation. Part of why I am running the FC as high as i am too as I am hopeful that helps. In general though my wife works at 1pm and I get home around 4 ish so the filtration is off for about 3 hrs, then I turn it all back on. Come Friday we are both off till Tuesday so it will get a long period of running, and we regularly clean both filters (it uses one) thoroughly which seems to have really helped as the water in the unit is no where like it was before which was nasty green. :puker:
 
Cain said:
Thanks. Maybe I am confused on the instructions for SLAMing as it makes it sound like you know you are done slamming with one of the criteria being the CC measure at or less than 0.5? So to me, it would matter to know when to stop, or am I reading that wrong?
Click to expand...

I think all pabeader meant was you can save your reagents for CC if you don't bother doing that test until the other 2 criteria are met. If you are still seeing substantial drops in FC during the night and your water isn't clear there is no sense in testing the CC's as your other 2 criteria haven't been met. So once your water is clear and you are seeing minimal FC drops during the day (2-4ppm) you are probably ready to do an OCLT. If you pass the overnight FC loss test then you would follow it with the CC test at this time to see if you pass that as well.
 

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Cool thanks everyone! I appreciate all the help!

My wife was able to come home and is working the pool. She mentioned that its basically like crystal clear. She also said that the algae lines are even less than before, if that's what they are.

She is still refilling the pool as well as having the pump going, So will see how it goes. Maybe we'll get to use it this year lol.
 
I went ahead and filled the pull just below the return line hole (I don't have a skimmer assembly) That is pretty much where it was before, and I think if I am going to winterize not too long from now, it needs to be down about that far anyway.I went ahead and got the following measurements:

FC = 2.5
CC = 0.5
CYA = 25
PH = 7.8
TA = 250
CH = 175
Water = Clear

Based on this, I decided to do the following:

- Raise the FC to 5 (it says between 2 and 6 is the normal range, so I figure 5 would give me some room if something is in the pool versus current 2.5)
- Do the OCLT test

Depending on what I find out tomorrow morning, I'll then see if I need to do another SLAM. If not, I'll work on the PH and CYA levels as needed.

UPDATE:

Here are my night numbers, so will see how it goes in the morning!

FC = 6.5
CC = 0.5
 
lol yeah, its getting close for closing time!

alright here are my morning numbers:

- FC = 6.5
- CC = 0.5
- CYA ~ 20 ( this one is still hard for me, so will error on the tad lower side but it was say 1/4 way between 20 and 30)
- PH = 8.0 (going with this this time as it looks like its between the 7.8 and the 8.2)
- Water is clear

I did brush this morning and noticed just a couple of faint lines around the raised portions of the pool on the bottom (like where the liner "joins" together). when I brushed they dusted up, very light. So I wonder wit these levels I am seeing if these are indications of algae or not? I will vacuum when I get home from work and see how that goes too. The pump is really really throwing nicely now from what I can see on the return line, maybe the low water level contributed to that not being as strong?

So based on this, I am going to look into lowering PH next. I am thinking if I do that then if I do need to do a SLAM, at least the PH is now lower. I am targeting 7.5 for now and see how it goes using Dry acid (pool store stuff) from what the previous owner left here.

As for CYA, right now I do have some of those pucks here that I could use, Clorox brand "Active 99" tabs, are they worth using at all since they are supposed to raise CYA too?

Clorox® PoolSpa™ | Step 2 Chlorinate Pool Products

From what I am reading on them, they are 99% trichlor.

Using the Pool Math calculator section that says "effects of adding chemicals" I am assuming an 8oz sized tab, I would see:

- Raise FC 6.1
- Raise CYA 3.7
- Lower PH 0.33

I am thinking of dropping in one of these and letting it dissolve, thoughts?

Also, I think we may be very close to the point of being able to use the pool, I have ready that you can pretty much swim in the pool up to the Shock level for chlorine, is that true?
 
Alright, after cleaning the heck out of the ladder (main it was filthy inside, I have parts of it soaking in bleach right now that I wouldn't put in the pool)

My wife, mother in law, and my two youngest went in.

Looks like they had fun. My wife towards the end said here skin felt like it itched a bit so I am thinking from what I am finding on the forum that it could be because of the high PH.

Does that sound about right?

FC - 4.0
CC - 0.0
PH - 7.8

I added decreaser to drop the PH. I will let the two pucks float over night and see how things look into the morning.

Gonna go tomorrow and get some stuff to drop PH to have on hand.


 
Here is a link to what we use to work on the levels in our pool. I thought this might help with cost. Most of it can be bought at Walmart! Lowes will have the Muratic acid. Make sure to get the 31% or close to that. They do sell one that is about half of that for the same price!

Be VERY careful using MA. The fumes are NO fun. Do NOT allow the kids any where near you when you are adding it. Wear eye protection. This is the one thing you MUST read the precautions on the bottle.

Once you add the MA let the pump run on high for 15 mins. then retest.

Play with your PH to see what works best for your wife's skin. We have one member whose eyes likes the PH at around 7.8 so...........everyone is different.

Kim
 

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