Trouble With First Pool Opening

[Richard320]

Thanks for the info guys and hopefully we are almost there. I just put the CYA sock(s) in the pool and had to use a couple since I was putting in about 6.5lbs. The CYA container said to sprinkle the granular material throughout the pool but I obviously used the sock method. Does the sock method allow the CYA to start working right away or will it take several days to have CYA reach 30ppm? I just did the first SLAM with liquid chlorine and will monitor results after a couple of hours. I'm fully expecting the FC to come back down to low single digits and will SLAM again this evening most likely. I feel like a scientist!!

We use the sock method for a couple reasons.
1) If you need to backwash before the stuff is dissolved and you poured it down the skimmer the way some brands say, you just lost it.
2) If you scatter it on the floor, you might discover white freckles later, as CYA is acidic. This applies to vinyl and concrete both.
3) If you scatter it and then vacuum, it all ends up in the filter. See #1.

When the sock is empty, you have 30 ppm. Traditional wisdom has been that you wait a week to test. There has been much debate about that. A week may be too long, but next day may be too soon. Just assume the calculated value is there until proven otherwise. You'll be rebalancing the water after the SLAM, so test it then.

 

[dkite22]

Here are some pics of the cloudy water. I think it is getting a little better each time.

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We use the sock method for a couple reasons.
1) If you need to backwash before the stuff is dissolved and you poured it down the skimmer the way some brands say, you just lost it.
2) If you scatter it on the floor, you might discover white freckles later, as CYA is acidic. This applies to vinyl and concrete both.
3) If you scatter it and then vacuum, it all ends up in the filter. See #1.

When the sock is empty, you have 30 ppm. Traditional wisdom has been that you wait a week to test. There has been much debate about that. A week may be too long, but next day may be too soon. Just assume the calculated value is there until proven otherwise. You'll be rebalancing the water after the SLAM, so test it then.

That makes complete sense Richard and you guys are always one step ahead of the rest of the industry!

 

[Richard320]

Here are some pics of the cloudy water. I think it is getting a little better each time. View attachment 60447

A good way to tell is to take your pictures from the same spot each time, with the steps or ladder rungs as the subject. You'll be able to see them appear out of the haze picture by picture.

 

[simo711]

Wow...your numbers look almost exactly like mine and I just started a new SWG pool without adding any chemicals too it yet except 1 gallon of bleach.

 

[dkite22]

It has been a long day, but these guys on this website have helped tremendously. I think tomorrow will be better!

 

[jblizzle]

If we had not caught that ammonia issue you would have had a much harder time if you added the cya first.

 

[dkite22]

Excellent advice and it does sound like we would have been in trouble!

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I just added the last SLAM of chlorine for the night and we will see what things look like in the morning.

 

[simo711]

If we had not caught that ammonia issue you would have had a much harder time if you added the cya first.

Is there an ammonia test we newbies could use? I have a freshwater aquarium test kit with ammonia checker. Could this help detect it even though I have salt water? Still learning.

 

[Richard320]

Is there an ammonia test we newbies could use? I have a freshwater aquarium test kit with ammonia checker. Could this help detect it even though I have salt water? Still learning.

Yes.

 

[dkite22]

Well I woke up this morning and noticed the pool looked a whole lot more clearer as I could see all parts of the bottom. I took the first test this morning and FC was at 3ppm and CC was 0. I went ahead and took the FC back up to 10ppm as part of the SLAM process and expect the FC to hold much more today. I have not measured the CYA yet but most of the granular material in the sock had dissolved overnight so I should have CYA around 20-30.

One quick question, my kids are really wanting to swim and I was not sure if you can swim while SLAM process is taking place. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[jblizzle]

Ideally you want to complete the SLAM before swimming. But add long as the FC is not above shock level, it is safe to swim in ... just slows down the SLAM process.

 

[dkite22]

I did my first SLAM of the day at 11:00am this morning and just checked the water since it's been about 4 hours. FC is sitting at 5ppm and CC continues to be 0. I am going to SLAM again to bring back to 10ppm and hopefully the FC continues to hold even better this time. The water is getting really clear so I know we are headed in the right direction. We decided not to let the kids swim so we could get everything normal and plan to swim in a few days.

 

[dkite22]

I'm happy to report that I did my first overnight test and when I checked on Sunday night around 8pm, FC was at 8ppm and CC at 0. Woke up this morning at 6:45 and took a sample and FC only dropped to 6ppm and CC still at 0. This tells me that I'm very close to completing the SLAM process and the water looks amazing. I will try to get some pictures on here this evening. Thanks again to all who have helped.

 

[dkite22]

Yikes! Just when I thought everything was going well, I just tested and I still have 0 CYA. I put 6.5 lbs. in a sock on Saturday and it has all dissolved. I guess I will add more and hope that it takes.

 

[AimeeH]

:

Yikes! Just when I thought everything was going well, I just tested and I still have 0 CYA. I put 6.5 lbs. in a sock on Saturday and it has all dissolved. I guess I will add more and hope that it takes.

Hey there mNot too fast on adding more CYA. It "could" be that it hasn't all totally dissolved in the water. But....also....that test is one where the lighting is important. You should read the CYA view tube in full sunlight with your back to the sun. I know your in a different time zone that me but I suspect you're not in full sun at this hour.

 

[Richard320]

Yikes! Just when I thought everything was going well, I just tested and I still have 0 CYA. I put 6.5 lbs. in a sock on Saturday and it has all dissolved. I guess I will add more and hope that it takes.

No.... you don't want to do that.

A lot of times <30 CYA makes the test solution hardly cloud at all, and it will fill the tube and you can still see the dot. It's there. It didn't just evaporate. If you add more, go slow with it and only add 10 ppm and see if that gets you moved up.

 

[dkite22]

Okay, glad I read this before getting too aggressive. I only had 1.5 lbs left anyways so I did add it to the sock before reading these comments. I did the test and filled the whole container up and could see the black dot plain as day. I also was facing away from the sun around 6:30pm so it was pretty bright out. Based on Richard's response, it sounds like I probably have CYA levels that may be slightly under 30. I'll see what the additional 1.5 lbs does in a few days. When I left the house this morning, I took my FC back to 10ppm and left the cover off all day. It was 85 degrees and sunny here all day. When I tested at 6pm, FC was only at 2ppm so I assumed CYA was low since I lost that much FC without anyone swimming.

 

[dkite22]

It just occurred to me that if it is difficult to register CYA that is at 30 or less, how do you know when to add more as the summer goes on? If 30 is our target and I just put enough in to get me to 30ppm, how will I know when to add more as it gets hotter out? It seems that the test tube is difficult to tell the difference between CYA of 30ppm and CYA of 0. Hope this question make sense.

 

[Richard320]

It just occurred to me that if it is difficult to register CYA that is at 30 or less, how do you know when to add more as the summer goes on? If 30 is our target and I just put enough in to get me to 30ppm, how will I know when to add more as it gets hotter out? It seems that the test tube is difficult to tell the difference between CYA of 30ppm and CYA of 0. Hope this question make sense.

Good question. I have no answer. I keep mine around 50-60 since the pool is in the sun almost all day here in sunny southern California.