UGH - hlep me start over

kvrikke

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Sep 2, 2023
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Hello all! Not a new pool owner but new to the forum. Former Leslies fan, but my last visit the guy really was just trying to sell me too many things and ignored the fact my pool was salt water even though they KNOW this - it has been for the last 8 years (previos pool then this one). Anyhow - our current pool is saltwater, quartz plaster and a sand filter. BASIC equipment and I have the Taylor test kit that tests everything but salt levels. I used to use a pool service but they really just brushed and added muriatic acid once a week so I figured I could save a couple hundred bucks. For the most part our pool has been easy to maintain and given us little trouble. Recently, I had a mustard algae outbreak and just before that we had several rains. I am pretty sure I over shocked with dichlor bc my CYA levels ended up off the charts (120+) In the past keeping cya was my challenge, not having it too high. I eliminated the algae but struggling to get chlorine back into the pool. I did a partial empty and fill and some algae returned so (i know, tsk tsk) I shocked it again thinking my cya level wouldnt shoot up - but it did and back to 0 fc on my test kit. Drained HALF my pool, refilled and went to walmart and picked up 8 GAL of wallys bleach. Turned off the swg for now ( I need to add a bag of salt after the fill) and used the calculator which said to SLAM the pool to a fc level of 12 - my cya is now sitting at 30. It recommended 2 gallons of bleach and then retest which I am doing in about an hour after it has had time to cycle through. After I did all of that, I downloaded the pool math app - on there it says to not go over 6ppm on the chlorine level and gives slightly diff reccommendations. For SLAM, a 30-50 CYA level is recommended but for normal pool operation with a SWG it says to keep it bt 60-70. After waiting to see if the chloring holds, should I add a bag of dichlor to raise my cya? Im afraid straight stabilizer will bring it up too much and I am already dreading my water bill. We have what looks like small specks of some mild algae trying to regrow and im sure its the south Texas heat and no sanitizer in the pool. My water was actually looking pretty decent after my initial previous shock treatment but the test kit told me it was def not balanced. My PH is 7.5 and the pool is between 11,500 and 11,800 gal. We also removed the hayward vac and use a polaris robotic cleaner. The hayward just could not handle the leaved from the neighbors trees and the polaris is nice enough to brush the walls for me too :) Hoping I didnt overchlorinate and that I am back to clear water (our city water has a greenish tint to it) and the spots disappear! My biggest issue is getting the CYA back to proper level and being able to keep a chlorine level. Weve basically been shocking and still at 0 for over a month. Whatever goes in is just used right up. Thanks!! and good to be here :)
 
Welcome to TFP! :wave: The APP is giving you some basic info, but doesn't realize your current condition- algae/SLAM. If your CYA is at 30, leave it there and increase (and maintain) the FC of 12 with liquid chlorine. Continue with the SLAM Process until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria listed on that page. Follow those instructions and you should do very well.

After the SLAM, the APP should help you along, but let us know if you have any other questions.
 
I downloaded the pool math app - on there it says to not go over 6ppm on the chlorine level and gives slightly diff reccommendations.
Note that the 6 not a maximum, it’s the high end of a target range for normal operation. The maximum is whatever the SLAM level is for however much CYA you have in the water.

There’s no reason to mess with the CYA if it’s over 30ppm. You may find the chlorine gets used up a little faster than normal and if that’s true, increase the CYA a little more. Nothing bad will happen if it’s lower than 80.
 
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Welcome to TFP! :wave: The APP is giving you some basic info, but doesn't realize your current condition- algae/SLAM. If your CYA is at 30, leave it there and increase (and maintain) the FC of 12 with liquid chlorine. Continue with the SLAM Process until you pass all 3 SLAM criteria listed on that page. Follow those instructions and you should do very well.

After the SLAM, the APP should help you along, but let us know if you have any other questions.
Thank you! I added 2 gal chlorine and tested after about an hor - was only at1-2 ppm. added 2 more gallons and waiting again. I did wait until the sun was to the other side of the house. Any idea on average about hpw many gallons it takes to get to the 12? The calculator said 2 gallons but it came no where close.
 
I did wait until the sun was to the other side of the house. Any idea on average about hpw many gallons it takes to get to the 12? The calculator said 2 gallons but it came no where close.
The chlorine is getting consumed battling the algae. This is common, particularly early in the process. Print out these instructions, read 3 more times and keep them with you. Link-->SLAM Process

Just follow the process. Test and add enough to get back to 12. Wait an hour, two or three, test and add again. Repeatedly raising the FC to SLAM level is what kills the algae. Over time, you should see your test FC number rise as you get ahead of the algae. The more often you can test and replace, the faster it goes...more often than an hour is unnecessary. 3-4x per day should be minimum number of test and additions...
 
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The chlorine is getting consumed battling the algae. This is common, particularly early in the process. Print out these instructions, read 3 more times and keep them with you. Link-->SLAM Process

Just follow the process. Test and add enough to get back to 12. Wait an hour, two or three, test and add again. Repeatedly raising the FC to SLAM level is what kills the algae. Over time, you should see your test FC number rise as you get ahead of the algae. The more often you can test and replace, the faster it goes...more often than an hour is unnecessary. 3-4x per day should be minimum number of test and additions...
Thanks for the reply! So much for swimming this weekend! After we get to the SLAM levels, what is the next step?? How often would I add chlorine to the pool on average? I plan to turn the salt cel back on once we get back to balance. Crazy thing is, the water looks pretty good, slightly dull, but clear. Green hue from city water is gone. The algae evidence is just the specks on the wall and there is very little. Eating this much chlorine id expect a green pool. But we are still very hot and sunny here. Im also thinking we may need a new salt cell - ours is about hitting the 3 year mark and my experience says they dont last much longer than their warranty period. I do have the SLAM instructions saved on my phone. I cleared Walmart of the last of their bleach so will hit up another store today to pick up some more. Reading this morning for FC was 2-4ppm after adding 2 more gallons. So it looks like its definitely gonna take all the gallons I bought. There is no chlorine smell from the pool so I am guessing that is good.
 
Is the FC 2 or 4? You’re not using the OTO comparator to measure chlorine for a SLAM are you? You need to use the FAS-DPD powder and drops.

You can safely swim during a SLAM.
I have a DPD test kit. no on the FAS? I dont have a powder. My kit will test FC, TC, TA, PH, CYA, Hardness and there is something else I cant think of while im not looking at it. It tests pretty much all but salt levels. It is a large blue box made by Taylor? we bought it at Leslies when we first had the pool installed as I didnt like the one the builder gave us. Im sure there is something more COMPLETELY accurate on the FC but this is what I have on hand at the moment.
 
I have a DPD test kit. no on the FAS? I dont have a powder. My kit will test FC, TC, TA, PH, CYA, Hardness and there is something else I cant think of while im not looking at it. It tests pretty much all but salt levels. It is a large blue box made by Taylor? we bought it at Leslies when we first had the pool installed as I didnt like the one the builder gave us. Im sure there is something more COMPLETELY accurate on the FC but this is what I have on hand at the moment.
You’re not able to do a SLAM with that test kit. You on need a kit that tests CC and FC up to 12+ and your kit is only moderately accurate up to 5ppm.

You can get the Taylor K2006C or there’s a better deal on the TF-100, both are usually only available online. There’s also a FAS-DPD add-on you can get if you don’t want the whole original kit.
 
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You’re not able to do a SLAM with that test kit. You on need a kit that tests CC and FC up to 12+ and your kit is only moderately accurate up to 5ppm.

You can get the Taylor K2006C or there’s a better deal on the TF-100, both are usually only available online. There’s also a FAS-DPD add-on you can get if you don’t want the whole original kit.
I will look into those thank you!
 

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What Taylor kit do you currently have? If you're able to test CYA it sounds like you may have the K-2005/K-2005C. Can you confirm?

If it's the K-2005/C, you will just need to add the Taylor K1515-A FAS-DPD test to turn it into the K-2006.
 
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