Well, here goes my first SLAM!

[Poolnerdgrandma]

Almost 5 years of pool ownership, and I have the dreaded green pool. Combination of holiday neglect, major tree removal next door (huge dirt event) and lots of rain.
I just cleaned the really gross filter. Hubby is off fetching liquid chlorine. I'll get the pH down into the low 7s, and get this slam going!
The good news is that you can see the bottom of the pool, and a few cycles of SWG superchlorinate seem to have helped... The pool is actually holding chlorine, and I had no CCs when I tested this morning. Hopefully I'll get the dead(?) gunk filtered once we get going, and we'll be enjoying the spa on New Year's Day. I only tested pH, CYA, FC and CC. I'll tune the rest of the chemicals once we aren't looking as a swamp.

 

[JJ_Tex]

Dang. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is no way that pool will clear up until at least next year.





PS - Good luck, sounds like you are on the right track.

 

[Newdude]

Right on schedule, I'm waiting for the ball to drop with months of 20s ahead and you're gearing up for the new season.


You got this.

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

So, good news - chlorine seems to be holding. I'll check in the morning. Bad news - our robot is dead, and the manual vac is terrible. It literally only vacuums up the stuff directly under the hose. Good news - this isn't the busy season for Marina. Got through to a human TWICE. New robot is on his way.

 

[Newdude]

the manual vac is terrible

Are you using the old skool vac method with the pump or a battery operated hand held ?

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

Old school. The hand vac I have has a tiny capacity. Ok for the sunshelf edges, but that's about it. The one I'm using looks kinda like this:

 

[Newdude]

Old school

I use the triangle head one with the brushes for a 2fer, but I imagine the theory is the same. I need 100% suction on the one vac skimmer or it sucks. (Err, doesn't. ).

Turn everything else off if it isn't already. Your 2 speed should work great if the vac line gets all the flow.

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

Chlorine is holding steady. I think I have a bunch of dead algae. Amazon delivers a new brush today, and I'll continue to try to manually vacuum while waiting for our robot to arrive.
I think a couple of days of SWG superchlorinate kept this from becoming a real nightmare.

 

[kimkats]

At least you know what to do and got right on it! I agree the SWG+ helped keep it from going totally gross.

What kind of filter do you have? sand, cartridge, or DE? That is the only thing not in your signature.

 

[Mdragger88]

Here’s your obligatory reminder
For a successful SLAM Process
you need to continue to MAINTAIN Slam level fc for your cya as often as possible (multiple times per day is best) until you meet ALL 3 end of slam criteria-

You are done when:

CC is 0.5 or lower;
You pass an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
AND
The water is clear.
(Crystal Clear w/no algae dead or alive)

Do ALL the things
*Check & scrub every nook & cranny where algae may hide {light niches, steps (inside & out), drain covers, ladder handrails, skimmer throats/weirs, abandoned lines, autofill, overflow drains, seam flaps, etc.}
*If water can go there, algae can thrive there.
*Run slam level water through all water features & lines for at least a couple hours a day during the SLAM Process.
*Brush & or vac daily (this breaks up biofilms that algae uses to protect itself from chlorine)
*Backwash/clean filter when pressure rises 25%over clean pressure.

SLAM ON!
You got this!

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

At least you know what to do and got right on it! I agree the SWG+ helped keep it from going totally gross.

What kind of filter do you have? sand, cartridge, or DE? That is the only thing not in your signature.

Cartridge. I cleaned it yesterday. Will clean again after vacuuming.

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

Looking better and still holding chlorine. I'm going to turn off the pump, let the dust settle, and try vacuuming again.

 

[kimkats]

Solid plan! Let us know what you see after you let it calm down.

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

While the dust was settling in the rest of the pool, I ran the spa, including bubbler, for 6 hours (after brushing) to see how the filter would do on the gunk. Not TFP clear, but MUCH better!

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

I think the color is mostly the gunk on the bottom. FC is drifting down. Sitting at just below SLAM level, with no CC. I'm going to vacuum today. After I vacuum I'll turn the filter back on and bring it back up to SLAM level. Fingers crossed.

 

[duraleigh]

What is your psi?

 

[Newdude]

Don't forget to scrub all the hiding in plain sight spots. That water sat for a spell while it was gross.

 

[Poolnerdgrandma]

What is your psi?

It hasn't gone up appreciably since I cleaned the filter (just before I started the SLAM). I was debating on whether to clean now or wait until after the SLAM. Some folks have said a dirty filter grabs more fine stuff.

 

[duraleigh]

FC is drifting down. Sitting at just below SLAM level, with no CC

It sounds like you have never finished the SLAM. Review the SLAM process article......especially the part about finishing the SLAM

 

[Newdude]

I was debating on whether to clean now or wait until after the SLAM

With no appreciable psi rise, I cleaned mine after.