What a weekend...32 bottles of bleach and still cloudy...Am I doing it right?

[Snap96]

Well...things look better.

The water is is much clearer now vs this morning. Can actually see the bottom and the drains but still not crystal clear.

Readings....

6pm...PH 7.4, CYA 65, FC 6, CC 1. Turned off SWG and added 5 jugs of 8.25%.

6:20pm...FC 35 and CC 0.5.

The readings at 6:30pm and 7:00pm were the same as 6:20.

Will keep testing for the next couple hours.

The pool calculator showed 586ozs needed to get to FC 28 at 18000 gallons. I put in 605ozs and my FC reading is at 35. I’m guessing the pool gallons I’m using is a little off.

 

[Texas Splash]

You're in a MUCH better place now. Regular SLAM Process mode. So do the best you can to maintain the proper FC level until you pass all 3 criteria. Make sure to pay attention to the little things on the SLAM page as well during this process. A completed SLAM will also help you in the coming weeks at closing. Good luck!

 

[Snap96]

Thanks for all the help...

There is obviously something eating the FC as it dropped from 30 to 12.5 overnight. The water is pretty clear but still not crystal. I'm 41 jugs in. Thank goodness I found some 8.25% bleach yesterday with a date code of 18232 and cheaper than the 6% I was using too.

 

[Snap96]

For those playing along...the water is practically crystal clear since the anti-skid bottom of the pool is visible. There still something eating the FC though....

Today's FC/CC readings (CYA 70):

8:35am...12.5/1...added 3.5 jugs

11:40am...22.5/0.5...added 1.5 jugs

1:30pm...22.5/0.5....added 2.5 jugs (added a little more since I won't be able to test for a few hours)

45 jugs into this mess so I'm praying I pass the overnight test tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[Snap96]

Well...there is some FC monster in the pool.

Crystal clear water and went from 25 to 14.5 overnight.

This is borderline ridiculous...I'm now at 50 jugs with no end in sight.

 

[mknauss]

Your shock level is 28 ppm. Use that as your max FC. Taking the FC to above that is not advisable.

If you struggle to pass a OCLT at high FC, let the FC come down to around 15 ppm or so and then run the OCLT.

 

[Snap96]

Whoops...I listed drops and edited my post.

It was 25 last night and 14.5 this morning.

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[mknauss]

With that large a drop in FC overnight you have organics in the water still being consumed by chlorine.

Check all the hiding places for algae, light niches, skimmer and the weir/door, ladders, etc.

 

[Snap96]

I was definitely hoping not to lose that much overnight.

I'll have to check those spots tonight when I get home...my wife is running the tests and adding bleach during the day.

Crazy to see a crystal clear pool and continue to lose so much FC.

 

[React]

I couldn't pass OCLT until I removed the light and REALLY scrubbed inside of the skimmers with a toothbrush and bleach in a spray bottle. You'll regret if you give up now and have to return to slamming again (ask me how I know).

Also became much easier to address my SLAM with a higher percentage liquid chlorine that wasn't stored outdoors (Lowes).

 

[Snap96]

I'll be checking everything tonight for sure. Unfortunately, I can't find the higher percentage liquid chlorine around me. Our stores have already pulled pool supplies. I'd have to drain the pool a couple feet to remove lights so let's hope that is not the problem.

I was able to locate 8.25% bleach with August dates which is not too bad.

Hopefully get a few more tests in today before another OCLT.

 

[mknauss]

You should not have to drain to get to the lights. If the large style with chrome ring around the lens then there is a screw at the top to take out and the ring comes off and the light assembly is raised to the deck. There will be enough cord there to allow that.

 

[Snap96]

64 jugs and still going.

This is just plain nuts. The water is crystal clear and I didn't see any signs of algae anywhere.

Here are the latest readings...

8/28...9:00pm...25...added nothing
8/29...7:30am...14.5...added 3 jugs of 8.25 and 1 jug of 6
8/29...12:30pm...26...added 1 jug of 8.25
8/29...2:15pm...29...added 1 jug of 8.25
8/29...5:30pm...27...added 1/2 jug of 8.25
8/29...8:30pm...27...added nothing
8/30...8:00am...16...added 3 jugs of 8.25

CYA is at 60 since added quite a bit of water yesterday due to all the backwashing. Water was added around 7:30pm.

That is quite a bit of FC loss overnight. I feel like I'm just banging my head against a wall. Not sure how much longer my wife will put up with this before she calls the pool company.

 

[Texas Splash]

Snap, you're right. This is nuts. Something's not adding up. We've coached thousands of members through a SLAM Process with relative predictability. Once in a while a case comes along that seems to derail and not follow the norm. So let's pause for a second. I'll ask a few tough/redundant questions and recap a few things, so please try not to take offense to any of them if they seem crazy:
1 - Proper testing is #1. Your have a good test kit. Is there any chance your FC or CYA testing could be flawed? Believe me, it wouldn't be the first time. Some folks got the CYA concept inverted (backwards; saying 70 when it was 30), others were using the wrong multiplier factor for the FC (5 instead of 0.5, etc).
2 - You're on page 2 of this thread so I didn't go back, but have you done a deep clean of the sand yet? It's been 3 years since the pool was installed, so you could be harboring lots of junk down in the sand.
3 - During this SLAM period, do you have the water going through the heater as well? You do want to sanitize that plumbing.
4 - Is there anything else in the pool that can be removed? The light niche was already addressed. Things like hollow steps, rails, ladders, etc can all hold a tremendous amount of algae.
5 - Do you have a main drain? MDs have been known to trap debris under the cover stalling a SLAM.
6 - Are you brushing all pool surfaces each day? It's important to scrape the biofilm (like slimy teeth in the morning) that can build-up. We can't always see it, but it's there.
7 - Water circulation okay? If you're not sure, you can toss some ping pong balls or packing peanuts onto the water to see how water circulates.
8 - Remember, FC is consumed by one of two things - sunlight and organics. So if the CYA is accurate, meaning you're at the proper FC SLAM level, then it's algae. We can rule out ammonia because you would not be able to hold any FC or CYA with ammonia.
9 - Is there ANY chance some other unknown chemical entered your pool water? Had flooding lately? We've seen that happen before, and the chemical, either from landscaping or something else consumed a lot of chlorine. Also, is there any chance something other than regular bleach was added to the water before finding us or starting the SLAM?

Maybe something noted will clue us in on your situation.

 

[Snap96]

Just tested and I'm at 23.5....pool has been open and it's sunny out. I added 3 jugs of bleach 5 hours ago which added roughly 12.75 of FC. My rough calculation shows that I'm losing just over 1 unit of FC every hour and it shows no signs of slowing down. At this point, I might as well dump a truck load of bleach in and see what happens.

I have no idea how there can be anything left in this pool with the amount of bleach used.

It's truly frustrating.

 

[Snap96]

Snap, you're right. This is nuts. Something's not adding up. We've coached thousands of members through a SLAM Process with relative predictability. Once in a while a case comes along that seems to derail and not follow the norm. So let's pause for a second. I'll ask a few tough/redundant questions and recap a few things, so please try not to take offense to any of them if they seem crazy:
1 - Proper testing is #1. Your have a good test kit. Is there any chance your FC or CYA testing could be flawed? Believe me, it wouldn't be the first time. Some folks got the CYA concept inverted (backwards; saying 70 when it was 30), others were using the wrong multiplier factor for the FC (5 instead of 0.5, etc).
2 - You're on page 2 of this thread so I didn't go back, but have you done a deep clean of the sand yet? It's been 3 years since the pool was installed, so you could be harboring lots of junk down in the sand.
3 - During this SLAM period, do you have the water going through the heater as well? You do want to sanitize that plumbing.
4 - Is there anything else in the pool that can be removed? The light niche was already addressed. Things like hollow steps, rails, ladders, etc can all hold a tremendous amount of algae.
5 - Do you have a main drain? MDs have been known to trap debris under the cover stalling a SLAM.
6 - Are you brushing all pool surfaces each day? It's important to scrape the biofilm (like slimy teeth in the morning) that can build-up. We can't always see it, but it's there.
7 - Water circulation okay? If you're not sure, you can toss some ping pong balls or packing peanuts onto the water to see how water circulates.
8 - Remember, FC is consumed by one of two things - sunlight and organics. So if the CYA is accurate, meaning you're at the proper FC SLAM level, then it's algae. We can rule out ammonia because you would not be able to hold any FC or CYA with ammonia.
9 - Is there ANY chance some other unknown chemical entered your pool water? Had flooding lately? We've seen that happen before, and the chemical, either from landscaping or something else consumed a lot of chlorine. Also, is there any chance something other than regular bleach was added to the water before finding us or starting the SLAM?

Maybe something noted will clue us in on your situation.

1. We’re using the numbers on the side and the dot currently disappears when at 60. For FC, we take the number of drops and divide by 2 since each drop is 0.5.
2. We have not done a deep clean of the sand and was something I’ve thought of, but that would need to wait until the weekend. It has crossed my mind that something is stuck in there.
3. Water does go through the heater but it is not on.
4. The only things in the pool are 3 returns, 3 lights, 2 wall filter/drains in the deep end, and the skimmer.
5. No main drain on the floor of the pool. We have a skimmer and 2 drains/filters in the deep end on the walls.
6. We are brushing, vacuuming, and backwashing.
7. Water circulation is ok, but location of the returns make it quite difficult to get really good circulation. We have 2 waterfalls that we have been putting on intermittently to help out.
8. At least we know what it is...getting rid it seems to be impossible. With the amount of bleach I've used, it makes zero sense there is any algae left.
9. We've had some rain but the pool is covered at night and when it is raining. We’ve been following this forum since we installed the pool so the only stuff that we've put in the pool during this SLAM is bleach and a ton of it.

One thing I could try is to set the filter to recirculate thereby bypassing the filter and heater. If I continue to see the same FC loss, can I rule out the filter and heater components? We've also thought that maybe there is something on the underside of the autocover which would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to clean.

I'm just scratching my head at this one. I have the equivalent of 5 jugs of bleach in my pool and I've used 64 jugs so far. What in the world can eat 59 jugs of bleach in 5-6 days. I would understand this more if I started with a green slimy pool. Mine was just a bit cloudy and has been crystal clear for the 2+ days now.

 

[Texas Splash]

One thing I could try is to set the filter to recirculate thereby bypassing the filter and heater. If I continue to see the same FC loss, can I rule out the filter and heater components?

As a test you could try that. Just for one evening I suppose.

We've also thought that maybe there is something on the underside of the autocover which would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to clean.

Absolutely! Many, may other owners have had a cover become their demise. Not the easiest to clear for sure, but could be an issue. In addition, it's good practice to leave the cover off during the SLAM to allow the sun access for good oxidation. Much like the filter example, leave off for a day or two and compare FC consumption.

 

[React]

Not sure why this thread was on my mind last night but I was maybe thinking the cover had something to do with the continued chlorine loss. I'd take TS's suggestion and not cover the pool during your SLAM...

 

[1Sammy]

I have been following this and all i can say is WOW. By now if there was a horse or a cow in your pool it would have become neutral with all that chlorine. I noticed you are adding well water. Any chance there is something in it. I would not filter, backwash or add water. Waterfalls off. Just run the pump on circulate and keep your cover on .

 

[Snap96]

This is getting stupid now.

Latest reading is 19. I added nothing since the last reading and I loss 4.5 FC in 1 3/4 hours.