Why Can't you use SWG for SLAM?

[newdude]

That said, I could tell I had algae around Christmas. I didn't have the time or supplies to do a SLAM. I did a few days of Superchlorinate, and I believe it kept things at bay. Unlike other SLAMs I've read about here, the pool didn't immediately use up the LC when I started my SLAM

Cold water SLAMs are much more user friendly as the algae isn't growing exponentially like it would in June/July/August. (Or Feb for you FL folks )

The 10 FC your SWG produces in 17k gallons a day goes ALOT further this time of year and all help is certainly welcome when you're waiting on sourcing liquid chlorine.

 

[poolnoobgrandma]

Yes, I've definitely been appreciating the cold temps and cloudy days as I deal with my green pool. I never want to have to do this in the summer time!

 

[Dirk]

I always have at least two gallons of chlorine on hand, usually four, and sometimes six in the winter. Two in the laundry room (the 10% "disinfectant" stuff) that I use for cleaning and laundry, and two in the garage (the pool stuff), sometimes four. I use those for the occasional bump before or after a swim party, for winter feeding when my SWG won't produce, and for emergencies.

I also treat my pool's target FC level as it's minimum FC level, and create a "false" FC level for my target (a couple points above TFP's recommended target level. This keeps my FC slightly elevated. And because I have a higher minimum than recommended, I never let my FC get anywhere near my "true" minimum FC level. It's a built in buffer that handles things like a dead animal floating around for a few days before I notice it, or a big bird strike, or whatever. Whatever increases my chances of an algae bloom, this artificial buffer decreases those chances by some amount.

I expect this strategy costs me some $$ in slightly weaker jugs of chlorine sitting around for months, and using up my SWG slightly sooner, but I figure one SLAM, at today's chlorine prices, would cost a whole lot more. I'm basically paying algae insurance, not only to hedge the the cost of a SLAM in dollars, but in effort as well. They can be a lot of work, which, as per Murphy's Law, will always occur at the least convenient time!

In other news, be sure to close the barn door after your horse gets out!

 

[poolnoobgrandma]

I always have at least two gallons of chlorine on hand, usually four, and sometimes six in the winter. Two in the laundry room (the 10% "disinfectant" stuff) that I use for cleaning and laundry, and two in the garage (the pool stuff), sometimes four. I use those for the occasional bump before or after a swim party, for winter feeding when my SWG won't produce, and for emergencies.

I also treat my pool's target FC level as it's minimum FC level, and create a "false" FC level for my target (a couple points above TFP's recommended target level. This keeps my FC slightly elevated. And because I have a higher minimum than recommended, I never let my FC get anywhere near my "true" minimum FC level. It's a built in buffer that handles things like a dead animal floating around for a few days before I notice it, or a big bird strike, or whatever. Whatever increases my chances of an algae bloom, this artificial buffer decreases those chances by some amount.

I expect this strategy costs me some $$ in slightly weaker jugs of chlorine sitting around for months, and using up my SWG slightly sooner, but I figure one SLAM, at today's chlorine prices, would cost a whole lot more. I'm basically paying algae insurance, not only to hedge the the cost of a SLAM in dollars, but in effort as well. They can be a lot of work, which, as per Murphy's Law, will always occur at the least convenient time!

In other news, be sure to close the barn door after your horse gets out!

I generally run our FC "hot" as well. Until the recent issue, I hadn't added LC since.... early last spring, maybe? Given that our storage area get pretty warm, I figured LC would go bad before I used it. With this cold weather SLAM, I haven't gone through 4 gallons of the 6 we picked up on Friday.
All this is a good reminder to keep closer tabs on all things pool, especially as the days are now getting longer.

 

[Dirk]

Yes, I've definitely been appreciating the cold temps and cloudy days as I deal with my green pool. I never want to have to do this in the summer time!

Is this a regular occurrence? See #23 above! But also keep in mind that TFP's recommended FC levels are just that, recommendations. Your actual target FC level, and more importantly your minimum FC level, might need to be higher than what TFP recommends, for any number of reasons.

I've never had to do a SLAM, but I did have a tinge of green once that an extra gallon of chlorine took care of. It was a few days after a big pool party, which were a couple of hot days, and some inattentive pool maintenance (oops! Had to recover from party!!). Anywho, when I spotted the green I quickly tested FC and found it at 2.5. I surmised that the algae took hold at a slightly higher FC, at least 3, maybe more. Well TFP recommends my minimum to be 3! So obviously my pool has a different number in mind. That's when I set my own minimum of 5 (giving me a 2FC buffer), and my target at 7, also 2FC higher than TFP's recommendation.

Through inadvertent trial and error, I now know my pool's true FC minimum level, and it happens to be higher than TFP's number. Nothing wrong with TFP's numbers, or my pool, it just is what it is.

If you got algae while maintaining TFP's target or minimum levels, then your pool is a candidate for a similar shift in the FC scale.

Edit: we were writing our last posts at the same time. Sounds like you got it covered, but you get the gist.

 

[newdude]

'Listen to your pool, it will not listen to you'
-Newdude, circa 2022.

 

[Dirk]

Pssst. @Mdragger88, see post 26. 'dude is quoting himself and then laughing at his own jokes. Can you keep an eye on him for me? I can't be here 24/7. Let me know if you see any more symptoms...