Can't kill the algae!!!

[mknauss]

Definitely more than tabs,

I believe if you could erode the tablets enough to actually meet the FC levels as dictated by the FC/CYA Levels, it would be nearly the same cost.
Most tablet chlorinated pools do not maintain the chlorine high enough to keep the pool sanitary.

 

[DanF]

You can reach out to Karen Snay at [email protected] to see if there's a HASA chlorine retailer closer to you out in East Mesa. She hooked me up with AM Corsons's in Gilbert.

 

[Mirrage730]

You can reach out to Karen Snay at [email protected] to see if there's a HASA chlorine retailer closer to you out in East Mesa. She hooked me up with AM Corsons's in Gilbert.

Just got back from the AM Corson's off Val Vista & Southern. They only seemed to have the 10% bottles sold in boxes of (2) 1 gallon jugs. Bought 3 boxes just to maintain the levels while I'm waiting for my test kit, but might have to try the Gilbert one next time if they carry the 12%. Cost $30 for 3 boxes, which might be more expensive than just getting the same percentage at the hardware store...

 

[proavia]

$5 per gallon for 10% isn't that great a deal when you can usually get 10% at Walmart for about $4 per gallon including tax. The Power & Ray Walmart should have it in the pool or garden section.

So Corsons didn't have any yellow plastic crates with 4 white containers of chlorine? Did they say they don't carry them or were they just out? The one on McQueen and Warner gets a delivery from Hasa about twice weekly in summer.

I would suggest contacting Hasa directly (as Dan @DanF suggested) to see if there is a retailer closer to you (the Hasa dealer locator isn't very accurate for AZ). Or run by Cloud Supply or SPS during the week and see what it would take to get an account there (their paperwork, and an LLC/business name tied to a state tax ID number might do it).

 

[DanF]

At AM Corson's definitely ask about their jug return program. You pay a small deposit (maybe $20?) and then $16.99 before tax for 4 jugs of 12.5% LC - generally very fresh. The jugs come in a yellow crate as @proavia said, and you return the jugs and the crate and get 4 new bottles. I keep mine in the laundry room to slow degradation.
This price equates to about $3.40/gallon of 10% LC.

 

[Mirrage730]

Whelp, got my TF-100. These readings explain a lot. The FC reading on this is WAY better than the other tests I have. They made it seem like my chlorine level was just under where it should be, but they're nowhere even close:

CYA: 60
FC: 0.5
CC: 0.5
TC: 1
Calcium: 425ppm
TA: 50
pH: 7.2

Seems like the pool was never properly chlorinated after it was drained and the tablets weren't enough to bring it back up alone. Good news is, it looks like the pH is good for a SLAM and I won't have to drain the pool from high CYA levels... I just have to dump a TON of chlorine in from what it looks like. Looks like I know what I'm doing tomorrow

P.S. that SpeedStir is really awesome

 

[Mirrage730]

Backwashed yesterday and started the SLAM last night with what I had left of chlorine (3 gallons) and let it run overnight. Came out this morning and pool already has barely any green left. Still a bit cloudy but already WAY better.

Went to AM Corson's again today and they had the crates today. I guess there was a shortage of chlorine last week and they were behind on deliveries. Bought 3 crates and tested again, FC was back down to what it was before, I didn't check CC, I'm guessing it was converted because it ate all the algae?

Dumped what Pool Math said to put in and retested. FC was still at only 14, but I'm guessing I probably should've waited longer? How long after putting chlorine in should I check the levels?

Overall though, I'm impressed the condition of the pool had changed so much already, though! We are on a time-of-use schedule with the electricity company, so I was planning to have the pool off for the 3 hours of peak time during that, then backwash the pool, dump in more chemicals if needed and let it run completely through the weekend, adjusting as needed and see where we're at after that.

Should I be backwashing every day? I saw that I can add DE to my sand filter to help it's efficiency. Is that a good idea while SLAMing?

Thanks!

 

[kellyfair]

No, don’t backwash until your pressure rises 20% or so from its normal baseline. So if your pressure is normally 10 psi, you’d backwash when it hits 12.

You can also use a filter in your skimmer once you the larger stuff out. Many of us use these or something similar to cover our skimmer baskets. If you do decide to use DE, wait until your pool is just a bit cloudy, and then watch your filter pressure because it can suddenly shoot up and you’ll need to backwash. I’ve never had to use DE to get sparkly clear water, though!

You can check FC about 20 minutes or so after adding (pump should be running).

 

[Mirrage730]

No, don’t backwash until your pressure rises 20% or so from its normal baseline. So if your pressure is normally 10 psi, you’d backwash when it hits 12.

You can also use a filter in your skimmer once you the larger stuff out. Many of us use these or something similar to cover our skimmer baskets. If you do decide to use DE, wait until your pool is just a bit cloudy, and then watch your filter pressure because it can suddenly shoot up and you’ll need to backwash. I’ve never had to use DE to get sparkly clear water, though!

You can check FC about 20 minutes or so after adding (pump should be running).

Thanks! Water is looking pretty good today. Still cloudy, but I don't see anymore algae in there. Brushing seems almost futile at this point, since there's no cloud of dirt/algae coming off anymore, but still making sure I do it. The Wall Whale I bought with my TF-100 is awesome. So much easier to brush now. The water is crystal blue at this point, no more dark green

I've already used up ~9 gallons of 12% chlorine since yesterday afternoon. My overnight loss was still 16 FC though, so I've got a ways to go, still. My filter pressure had rised from 15 yesterday to 25 by this morning though, so I'm going to make sure I backwash tonight if need be, rather than let it sit all night with low circulation. Gonna probably have to run by the store tomorrow and get more, think I can make it through the rest of the day with the rest of what I have

The "dirt" I've been seeing in the spa since we moved in most definitely was algae. Now that it's got a lot of chlorine in there, it's far less dirty in there. I'm still not convinced the drains are working correctly, because there is some debris still at the bottom that they don't seem to suck in, but if I can move it into the drain by brushing and the rest of it is clear, that's better than before.

 

[CrystalRiver]

My filter pressure had rised from 15 yesterday to 25 by this morning though, so I'm going to make sure I backwash tonight if need be, rather than let it sit all night with low circulation.

Backwash when it hits 18.75. That's 25% over your starting pressure.

 

[Chrissykr]

Also brushing is still important. I breaks up the bio film on the algae.

 

[Mirrage730]

Backwash when it hits 18.75. That's 25% over your starting pressure.

Indeed. I backwashed this morning when I came out to check the levels and it was at 25 psi. Last time I check was yesterday afternoon and it was just over 15, so I'll make sure to be more cognizant of the pressure tonight. The vacuum was moving around pretty slow this morning and the spillover from the spa to pool was a pretty slow trickle. Backwashed and it's back to normal, chugging along now.

Also brushing is still important. I breaks up the bio film on the algae.

Definitely! Just stating that there's no algae clouds following the brush anymore, just a tad in the spa but it's not green there - brown like dirt, which is what I was seeing before the pool went green, so it's doing WAY better so far

 

[Mirrage730]

The SLAM is finally complete! Looks awesome (will have to upload photos later, the images in my phone are too large )!

Final test results below. Looks like I need to raise pH and lower TA. Should I wait until the FC goes back down to a normal level before adding anything?

 

[mknauss]

Good job.
No need to chemically adjust the pH. Normal rise will occur and when it reaches 8, lower it to 7.5 or so. Your TA should manage itself by doing that.

 

[Mirrage730]

Good job.
No need to chemically adjust the pH. Normal rise will occur and when it reaches 8, lower it to 7.5 or so. Your TA should manage itself by doing that.

Sounds good!

Kids are excited to finally swim in it again today

 

[Mirrage730]

...aaaaaand, we've got algae again

I noticed yesterday when I brushed the pool that algae clouds were coming off the bottom of the pool. The pool's chlorine level tests in the correct range for my CYA reading. The only day it's dipped a bit below this level was the first day I started adding chlorine again, since I was waiting for it to come down from the high level, but it was not below the minimum FC of 4. The pool passed the SLAM test:

The last night, FC was at 20.5 and in the morning, I was at 19.5. The pool water was clear and CC was at 0.5

Now I'm just wondering if this is a pool equipment issue at this point... The pump runs daily from 5 am to 11 am, which should be plenty as far as I can tell with the GPM of the motor... The vacuum (Hayward Phoenix) is only a month old and works great. The only thing that's changed is I stopped brushing every day and moved to every other day, since I'm not SLAMing anymore...

 

[DanF]

Have you backwashed/cleaned your filter since the last SLAM? Only thing I can think of is that there may be some residual algae hiding in there.

 

[Mirrage730]

Have you backwashed/cleaned your filter since the last SLAM? Only thing I can think of is that there may be some residual algae hiding in there.

Hmm... I haven't, since the PSI didn't go up enough on the last day. But I was backwashing pretty much ever day during the SLAM.

 

[kellyfair]

Are you positive your CYA measurement is correct?

 

[Mirrage730]

Are you positive your CYA measurement is correct?

Yes, I've measured it 3 times. It comes out between 40 and 50 every time, so I rounded up to 50 to be on the safe side.