please help, starting at the beginning

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Click the + sign, and enter a chemical addition of 18 oz of stabilizer.

Click the + sign again, and enter an addition of 60oz of 29% muriatic.

Select the check in the upper right after each addition.

Then, click FC, and click on the circle next to SLAM to set a SLAM FC level. It will allow you to enter a % liquid chlorine and give you a recommended amount to add to get to SLAM level.
 
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I just bought a bunch of chemicals and will start the SLAM today. How long do I wait after adding acid and CYA before adding the bleach (do I need to test pH and CYA again before adding the bleach)? Does it matter that it's going to rain 2" between now and Friday? Should I wait for the ground to dry up before I empty the pool so it doesn't pop out like in the pics on the how not to drain website?

As an aside, do most hired pool guys check or care about calcium hardness? It seems that my pool water is off the charts and I wonder if that contributed to me having to replace the pump last year (also the salt cell and APUREM power interface board, but it turns out the power board was the problem, not the salt cell). My pool guy quit and that's when I decided to figure out what was going on, with your help. Many thanks!
 
I would go back to the draining article and follow the "No Drain Water exchange" section instructions. Avoids any "popping."
10 minutes after adding acid....but I would test pH again after the water exchange. You may not need to add acid.
You will have to test CYA after the exchange. Once you put the CYA into the sock, and the sock hits the water, assume the CYA is in the water and start the SLAM process.
Rain won't matter.
 
I decided to SLAM my pool first cause it was growing a beard. Last night, I adjusted the pH to 7.5 and threw in a sock of CYA, then I added a gallon of liquid chlorine per poolmath (actually it said to add a little more). Now the algae is 75% gone and I tested the water again. The FC is 13 and CC 0.5. Did I overshoot with the liquid chlorine (if so, how did that happen?)? And what do I wait for the FC to drop to before dosing the chlorine again? Or should I just brush the algae, run the filter constantly, and let it do its thing?
 
frogboy said:
Did I overshoot with the liquid chlorine (if so, how did that happen?)?
Click to expand...
Post 1 and your signature say 19k gallons but your profile says 13500 gallons. Does poolmath say the correct one ?

Or the SWG produced some FC too.
frogboy said:
And what do I wait for the FC to drop to before dosing the chlorine again?
Click to expand...
Yes. If you added about 10 CYA, treat it as there already and your slam target is 12 FC (40% of the 30 CYA).

Maintain that 12 as often as it needs, though the cold water will likely help a bunch with slowed algae growth. In July, you might be adding every 2 hours.
frogboy said:
Or should I just brush the algae, run the filter constantly, and let it do its thing?
Click to expand...
Filter runs 24/7 to remove all the dead algae once you kill it.

Brush and vac at least once a day.

Go on a full blown algae treasure hunt, every last inch is suspect until its scrubbed. It hides many places in plain sight. Ladder rails, all up in the skimmer, light niches, autofills, etc.
 
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If your CYA was 20 and you added enough CYA to get to 30, then your slam target is 12. You may have added to much, but there are other causes.

How?
Could be test error, bad reagents, dirty vial, or pool volume is off.

How old are the reagents?
Clean and dry your vial with rubbing alcohol.
Avoid testing Errors:

Water Testing Errors - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com www.troublefreepool.com

If you are still off then it is pool volume

Your pool volume is likely too high. Reduce your pool volume in pool math by 500. Wait for FC to go below SLAM level, and dose enough to get back to 12. Test after 30 minutes. If you still overshoot, reduce by 500 gallons again. When your dose expectations and results match, you have the right pool volume.
 
Got it, I bought the test kit a few weeks ago and I calculated the pool volume with the Orenda app so I updated it based on that. I'll decrease it by 500. SWG was set to 0% so presumably it's off. Tested CYA again (2 days after the sock went into the skimmer) and it's still around 20. FC dropped from 13 yesterday to 11.5 now and the pool is still a little cloudy. Is it normal for the cloudiness to persist for a few days? Algae situation looks 95% better. Thanks again!
 
The CYA is a turbidity test, and is dependent on temperature. You should warm the water to room temperature before you test CYA. Colder will be lower than actual (The melamine solution that is used in the Taylor/TFTESTKITS.net tests is at low pH so as to force the maximum precipitation of melamine cyanurate since it is somewhat soluble at pH 7.0 with a solubility of around 20 ppm. Colder temperatures it will take longer to precipitate.)

Cloudy can continue for multiple days into weeks, as you are killing algae and filtering it out.

Your signature doesn't indicate the type of filter you have. I would clean or backwash your filter, note clean filter pressure at 3000RPM. Every so often, run your RPM back up to 3000, and when your PSI rises 25% from clean pressure, clean or backwash again.
 
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The filter is a Pentair Clean and Clear and the starting PSI was 10. I tried to change the speed from 2400 to 3000 RPM via the iAqualink app (menu->system setup->VSP setup->speed setup) when the pump was off but then the pump wouldn't turn back on. I turned it on at 2400 and then adjusted the speed to 3000 while it was running and didn't notice a difference in the sound. Any way to check this?

My old pool guy changed the filters in December. Should I clean the filters once the pressure reads 12.5? The gauge says to clean at 20. He charged $400 for 4 cartridges and $100 for labor, is that fair? Seems steep since he didn't even wash filters, just popped new ones in.

Pool is looking amazing now, thanks for the tips!
 
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@PoolGate @ajw22 can help with the iaqualink.

You should hear an increase in the sound as you raise RPM. Let's get your RPM sorted.

In general, yes. When you check PSI, check at high (3000) RPM. When your pressure rises 25% (i.e. from 10 to 12.5, you should clean the filter).
 
You have an Intelliflo3 controlled by your Aqualink?

Check what MAX RPM limit you have in the Intelliflo3. Use the Pentair Pool app or Intelliflo3 control panel. You may have limits set in the pump causing it to ignore the Aqualink commands.
 
Cool, I didn't realize I could connect my phone to the pump. Worked like a charm.

My pool passed the OCLT so it looks like my first SLAM is in the books thanks to you guys. The current FC is 7.5 and poolmath says the target is 3. Once it drops to this level, then do I have to keep adding liquid chlorine on a weekly basis as long as the water temp is < 60? Is my saltwater pool effectively a regular chlorine pool until it warms up? Where I live I think the water temp is probably below 60 for 8 months of the year unless I run the heater, but I rarely do that since we don't really use the pool unless it's really hot outside, which is around 4 weeks a year (August)
 
frogboy said:
Is my saltwater pool effectively a regular chlorine pool until it warms up?
Click to expand...
Yes. Stay clear of min FC per your CYA at all times. If adding 5 ppm of liquid chlorine lasts a week or more, GREAT. If not, add again sooner. Adjust testing/dosing to how it's been behaving recently.
 
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