Sand Filter high pressure before/after backwash

[Tazam77]

Hi,

I have a sand filter and it is running at 19/20 PSI. (The water is green and cloudy.) Even after I backwash for a minute, the pressure doesn't change.

Do I have a problem with my filter? or is this a normal pressure for a very green cloudy pool?

Thanks,

-Matt

 

[Texas Splash]

Hi Matt. I suspect your filter is fine. It's your water chemistry that's causing the problem - algae. You need to "SLAM" (link below) your pool. To do so however requires the proper test kit, either a TF-100 or Taylor K-2006C (link below). If you already have one of those you can post a full set of results, but I'm 99% sure that's what you need - a SLAM.

 

[ChrissyN]

One minute would never be long enough when I backwash. Do you have a clear sight glass? You should backwash until the glass clears up. Then you should rinse for 30 sec to 1 minute. It stinks to loose all that water but I suspect that your sand is not get clean. There are threads on deep cleaning your sand filter. Mine is in my basement so I haven't done it. Start with running the backwash longer. After that, you can use chemicals per advice given.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Tazam77]

Hi, Thanks for he responses. The water is now blue in color, but still cloudy. I have been shocking it (3 gallons, around 30,000 gallons of water) every day for five days straight. The pump has been running for weeks. It seems to clear up very slowly. The pressure has only changed by one or two PSI the entire time. I tried to backwash for more then a minute and still the pressure did not change. It is hovering around 20 PSI. The fact that it took so long to clear and the pressure makes me wonder what is going on.

How do I deal with the cloudy water? I added clarifier hours after the shocking. It has seemed to help. The chlorine is very high.

 

[Mr Bruce]

Which test kit did you decide on? Without a proper test kit you're just shooting in the dark. Also, clarifiers may add things to your pool that may make things worse.

 

[danpik]

Has this always been the pressure or has it been different in the past. Each pool is different depending on the plumbing so your pressure will unique to your pool. Maybe the normal pressure is 20PSI. Does it ever go up from there? Does the guage go to zero when the pump is off?

 

[Tazam77]

We use the PH/Chlorine/Alkalinity and Stabilizer test strips. Everything has looked high except the stabilizer which has been okay. I have only seen the pressure this year. It does fluctuate one PSI up or down. We used to have a DE filter and that ran around 12 PSI. It does go to zero when off.

 

[smracing]

My pool pump pressure is at 18 psi with a clean filter. I consider mine dirty and backwash at 23-24 psi.