Brand new DE filter

[newpooler]

Hi All,

We got a brand new pool surface (Marquis) and a brand new DE filter yesterday, a big one 60 is the size for my 20,000 gallon in ground pool with chlorine and a pop-up floor system.

It runs nicely at a pressure of 18 or 20 but then after about 2 hours pressure climbs to 34, water from waterfall slows to a trickle and pop-ups stop working. They told me to backwash it so I did and pressure goes back down, everything works and then in about another two hours, same thing.

I don't have a lot of confidence that they know what is wrong.....can anyone help?

 

[JasonLion]

There is a lot of very fine debris in the water, which the filter is catching very quickly and efficiently. After several cycles it will have caught up on the backlog of fine debris in the water and will be able to go longer between backwashings/cleanings.

 

[chiefwej]

If you are back washing then refilling w DE every two hours, you are going to go through a lot of DE. At least I hope you are replacing the DE. You don't want that filter to run with out DE in it.

 

[newpooler]

Yes I am replacing the DE, (I decided on ecoklean, the less toxic alternative to DE) every two hours as I backwash. Just seems strange, it's a huge filter, a 60 on 20,000 gallons, they never mentioned anything about this constant backwash during startup before they left me Friday afternoon. After 2 hours the pop-up floor system no longer works and the water fall is a trickle until I backwash again??? Wierd.

 

[burnedout]

I am having the same problem, but without having gotten a new filter. This pool has normally had a 10 month to one year turnaround on cleaning the grids, and I just did that about 6 weeks ago. My prior pool went a couple of years without cleaning the grids with no problem. Both are Hayward 60 sf DE filters. Now I do a backwash, and less than 24 hours later I am 15 psi over my baseline (36 over 21).

 

[newpooler]

Burnedout are you using Real DE or Ecoklean. Have you been using the same stuff on both filters?

 

[lightingguy]

The fibre DE replacements have a tendency to clog quickly. This is due in part because they filter finer - but personally I think they just are not as robust as DE in a pool filter. Theoretically there will come a point when your water is clean enough that you are not backwashing every 24 hours.

If you've just had the plaster redone you might want to use regular DE until it needs a backwash and then give the fibre a second shot.

I redid my plaster last fall and tried the fibre only to find it.... disappointing. I only backwash my DE twice a year so....I went back.

 

[burnedout]

I use the real DE in both pools.

 

[LisaM]

I keep seeing people talk about DE being toxic... everything I have read says it is non toxic and great for bug repellent and ant killers. When I backwash it goes right out into my yard. Am I missing something?

 

[RobbieH]

Outdoor DE is not the same thing as the DE used in swimming pool filters. Pool grade DE is Diatomaceous Earth produced for pool filters and it is treated with heat, causing the formerly amorphous silicon dioxide to assume crystalline form. Pool grade DE should never be used for pest control. Swimming pool DE ranges from 60% to 70% free silica, and can be a carcinogen (lung cancer) or a cause of silicosis.

 

[newpooler]

Burnedout, were you having this problem after using the DE Substitute?

 

[newpooler]

I had the same problem with the DE alternative and am running fine with the regular DE.

 

[SJSwimmer]

Possible that switching seems to relieve the problem, when in reality switching (after using DE for several cycles) occurs after most of the fine particles are removed, and the DE alternative seems to work when the DE actually did the work.