Algea clogging pump?

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hatingthepool

0
Aug 2, 2011
8
This season pool started ok, but when I tried to vacuum, lost all suction. Pump basket went dry.
When took the vacuum off it started pumping fine again.

The vacuum hose is fine. What I had to do to vacuum, was add a seperate line into the pump, with a shutoff valve
(2 actually - one on the skimmer line, another on the vacuum line). I don't like this because all the debris goes directly into the pump basket,
but it does let me modulate the flow which helps me vacuum to waste longer at a lower flow rate, such as when vacumming alega,
which is the subject I wanted to discuss.

After having an algea attack (salt clorinator went offline due to a power outage), I floc'd and vacuumed out the green
slime at the bottom. However, after a time vacuuming to waste, I noticed brackish water stuff coming back into the pool through
the outlets. Not at a high rate but enough of it to bother me. So, I switched from vacuuming to waste to backwash.
And that worked. For a while. Now vacuuming to backwash also sends the stuff back into the pool! I have a hayward
pump and filter.

Further, when I try to do a regular backwash now (at full flow) it seems clogged. The filter seems to be clogged.
Is that possible? Pressure goes up close to 20 (normally less than 10) and water flow out of the pool is
less than half of what occurs when using rinse. Rinse seems to create the biggest water flow, and
I am thinking of using this setting now to vacuum out the remainder. Ok to get the job done?

Did I clog the filter by not using a full rate of flow when going to waste and backwash?
Is it ok to vacuum using the rinse setting? Can I use a lower rate of flow so that I don't drain my pool?

There should be a special setting and/or equipment to clean algea off the bottom so that you don't need to
drop you water inches, but that is another topic. I need to get this stuff cleaned and the pool open
for business (family party) today if at all possible.

Thank you so much!
 
Vacuuming to backwash has clogged the internals of your filter. You should never vacuum to backwash. You should only vacuum on waste or filter. What happens when the filter is on backwash is you are forcing water backward through your filter in order to clean the debris out of it.

You can try to run in filter mode and shock your pool and that may clear the stuff out of it. Of course the stuff is going to go back into the pool but you can deal with that.

Now, as to your real issue. Were you shocking the pool while you were vacuuming the stuff out? If you weren't, you'll never get rid of the algae.
 
Bama Rambler said:
Vacuuming to backwash has clogged the internals of your filter. You should never vacuum to backwash. You should only vacuum on waste or filter. What happens when the filter is on backwash is you are forcing water backward through your filter in order to clean the debris out of it.

You can try to run in filter mode and shock your pool and that may clear the stuff out of it. Of course the stuff is going to go back into the pool but you can deal with that.

Now, as to your real issue. Were you shocking the pool while you were vacuuming the stuff out? If you weren't, you'll never get rid of the algae.
Click to expand...

Thanks much!

Clorine was high enough - 5ppm free.

Can I clean the filter another way?
Or, can i run it in filter mode, but instead send the water out to the street until it is clear?
I would disconnect the return line from the heater and connect it to the waste line.

Most of the stuff is out - at least in the filter now.
There is a small ring around the edge.
Can i vacuum that to "rinse" rather than waste?

Want to swim today tommorow badly :(
 
Here's what I've done so far: had to move quickly unfortunately

1) Rerouted the return line to the "waste" - so return goes to the street
2) Ran on filter for a few minutes. Nothing alege-like came out. Water was crystal clear.
3) Left return bypass on (seperate pipe) and reconnected waste output
4) Ran backwash until clear - some water still came out of the return line!
5) Ran waste to see what's up - some water still came out of return
6) Ran rinse for a while - did not check unfortunately - but this had the strongest pump

So now, since the return is disconnected, and going to street, I can vacuum to waste without
worry of it returning to pool at least.

Then reconnect and resume normal operation until next time.

Does it appear that my filter is a problem, if dirty water is being returned to the pool,
when backwashing or vacuuming to waste?

I haven't been able to get a 100% full of water pump basket either, unless I am on rinse.
There is around an inch of bubbly turbulence on top otherwise.

Thanks,
 
I am commenting below on your questions, but I think you do not have a grasp on the basics of the shocking process. Please read: http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/shocking_your_pool and the rest of pool school. My guess is you still need to shock.

hatingthepool said:
Here's what I've done so far: had to move quickly unfortunately

1) Rerouted the return line to the "waste" - so return goes to the street
2) Ran on filter for a few minutes. Nothing alege-like came out. Water was crystal clear.Since prevously vacuumed on backwash, this should help clear it
3) Left return bypass on (seperate pipe) and reconnected waste output
4) Ran backwash until clear - some water still came out of the return line!Your spider gasket could be leaking, was it alot, or a little?
5) Ran waste to see what's up - some water still came out of return
6) Ran rinse for a while - did not check unfortunately - but this had the strongest pumpThis should have high flow, since it bypasses the sand and standpipe.

So now, since the return is disconnected, and going to street, I can vacuum to waste without
worry of it returning to pool at least. If I understand your correctly that your filter return is plumbed not to your pool, then I think you can, but if your filter was working correctly, you could just use the bypass to waste setting to do the same thing. If your spider gasket is leaking, obviously this will prevent anything from going to pool.

Then reconnect and resume normal operation until next time.I would suggest running on backwash for awhile, then rinse for a minute or so, then finally back to filter. I am not sure, but might be possible that you damaged you laterals in the filter (I think this is unlikely though).

Does it appear that my filter is a problem, if dirty water is being returned to the pool,
when backwashing or vacuuming to waste?Either a damaged spider gasket, or possible a damaged lateral

I haven't been able to get a 100% full of water pump basket either, unless I am on rinse.
There is around an inch of bubbly turbulence on top otherwise.Have you lubricated your basket seal ring with silicone or teflon based grease? (do not use vasiline) This is the most common reason a bubbles show up in the basket.

Thanks,
Click to expand...
 
What kind of filter do you have?

Having vacuumed on backwash you have filled the clean water side of the filter with debris. Now it is quite possible for that debris to get back into the pool when running on filter. It is also possible for the debris to have damaged the filter.

Air in the pump basket indicates either low water level in the skimmer allowing air to be drawn in, or an air leak on the suction side of the pump.
 
hatingthepool said:
Clorine was high enough - 5ppm free.
Click to expand...

5ppm isn't high enough to kill algae even if your CYA is 0. 5ppm is a whole 5ppm short of shock level for 0 CYA.

Do you have 0ppm CYA? What do you use to chlorinate the pool?

As others have suggested, you really need to read pool school and especially the shocking information. If you have read it, have you discarded the information? I ask because the statement above indicates you consider 5ppm high enough to kill algae, yet nowhere within the information provided here will you find any reference to 5ppm being "high enough" for this purpose.

If the above is true, are you planning to battle algae every day with just your vacuum and algaecide for the rest of the summer?
 
You haven't even begun shocking. Listen to the advice above and also provide us with a set of test results:
pH
FC
CC
TA
CH
CYA

Do NOT vacuum to rinse! I already told you the only two acceptable positions to vacuum on. Filter or Waste ONLY! You will ruin your filter, if you haven't already.
 
Ok, sorry for not getting back. Was busy working on the pool and swimming, since what I did at least side-stepped the problem for now.
The water is crystal clear now. Lovin it, lol.

The chlorine at the time it was dead on the bottom was 5ppm. However, prior to that it was higher. I don't know exactly how much higher, but there
was dead algea on the bottom, so high enough to do some damage. CYA was 30. Now, 48 hours later, after vacuuming to waste, and adding some water back in, and running the salt chlorinator a few hours, it is at 3ppm. I also had to add some salt as it was 2500 (before adding water), some bicarb as alkalinity was low, and some PH- as PH was high per my last water test.

It's a cheapo salt chlorinator that went off-line during a lightning storm which lead to the problem. Intex? The timer is built in and if the power goes off
the unit goes off-line. It's now on a spare 250w UPS to prevent short outages from causing it.

Vacuuming in filter mode (out to the street) and then backwashing and rinsing must have cleared whatever was blocking it, because the filter is back to normal readings under 10psi.

I didn't have time to go to pool school, as I just found this site and had this major malfunction to deal with, but I will check it out.

Regarding the filter and pump, they are haywards. When I vacuumed to waste before, there was a small but steady stream
being sent to the return. It wasn't a lot but enough to muck up the water. However this time since the return was disconnected it didn't matter.
Since I don't want to get into disconnecting the return in order to vacuum to waste or backwash. I will look into replacing the spider gasket per linen's recommendation
above.

What do you think about partially shutting down the intake line for the vacuum in order to get a lower flow rate when expelling to waste? It seems to work
and allows me to vacuum without draining the pool more than an inch (it's only a 10-12K gal inground).

Bama Rambler: got your message about vacuuming only to waste or filter. Good to know. Thanks.

Thank you all. I will check out the school.
 

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For 30ppm CYA, the shock level is 13ppm. While some algae may have been killed and fell to the floor, without maintaining 13ppm throughout the shocking process, the chances of re-bloom are almost certainly guaranteed.

Let us know if you have any questions after reading pool school. Take the time to read it a few times, it's a lot to absorb in one read-through.
 
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