Brand new sand filter pump (Intex SF15110)

[dagasque]

Newbie here- just stepped into the world of sand filtering this past weekend.

I'm sure most of this has been discussed in the past by others, so I'll be succinct. After initially running the pump for a couple of hours, the pressure gauge moved into the yellow zone. Figuring this was sand "silt" that had accumulated, I backwashed, and ran again. Again, after about two hours, it again popped back up into the yellow zone, so I backwashed again. Little by little, this 2 hours has stretched into longer periods of time before backwashing.

I know that everyone's pool situation is different, but if I'm having to backwash on a frequent basis like this, I'm just wondering how much this unit is going to save money for me, compared to my old cartridge filter system. I don't really feel great about leaving this unit on a timing system for fear of burning up the motor one night.

The water is crystal clear and the tests come out next to perfect, so I'm not dissing the results of the system.

Comments?

BTW- I'm using a saltwater system too, 6400 gallon circular/round structure- all Intex.

 

[BadOleRoss]

I wonder if you are having to back wash dust from the sand out of the filter. I know I don't have to backwash my filter very often at all.....maybe once a week at the most under normal conditions.

 

[duraleigh]

Welcome to the forum. :lol: If you did not "rinse" the sand when you first put it in, that would explain the filter clogging up quickly.

Keep in mind that the filter is doing exactly what it is supposed to do....it is catching junk which restricts the flow which causes your psi to rise so what it is doing is perfectly normal.

Why it is doing it so frequently means you have stuff in your water that you apparently cannot see and it will continue to keep doing the same thing until that stuff is filtered out.

I'm not sure what you mean by how much money it will save you....a sand filter saves virtually nothing over another type of filter.

What is your current FC and CYA level?

 

[dagasque]

You're correct- I did not rinse the sand before. Next time, I'll know better! As far as cost- the sand filter did set me back initially, but I look at the fact that I don't have to buy paper filters any longer. I may not get a 100% ROI, but I'm also looking at it from a "time is money" aspect...and hoping that this pump will last a while...

 

[dagasque]

I'll report the FC levels next time I check. I haven't been using CYA. Lots of trees over the path of the sun- I maybe get 2-3 hours of direct sunlight in the pool in the afternoon.

 

[linen]

As far as cost- the sand filter did set me back initially, but I look at the fact that I don't have to buy paper filters any longer. I may not get a 100% ROI, but I'm also looking at it from a "time is money" aspect...and hoping that this pump will last a while...

I think you right on the money here, compared the Intex cartridge filters, your new sand filter will do much better and will save you time. So take that Duraleigh :tongue:

I'll report the FC levels next time I check. I haven't been using CYA. Lots of trees over the path of the sun- I maybe get 2-3 hours of direct sunlight in the pool in the afternoon.

Even with that little sun, having some cya will help you a lot in not running low of FC. It is much harder to keep the appropriate FC level at low cya concentrations. Maybe start by shooting for 30 ppm and see how that goes.