Fine Dirt on Bottom of Pool

Jump to latest Follow Reply
F

fishoutawater

0
Jul 6, 2009
9
I have an Intex 16'x48" pool with the stock Intex filter and a stand-a-lone Intex SWG. I seems that real fine dirt accumulates in various places on the bottom of the pool. I will brush the bottom when the filter is running and the dirt gets suspended immediately. I assume that the filter will pickup the suspended dirt but even after letting the filter run for 3-4 hours after brushing, the little dirt piles seem to come back. Any ideas on how I can get rid of those pesky dirt piles?

BTW, I have been using the BBB method for 4 years now and it has saved me a ton of money on chemicals and other than the dirt piles the pool water is excellent.
 
I have only one water outlet approx 4 feet to the left of the inlet, it has a nozzle with a small amount of adjustment. I have turned the nozzle all the way to the left in an effort to circulate the water around the pool but this does not seem to help.
 
I think you need a vacuum for that. The filter will circulate and turn your water over and with the use of a skimmer, remove floating debris off the surface, but I doubt an Intex filter would ever completely clear debris suspended in the water.

I need 3 more inches of water to get to the crappy Intex skimmer height so I can use the vacuum that came with my pool. We've had it up since Tuesday and a lot of junk is settled and accumulated on the bottom (mainly from the rain gutter trying to finish filling it.) It's crystal clear when sitting, but when the kids get in and stir everything up, it is cloudy from the debris suspension. The Intex won't get rid of that (would any "real" filter system filter out suspended stuff from bottom settlement?)
 
I think a better filter would be your best bet. The Intex cartridges aren't the greatest at catching the fine silt. Heck I keep a cartridge in the skimmer when I vacuum that catches the majority of the gunk and the sand filter catches the rest but I swear an hour or two later there is more red silt on the bottom! I've found that if I add some DE to the sand filter before vacuuming I don't have that problem. The DE catches the very fine stuff. But here in Okla where the wind constantly blows ya away it's hard to keep the bottom spotless for more than a day...
 
I had the same problem last year.

Which cartridge filter are you using? Does it look like a dryer sheet or does it have tiny dots on the filter media?

"Tiny dot" filter cartridges will catch that dirt. You'll have to clean these filters daily. They are walmart brand. Check the package.

"Dryer sheet" filters (typical) will never catch that fine dirt, but they don't plug up as quickly. I used to run one walmart dotty filter and one dryer sheet filter last year. Dirt cleared up within a day with the walmart cartridge but it quickly became tiresome cleaning it daily.
 
I am using the Walmart Type A cartridges, they have pleats in them but not sure about the "dots". Perhaps I need to try rigging up some type of vaccum to see if by sucking up the dirt directly into the filter it removes it or is it so fine that it is just passing through the filter.
 
How often do you blow out the filter? How's your return flowing?

Check for the dots. If it looks like a dryer sheet, the fines will pass through.

Brushing up the fines will help as well. They drop, so if you're not pulling from the bottom at all you need to stir it up so it can actually get into the filter.
 
I setup the pool this past Sunday so the filter is new, I will check it tonight but the return flow is strong. As for the filter with "Dots", I don't know, my filters are from Walmart, they only have one style in stock where I live (NJ), again I will check that when I get home tonight...

The frustrating thing is that I am brushing the bottom to stir-up the fines and then leave the filter running for 3-5 hours but the little dirt piles always come back. Starting to feel like "Pig-Pen" is sneaking into my pool at night...
 
Intex pools and their standard cartridge filters need to be run full time IMO. That in and of itself could be much of the problem. I ran TWO filters full time. See the link in my sig, it describes your issues very well (with pics) and shows the only solution I could come up with without switching to a sand filter. Which I did choose to do last year, but never installed. Crossing fingers for some sun in the next few weeks so I can actually say I switched.

The filter that came with your Intex pool isn't the walmart brand. So unless you've changed the filter out for the walmart ones (says distributed by walmart on the package) you're running a dryer sheet filter. IMO there is NO GOOD solution with only one Intex pump, even with the dotty walmart filter media. It simply isn't up to the job.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
I am having the same trouble. I plan to vacuum to waste (siphon) this weekend as we just got nailed with a big hail/wind storm, tons of rain. I vacuum directly to the filter and it passes through most times unless the filter is dirty. cleaning the filter too much can let the fine particles pass through.

Bill
 
Try putting a regular calf-high cotton sock around the return. Just rubberband it on. Worked great for me last year with Intex standard pump and filters.
 
Fish, it's really windy and dusty here, too, and I almost always have those little silt piles. A filter sock in the skimmer helps, and we always make sure to stir up the dust when we're swimming to make sure it circulates thru the filter, but there is always a little bit of it because red dust is part of life here on Moloka'i. At our electricity costs ($.45 kwh!) I refuse to run the pump 24/7. If we're having company, I just make sure I run the pump for a few hours before they get here.
 
i run our pump 24/7 and still have dirt on the bottom of my pool. I have the filter that came with the pump. Would buying a pool vacuum help? If so any suggestions. I was thinking about the aqua broom?
thanks.
 
If it's a standard Intex type filter cartridge, there will always be silt on the bottom of the pool. You can try changing the media, Unicel makes a replacement cartridge for the Intex type pump/filters which should be better at filtering fines (I don't know this for sure, but apparently walmart stopped distributing the cartridges that could help and Unicel is a well known filter brand). You can eliminate a lot of dirt from the floor with better filter media, which can reduce vacuuming to once or twice a week but it will never get it all.

The Aqua Broom is a nice vacuum, it served me well for a couple of seasons but it's got some limitations. Namely the size of the hole/inlet (I often wished we'd sprung for the larger model), the flap that covers it (can be pushed aside-recommended), and a fines sock that lets some fines pass. I switched out the fines sock with an old pair of 2T (toddler) stockings that are tighter woven which helps a lot.

The Aqua Broom can get leaves rather well with the flap tucked in so that it does not cover the inlet at all. Doesn't work so good with the flap as designed. Just make sure to take it out of the pool fast, while running or the dirt will come back through the inlet hole with the flap tucked.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply