Basic Maintainence

Jump to latest Follow Reply
J

Jarodnaaron

0
LifeTime Supporter
May 28, 2012
29
I am now maintaining my own pool;I was relying on pool professionals. I have a 24500 gallon gunite pool. In May the pool was opened, it remained green and I had to have the inside grid of my DE filter replaced. I have been balancing the chemistry on my own since July, usng the test kit and bleach. The water has remained clear. My questions are as follows:


1. The chemistry is Free CL 9.5 CL 0.5 Total chl 10
TA 140
CH 250
pH8.2
CYA 100

CYA was even higher and I took some water out and replaced some water. I use the pool caluculator and keep the chl on the higher side. Is there any thing else that I should do in terms of the chemistry?

2. How often should I backwash the DE filter? When they replaced the grid manifold, I was told by some else that the pressure reading was not set correctly. It reads 30 and has been since they did their repairs in May. Should I just backwash every week? Now when I back wash, how much of the the DE do I replace? I was told that I would put the DE straight into the skimmer while the filter is flitering the pool. Is this correct?


Thanks,

DF
 
1. Your CYA should be brought down closer the 50ppm and you need to keep the pH in the mid 7s.

2. You should backwash when the filter pressure goes up 20-25% of your clean pressure. If the gauge is not working, then replace it ... less than $10. Weekly would be way too often, some people only clean a couple times a year ... you should only do it when the pressure indicates you should. Then add about 80% of the normal DE amount since backwashing does not remove all of the DE. You really should completely take the filter apart and clean the grids once per year as well. I mix the DE with water in a bucket and pour it into the skimmer while the pump is running ... some do this while in Rinse/Clean mode if you have a multi-valve, otherwise just do it on Filter mode.
 
ph is too high, probably uncomfortable for swimming. Using Muriatic acid or dry acid to reduce that will slowly wear away the TA which is driving the high pH. Use the Pool Calculator to find the correct amount of whatever acid you use. As TA is slowly reduced be sure to retest and re-enter the new value in the Pool Calculator as that is directly involved in knowing how much acid to use to reduce pH as desire.

So you have some sort of aeration going? Fountains or waterfalls or something? That causes the pH to rise and you might consider whether you want to reduce that usage somewhat. OTOH, you can just deal with it by monitoring pH and TA and adding the correct amount of acid as needed.
 
Hello, thanks for the responses.

Yes, I have a large water fall that I keep going all the time while the filter is running-about 16 hours per day. Should I shut it off/reduce usage and retest the pH before adding acid? If so how long do I wait to retest?

In terms of replacing the DE after backwashing, how much DE do I use? Jason said 80 percent of the normal amount, but what is the normal amount?

DF
 
No need to retest the pH. The aeration causes a change in pH that lasts until countered by acid. You should reduce the time the waterfall runs if you don't want to add as much acid over the long haul.

BTW the pH tests read 8.2 even if higher so be prepared to add more acid than you might expect. Target a value of 7.2 and then check 30-60 mins after adding the acid to see the result and readjust as needed.

Over time your TA should come down which will help reduce the tendency for pH to drift up.
 
Jarodnaaron said:
In terms of replacing the DE after backwashing, how much DE do I use? Jason said 80 percent of the normal amount, but what is the normal amount?

DF
Click to expand...

Well that was as good of an answer I could give since you did not tell us what model filter you have ;) the sizes vary dramatically and thus so do the required DE amount.

Put all your pool and equipment details in your signature, please.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)
 
jblizzle said:
Jarodnaaron said:
In terms of replacing the DE after backwashing, how much DE do I use? Jason said 80 percent of the normal amount, but what is the normal amount?


Put all your pool and equipment details in your signature, please.

Posted from my Droid with Tapatalk ... sorry if my response is short ;)[/quote


My filter is a DE Pentair FNS Plus model 60. 24500 gallon gunite pool

Finally, can I add muriatic acid and bleach at the same time?

DF
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Amount of DE to use

[Edited by moderator - Merged topics, please keep your questions together. Thanks, jblizzle]

What is the amount of DE that i need to replace after back washing? I have a 24500 gallon gunite pool. The filter is a Pentair FNS plus model 60. Jason has stated 80 percent of normal, but he couldn't give an amount as I did not post the model of filter. Which is why I am posting it now :oops:
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Thanks so much for the replies and the links. I may have other questions as the last time that I had a pool was when I was teenager and even then I did not maintain it. Thanks to this forum I have been able to maintain the pool myself and the water has remained crystal clear. And I have been able save a good amount of money as I have not had to rely on weekly pool service.

Regards,

DF
 
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