So I have finally decided to stop lurking here and ask some questions. Brace yourselves… I got a lot to say.
We recently bought a house with a 15’x30’ oval AGP, Hayward E-100 sand filter, and I think a 1HP Hayward pump. The pool was a swamp. Everything in the sale was “as is” including the pool, and I didn’t get any information on the pool from the previous owners. The first two months I sort of haphazardly worked on the pool when I got a chance. Scooping leaves and muck out, replacing hoses, reading as much as I could here, getting the right test kit, making sure the pump worked, etc..
In August I began in earnest to try to SLAM the pool. In the course of a week the pool went from a deep green to a pale blue. It was still very cloudy so I kept up the SLAM process, brushing every day, backwashing when the pressure would rise, keeping the FC at SLAM levels, pump running 24/7.
Two weeks in and the cloudiness didn’t seem to dissipate very much. This seems like a VERY common concern newbies have here, so I just tried to have some POP and keep on keepin on. I deep cleaned the sand in the filter. I broke up some sand clumps and rinsed it out until it ran clean. It was filthy in there and it took a while to get it clean, so I was encouraged that everything was working and it was just a matter of time.
Three weeks in and there was MAYBE a miniscule improvement in clarity. I was getting maybe a foot and a half of visibility. I tried some clarifier to no avail. I tried rotating the return to maybe bring up some stuff that hadn’t been reaching the skimmer. I put the vacuum head on the bottom of the pool upside-down. All the while I have been continuing the SLAM process. I never did an OCLT because the clarity wasn’t improving, so I didn’t want to jump the gun. I will say that my chlorine loss overnight seemed very low. I would bring the FC up to SLAM maybe two hours before sundown and check it again maybe an hour after sunup and there were times when I only lost 0.5 FC. CC had been at 0 or 0.5 for that whole week.
It got to the point where I had to assume there was an issue with the filter. Like I said, I started off haphazardly. I never inspected any of the components in the filter before I began SLAMing. It didn’t leak and the multiport valve seemed to work so away I went. I figured I needed to get the sand out and inspect the laterals.
Well the summer was fading and I had lots of other projects that could use my attention. I shut off the pump for the first time in weeks and just put everything aside until I had time to get back to it. So yesterday, after a week of no pumping, filtering, or SLAMing, I look at the pool again. IT’S CLEAR!! For the first time I can see the bottom of the pool. I’m guessing I really do have a filter problem and it was just stirring up everything without filtering. I got all the leaves that had accumulated last week and I could see it stirring up some clouds.
So I removed the sand and took the lateral assembly out and all of the laterals look fine. There is a vertical hairline crack on the stand pipe, maybe 2.5” long. I took the top of the multiport valve off and the spider gasket looks ok. I meant to take some pictures to post, but I was losing daylight (and energy) by the time I had everything apart. I don’t really know what I’m looking for on the equipment, but all of the gaskets are in one piece and nothing looks rotted or anything.
I’m planning on taking the lateral assembly to the pool store to see about a replacement stand pipe and see what they think about the spider gasket. They’ve actually been very cool this summer. The guy even talked me out of buying some dichlor early in the process, and instead recommended the 12.5% liquid chlorine they sell. I’ll replace the sand and once I get the filter back together I’ll vacuum to waste all the stuff on the bottom and start up the SLAM process again.
I mostly just wanted to share to see if anyone had any thoughts, but I’m wondering if there is anything else I should be looking for on the filter. Can such a small crack really disable the filtering capacity on the filter? I mean I was getting dirty water in the viewing glass when I backwashed and there was plenty of nasty stuff in there when I cleaned the sand. The stand pipe seemed to fit pretty snugly in the multiport valve, but is there a way to determine if it’s snug enough? Why would everything just drop to the bottom of the pool once the pump was off for a few days? I never used any floc, just some clarifier, which said to run the filter after use. I’m just mystified I guess. All the time and work put in to no avail. I give up for a while and the situation improves.
PS: I know you guys love test results, but I didn’t see the point yesterday because I hadn’t added any chlorine for a week. Last time I checked I had a 40 CYA, 7.2 pH, and 90 TA. I’m chlorinating with 12.5% liquid chlorine, or Chlorox or store brand bleach. The water is clear, no green, but it looks a sort of dirty on the bottom.
PPS: You guys are just the best!
We recently bought a house with a 15’x30’ oval AGP, Hayward E-100 sand filter, and I think a 1HP Hayward pump. The pool was a swamp. Everything in the sale was “as is” including the pool, and I didn’t get any information on the pool from the previous owners. The first two months I sort of haphazardly worked on the pool when I got a chance. Scooping leaves and muck out, replacing hoses, reading as much as I could here, getting the right test kit, making sure the pump worked, etc..
In August I began in earnest to try to SLAM the pool. In the course of a week the pool went from a deep green to a pale blue. It was still very cloudy so I kept up the SLAM process, brushing every day, backwashing when the pressure would rise, keeping the FC at SLAM levels, pump running 24/7.
Two weeks in and the cloudiness didn’t seem to dissipate very much. This seems like a VERY common concern newbies have here, so I just tried to have some POP and keep on keepin on. I deep cleaned the sand in the filter. I broke up some sand clumps and rinsed it out until it ran clean. It was filthy in there and it took a while to get it clean, so I was encouraged that everything was working and it was just a matter of time.
Three weeks in and there was MAYBE a miniscule improvement in clarity. I was getting maybe a foot and a half of visibility. I tried some clarifier to no avail. I tried rotating the return to maybe bring up some stuff that hadn’t been reaching the skimmer. I put the vacuum head on the bottom of the pool upside-down. All the while I have been continuing the SLAM process. I never did an OCLT because the clarity wasn’t improving, so I didn’t want to jump the gun. I will say that my chlorine loss overnight seemed very low. I would bring the FC up to SLAM maybe two hours before sundown and check it again maybe an hour after sunup and there were times when I only lost 0.5 FC. CC had been at 0 or 0.5 for that whole week.
It got to the point where I had to assume there was an issue with the filter. Like I said, I started off haphazardly. I never inspected any of the components in the filter before I began SLAMing. It didn’t leak and the multiport valve seemed to work so away I went. I figured I needed to get the sand out and inspect the laterals.
Well the summer was fading and I had lots of other projects that could use my attention. I shut off the pump for the first time in weeks and just put everything aside until I had time to get back to it. So yesterday, after a week of no pumping, filtering, or SLAMing, I look at the pool again. IT’S CLEAR!! For the first time I can see the bottom of the pool. I’m guessing I really do have a filter problem and it was just stirring up everything without filtering. I got all the leaves that had accumulated last week and I could see it stirring up some clouds.
So I removed the sand and took the lateral assembly out and all of the laterals look fine. There is a vertical hairline crack on the stand pipe, maybe 2.5” long. I took the top of the multiport valve off and the spider gasket looks ok. I meant to take some pictures to post, but I was losing daylight (and energy) by the time I had everything apart. I don’t really know what I’m looking for on the equipment, but all of the gaskets are in one piece and nothing looks rotted or anything.
I’m planning on taking the lateral assembly to the pool store to see about a replacement stand pipe and see what they think about the spider gasket. They’ve actually been very cool this summer. The guy even talked me out of buying some dichlor early in the process, and instead recommended the 12.5% liquid chlorine they sell. I’ll replace the sand and once I get the filter back together I’ll vacuum to waste all the stuff on the bottom and start up the SLAM process again.
I mostly just wanted to share to see if anyone had any thoughts, but I’m wondering if there is anything else I should be looking for on the filter. Can such a small crack really disable the filtering capacity on the filter? I mean I was getting dirty water in the viewing glass when I backwashed and there was plenty of nasty stuff in there when I cleaned the sand. The stand pipe seemed to fit pretty snugly in the multiport valve, but is there a way to determine if it’s snug enough? Why would everything just drop to the bottom of the pool once the pump was off for a few days? I never used any floc, just some clarifier, which said to run the filter after use. I’m just mystified I guess. All the time and work put in to no avail. I give up for a while and the situation improves.
PS: I know you guys love test results, but I didn’t see the point yesterday because I hadn’t added any chlorine for a week. Last time I checked I had a 40 CYA, 7.2 pH, and 90 TA. I’m chlorinating with 12.5% liquid chlorine, or Chlorox or store brand bleach. The water is clear, no green, but it looks a sort of dirty on the bottom.
PPS: You guys are just the best!
