Question about back washing after using top coat of fiber

[Tuffy]

I have a 28" jesta sidemount sand filter. I had heard that by putting in a bit of cellulose fiber ( fiber clear) that it would help to filter out the smaller particles in my pool similar to adding some DE to a sand filter.
Anyway I followed the directions and added enough fiber to increase my filter pressure by 1 psi. I ran the filter for several weeks until I saw about 6 psi overall increase then back washed it. The problem is all the fiber did not flush out and there was still quite a bit of it on top of the sand bed. I took the top off and scooped some out by hand. But couldn't reach it all.

Has anyone used this and what is your experience? I am assuming it should have all cleaned out as I back washed 2 times for about 3 or. 4 minutes each time. My pump is a haward 1.5 hp super pump. Aprox. 80 gpm and that is what this filter is rated for. Do I have a problem?

Any advise is appreciated!

 

[jblizzle]

Sorry no one responded yet. I have no experience with sand filters, but I, like you, would have assumed that the fiber would have been washed out on backwash. It really should not hurt anything by staying in the filter though.

Have you ever cleaned your sand? It is a good idea to do so every year or so, you would be surprised by the stuff that comes out. Here is how to do it:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/thre...ot-how-to-fix-it?p=58929&viewfull=1#post58929

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, both DE and fiber products added to sand filters get washed out when you backwash.

 

[Tuffy]

That was my biggest worry is that the fiber did not get flushed out on the backwash. The fiber top coat seemed to help clean the pool water up quite a bit but since it was still on top after the backwash i am hesitant to keep using it. I guess this isn't very common for people to use huh? I am surpised no one has tried this on this forum.
Could it be an issue with my sand filter setup? The entire sytem is only a few months old and I am wondering if I have the proper amount of sand or if the flow rate is too high during the backwash to clean it out properly. At 80 gpm that is a lot of water to pump out of the pool.

 

[JasonLion]

It has been tried many times and no one has ever reported a problem before. Several brands of fiber products specifically recommend doing this on their packaging.

You want a high flow rate when backwashing. Low speed on a two/variable speed pump is often not enough to backwash correctly.

Sand height should not affect it, but if anything low sand levels would result in more efficient backwashing.

 

[Tuffy]

How many minutes is the suggested backwash time? I did it 2x at about 3 minutes each time. I have a sight glass on the drain line which showed clean water. The top cap on top of the filter is see through and that water never cleared up completely but I didn't what to pump too much water away unnecessarily

 

[JasonLion]

Until the water runs clear, but not less than two minutes.

 

[Tuffy]

Re: Fiber Clear or Zeofiber

pwrstrk:

I have used both Fiber Clear and ZeoFiber as a supplement to my sand filter. Both are essentially the same product (cellulose fiber derived from trees). I use it only during the main swim season to provide that extra bit of water clarity that is most apparent under the lights. It is much safer to handle than DE since Fiber Clear / ZeoFiber do not contain the harmful-to-breathe silica that DE has. In addition, cellulose fiber is biodegradable. I have had no side effects with either product. Backwashing is the same as before, just have to re-dose after a backwash.

When first using either product, keep a close eye on your filter pressure gauge since it may filter out more stuff that was previously passing through the filter. After a backwash cycle or two, the pressure should stabilize to more normal levels.




Although I keep my pool operational year-round, I do not use Fiber Clear / ZeoFiber once the swimming season is over to save $ on product and because I rarely have the lights on during the off-season plus I don't notice any difference in clarity during the day. It's when the lights are on that I notice a slight difference when using the product.

Bodarville,
I used fiberclear for the first time to top coat my sand filter. It seemed to work pretty good, it didn't get rid of all the floaters in the water seen in the lights at night but it did clear it up some.

My biggest question is about backwashing. Is all the fiber supposed to be flushed out of the sand filter? After I did my backwash I took the top off the filter and noticed there was still alot of the fiber left. Is this normal for you as well. If not any suggestions of what I can do different or what I may be doing wrong?
Basically I backwashed for about 3 minutes until the sight glass on the discharge line looked clear.