Houston, we have a problem...

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Status
Not open for further replies.
Smykowski said:
The algae is clogging up the filters. You have to SLAM to kill the algae. After it's dead, and it's filtered out, the filter cleaning frequency will go way, way down.

Early on in the process, you can set the multiport to recirculate, but at some point you will have to put it back to filter and clear it up.
Click to expand...

I just pulled all four filters and cleaned them again. They were not very dirty. I suspect that I have an equipment issue, and would love to ask some questions in a forum where more users might see them. I don't see the point in continuing to post questions in the Introduce Yourself forum.

What is a multiport? I don't see any way with my equipment to circulate water and bypass the filter. I don't know what to do next, and don't want to start my pump back up until I do. Running out of daylight.

Thanks.
 
TexasGolfer said:
I just pulled all four filters and cleaned them again. They were not very dirty. I suspect that I have an equipment issue, and would love to ask some questions in a forum where more users might see them. I don't see the point in continuing to post questions in the Introduce Yourself forum.

What is a multiport? I don't see any way with my equipment to circulate water and bypass the filter. I don't know what to do next, and don't want to start my pump back up until I do. Running out of daylight.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I did discover that I can bypass the filter by running all the water through my Polaris port. Is that better than clogging the filters every couple of hours while I am SLAMming? All the water is coming out of a single opening where the Polaris would hook up. There is water flow through the skimmer now. I removed the small Polaris filter since it's not hooked up.

Is there anything else I should check within the filtration / pumping system before starting back up and re-routing back through the filters? I should mention that I have had many green pools over the years, but I've never seen the flow slow down this severely to where there was no water going in at the skimmer. That is why I suspected that I might have an equipment issue.

I'm going to take some water and check my chlorine levels, then I'll check back here in a little bit. I need to get as much done on this tonight as I can. Not going to be home much tomorrow due to Easter, and I'm away from the house 12+ hours a day Mon-Fri.
 
Three hours after my first SLAM addition here are my updated numbers:

FC: 7.5
CC: 1.5
pH: 7.2

I assumed no need to test the others at this point. I needed 91 oz to get back to 12. Dumped another full jug of 121 oz.

Anyone able to help with my equipment questions above?
 
I suspect that I have an equipment issue, and would love to ask some questions in a forum where more users might see them. I don't see the point in continuing to post questions in the Introduce Yourself forum
Click to expand...
You may certainly post wherever you think is the best. Most have us have been on this forum 7+ years and have found out (and suggested to you) the best way to get the most exposure.

Now, what equipment problems do you think you might have? I can't figure out what you think is malfunctioning.

It seems to me that you are describing a perfectly normal algae bloom that you have let get away and now you must filter the dead algae out. Bypassing the filters does you little good because the filters are put there to filter particles from your water.

Your time in between cleanings will start to lengthen only as you remove particles. I wish I could tell you you can clean your pool tonight but experience has taught us it normally takes several days.
 
Certainly a filter will clog up far more quickly when the water is cloudy than it will when the water is crystal clear, and I am sure that accounts for much of what you are seeing. Still, it might be time to do a deep cleaning on the filter. How long have you been using this particular cartridge and has it ever been soaked in detergent? Every year or two you should clean the cartridge normally, then soak overnight in a solution made of one cup of automatic disk washing detergent for every five gallons of water, then rinse throughly before reinstalling.
 
The cartridges are less than two years old. They appear to be in pretty good shape. I've said this several times, but what has me stumped is that I have had algae problems in the past, but never had the water flow in the skimmer come to a halt within two hours of cleaning the filters and all baskets. Even my previous set of cartridges, which were in very bad shape prior to replacing them never did this. I've owned this pool for 8 years, and I typically have an algae problem at the beginning of each year. Hopefully now that I have found this site and am committed to learning better and more economical maintenance procedures, this will not continue to happen on a yearly basis.

If I have time tomorrow afternoon I could try to soak the filters, but that would require leaving them out for 24 hours. I assume I would need to leave the pumps running even if the filters are out to keep the SLAM from skidding to a halt. My biggest issue is that my work schedule does not allow for a lot of time at home during the week.

You say that I may post in whichever forum I like, however, within a few minutes of posting my questions about filters and water flow in the equipment forum, it was deleted. At that time there were over 100 users in that forum, and only 2 in the Introduce Yourself forum. My original posts were of a very general nature. No real issues or urgent questions. Once I had something more specific to ask, I thought it would be better to post in a more specific forum. Also, I wanted to post with a new title to better call attention the the issue I was having. I was hopeful that a new post in a new forum with a new title might result in some ideas in time to get some work done tonight, since I really only have one day this weekend that I can commit significant time to pool maintenance.
 
If the return flow improves after cleaning the cartridge, then the problem is that your filter is working properly and is getting clogged with the algae it is trying to filter out. If return flow does not improve after cleaning the cartridge you can begin trouble shooting by removing the cartridge from the filter and running the pump. If return flow improves try soaking the cartridges overnight in a solution of 1 cup of dish washing powder for every 5 gallons of water. Rinse them well after soaking and reinstall. While they are soaking you can continue the slam, you just won't be able to filter anything out.

If the return flow did not improve with the cartridges removed then you can check for things that cause a partial blockage. Check the skimmer baskets, and pump strainer basket. If you have a main drain try diverting the flow to skimmer only and see if return flow improves. Check the impeller for debris. If none of these return flow to normal take a garden hose and run it from the pump strainer basket back towards the pool. Turn on the water and try to flush any debris back into the pool.

If the issue is the cartridges are just clogging very quickly and will need frequent cleaning during the slam, then that is all it is. Every algae bloom is different and why the filters are clogging more frequently than they have in the past, who can say? The quality of the cartridges may be different from the last set you had. Sometimes it just is what it is and you deal with it as best you can.
 
Nearly everyone who answers questions reads the entire forum. I really doesn't matter where your question is posted in terms of getting answers. What is critical is that you keep everything together in one place. Asking the same question in multiple places just wastes everyones time repeating themselves and is disrespectful of the people who are trying to help you. The full context of what has been happening recently is extremely important for us to be able to answer your questions.

You can change the name of the topic yourself. Go to the first post in the topic, press Edit Post, then press Go Advanced, that will give you a more complex form for editing the post that includes a field for editing the topic title.

If you want your topic moved to a different forum, just ask one of the mods, either by PM or in a post. Your topic was already moved some time ago based on your earlier requests.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
There has been almost no progress in my SLAM since Sunday evening. I am testing morning and night, and adding chlorine to get to or above my shock level of 12 with a CYA of 30. I'm testing at approx 7:30 AM and 8 PM each morning and evening. The FC typically registers between 5 and 8 12 hours after my previous chlorine addition.

I read some posts regarding using my Polaris during SLAM, and the consensus seemed to be that it would do more good to the process than harm to my equipment by using it, so I put it in Sunday evening. It did pick up a lot of small stuff off the bottom of the pool, but is now picking up very little, so I think I've gotten most everything out.

I'm still having the water flow problem. I only have time to clean the filters once a day at night after work. They don't seem to be that dirty. When I hose them down, a fine grayish sediment comes out at first, but clears up pretty quickly. After replacing them the water flow improves a bit, but within 30 minutes it starts slowing down. After dark, when I shine a flashlight into the pool I can see the tiny particles floating in the water. It's incredible how thick they are. Also, the flat surfaces within the pool (steps and sun deck) collect this gray powder in between brushings. There is a significant thin layer of this sediment completely covering these horizontal surfaces.

It seems as though at this current rate that it is going to take weeks to filter out all of this sediment. Is there not a product that can clump it all up and make it settle to the bottom where I can vacuum it up with the Polaris?

Only three more days until Saturday. I guess my plan is that I will clean the filters (takes over an hour) and then run them for about two hours, then repeat as often as I can all day long, or as often as my back can handle it. Then do it again a couple of times on Sunday. If I don't see any progress by Sunday evening, I'm thinking that I will be left with two options -fill in the pool and start a garden, or sell the house!

Any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
 
You are not testing and adjusting the FC level often enough if it is dropping down to 5ppm ... although I know that work can get in the way.

Is the FC dropping significantly between 8PM and 7:30AM? If so, there is clearly still stuff in the pool that is getting killed.

You could run the pump without the cartridges in the filter until everything is dead and then deal with filtering everything out.
 
jblizzle said:
You are not testing and adjusting the FC level often enough if it is dropping down to 5ppm ... although I know that work can get in the way.

Is the FC dropping significantly between 8PM and 7:30AM? If so, there is clearly still stuff in the pool that is getting killed.

You could run the pump without the cartridges in the filter until everything is dead and then deal with filtering everything out.
Click to expand...

I don't have all my readings in front of me because I am at work right now, but as I recall, the lower numbers tend to be the evening reading after I get home from work. Doesn't exposure to the sun cause the FC to fall during the day? For example, this mornings reading was 8.0. I think yesterday morning was 9.

As far as the testing and adjusting not being often enough, it is what it is. I have been either at work or working on the pool every waking hour for the past 5 days. Between testing, adjusting, and cleaning filters, I finish up around midnight each night. Short of taking time off from work, or setting my alarm to get up and do a treatment at 3 AM, there is nothing more that I can do until the weekend. I am physically exhausted. Trust me, if I could pay someone to do this for me, there is no reasonable amount that would be too much.

Someone else told me (I think it was Dave) that it would be a bad idea to run the pump without the filters.
 
Hey TexasGolfer,

That gray powder that you are seeing is most likely dead algae. Based on that you can see how much algae the SLAM process is actually killing. The good news appears to be that your flow issues are not cause by a blockage of your pipes since you are able to get good flow when using the pressure side cleaner and after cleaning the filter.

In my opinion the reason you are seeing your filters clog so much faster this year vs previous years is that you are killing the algae at a much higher and effective rate by keeping an eye on your levels and adjusting as needed.

If you were like me when I used pool store shock, I would just dump it into the pool and if I didn't see progress in a day or two I would dump more without any real calculations done.

If you are still concerned about why your filters are clogging so fast you will need to go through the troubleshooting process to start eliminating other causes. The best first step is to run the filter with the cartridges out. This will confirm that you do not have a clog or issue on your return pipes (although this is most likely not the case since flow increases after cleaning the cartridges).

Do you have a manual vacuum for your pool? If so maybe your best bet is to run the filter without the cartridges and vacuum the bottom of the pool to waste once things start to clear up. With some luck you will get some rain before that which will give you some water to waste before needing to refill it a little.
 
Yes it will drop more during the day, but it sounds like you are saying you are dropping from 12 to 8 over night, which is far from passing the OCLT.

You are 5 days in ... there are threads where this takes up to a couple weeks. And doing this with a cartridge filter is a real pain ... hopefully the pool will not be allowed to get this bad again.

I have seen mention of running without the cartridges, but was not aware of a problem with doing so ... I will go back and see who said that and why.
 
Rocco said:
Hey TexasGolfer,

That gray powder that you are seeing is most likely dead algae. Based on that you can see how much algae the SLAM process is actually killing. The good news appears to be that your flow issues are not cause by a blockage of your pipes since you are able to get good flow when using the pressure side cleaner and after cleaning the filter.
Click to expand...

Thanks Rocco. Yeah, I assumed the gray powder / sediment was dead algae. I appreciate the confirmation.

In my opinion the reason you are seeing your filters clog so much faster this year vs previous years is that you are killing the algae at a much higher and effective rate by keeping an eye on your levels and adjusting as needed.
Click to expand...

Funny thing is, in past years my green pools would actually clear up much FASTER than it is this year. Is there something about the pool store method that would clear up the water, but not really kill the algae that is clogging up the filters?

If you were like me when I used pool store shock, I would just dump it into the pool and if I didn't see progress in a day or two I would dump more without any real calculations done.

If you are still concerned about why your filters are clogging so fast you will need to go through the troubleshooting process to start eliminating other causes. The best first step is to run the filter with the cartridges out. This will confirm that you do not have a clog or issue on your return pipes (although this is most likely not the case since flow increases after cleaning the cartridges).

Do you have a manual vacuum for your pool? If so maybe your best bet is to run the filter without the cartridges and vacuum the bottom of the pool to waste once things start to clear up. With some luck you will get some rain before that which will give you some water to waste before needing to refill it a little.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean by a manual vacuum. I have the Polaris which has done a good job of vacuuming up anything that's big enough to catch in the bag. I'm using the finer sand bag, not the leaf bag which has much bigger openings. But it is clearly not fine enough to catch the dead algae. I'm pretty sure there is nothing else significant on the bottom to vacuum up.

As far as water level, I'm keeping it pretty full. I could drain off a couple inches if need be. But it just seems that would not be a big enough percentage of the total to make much difference.
 
Post a picture of your water. I feel like you are too focused on the filtering and not enough on the chemistry and killing everything.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and no I have never heard of such a thing as the portable filter. You already have a very large filter for your pool size, in fact it is 2.5 times the size we would recommend as the minimum. Once the pool is decontaminated and you maintain adequate FC, you should only have to clean your filter once a year at most.
 
ship of fools said:
If you are letting FC drop to 5 then you are not maintaining the minimum requirement for your CYA level so you are not actually SLAMing your pool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

What the ****??? Do you guys just make this stuff up as you go along?

I've read every word of this:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/125-slam-shock-level-and-maintain-shockingl

and this:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/3913-Turning-Your-Green-Swamp-Back-into-a-Sparkling-Oasis

I've followed this chart:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/128-chlorine-cya-chart-slam-shock

Where does it say FC cannot fall to 5? And if you're going to tell me not to do something, maybe a little suggestion of how to accomplish it would be nice. EVERY single time I measured my FC and it was below shock level, I added more chlorine. If I'm doing something wrong, then tell me WHAT I'm doing wrong, not just come on here and make a snarky comment. That doesn't help anyone.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Status
Not open for further replies.
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