I will try to keep this as short as possible. I’m a pool novice but last year I purchased and installed a heavily used 15’ x 48’ AGP. There were some holes and some rust but with some patching it held water (mostly) and it came with a 1500 gph pump and SWG. I essentially filled the thing up and then had to do very little maintenance over the summer and just enjoyed the pool.
This winter I chose to leave it up and simply removed the pumps and put a cover on it. Sometime during the winter the cover tore and a large amount of leaves and debris accumulated in the pool before I realized what was going happening.
I “opened” the pool a couple weekends ago and have had some great difficulty getting this thing clean. I chose not to drain the water and simply fill the pool hoping that the pump and some vacuuming would help clear things up. One of the biggest issues I am having is that I’ve been unable to successfully vacuum all the debris out of the pool and the water has cleared some but only slightly.
I’ve scoured the forum for tips and ideas but haven’t come up with anything concrete yet. Here are the issues that I have.
The biggest issue I have is that I have been unable to successfully sustain an adequate amount of suction for a long enough period of time to get all the debris out of the pool. It doesn’t help that the water is not clear enough to be able to see all the debris to get with the net. Previously I was hooking the vacuum hose to the intake port on the side of the pool but this would quickly clog the port and the filter. I did install a side wall skimmer last weekend with the hope that this would at least give me a good place to hook up my manual vacuum as well as provide a basket to catch the larger debris. Now I cannot get the pump to maintain adequate suction either through the old intake port or the skimmer. I have also had trouble keeping the pump running as the “reset” switch keeps popping off due to the “strain” on the pump when the filter gets clogged (which happens quickly).
I did try last night running the vacuum without the filter in the pump hoping to get the majority of the larger debris but was still not able to get enough suction to do any good.
I’m wondering now if my pump is defective or has become clogged. I have done some research on new pumps and can upgrade to a 2500 gph pretty reasonably. I am operating on an extremely tight budget or I would consider upgrading to a sand filter.
I guess in summation my questions are:
What are some things to look for with the existing system that might help me to better manually vacuum the pool and/or clear up the water?
Would upgrading to a 2500 gph pump help my situation or should I be looking at scrapping together pennies for a sand or DE filter?
I have not added any chemicals other than the salt for the SWG. Should I be adding anything else to help clear up the cloudy (brown from the debris)? Should I be shocking this pool?
Would buying a better quality cartridge help? Right now I have 2 off the shelf intex filters I keep cleaning and using.
Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions!
This winter I chose to leave it up and simply removed the pumps and put a cover on it. Sometime during the winter the cover tore and a large amount of leaves and debris accumulated in the pool before I realized what was going happening.
I “opened” the pool a couple weekends ago and have had some great difficulty getting this thing clean. I chose not to drain the water and simply fill the pool hoping that the pump and some vacuuming would help clear things up. One of the biggest issues I am having is that I’ve been unable to successfully vacuum all the debris out of the pool and the water has cleared some but only slightly.
I’ve scoured the forum for tips and ideas but haven’t come up with anything concrete yet. Here are the issues that I have.
The biggest issue I have is that I have been unable to successfully sustain an adequate amount of suction for a long enough period of time to get all the debris out of the pool. It doesn’t help that the water is not clear enough to be able to see all the debris to get with the net. Previously I was hooking the vacuum hose to the intake port on the side of the pool but this would quickly clog the port and the filter. I did install a side wall skimmer last weekend with the hope that this would at least give me a good place to hook up my manual vacuum as well as provide a basket to catch the larger debris. Now I cannot get the pump to maintain adequate suction either through the old intake port or the skimmer. I have also had trouble keeping the pump running as the “reset” switch keeps popping off due to the “strain” on the pump when the filter gets clogged (which happens quickly).
I did try last night running the vacuum without the filter in the pump hoping to get the majority of the larger debris but was still not able to get enough suction to do any good.
I’m wondering now if my pump is defective or has become clogged. I have done some research on new pumps and can upgrade to a 2500 gph pretty reasonably. I am operating on an extremely tight budget or I would consider upgrading to a sand filter.
I guess in summation my questions are:
What are some things to look for with the existing system that might help me to better manually vacuum the pool and/or clear up the water?
Would upgrading to a 2500 gph pump help my situation or should I be looking at scrapping together pennies for a sand or DE filter?
I have not added any chemicals other than the salt for the SWG. Should I be adding anything else to help clear up the cloudy (brown from the debris)? Should I be shocking this pool?
Would buying a better quality cartridge help? Right now I have 2 off the shelf intex filters I keep cleaning and using.
Thanks in advance for your advice and suggestions!