Hi there! We have recently moved in to a house with a salt water pool. I have done a ton of research and am really trying to get comfortable owning all of the maintenance needs of our pool but definitely a steeper learning curve for me. I have a few questions I was hoping to get some advice on as I have seen these threads be really great resources.
28k gallons
salt
hayward DE filter
Thank you very much in advance to anyone who can help me out with some of these questions!
- We recently took apart our Hayward DE filter and replaced all of the 8 grids (as they basically fell apart when we took them out they were so caked with brown nasty stuff). When we did this I saw that our pressure went from a regular ~35 PSI down to 19 so I thought that was a big win. I put the recommended 6.5 lbs of DE powder also in right after cleaning. Unfortunately, the next day I noticed a decent amount of DE at bottom of pool and my pressure was already reading ~26 PSI.
- Question #1: Did I do something wrong?
- Since then we have been dealing with a lot of algae (we are in NJ and its been unseasonably warm with a good amount of rain.) I lean on a local pool store to help with chemical balancing and it feels like I am just constantly adjusting my ph (down) and adding a ton of shock and algaecide. Typically psi is reading around 28-30 now as well. I do quick backwashes (1x backwash, 1x rinse, then back to filter... which I have recently read is not a great approach and should be more like 3x of each and decreasing time with each) and have not added anymore DE since I figured I overdid it after cleaning out the filter. Also to note, I VERY stupidly did not realize that the cover that slides/pivots over and off the hole at the bottom of the skimmers (both shallow and deep) was covered for I am not sure how long. I realize this was extremely stupid and have no idea how I did not notice. Both have been now uncovered for about 24 hours with filter running.
- Question #2: Since we have had such a large amount of algae should we actually open the filter back off and hose down the grids? Or should we just add more DE after next backwash?
- Question #3: What does the typical amount of chemical treatment look like?
- I have not adjusted our salt cell throughout this process and it has been on 60%
- Question #4: Any adjustments needed there? When do you adjust the salt cell?
- The pump filter basket (?) (near the pump, clear top that you can see the water sorta bubbling when filter on) I have never opened. Is this something that needs to be cleaned?
- We have 2 filters and 2 drains in the pool (yes, people have questioned why we have a shallow and deep end drain, beats me). The shallow filter skimmer does not seem to have much of any suction.
- Question #5: Is there something I can do to investigate/remedy this?
- Current State:
- Filter is running
- Tested water last night and all levels were good outside of free chlorine (0.07), total chlorine (0.07), and pH (8.1)
- Small amount of algae when I brush so yesterday and this morning I have brushed sides and bottom as well as ran vacuum
- Added 5lb pH down last night and followed with 4lb of shock 2 hours later
- I plan to add algaecide today after vacuuming is done as well as to backwash and rinse (3x) each then run filter for another 24 hours
- Question #6: Would it be best to open filter and hose down grids? Just add DE after backwashing and rinsing?
28k gallons
salt
hayward DE filter
Thank you very much in advance to anyone who can help me out with some of these questions!