Hi all
I'll give you my story to this point. You're welcome to jump to the question at the bottom! We bought a house with a pool that hadn't been well cared for. Don't know how long since it was opened or exactly how it was closed. Mesh cover was full of stuff, and water was deep green. Filter cover open, ice compensators but no other plugs. Overgrown bushes were overhanging the pool, and I got most of those chopped down. After removing the cover, it took about a week to get the pump running, and finally got it after getting the frog out of the check valve. Meanwhile, I put about 81 oz of 7.5% bleach daily for about 4 days to keep the growth down, and I started skimming and scooping. Bottom was covered in bush droppings and a healthy colony of oligochaeta worms - blecch! Color started to improve a little. I read a lot of your information, got the test kit, and got ready to SLAM. First photo is in the afternoon, just before starting.
pH prior to circulation 7.5, dropped to 7.2 with pump so didn't adjust. Although CYA was 60 prior to circulation, it dropped to 38 with the pump so SLAM FC level was 15. I added the recommended liquid chlorine (640 oz of 10%), and FC jumped from 0 to 21.5. Maybe my volume calculation (40 ft x 20 ft x (8 ft + 3 ft /2) x 7.5 = 33,000 gallons) was off due to sloped sides? In any case, I cut down future additions by 30-40%.
7:30pm: FC 21.5, CC 1
8:00pm: FC 21
8:30pm: FC 20.5, CC 1.5
9:30pm: FC 19
So FC was not dropping quickly - perhaps because a lot of stuff was already dead from a few days of lower chlorine levels?
Second photo is next morning - a nice color change!
11:15am: FC 10 - added 128 oz of 10%
12:05pm: FC 16, CC 0.5
1:40pm: FC 15.5
4:10pm: FC 15
6:30pm: FC 13 - added 120 oz of 7.5%
7:50pm: FC 17
9:45pm: guessed and added 40 oz of 7.5%
Next photo is this morning - not much change, still cloudy.
11:20am: FC 12, CC 1 - added 86 oz of 10%
3:45pm: FC 13 - added 42 oz of 10%
7:30pm: FC 15
I've been brushing to the deep end and vacuuming to waste from there, getting a little bit of plant material and a few worms, vacuuming the rest to filter.
I decided today that the sand filter was being slow at reducing cloudiness. I realize there are differences of opinion on using DE but decided to give it a try. But I really have no idea what is inside the filter. It looks old, but no idea when sand was changed, cleaned, etc. Haven't opened it yet. Initial pressure was 15 psi, have done a couple of backwashes at 17-18 psi, and pressure usually comes back around 15. Just before DE, I did a backwash and, for whatever reason, pressure stayed at 17. Decided to add DE anyway, with 5 minutes between additions:
1/4 cup: pressure 17.3
1/2 cup: pressure 17.3
3/4 cup: pressure 17
1 cup: pressure 17.2
1 1/4 cup: pressure 19
There was a little white material on the surface of the pool that went away soon. It might have been DE. I wonder if a lateral is broken.
I rechecked the pressure 15 minutes later, and it was 35 psi!!
I backwashed briefly, and pressure dropped back to 15.
Although I'll take suggestions on anything, my question is whether I dare try DE again, waiting an hour between each 1/4 cup, or just wait on the sand filter to clear things up and then open it up after the SLAM to see what is going on. Any thoughts on what I'll find? Good sand? Clumped sand? Broken lateral?
Thanks for any ideas.
John
I'll give you my story to this point. You're welcome to jump to the question at the bottom! We bought a house with a pool that hadn't been well cared for. Don't know how long since it was opened or exactly how it was closed. Mesh cover was full of stuff, and water was deep green. Filter cover open, ice compensators but no other plugs. Overgrown bushes were overhanging the pool, and I got most of those chopped down. After removing the cover, it took about a week to get the pump running, and finally got it after getting the frog out of the check valve. Meanwhile, I put about 81 oz of 7.5% bleach daily for about 4 days to keep the growth down, and I started skimming and scooping. Bottom was covered in bush droppings and a healthy colony of oligochaeta worms - blecch! Color started to improve a little. I read a lot of your information, got the test kit, and got ready to SLAM. First photo is in the afternoon, just before starting.
pH prior to circulation 7.5, dropped to 7.2 with pump so didn't adjust. Although CYA was 60 prior to circulation, it dropped to 38 with the pump so SLAM FC level was 15. I added the recommended liquid chlorine (640 oz of 10%), and FC jumped from 0 to 21.5. Maybe my volume calculation (40 ft x 20 ft x (8 ft + 3 ft /2) x 7.5 = 33,000 gallons) was off due to sloped sides? In any case, I cut down future additions by 30-40%.
7:30pm: FC 21.5, CC 1
8:00pm: FC 21
8:30pm: FC 20.5, CC 1.5
9:30pm: FC 19
So FC was not dropping quickly - perhaps because a lot of stuff was already dead from a few days of lower chlorine levels?
Second photo is next morning - a nice color change!
11:15am: FC 10 - added 128 oz of 10%
12:05pm: FC 16, CC 0.5
1:40pm: FC 15.5
4:10pm: FC 15
6:30pm: FC 13 - added 120 oz of 7.5%
7:50pm: FC 17
9:45pm: guessed and added 40 oz of 7.5%
Next photo is this morning - not much change, still cloudy.
11:20am: FC 12, CC 1 - added 86 oz of 10%
3:45pm: FC 13 - added 42 oz of 10%
7:30pm: FC 15
I've been brushing to the deep end and vacuuming to waste from there, getting a little bit of plant material and a few worms, vacuuming the rest to filter.
I decided today that the sand filter was being slow at reducing cloudiness. I realize there are differences of opinion on using DE but decided to give it a try. But I really have no idea what is inside the filter. It looks old, but no idea when sand was changed, cleaned, etc. Haven't opened it yet. Initial pressure was 15 psi, have done a couple of backwashes at 17-18 psi, and pressure usually comes back around 15. Just before DE, I did a backwash and, for whatever reason, pressure stayed at 17. Decided to add DE anyway, with 5 minutes between additions:
1/4 cup: pressure 17.3
1/2 cup: pressure 17.3
3/4 cup: pressure 17
1 cup: pressure 17.2
1 1/4 cup: pressure 19
There was a little white material on the surface of the pool that went away soon. It might have been DE. I wonder if a lateral is broken.
I rechecked the pressure 15 minutes later, and it was 35 psi!!
I backwashed briefly, and pressure dropped back to 15.
Although I'll take suggestions on anything, my question is whether I dare try DE again, waiting an hour between each 1/4 cup, or just wait on the sand filter to clear things up and then open it up after the SLAM to see what is going on. Any thoughts on what I'll find? Good sand? Clumped sand? Broken lateral?
Thanks for any ideas.
John