What does DE look like in a pool if its getting in through the filter?

[ionizer]

So I've been doing the TFP methods for 3-4 years now and it goes well.

This year (as expected because I have a gap in my cover between pool and waterfall) I opened green swamp. I began the SLAM process and my pool turned blue, but it is still a very cloudy blue. This morning was the first day my CC was <0.5

Additionally, I am noticing this "gray like" material at the bottom. When I try to suck it up with my handheld vacuums, it is so fine it seems to just come out and not get stuck in the filters. I am wondering - is it DE?

I replaced my filters (the entire set) last year, but I am wondering if my pump running at 3400 rpm at times is causing the filter to break and maybe DE is now leaking through it and going back into the pool? Or is that just dead algae? I'll try to get a picture soon, but it won't do it justice.

Does anyone have a picture of what DE looks like when it comes back through the pool returns into the pool? Water is blue, but just cloudy.

I intend to open up my filter this weekend, and check, but asking if this is like a "definite sign" or just normal algae killing process

CYA: 25
FC: 11-12
CC: 0-0.25
ph: 7.5

 

[cowboycasey]

I bet it is dead algae... you have to sneak up on it with the vacuum or it will just move around...

No need to test PH when your FC is over 10.. Also your CYA is 30, we have no way of testing below 30...

 

[JoyfulNoise]

It would be very hard to see the difference in a pool that's already full of dead algae. When the pool is clean and clear, DE getting past the filter and to the returns looks like a stream of cloudy, grey water. The pool will then start to cloud up. However, if you switch off the pump and wait, the cloudiness will start to subside as the DE falls out of solution. But once you start up the pump or run a vacuum, it will get cloudy again. That's why a DE break through can be such a headache to clear.

Keep SLAM'ing your pool and try to very slowly vacuum if you have a manual vacuum on hand.

 

[MITBeta]

This is what dead algae looked like in my pool.

 

[ionizer]

This is what dead algae looked like in my pool.

View attachment 332693

so mine looks more grayish, see these pics (ignore the white cloudy parts, that's actual clouds reflecting down on the pool)

 

[ionizer]

It would be very hard to see the difference in a pool that's already full of dead algae. When the pool is clean and clear, DE getting past the filter and to the returns looks like a stream of cloudy, grey water. The pool will then start to cloud up. However, if you switch off the pump and wait, the cloudiness will start to subside as the DE falls out of solution. But once you start up the pump or run a vacuum, it will get cloudy again. That's why a DE break through can be such a headache to clear.

Keep SLAM'ing your pool and try to very slowly vacuum if you have a manual vacuum on hand.

see above pics, not sure if the water is grey, but the stuff when it settles definitely looks grey
ive lowered my pump and only have the main drain on now
i just replaced the inside of the filter last year, so if in fact the issue is the filter again, that's really annoying

 

[ionizer]

I bet it is dead algae... you have to sneak up on it with the vacuum or it will just move around...

No need to test PH when your FC is over 10.. Also your CYA is 30, we have no way of testing below 30...

see pics, do you think that's algae or DE?
im not sure how to "Sneak up on it" even when i go super slow with my ryobi hand-held vacuum, it sucks it up and then pours out the sides and makes a cloud. am i going to need to revert back to the old fashioned way and put the hose into the return?

 

[Oly]

Have you done an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test recently?

 

[zea3]

I would say it is dead algae. Have someone help next time you vacuum. Hold a sock over a return to capture anything that escapes the filter. If you capture any powder, then you will need to inspect the grids. If you don't, its dead algae settling on the floor of the pool.

 

[ionizer]

Have you done an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test recently?

not yet because i figured since the pool is cloudy that i needed to maintain SLAM regardless. Plus i am bad at waking up before the sun and testing early in the morning... but i will eveventually

 

[ionizer]

I would say it is dead algae. Have someone help next time you vacuum. Hold a sock over a return to capture anything that escapes the filter. If you capture any powder, then you will need to inspect the grids. If you don't, its dead algae settling on the floor of the pool.

I think you are right, and i guess i have a lot of dead algae.

so i took apart my filter just to see if there was any obvious cracks or signs, even though the whole grid is only 1 yr old

it looks like the attached. is that normal? Is there too much DE? just about right? I've since backwashed once and didn't add more DE just because if it is DE, I didn't want to cause more problems

 

[MITBeta]

Looks like too much algae to me. Algae will cause the DE to stick to the grids. This is what mine looked like when plugged with algae:

 

[ionizer]

Looks like too much algae to me. Algae will cause the DE to stick to the grids. This is what mine looked like when plugged with algae:

View attachment 333750

so should I backwash/rinse/add more de?

what does the filter look like with just DE on it?

 

[MITBeta]

I don't know. When it's not caked with algae, the DE falls right off the grids and backwashes out like it's supposed to.

If you're still SLAMming, I would backwash/rinse/add more DE and keep going. As the SLAM goes on, you should be seeing less and less of this in the pool.

 

[zea3]

Clean DE will fall off the grids when the pump is turned off. Dirty DE cakes onto the grids and builds up over time. Even though you bump and backwash a DE filter, eventually you have to open it up and hose off the grids to get it clean. Ionizer your filter is not that dirty yet, but when ever you backwash you need to recharge the grids. Some DE will remain in the filter, so you add 3/4 of what clean filter calls for. For example if your filter takes 4 lbs of DE for a fresh charge, a recharge will be 3 lbs of DE.
Wet DE is a grayish white color. When it gets dirty it can be darker colors as DE mixes with dirt and debris from the pool.

 

[ionizer]

Clean DE will fall off the grids when the pump is turned off. Dirty DE cakes onto the grids and builds up over time. Even though you bump and backwash a DE filter, eventually you have to open it up and hose off the grids to get it clean. Ionizer your filter is not that dirty yet, but when ever you backwash you need to recharge the grids. Some DE will remain in the filter, so you add 3/4 of what clean filter calls for. For example if your filter takes 4 lbs of DE for a fresh charge, a recharge will be 3 lbs of DE.
Wet DE is a grayish white color. When it gets dirty it can be darker colors as DE mixes with dirt and debris from the pool.

I feel like when I add DE, I'm always finding some on the floor near the returns....

I've been repeating the process:
Brush, Backwash, Rinse, Backwash, Rinse, Add DE, etc etc
I've also been trying to keep my FC at the SLAM level this whole time as well
the water is getting clearer, but it feels realllllllllllly slower than usual. I'm still brushing and seeing a trail of gray clouds when I push from shallow end into the deep-end, but it's diminishing. It's still there though.

Is there no easy way to tell if what I am seeing is dead algae or simply DE getting back into the pool? While when I opened my filter, I didn't see anything obviously broken, but given how much it was covered, i also couldn't really "see" anything. Trying to avoid having to haul the thing to the street and rinse it off - but if you guys think that's best to inspect it and make sure and there's no other way to tell if its dead algae or DE, then I'll do it because I trust you guys

I'm all out of DE now and need to get more!