Because I don't have a timer for it, I don't have anyone to keep an eye on it, and while it generally runs 24hours a day, this would be the time something bad happens while I'm 7 hours away.
It's the only option I had.
First time pool owner
- Thread starter hewing_05
- Start date
It's the only option I had.
Thank you! That makes since. So even if my pressure is not more than 10 over my normal psi I should still backwash when I loose water pressure from the outlet? My normal psi seems to be 16. I notice the pressure drop at 20 to 21.
So a filter sock could really speed this up then I would think. Filter sock in the skimmer basket would need to be constantly monitored at this point.
I'm still confused with some people's suggestion about adding DE to the sand filter. Like I said in another post my results were awful. That's what led me to modify my return to use a filter sock as all of the DE went right into the pool and settled on the floor.
You should backwash when your foot pressure rises by about 20-25%over your clean pressure. If your pressure is 16 a backwash around 20 would be right.
Whenever you introduce new media into the filter, there will be a percentage that is smaller than it should be and escapes through the laterals. If you change out all the sand (which your never need to do) youll likely find that for a little while there will be sand in your pool. If all of it returns to the pool, that would indicate some problem to me. In the quantity that you'd add to a sand filter, you shouldn't even notice the amount that would turn into the pool.
A filter sock could help as it will prevent some particles from getting into the filter and could reduce the frequency of backwashing.
Here's hoping it's not too bad when you get back! Maybe grab a cheap extension cord timer even for the next time
With the DE it was from Home Depot and the brand was Pool Time. It was so fine like talc that it's not a suprise it came through the sand.
I dont have any other experience with DE so I don't know what other particle size it comes in but wouldn't it need to be larger than the sand to stay trapped by the sand?
Not necessarily. Think algae. When you go over a bloom with a brush, it puffs up into a cloud. Those particles are absolutely smaller than individual filter sand granuals. Unless the sand is a larger gauge, I don't think size is a factor as much as volume.
During my first slam a few years ago I had the same problem with DE going right through the filter and back into the pool. I "deep cleaned" my sand filter which fixed the problem and resulted in the pool clearing much faster. While deep cleaning I felt tons of chunks breaking up, I'm sure the majority of the water was just channeling right through getting no filtration.
Luckily I haven't had to deal with algae like that so far.
I don't know what to make of my sand filter then. I don't know how it could not be functioning properly, it's only one year old.
I completely emptied the contents of the barrel I to a small hard plastic kiddie pool and found that it was dirty. I poked a few holes in the kiddie pool to allow the water to drain away. I even put a container below those holes to catch the nominal amount of sand I lost through them. I was able to wash the sand clean with water from the hose to the point that the water was clear in the kid pool with the sand. I've never had the sight glass be particularly dirty when I back wash and the pressure seems to never change. I put a new gauge on it to make sure I wasn't missing anything I get my best filtration with the filter sock setup I made. I've just concluded that the sand filter does what it does for filtration and the rest of the junk I get in my pool needs a more fine filter like the sock. I'm probably a prime candidate for a element filter where I'm at but I'm not going to shell out those pesos at this time.
I'm thinking I will try a sock in the pump basket as it has more surface area than the skimmer basket. I'm all in all frustrated with my sand filter but I have found a work-around or add-on that filters like I need but not as trouble free as I would like.
We live next to a heavily wooded area and lots of traffic two times a day. So we get a lot of road dust and an unreal amount of pollen from the woods and such.
Really? Sand is dirty (I kid, I kid...:jocolor
???In all seriousness, Topher55 may be on the right track in that you may have some channeling going on. Are you sure that none of the laterals are cracked?
Be that as it may, it is not a necessity to use DE in a sand filter. Though usually it is used for a similar result as a filter sock.
Do you have deep cleaned documented anywhere on here? That was my attempt by cleaning every bit of it out of the barrel into the kiddie pool. Every bit of it was agitated with the hose water until the water ran clear. I returned the one year old and to the barrel and essentially the same results.
The laterals were in perfect condition. I removed and inspected every one of them.
I'm at the point where I do just want to get new sand but when I went to the pool store to get it they said a sand filter will not handle pollen and only the sock will.
So they actually talked me out of the sand and didn't try to sell anything but the socks I already had and suggested a shock treatment. When I mentioned I was using BBB they just said they don't recommend it to their customers but they didn't have an attitude about it or anything. However this was the pool store down the way that did not sell us the pool originally and agreed that the one who sold us the pool has a bad reputation.
I dont know anyone else that has a pool that I can compare results.
The saga continues.
I totally get that you were joking about the sand being dirty. Not a problem. I mentioned it because I as expecting that backwashing would have cleared it up but I don't get any dirtiness in the sight glass even if I backwash two minutes. Maybe it is channeled.Really? Sand is dirty (I kid, I kid...:jocolor
In all seriousness, Topher55 may be on the right track in that you may have some channeling going on. Are you sure that none of the laterals are cracked?
Be that as it may, it is not a necessity to use DE in a sand filter. Though usually it is used for a similar result as a filter sock.
At the beginning of pool season my store said something like $23. A bag for sand. Now it's down to under 9.
I hate the pool store. I hate their game.
I made a satirical one minute YouTube video for my wife entitled So You Want and Above Ground Pool.
To me it's about the lies of the pool store. The ease of install, the the costs involved, the environmental effect. All lies.
Checked it again at 12pm. The fc is now 9.5 since the 7am test of 13. And my pressure was pretty good coming from return. My psi was at a 20 so I backwashed anyway and pressure is even better. I think this was where my problems have been. Not realizing how often I needed to backwash. At the beginning I thought my plumbing or sand or laterals were an issue.
Cya is between 20 and 30.
Cya is between 20 and 30.
Well if you took all the sand out and hosed it off and broke up the chunks that is even more thorough than the standard deep clean.
can't figure out how to link on my phone but there is a sticky for deep cleaning a sand filter in the equipment>filters section. Basically you take the top off and run the hose down inside the filter while poking around with a broom handle or something to break up chunks. Being mindful of laterals of course. Recently I used a tool I bought for running irrigation lines under a sidewalk. It worked great, I created a thread showing pics and detailing my process if your interested!!
I do this every year and the crud/muddy water that comes out amazes me. And I always start the deep clean process with a good backwashing, sight glass crystal clear.
As far as the pool store advice on pollen, about 85% of my pool is covered by several large live oak trees. They drop serious amounts of that yellow dusty pollen for about two weeks a year and my filter has never had a problem filtering. I will say that during that time of year my pool chews through some serious chlorine (up to 6ppm a day). I basically get leaves for a week or two followed by pollen. In a 24 hr period the entire surface of the pool can be covered. I guess my point is that when pollen is everywhere it is easy to mistake the cloudiness as pollen when it is really the start of an algae bloom which was caused by the pollen eating up FC faster than you are use to dropping you below the min FC.
can't figure out how to link on my phone but there is a sticky for deep cleaning a sand filter in the equipment>filters section. Basically you take the top off and run the hose down inside the filter while poking around with a broom handle or something to break up chunks. Being mindful of laterals of course. Recently I used a tool I bought for running irrigation lines under a sidewalk. It worked great, I created a thread showing pics and detailing my process if your interested!!
I do this every year and the crud/muddy water that comes out amazes me. And I always start the deep clean process with a good backwashing, sight glass crystal clear.
As far as the pool store advice on pollen, about 85% of my pool is covered by several large live oak trees. They drop serious amounts of that yellow dusty pollen for about two weeks a year and my filter has never had a problem filtering. I will say that during that time of year my pool chews through some serious chlorine (up to 6ppm a day). I basically get leaves for a week or two followed by pollen. In a 24 hr period the entire surface of the pool can be covered. I guess my point is that when pollen is everywhere it is easy to mistake the cloudiness as pollen when it is really the start of an algae bloom which was caused by the pollen eating up FC faster than you are use to dropping you below the min FC.
Now that makes some sense about the pollen and maybe I'm seeing an algae bloom start. It's so easy to get sidetracked in these well meaning fourms.
I'm mopping what you're spilling about cleaning the sand tank. Maybe I need to try that method again.
Does it appear to be getting clearer?
Take a picture looking down into the deepend with a pool pole stuck in the water. If you do that every morning it will make seeing the improvement easier.
As far as backwashing goes try to stick to the 25% pressure increase rule. As the filter catches stuff it filters better, (the stuff it catches helps catch more stuff) so as time goes by it filters more efficiently, that is until it has caught so much stuff that the water flow has slowed way down (around 25% pressure increase) at which time it is filtering the water great just not that much of it which lowers the overall efficiency.
This is the theory with adding DE. you are adding a little stuff to jump start that better filtration.
I'm backwashing 3 times a day yet. But it's a lot better than what it was! I still had some flow this morning unlike yesterday when I woke up. These images are all of this morning. I should be getting my sock covers in the mail today.
