Added poolproof, now slow water flow

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padamstx

padamstx

0
Jun 1, 2013
26
Georgetown, TX
I have an 18,000 gal pool with a DE filter, etc. (see equipment specs in sig below). This is the second season that I've been using the Liquidator, and due to some pH flucuations (I've been adding several cups of MA to the pool every few days to keep the pH in range, etc.), I decided to add borates to the pool. So, last night after ensuring that my FC, pH and TA were within the desired ranges, I added 6 jugs of Poolproof. After adding that, I noticed that the water flow over my spa spillway slowed down a bit. Didn't think much about it at the time. I kept the pump running and after a couple hours checked on the pool again. The water was fairly cloudy, and I noticed very little water flow coming out the main pool jets, although there was still a trickle of water coming over the spillway (I have 4 jets in the pool and 6 in the spa).

I let the pump run for another 3-4 hours and then turned it off before I went to bed. This morning, it came on automatically at 8 am and I'm still noticing a reduced water flow coming out of the jets and the water is still somewhat cloudy although I think it has cleared up some from last night. The pressure gauge on top of my DE filter reads fairly normal (about 20 psi, which is typical (I think) for steady-state pump speed).

So it seems like maybe the solid material suspended in the poolproof liquid might have plugged something up, perhaps? Maybe it's all stuck in my DE filter cartridges and causing water flow problems? I was planning to do a backwash/rinse later today, although I hope that doesn't rinse away a bunch of the borates (that stuff is expensive!).

Any other ideas welcome

Thanks in advance!
 
PoolProof is juist a slightly different version of borates. It uses disodium octaborate which is an alkaline salt similar to, but not equivalent in effect, as Borax. Their formulation yields 10% Boron concentration per gallon of product and their application rate table achieves 36ppm B in a pool. I have never found borates in my pool to work at stabilizing pH when the levels fall below 40ppm and so their suggested dosing puts you at the very low end of efficacy. Given where you live and that you probably would have water with high pH/TA, I think you will find their dosing to be inadequate.

at ~ $40/gallon, you purchased 36ppm of borates for $240 (I assuming that's what you paid retail for poolproof)

Boric acid from duda diesel costs $64 for 50 lbs and you would have needed only 31 lb. And boric acid is a weak acid with little effect on pH.

As for your cloudy water and slow flow, what's your filter pressure?? The PoolProof probably caused calcium scaling in your filter as it will temporarily drive up pH. Did you measure your pH sine you added Poolproof? What are your TA and CH readings? You may need to tear down your filter and clean it out.
 
I just finished doing a backwash/rinse cycle (doubled the time that I normally do each, 3 cycles of backwash, then rinse), and the water flow seems to be back to normal and after the backwash/rinse cycles. I'll do another water test in a bit (trying to get some "work" done while I'm also messing with the pool today).

Thanks a bunch for the responses so far!
 
JoyfulNoise said:
As for your cloudy water and slow flow, what's your filter pressure?? The PoolProof probably caused calcium scaling in your filter as it will temporarily drive up pH. Did you measure your pH sine you added Poolproof? What are your TA and CH readings? You may need to tear down your filter and clean it out.
Click to expand...

Filter pressure is about 20 psi which I think is pretty normal. Here are my current test results (as of an hour or so ago):
FC 1.0
CC 0.0
pH ~7.8+ (I added some MA to bring this down)
TA 170 (this was at about 100-110 before I added the Poolproof)
CH ~270

Earlier when I did the backwash/rinse cycle, I did not immediately add the usual 8 lbs of DE powder. I went back and did that about an hour ago and since then I've noticed that the water flow has slowed down noticeably again. So, I just shut the pump off and a little bit later I'll do a complete filter clean, which I'm about due for anyhow. Perhaps the earlier backwash/rinse relieved the filter "clog" enough to see normal water flow afterwards, but then when I added the DE powder it caused the filter to get clogged up again. At least that's what it seems like. Anyway, I'll know more when I open up the filter and clean out the cartridges.
 
I suspect your cloudiness is algae bloom. With an FC if 1ppm, your sanitizer levels are inadequate for keeping algae out of your water. Your filter is clogging up with dead algae. That would explain why your filter flow rate improved after backwashing but then got clogged up again. DE filters get clogged up very quickly with algae.

You likely need to SLAM your pool.
 
padamstx said:
Ok, looks like I'll have a busy evening... starting with a filter clean and then starting the SLAM process :)
Click to expand...

You may want to create a new post in Algae sub-forum so that you can get detailed help. Not many of the experts or mods swim in The Deep End...
 

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JoyfulNoise said:
You may want to create a new post in Algae sub-forum so that you can get detailed help. Not many of the experts or mods swim in The Deep End...
Click to expand...

Well, last night could have gone better :) I took the filter apart and thoroughly cleaned the cartridges. As I was putting it back together, the top half of the filter "dome" slipped out of my hands and fell to the ground and the air relief valve/pressure gauge snapped off - LOL. This morning I went to a local pool store and bought a new one, installed it, finished putting the filter back together and got things running again. Water flow seems perfectly fine now, even after adding 8 lbs of DE powder (that seemed to slow the water flow down again last night). The water is also pretty clear even after just 1 hour of the pump running.

Anyway, after the pump had been running for about an hour I did another water test. Here are the results:
FC 3.5 (last night it tested at 1.0 and I dumped 2 gal of 8.25% bleach when I broke the air relief valve on the filter and realized I couldn't run the pump any more last night)
CC 0
pH 7.8 (I went ahead and added some MA to bring this down to 7.4-7.5)
TA 150
CH 240
CYA 50 It's unbelievable what can happen when the pump is able to circulate the water properly :)
Borates 50 (It's hard to match the colors on the bottle exactly but it looked closer to 50 than 30 or 80 :) )

So, at this point, things look good (I think). My main reason for adding the borates was to allow me to use less chlorine and MA. I guess time will tell if that works out or not. Based on my test results, I don't think I need to SLAM, but I'm no expert at this by any stretch.
 
I would sincerely suggest you re-run the OCLT and be much more precise about. That is the only way to truly know if "stuff" is growing or not...
 
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