Backwashing, rinsing, waste and when to remove the Drain cap when using the Intex sand and saltwater pump with Zeosand.
We are just getting started witha 15x48 Intex Easy Set pool and are new to using a sand/saltwater pump. Go the sand in and pump flowing yesterday late afternoon (no chlorinator running yet as we didn’t have time to add the salt). We did what we thought was a backwash and rinse as the setup instructions stated, but were not sure if we did it right and were somewhat confused - we weren’t sure when the Drain cap was supposed to be on or off, like should we remove it for backwashing/waste and for Rinse should the Drain cap be back on? We finally got the pump going in what we thought was pretty normal functioning and ran it 5 hours into the night. Now the water is cloudy and there is sandy stuff in the bottom in some places. See attached pics.
Additional details of some of the things that happened along the way:
1. When checking on the pump in the night, there was a lot of air it seemed in the pump filter basket. I tried bleeding it to no avail. I finally discovered, on a letter check at 12:30am, that one of the two water in tubes had the plunger valve closed. I opened it at that time (the other tube had been open so there was water flow the whole time, just less.
2. When we first did the start up of the pump we did the “backwash” with the drain open, but for the Rinse we started with it open and then closed it because we just were not sure what to do and the instructions did not say.
3. The pool has been up for about a week, 6 days, and we have not had the pump connected as we were waiting on hoses. We have been covering it most of the day and night, except about 2 hrs a day for swimming. We have been adding instant liquid chlorine granular to a small bucket of water and adding that to the pool each evening before covering it.
3. We thought we would only be using 50 pounds of the Zeosand versus 100 pounds of #20, but it took about 75 pounds to get the sand to be in the Min-Max range before startup. We filled the sand tank half with water and then started
4. The pool had been clear until we hooked up the pump and ran it yesterday evening.
5. I was first testing the water with the Taylor kit suggested on here and everyday the FC would be none, then I would add the instant chlorine and like 5 minutes later it would be about 16-16.5, then the next day zero. Assuming this was normal and the sun and organisms were eating up the FC, hence the need to add more each day.
6. Today we are going to add the salt (95lbs) and stabilizer (.9 lbs) and run the pump for 24 hrs before running a new set of water tests and turning on the SWG part of the pump.
So, we need help with
1. Getting the sand and cloudiness out (assuming it is because of the sand being backwashed into the pool but we are not sure).
2. Learning when to backwash and how to do it properly.
3. Understanding when to have the drain cap on/off the 6 way valve.
4. How much air is okay in the pump filter basket.
5. Understanding how to read the pressure gauge, IE what are we looking for aside for it to be in the “green” when running?
6. When it says to backwash until clear, does that mean like perfectly clear or mostly clear? Judge this clearness only using the little view tube or also the water spewing out the Drain hole?
7. Is it normal for a huge amount of water to get backwashes before it runs clear? And then do you just keep adding fresh hose water back to the pool?
We are just getting started witha 15x48 Intex Easy Set pool and are new to using a sand/saltwater pump. Go the sand in and pump flowing yesterday late afternoon (no chlorinator running yet as we didn’t have time to add the salt). We did what we thought was a backwash and rinse as the setup instructions stated, but were not sure if we did it right and were somewhat confused - we weren’t sure when the Drain cap was supposed to be on or off, like should we remove it for backwashing/waste and for Rinse should the Drain cap be back on? We finally got the pump going in what we thought was pretty normal functioning and ran it 5 hours into the night. Now the water is cloudy and there is sandy stuff in the bottom in some places. See attached pics.
Additional details of some of the things that happened along the way:
1. When checking on the pump in the night, there was a lot of air it seemed in the pump filter basket. I tried bleeding it to no avail. I finally discovered, on a letter check at 12:30am, that one of the two water in tubes had the plunger valve closed. I opened it at that time (the other tube had been open so there was water flow the whole time, just less.
2. When we first did the start up of the pump we did the “backwash” with the drain open, but for the Rinse we started with it open and then closed it because we just were not sure what to do and the instructions did not say.
3. The pool has been up for about a week, 6 days, and we have not had the pump connected as we were waiting on hoses. We have been covering it most of the day and night, except about 2 hrs a day for swimming. We have been adding instant liquid chlorine granular to a small bucket of water and adding that to the pool each evening before covering it.
3. We thought we would only be using 50 pounds of the Zeosand versus 100 pounds of #20, but it took about 75 pounds to get the sand to be in the Min-Max range before startup. We filled the sand tank half with water and then started
4. The pool had been clear until we hooked up the pump and ran it yesterday evening.
5. I was first testing the water with the Taylor kit suggested on here and everyday the FC would be none, then I would add the instant chlorine and like 5 minutes later it would be about 16-16.5, then the next day zero. Assuming this was normal and the sun and organisms were eating up the FC, hence the need to add more each day.
6. Today we are going to add the salt (95lbs) and stabilizer (.9 lbs) and run the pump for 24 hrs before running a new set of water tests and turning on the SWG part of the pump.
So, we need help with
1. Getting the sand and cloudiness out (assuming it is because of the sand being backwashed into the pool but we are not sure).
2. Learning when to backwash and how to do it properly.
3. Understanding when to have the drain cap on/off the 6 way valve.
4. How much air is okay in the pump filter basket.
5. Understanding how to read the pressure gauge, IE what are we looking for aside for it to be in the “green” when running?
6. When it says to backwash until clear, does that mean like perfectly clear or mostly clear? Judge this clearness only using the little view tube or also the water spewing out the Drain hole?
7. Is it normal for a huge amount of water to get backwashes before it runs clear? And then do you just keep adding fresh hose water back to the pool?
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