Opening mishap

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raysaint

raysaint

Well-known member
Apr 14, 2022
152
Ontario Canada
Hello to all, happy 2024 swim season.
Taking the cover off today, as we got near the other end, the remaining water in the cover made it hard to lift, and our struggle ended up letting the other end fall into the poo land dirty stuff (leaves, debris, etc) went into the pool ( and it was so clear.)
So I raked the bigger stuff that sank to the bottom, but there's still all the fine particles and dirt (it's not too bad, the pool doesn't look like a mud puddle, looks pretty clear but particles are visible.) A pic is posted. Maple tree things also still abundant.001.JPG
Solution?
I know I'll have to vacuum but maybe wait until the fine particles are taken care of, so that I'm not vacuuming twice?
And the fine particles and dirt, will the skimmer and filter remedy that, or should I increase a chemical a bit to help? There is no algae at this point.
Right now the pool is just about filled, I'll start the pump, and maybe test in the morning.
Am I on the right track? What order should I do things in, to clean up the slightly dirty water?
Thanks.
 
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Not a big deal. My cover is mesh so everything washes in. I never have a big issue. Vacuum as usual and get your water balanced.
 
I'm the 'big friend' and was often free muscle for openings. I helped several friends open for 20 years or more.

We dumped the 'dirty taco' evey last time. The only question was how much of it got away from us. We pumped. We siphoned. We got all we could off before hand. There was always some left.
 
I added some chlorine yesterday when I first turned on the pump. This morning I did first testing.
FC = 6.2
PH = 7.4
TA = 140
CYA = 40 - 50 (depends if the comparator tube is on something white or just holding it with nothing underneath)
Your thoughts, and anything special I should at this point?
Water surface is clean (all maple seed things got skimmed), sediment in the bottom can be vacuumed.
 
Yesterday I vacuumed the little gobs of visible fine dirt/silt, had to change the skimmer sock every 3 minutes. I knew there was still non-visible fine dirt that would need to be vacuumed.
Today there was many more little piles of silt; I guess it will keep settling as it moves around the water; hopefully the filter will collect a whack of it. Patience is a virtue in this case I guess.
My question: vacuuming the little piles of silt, without a skimmer sock, and let my cartridge filter collect all the silt, is that too much for the pump? Clog or damage it?
I'm thinking it is risky, and just persevere with skimmer socks in the basket for the piles. Hopefully the spots of silt get less as more and more gets filtered out.
 
raysaint said:
vacuuming the little piles of silt, without a skimmer sock, and let my cartridge filter collect all the silt, is that too much for the pump? Clog or damage it?
Click to expand...
Not if the PSI stays reasonable. Standing there you'd notice if you lost flow and it was time to clean the cartridge.

Changing skimmer socks every few minutes isn't worth it IMO.
 

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It'll pass fine. Sand goes through the pump all the time whenever one manual vacs.
 
newdude said:
It'll pass fine. Sand goes through the pump all the time whenever one manual vacs.
Click to expand...
But when I vacuum I have a skimmer sock in the skimmer basket, that catches most of the fine grit. Without a sock, which is what I'm concerned about, more grit will pass thru. Is all that grit going to pass and not get some into the pump parts? I'm skeptical. I just wanted to vacuum this once without a sock because there's way more dirt than normal, and it clogs the sock frequently.
 
raysaint said:
But when I vacuum I have a skimmer sock in the skimmer basket, that catches most of the fine grit. Without a sock, which is what I'm concerned about, more grit will pass thru. Is all that grit going to pass and not get some into the pump parts? I'm skeptical. I just wanted to vacuum this once without a sock because there's way more dirt than normal, and it clogs the sock frequently.
Click to expand...

Your pump can take it.
 
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I went 6.5 years vacuuming pre TFP, never knowing skimmer socks existed. That included spring cleanups. Pools before me got along fine for decades doing the same thing. Skimmer socks can be a convienence but aren't critical.
 
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