I recently purchased a Pro-Series 20x48 Above Ground Pool. The pool was great right out of the box with my only complaints being the lack of a ground cloth (even though they are usually sub-par anyway), the ladder leaves a lot to be desired even compared the Intex ones that I have had and the skimmer/filter is by no means enough for this size of pool. That being said I decided to upgrade to a larger filter and I purchased a Intex sand filter system. I purchased the 1,200 gph system and after adapting it to fit my pool I was all set up and running or so I thought. At the same time I added an Intex Salt Water Generator model CS8110. This along with the sand filter being on the small end of things left me wanting more flow. My pool quickly began to suffer because of the lack of flow/filtration. I had to choice but to upgrade my filter so I upgraded to the 3,000gph (SF60110) system for only a $50 increase in cost.
The pump came in last week and I had to purchase 100lbs more sand as it holds approx. 120lbs of sand versus the 20 in the old system. I swapped them out and immediately I had a smile on my face. This thing filters some water. My skimmer is like a force of nature sucking every bug and pool toy it can get ahold of off the surface of my pool. I was very happy with the upgrade. I returned my old filter for a full refund too.
Over the last week I have been trying to get things figured out with chemicals (SLAM, ordering TF-100, Vacuum adapters, etc) and I thought I finally had it figured out. Well the flow had been slowing down so I was like no way this big old filter was dirty already, but let me try to backwash just to see. Well I was wrong. I did a backwash and it was disgusting! Might as well have been flushing a toilet with all of the junk that came out of the filter. Pressure returned to normal. I guess I need to trust my gut and not the filter gauge as it only moved about half a psi at most. So I decided to go back to vacuuming and this time the pressure was ridiculous. It almost caves in my pro-series side wall skimmer (will probably add a dedicated vacuum port later) but it vacuums some serious stuff. With all this being fixed and working correctly I figured I would combat the “algae” I was getting on the bottom of my pool by placing a filter sock on my return to catch the fine algae so it doesn’t lay on the bottom of the pool. Well guess what it wasn’t algae it was sand this whole time.
So I did a little research and digging on this site and I came to the conclusion that I have purchased the correct sand (quickrete sand from HomeDepot) so I must have cracked some “laterals” when I filled my filter even though I followed my instructions completely per their directions. When I was researching others recommend that you fill the filter with water halfway prior to adding sand to cushion the laterals where Intex doesn’t have you add water until you are halfway full of sand already. The next time I will start with the water. Well I wasn’t about to empty my filter just to check so I called Intex. They were great. They said they’re going to send me all 10 laterals and the center tube just in case. They had me upload them my receipt while on the phone and the only bad part is the shipping of 5-7 business days. I will just have to keep my large (7” ) filter socks on there to catch sand for now I guess.
Sorry for the long post but wanted to update and let everyone know my experience and where I we were at on the process. On a good note the water is crystal clear, lol.
The pump came in last week and I had to purchase 100lbs more sand as it holds approx. 120lbs of sand versus the 20 in the old system. I swapped them out and immediately I had a smile on my face. This thing filters some water. My skimmer is like a force of nature sucking every bug and pool toy it can get ahold of off the surface of my pool. I was very happy with the upgrade. I returned my old filter for a full refund too.
Over the last week I have been trying to get things figured out with chemicals (SLAM, ordering TF-100, Vacuum adapters, etc) and I thought I finally had it figured out. Well the flow had been slowing down so I was like no way this big old filter was dirty already, but let me try to backwash just to see. Well I was wrong. I did a backwash and it was disgusting! Might as well have been flushing a toilet with all of the junk that came out of the filter. Pressure returned to normal. I guess I need to trust my gut and not the filter gauge as it only moved about half a psi at most. So I decided to go back to vacuuming and this time the pressure was ridiculous. It almost caves in my pro-series side wall skimmer (will probably add a dedicated vacuum port later) but it vacuums some serious stuff. With all this being fixed and working correctly I figured I would combat the “algae” I was getting on the bottom of my pool by placing a filter sock on my return to catch the fine algae so it doesn’t lay on the bottom of the pool. Well guess what it wasn’t algae it was sand this whole time.
So I did a little research and digging on this site and I came to the conclusion that I have purchased the correct sand (quickrete sand from HomeDepot) so I must have cracked some “laterals” when I filled my filter even though I followed my instructions completely per their directions. When I was researching others recommend that you fill the filter with water halfway prior to adding sand to cushion the laterals where Intex doesn’t have you add water until you are halfway full of sand already. The next time I will start with the water. Well I wasn’t about to empty my filter just to check so I called Intex. They were great. They said they’re going to send me all 10 laterals and the center tube just in case. They had me upload them my receipt while on the phone and the only bad part is the shipping of 5-7 business days. I will just have to keep my large (7” ) filter socks on there to catch sand for now I guess.
Sorry for the long post but wanted to update and let everyone know my experience and where I we were at on the process. On a good note the water is crystal clear, lol.
. I hope everything works-out well for you. Stay cool! It's another hot one. :sun:
It makes the mixing process soooooo much easier. No kidding. You'll love it. Give them a call. They may add it to your order if it's not in the mail already.
