New to Washington from Florida, inherited 2 yr swamp

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From that picture it looks like it's basically out?

If everything is still connected at the base I'm surprised you were able to get it up as far as your initial pictures – the standpipe is designed to be removed at the filter head and really should not have pulled upwards when you took the top off the filter to begin with.

The laterals are designed to fold upwards now that you have them free of the sand – once they are folded up the entire assembly is easily removed from the base – at that point you can go ahead with flipping the actual filter upside down to remove the sand faster if you want.

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BattleOfYakima said:
https://onedrive.live.com/redir?res...authkey=!ANrvErdf46v8VN0&v=3&ithint=photo,jpg
do those clips do anything good for me? I'm guessing that pvc is just stuck in black.. But it seems in there good, any suggestions on how to seperate them without risking laterals slamming down into sand? ( if laterals can't / shouldn't be undone.
Click to expand...

The white vertical standpipe is not connected to the black filter head portion, it's just a friction fit – it should with very little effort just pull out unless somebody has previously done something to cause it to stick as it seems to be.

This is why I was surprised that the pipe came up when you removed the filter head, apparently dragging the laterals with it – that is most certainly not the way it is designed to come apart.

Hopefully none of the laterals or the base unit were damaged being pulled through the sand.

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I'm just thinking out loud, but I really hope somebody didn't glue the standpipe to the filter head during a previous service attempt, not fully understanding what they were doing?
 
Successfully removed the twist off laterals!! Successfully pulled standpipe from black housing with the help of a neighbor with us turning in different directions and me pulling slightly! The pvc was caked with algae and grit, binding bad. Cleaned everything, no damage to laterals, all now look new!!! When looking for shop vac in mystery shed I found two unopened 50lb bags of filter sand and an older sand filter tank that looked trashed. I dumped the old sand, hosed out, put standpipe and bottom back together, replaced laterals, sand in, top back on, plumbing reconnected! Whew! That was a trip! I have spider set to closed, water is back over the skimmer vac hose hole, not the basket lip yet. Off to look for the new sand settling thread to see if I filter, backwash, rinse or what for how long. Thank you for helping me through that!!!!!!
 
Found the Pentair Sand Dollar manual online:
http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/SandDollar.CrystalFloIITopMountOM.pdf
After putting in new sand and buttoning it all up it says to:
while still off, select backwash, open manual air bleeder, let fill and when steady flow of water out manual air bleeder occurs to close it and continue to let it backwash "at least 2 minutes" (should I do 3 or 5?), turn off, rinse, on, "at least 2 minutes" (longer?), off, set to filter and open manual air bleeder, on.

So yeah, I need to add about 3 hours of water tomorrow before I can do that and still be above the skimmer line. If all that goes well, it is chemical warfare time! MA, Cl, and CYA! Not to mention hundreds and hundreds of calories of brushing! Good times. Only kink is that tomorrow I am volunteering at a "Fun Run" so that will interrupt things somewhat. Also installed new psi gauge and read threads debating removing the plastic nib to vent internal pressure....but couldn't figure out what the consensus was on that. To anyone nervous about installing it, don't be. Spend the $15, grab a wrench that fits, unscrew the old one, wrap Teflon tape around the threads 3 times so that the direction you will be turning it will not try to lift off the tape, screw it in easily so as not to cross thread. YAY! PSI gauge is replaced and you know when to backwash/yank and hose the cartridge.

Outstanding Questions:
1) any modifications/suggestions to above new sand turn on procedures?
2) it looks like it takes 8 hours to turnover my water once - so how long do I need to wait to retest ph after adding MA? Should I take samples from each end of the pool (skimmer/return side and other end) and just use an average after 30 mins?
3) since I've siphon vac from the bottom and filled about 2.5 feet of water - the pool no longer smells like sewage and viability is greatly improved! I'm now thinking the ammonia battle will not be so bad, but will still test after 10 mins to see if any Cl survived the first shock level dose (which with zero cya is 2-5 ppm correct?)
4) Continue 10 min testing and shocking until it holds 50% shock level FC then add CYA and test/add every 30 mins?
5) After reading the reviews of the hth (walmart) cya I returned the pool store bigger pellet cya for the smaller, more flakey/smaller rocks hth stabilizer (cya) and it looks like it will dissolve much, much faster indeed! It was cheaper also, but I cared more about the faster dissolve. My question is, is it better to put this in socks/shirts/stockings in front of the return or in the skimmer basket? I've seen both advocated. And is it totally okay to squeeze/massage either every so often?
6) I brush constantly during slam, but what about vac? siphon vac to waste or vac to filter? i'm confident skimmer wouldn't clog now, but there will be dead algae and seems sand to put that right in the fresh sand lol
7) psi gauge - remove the plastic nib or not?

Thanks everyone that has been or will be helping me! Such a different pool than I have in Florida! Spoke with my Dad that is caring for the Florida pool (using TFP) and it is still crystal and sparkling. Vacuum pressure is back to 100% after he replaced both the PVC ball/manual valves that were leaking air. Expensive but worth it to have a full strength vacuum/bottom drain and no more return line bubbles anymore!
 
BattleOfYakima said:
Found the Pentair Sand Dollar manual online:
http://www.pentairpool.com/pdfs/SandDollar.CrystalFloIITopMountOM.pdf
After putting in new sand and buttoning it all up it says to:
while still off, select backwash, open manual air bleeder, let fill and when steady flow of water out manual air bleeder occurs to close it and continue to let it backwash "at least 2 minutes" (should I do 3 or 5?), turn off, rinse, on, "at least 2 minutes" (longer?), off, set to filter and open manual air bleeder, on. The most important part is the rinse as that gets all of the not so good stuff up and out.

So yeah, I need to add about 3 hours of water tomorrow before I can do that and still be above the skimmer line. If all that goes well, it is chemical warfare time! MA, Cl, and CYA! Not to mention hundreds and hundreds of calories of brushing! Good times. Only kink is that tomorrow I am volunteering at a "Fun Run" so that will interrupt things somewhat. Also installed new psi gauge and read threads debating removing the plastic nib to vent internal pressure....but couldn't figure out what the consensus was on that. To anyone nervous about installing it, don't be. Spend the $15, grab a wrench that fits, unscrew the old one, wrap Teflon tape around the threads 3 times so that the direction you will be turning it will not try to lift off the tape, screw it in easily so as not to cross thread. YAY! PSI gauge is replaced and you know when to backwash/yank and hose the cartridge.

Outstanding Questions:
1) any modifications/suggestions to above new sand turn on procedures? Do as the manual says. The most important part is the rinse as that gets all of the not so good stuff up and out.

2) it looks like it takes 8 hours to turnover my water once - so how long do I need to wait to retest ph after adding MA? Should I take samples from each end of the pool (skimmer/return side and other end) and just use an average after 30 mins?You only need to wait about 15 mins. Just time enough to brush your pool to help mix it in. No need to get water from different parts of the pool.

3) since I've siphon vac from the bottom and filled about 2.5 feet of water - the pool no longer smells like sewage and viability is greatly improved! I'm now thinking the ammonia battle will not be so bad, but will still test after 10 mins to see if any Cl survived the first shock level dose (which with zero cya is 2-5 ppm correct?) I would shoot for 5 so you will know for sure if there is a ammonia battle needed.

4) Continue 10 min testing and shocking until it holds 50% shock level FC then add CYA and test/add every 30 mins? Correct. ONCE you start seeing your FC hold you can back up the testing times to 1 hour, 2 hours, ect as you see the FC holding longer and longer. If at all possible do not let the FC go below the SLAM level.

5) After reading the reviews of the hth (walmart) cya I returned the pool store bigger pellet cya for the smaller, more flakey/smaller rocks hth stabilizer (cya) and it looks like it will dissolve much, much faster indeed! It was cheaper also, but I cared more about the faster dissolve. My question is, is it better to put this in socks/shirts/stockings in front of the return or in the skimmer basket? I've seen both advocated. And is it totally okay to squeeze/massage either every so often? I like the sock in front of the return as I worry about the skimmer getting blocked by the shirt/sock. I end up squeezing it all out just to get it over with! Let is sit in the water for a little while then squeeze until it is gone. I am just like that.
6) I brush constantly during slam, but what about vac? siphon vac to waste or vac to filter? i'm confident skimmer wouldn't clog now, but there will be dead algae and seems sand to put that right in the fresh sand lol I am with you about putting that yuck in your pretty, new sand. I would have the hose running and go to waste.

7) psi gauge - remove the plastic nib or not?Not sure what that is-sorry

Thanks everyone that has been or will be helping me! Such a different pool than I have in Florida! Spoke with my Dad that is caring for the Florida pool (using TFP) and it is still crystal and sparkling. Vacuum pressure is back to 100% after he replaced both the PVC ball/manual valves that were leaking air. Expensive but worth it to have a full strength vacuum/bottom drain and no more return line bubbles anymore!
Click to expand...

There ya go and happy battles! I can't wait to see the results!

Kim:cat:
 
Filter running with new sand. Clean PSI established at 9.5-10. Siphon vac a final time, took a video I will edit and post later that would have convinced me in 10 seconds that it would save me a ton in chlorine expense. You do have to factor in water cost, so maybe it isn't a good idea in water conservation areas, but if you're water is cheap and bulk 12.5% isn't readily available and dirt cheap, in my current opinion, it is a miraculous technique!

pH 8.2 so I added roughly just under half a gallon of MA, 50-60 oz maybe. Brushed, filtered for 30, retested 8.2 again (as TFP comments warned might happen, added most of what was left, 40-50 oz maybe. Brushed, filtering, will retest after 30. Will just have enough time to go buy more if needed, but still have another 20-30oz maybe. If I overshoot it I can just point return straight up and airrate, correct? Is there a ph too low to start slamming? Thanks!
 

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Thanks! Had to give it a little extra time to circulate. The end where I add water is the end near the skimmer/return and the ph there was much higher than the other end after 30 mins. Now after 50 mins the entire pool is equalized to 7.5, as tested in 6 spots. Before I was getting far end below 6.8 and fill end still 8.2+ and I was worried for a moment. I suspect 30 mins would equalize it without the water being added
So after adding two rounds of MA, we have:
FC: 0.0 (none added yet)
CC: ?? (can you reliably measure CC with zero fc?/doesn't really matter at this point anyway, right?)
pH: 7.5 (down from way, way above 8.2)
TA: 130 (unchanged from nearly a gallon of 31.45% MA using ultra slow pour just in front of return just off surface of water above any potential splash in :) )
CYA: 0 (none added yet)

Added 26oz of 31.45% MA, calc says I needed 33-35 oz to drop to 7.2, but I'm out, that was the full gallon in the pool over the last couple hours. I can buy more if that doesn't drop it low enough.
 
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YES! It was enough!!!! 7.2!!!! The SLAM begins!!! Time to see if it will hold FC! I'm 16-17k depending on the calculator, so I'm using 17k for CL adds. 109oz of 10% to get to 5, so I'm adding 128oz of 10% which calcs to 5.9 so we'll see what happens! Thank you all for helping me get to here!!!
 
Update: PSI before adding CL was 13.5-14, turn on psi (pool green, new sand) was 9.5-10psi. I did a backwash and it was lovely green for 30+ seconds, then virtually clear, but I went the full 3 mins on backwash, 30 sec rinse, then I did a backwash for 1 minute then rinse 30s, then filter.

My question (that I meant to ask yesterday is: when TFP says to "Repeat the backwash cycle." on http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/144-maintenance-and-cleaning-of-pool-filters do you mean another 3m backwash 30s rinse? for a total time losing water of 7 minutes minimum each time psi is up 25%?
Thank you. Added the CL now it has been 10 mins, time to test :) I'm eager :)
 
No need to run for a set amount of time, just backwash until it runs clear, then rinse, repeat and back to filter. You probably don't need to repeat every time during a SLAM either. If your pressure drops back close to clean pressure I wouldn't repeat.
 
Perfect, thank you! 13 mins after 5.9ppm CL added, I got
FC 5.0
CC 1.0
and oto concurred it was around 5-6

I did not brush it. It occurred to me that I didn't know if I was supposed to brush it for the first dose when ammonia was feared. Are you supposed to when testing to see if it holds FC?

Looks like I'm in the clear though! I'll brush now and retest 30 minutes after I finish brushing. It is 10pm here, nice and dark. No pesky sunshine. But, it is coming. As long as the FC holds after brushing, does that mean I'm good to hang the cya socks? Or should I wait a few hours and keep shocking at 6? I've got enough hth cya to raise it between 28-30. Should I add it all or only enough to get to 20 for now? Once I hang it, even though it is not going to be magically dissolved, do I bring shock up to 10-12 or stay at 6 at first, gradually increasing as the sock empties? Fun questions! I look forward to compressing the collective knowledge of this thread into an addendum entitled, "SLAM: Less-FAQ" so thank you all for your input, even if you're not sure, I don't mind testing best guesses. I appreciate your collective knowledge, experience, and intuition immensely. Thank you so much!
 
I wasn't sure so I raised FC to 12 and CC was still 1.0. Began CYA in front of return. HTH CYA performing as others said it would, seemingly dissolving extremely quickly in front of my eyes. I took video and photos. I didn't add the entire amount required to get me to 28-30 because I want to let FC get under 10 (currently at FC 10.5 CC 1.0) and retest ph to make sure I don't need to do some aeration or add water which ups my ph too. Then FC back to 12 and the last 20% of the cya hung right after I get a read on the ph.

PSI already up 25% from 9.5-10 to 12-12.5. Should I let it go higher to give CYA more time before a backwash? Also, how does grass handle 10.5 FC water backwashed onto it? I read that dirty sand filters actually get smaller particles, which I have a ton of at the moment...so let it ride until 15 or 20 psi? backwash now? I'm not in a particular rush as far as water clearing up -far more interested in keeping costs down by killing efficiently.
 
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Since you put the CYA in front of the return you can backwash as needed without worries. It is when you put it down the skimmer into the filter that you have to wait on the backwash.

You are going to have a great SLAM due to your willingness to do it RIGHT !

Keep the posts and pics coming!

Kim:cat:

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My grass does seem to mind it at all.
 
Thanks! Did a fast backwash 30s bw, 30s rinse, 30s bw, 30s rinse. PSI back down to 10. I put about 80% of my needed CYA in the socks hours ago and it is nearly all gone. I went ahead and tried a ph test to see if it would register, and it was a very solid 7.2 down from 7.5 before the CYA. If I were to add the rest I'd expect PH to drop to 7.1 or 7 at the worst. I'll have to add water today or tomorrow and my hose water has PH of 8.2. So I'll hang the rest of the CYA now and add water later. Running the hose water is a little loud inside the house and we still have sleepers :) I read somewhere on here that temporary 6.8 for a couple days is fine, just prolonged causes issues. I'm guessing a PH or 7.1 or 7 for a few hours will not setback my SLAM by much, but if I'm wrong please, please do let me know and I'll aerate or add water asap. Sun is providing me a nice indirect light now, much easier to brush around the pool not having to use my flashlight to illuminate the grass.
 

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