First, I guess I should say that this website has been immensely helpful in my 6 1/2 years of total-clueless-newbie pool ownership. Very grateful for that. I finally feel like I have a decent handle on pool chemistry and basic maintenance; alas, the mechanics of pumps/filters continue to thwart me in increasingly sadistic ways 
. Currently trying to find a pool tech willing to come out and fight with this thing as I have a wrecked shoulder that limits my ability to do much, but that's not looking likely any time soon, so here I am.
Here's the backstory:
Dog-related mishap caused winter cover to fall in and pool was a black swamp as of Monday 6/20. Tons of maple leaves, algae, etc. Had a pool service do a vacuum-to-waste using their heavy-duty equipment to remove worst of leaves. Began SLAM process using lithium shock, passed OCLT, later added some Bioguard algaecide and scale inhibitor (I know, I know) and decided to change out gross old cartridge filter for new one once water was starting to clear up. Within a few hours of putting new filter in, psi jumped from 12 to 19 and water flow was so non-existent that my skimmer basket was floating. Thought maybe there was just a lot of dead algae on the new filter (since the pool had been so gross) and it just needed cleaning already, so I tried to open the canister, but I couldn't get the lid off for anything. This particular Hayward Swimpro Voyager 150 canister was about 6 years old and had been getting harder to open even with a rubber mallet and even despite cleaning/lubing the gasket. Thought maybe it was just its time, so I went and bought a new canister (same exact kind) and installed that on Saturday night. Had a suction side leak (saw lots of bubbles coming out of return) but it was too dark by then to diagnose the source, so I left it running all night--psi was 12 and water flow was good.
In the morning, my pH was crazy high (as in purple) but all else was well. I relubed the gasket in the pump basket and that seemed to fix the leak, used dry acid to lower pH to 7.2, CYA was around 25 by then (started at 0 at opening) and FC was 4.4, CC was .4. CH was high at 380, but that's normal for this pool and TA was (I think) 180? Did a second vacuum, pool was crystal-clear, maintaining pH, all seemed well.
Got up this morning and it's the same thing all over again: despite crystal-clear water and a filter that's only been used for 36 hours, psi is up to 19, minimal water flow, pump basket is only managing to be half-water/half-air, and again--with the brand-new canister--I can't get it open for anything, even with endless whacking of handles with the rubber mallet. My shoulder is dying. Between the lithium shock (normally I use bleach, but didn't want to haul that many bottles), the new canister, and some pool-related electrical upgrades I've got to do, my bank account is dying. Any ideas or suggestions? It's just me at home right now and I work full-time, so my time for fighting with this thing is also limited (my neighbors probably love my repeated 6 am hammering sessions . . .)
Anyway, any ideas, tips, or solutions would be much appreciated.
. Currently trying to find a pool tech willing to come out and fight with this thing as I have a wrecked shoulder that limits my ability to do much, but that's not looking likely any time soon, so here I am. Here's the backstory:
Dog-related mishap caused winter cover to fall in and pool was a black swamp as of Monday 6/20. Tons of maple leaves, algae, etc. Had a pool service do a vacuum-to-waste using their heavy-duty equipment to remove worst of leaves. Began SLAM process using lithium shock, passed OCLT, later added some Bioguard algaecide and scale inhibitor (I know, I know) and decided to change out gross old cartridge filter for new one once water was starting to clear up. Within a few hours of putting new filter in, psi jumped from 12 to 19 and water flow was so non-existent that my skimmer basket was floating. Thought maybe there was just a lot of dead algae on the new filter (since the pool had been so gross) and it just needed cleaning already, so I tried to open the canister, but I couldn't get the lid off for anything. This particular Hayward Swimpro Voyager 150 canister was about 6 years old and had been getting harder to open even with a rubber mallet and even despite cleaning/lubing the gasket. Thought maybe it was just its time, so I went and bought a new canister (same exact kind) and installed that on Saturday night. Had a suction side leak (saw lots of bubbles coming out of return) but it was too dark by then to diagnose the source, so I left it running all night--psi was 12 and water flow was good.
In the morning, my pH was crazy high (as in purple) but all else was well. I relubed the gasket in the pump basket and that seemed to fix the leak, used dry acid to lower pH to 7.2, CYA was around 25 by then (started at 0 at opening) and FC was 4.4, CC was .4. CH was high at 380, but that's normal for this pool and TA was (I think) 180? Did a second vacuum, pool was crystal-clear, maintaining pH, all seemed well.
Got up this morning and it's the same thing all over again: despite crystal-clear water and a filter that's only been used for 36 hours, psi is up to 19, minimal water flow, pump basket is only managing to be half-water/half-air, and again--with the brand-new canister--I can't get it open for anything, even with endless whacking of handles with the rubber mallet. My shoulder is dying. Between the lithium shock (normally I use bleach, but didn't want to haul that many bottles), the new canister, and some pool-related electrical upgrades I've got to do, my bank account is dying. Any ideas or suggestions? It's just me at home right now and I work full-time, so my time for fighting with this thing is also limited (my neighbors probably love my repeated 6 am hammering sessions . . .)
Anyway, any ideas, tips, or solutions would be much appreciated.