Pool Update, plus pool got dirty after rain/flooding - thoughts?

[gonzodog]

Hi All,

I've been using the TFP method for a couple months now, and it is one of the best choices I've made, in regards to the pool. Every time I have people over swimming, they comment on how clear the pool is, they always ask if it is salt water (which it isn't) because it never smells of chlorine/chems (first time I jumped in the pool last year after having hired a pool guy, the chlorine smell was overpowering. No more pool guy and tabs and shock = no more chem smell, while still having a clear pool). After my initial SLAM (and my secondary SLAM), I've been able to maintain it with just bleach and some muriatic acid (my pH rises regularly, but I attribute that to 1: my return valves were pointed towards the surface, creating constant water churning - I've moved them so that the water still moves, but not churns, 2: my pool robot runs the entire time the pump is on - timer was broken, I changed it, but still doesn't work right, so right now, just runs based on when the pump is on, until I resolve it; and 3: probably has more to do with my kids (and me), the number of canon balls we do, plus the "wave" pool we create).

All has been going pretty well, until Monday night. We had a tremendous storm that flooded the backyard and put quite a bit of dirt in the pool. When I got home from work yesterday, the pool was dirty/cloudy. I used my rake and got as much of the solids out of the pool as I could, and cleaned out the skimmer baskets and the pump basket. I tested the water, and FC was at 3 (my CYA is at 50, and I've been maintaining FC at 6). CC was 0, pH was 7.2. I put in enough bleach to bring it back up to 6. I left the pump on overnight, figuring it would be better to filter the water, as my assumption is the cloudiness is dirt based, not algae. This morning when I checked on the pump, the filter was at 30 psi, so I did a backwash (lots of dirty water came out), add DE, emptied baskets, and kept the pump running. I definitely see a difference between yesterday when I got home and this morning.

Am I doing the right thing, or should I bring it up to SLAM? I figured it is more of an issue of dirty water, rather than algae, but I understand the dirt can introduce algae. Just wondering if I need to get in front of this, before it becomes an issue.

I need to re-test the CYA, as I'm guessing it may have dropped, since the rain also flooded the pool, causing water exchange, and I had to drain about 3 inches out of the pool. Since I'm taking a week vacation at the end of the month, I'm going to have to use some tabs, so even if my CYA dropped some, I'll end up adding some CYA from the tabs (I'm in Dallas, and it has been 100 degrees, with significant amount of sun on the pool, which is why I don't want CYA too low).

You all have been invaluable in your help. Thanks for reading my lengthy post.

Gonzo

 

[robertmee]

I can only tell you what I did in a similar situation 3 times last year and this year. Our pool is at the bottom of a hill, and before we got drainage, a retaining wall, and grass put in, we had three different landslides into our pool. Our 'mud' is mainly north carolina red clay, so the content of your dirt makes a difference. Our clay has a very small particulate size, smaller than the ability of a sand filter to clean, so what I realized is that I had to shut off pump circulation the first couple of nights to allow the particulate to settle. Then ever so carefully, I vacuumed to waste every morning. Very slowly to keep from stirring up the bottom. I went so slow it would take 3 partial refills from the garden hose to bring my level back above the skimmer. During this time, I kept my FC at slam levels to keep any algae from forming. I can't say whether that was necessary, but I can say that my pool has never had algae, even during these landslide events. Just muddy water. The water would clear a bit overnight and I would have a film of mud on the the floor. Adding DE later in the process also helped to get the remaining silt out. As well as running our robot 24/7 and cleaning the filters about every 2 hours. Since you have a DE filter you are ahead of the game. So, for the sake of a few dollars in bleach, I would recommend SLAM levels until you get it cleared up.