Howdy folks. So back in June I purchased a new home that came with this pool. I believe the previous owner never winterized or did anything to the pool for 1-2 years. Luckily, they did remove the pump and filter and stored inside the garage, so they seem to be working (More on that later). So I inherited the following:
The biggest problem is that the tarp they barely covered the pool with had been slowly eroding (disintegrating really) into the water. As such I have been spending weeks puling stuff like this out:
And this is an example of the large pieces. I tried to take a picture of the really small stuff floating in the water but my phone couldn't capture it.
Anyway, I've been fighting a two headed enemy: An unbalanced pool and a severe debris problem. So while I have been trying to balance the pool, I've also been trying to filter the water while also getting the normal stuff (leaves, algae gunk, etc) out of the pool. So here is where I am at now:
My new problem is my filter. It is a Hayward D.E. Model EC40. While trying to filter the pool, it would get clogged (raise to 20+PSIG) in 5-10 minutes. Bumping would lower it to 10 or so for again, only a few minutes. Eventually, the thing would stop passing water all together and deadhead the pump. To get it working I would have to backwash and dump all 4lbs. of my DE. :| My theory is that the DE filter scrubs the water too well (to such a small micron). So it clogs way too fast.
Well I'm an engineer I say to myself, why not make my own filter to get the larger stuff and then bring the DE filter back to finish the job? Lo' and behold my "Two Stage Frankenstein Home Depot 5-Gallon Bucket Filter 5000" (I thought the 5000 made it sounds even more impressive). Any way, this is what I made and what it looks like after running for ~20 hours (overnight):
You can actually see the really small tarp material in the later two pictures there. Back to the filter: So the first stage is a fish pond filter, then around that is poly batting. It seems to be capturing the junk in the water without starving the pump. It is located in the pool at the discharge end of the pump piping. When the pump is running, it drops to the bottom. You can actually see this filter in action in the above blue pool picture. What do you guys think? Any suggestions?
Onto balancing the pool: As of this morning, here are my numbers:
FC: 2.0
CC: 5.0
pH: 7.2
TA: 160
CYA: 40
So besides the TA, they seem ok to me, right? But why is the pool still cloudy? Any input would be appreciated.
Paul
The biggest problem is that the tarp they barely covered the pool with had been slowly eroding (disintegrating really) into the water. As such I have been spending weeks puling stuff like this out:
And this is an example of the large pieces. I tried to take a picture of the really small stuff floating in the water but my phone couldn't capture it.
Anyway, I've been fighting a two headed enemy: An unbalanced pool and a severe debris problem. So while I have been trying to balance the pool, I've also been trying to filter the water while also getting the normal stuff (leaves, algae gunk, etc) out of the pool. So here is where I am at now:
My new problem is my filter. It is a Hayward D.E. Model EC40. While trying to filter the pool, it would get clogged (raise to 20+PSIG) in 5-10 minutes. Bumping would lower it to 10 or so for again, only a few minutes. Eventually, the thing would stop passing water all together and deadhead the pump. To get it working I would have to backwash and dump all 4lbs. of my DE. :| My theory is that the DE filter scrubs the water too well (to such a small micron). So it clogs way too fast.
Well I'm an engineer I say to myself, why not make my own filter to get the larger stuff and then bring the DE filter back to finish the job? Lo' and behold my "Two Stage Frankenstein Home Depot 5-Gallon Bucket Filter 5000" (I thought the 5000 made it sounds even more impressive). Any way, this is what I made and what it looks like after running for ~20 hours (overnight):
You can actually see the really small tarp material in the later two pictures there. Back to the filter: So the first stage is a fish pond filter, then around that is poly batting. It seems to be capturing the junk in the water without starving the pump. It is located in the pool at the discharge end of the pump piping. When the pump is running, it drops to the bottom. You can actually see this filter in action in the above blue pool picture. What do you guys think? Any suggestions?
Onto balancing the pool: As of this morning, here are my numbers:
FC: 2.0
CC: 5.0
pH: 7.2
TA: 160
CYA: 40
So besides the TA, they seem ok to me, right? But why is the pool still cloudy? Any input would be appreciated.
Paul
. Guess I'll keep it Chlorinated and leave the filter in to get as much as possible out of the pool.