DE slurry for the first and last time today

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Poolissues

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Jul 20, 2017
6
TX
File this under the "if it ain't broke don't fix category". I took my water into pool store today to get it checked. So far this year I have not encountered any problems with my pool. I have a Hayward 60 square foot DE filter. Two days ago I opened it up and cleaned all of the filter grids. Started everything back up and started to put DE back in the skimmer. For the last 20 years (2 different houses and 2 different pools) I have always pour dry DE directly into the skimmer closest to the filter....NO PROBLEM. Today I when I was at the pool store the person working there advised me about the slurry method of mixing a the DE and water into a bucket and pouring it into the skimmer. I was interested in this because I have noticed some clumping of DE in the past, and two days ago I had inadvertently used a different measuring cup and had shorted my filter of DE when I recharged it. I checked the cup I used and calculated the difference and figure I could safely add 4 more pound of DE. So I added the 4 pound of DE into a bucket, added water to create my slurry, poured it into the skimmer and it promptly blew it back into the pool. Now, 4 hours later my pool is so cloudy I can't see 5 inches in the water. I decided it best to take a Xanax and call it a night while the pool and polaris run, and hopefully in the morning things will be better. However if they are not, does anyone have any suggestions? Until this afternoon no issue at all with DE blow back, and I just charged it two days ago.

Again I have never tried mixing water with DE before pour it in the skimmer, always just poured DE in the skimmer and worked it around with my hand.....in 20 years no issue.

I am worried I will wake up in the morning and still have a milkshake for a pool.

Any suggestions appreciated..
 
You're going to have to clean the grids and look for holes or tears.

Sometimes the fabric just rips.

By morning the water should be mostly clear with most DE either in the filter or on the bottom of the pool.

If the grids check out, I would open up the multiport and check that it's in good working order. Replace the spider gasket if necessary. Clean and lube everything including the diverter stem gasket.

Also, try adding one scoop dry tomorrow before doing anything to see if any blows back.

Did you put the multiport on "Recirculate" at any point?

Is the multiport hard to turn?
 
Spider gasket was replaced in May, along with the O ring on the pipe connects to the manifold to the pump. You bring up an interesting idea though, and I may try it in morning.....adding additional DE to the filter to see if that will capture the suspended particles as they pass through the filter. Due to the fact this was working just fine yesterday, and it was only today when I added the slurry, I am doubtful it is a mechanical issue.
 
I completely agree, the powder DE does become slurry when placed in the skimmer. The only explanation I can think of is, mixing the powder DE with water in a bucket, then pouring the slurring into the skimmer caused the DE to become so diluted that it passed through the filter grids.

Here is a complete account of everything that has happened

April - disassembled grid check for any tears, replace spider gasket and O ring charge up filter (DE directly into skimmer) absolutely no problems. Pressure had increased slightly <5 lbs, but that is it.

7/18 I decided to some preventive maintenance since I know I am about to get real busy, and wash down the filter grid and recharge it. I didn't take it out or change the flow direction, so the panels haven't moved or been damaged, the spider gasket has moved in any way Charged filter (DE directly into skimmer) no problems. Ran pump the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday, no issues with blow back, though I did discover that because I used a different measuring cup i probably only put 7 - 8 lbs of DE in rather then the prescribe 10 - 12.

7/20 Took water in to get it tested, phosphates were high, was told to add 10 lbs of soda ash and phosfree (hours later) to correct this. Was also advised to create slurry and then pour it in the skimmer. Again, in 20 years I have never done it this way, and have never had any problems.

When I got home I added the 10 lbs of soda, turned on the pump, and poured my slurry in the skimmer. Between the soda and the slurry my pool almost instantly turn white. I wasn't concerned at first, but as time went by, it occurred to me this had not been a good idea.

I got up about 2 am checked the pool again. No change. I shut off the polaris and decided to add 4 more pound of DE (dry into skimmer) and just hope the the extra filter coverage would capture the some the suspended particles. I did not observer DE blow back at that time. Got up at 7 am and checked it again. A slight improvement but not a lot. I turned the pump off just to let things settle.
 
Any chance that the soda was accidentally DE?

Did you see de coming out of the returns?

When you say soda, do you mean baking soda or sodium carbonate?

Sodium carbonate can cause cloudiness.

What de filter calls for 12 lbs de?

Are you seeing any de on the bottom of the pool?
 

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If you did not see de coming out of the returns and there is no de on the bottom and the soda was soda ash, I think that the cloudiness was not de but from the soda ash.

How many square feet is the filter?

I suspect that you're using too much de.
 
"7/20 Took water in to get it tested, phosphates were high, was told to add 10 lbs of soda ash and phosfree (hours later) to correct this. Was also advised to create slurry and then pour it in the skimmer. Again, in 20 years I have never done it this way, and have never had any problems."

Apparently you went to a pool $tore. That was the source of the problem! Welcome to TFP! The kind mods and members here will gently help (herd?) you along the path to easy, inexpensive, sparking water.
 
A quick update and thank you to everyone for contributing. It looks like the soda ash was the culprit. I called the store and store and took another sample in. The alkalinity was 70 so I put 10 pounds of alkalinity up, and after 10 hours it is looking much better. Not back to normal, but better. Will update again this afternoon.
 
While you are here, go read "Pool School" a few times, re-reading "ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry". While you are cogitating over all of that, decide which chemistry test kit you are going to buy (I've got the TF100 w/stirrer. Love it, wouldn't have a pool without it.) Once you have completed that you can then ask yourself "Why did I go to the Pool $tore all these years?" And before you protest about the cost of the kit, consider what you just spent on PH Up and Phosfree THAT YOU DIDN'T NEED! and try to convince yourself that pool $tore testing is "free". We are here to help, we truly ARE free and have already been where you find yourself. :D
 
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