Bugs or Some other organism in pool?

[Beast]

I'm new to the forum but have been lurking for a few months. I'm a first time pool owner and also new to Florida so I'm still learning about these 2 things. We bought our house with a pool a few months ago and I have been reading a bunch of things on this forum that have been extremely helpful. However I've been seeing this tiny floating bugs or something else on the top of the pool in the mornings when the pool pump is not running? I am not sure what exactly what it is at this point. Our pool has a screen enclosure all the way around. I'm not sure yet if it is a 18x14 or 20x20 screen but I've read about no-see-um bugs here in Florida. Could it be those or is something growing in my pool? What is weird to me is if I blow on it, they separate but they bunch back together right away..???

Below is a link to some pics to see if anyone can help. The camera has a hard time focusing since it is so small. In the picture they look like solid globs but they are not

Pool - Google Photos

Here are my test results from 2 days ago using Taylor K-2006 tester. I have a SWG pool with IC-40

FC 7.9
CC 0 (I believe I tested this correctly.. after testing FC, I added 5 drops of R-003 and color stayed clear)
PH 7.4
TA 70
CH 370
CA 75
SALT 3400

 

[Jimrahbe]

b,

Welcome to TFP... A great place to find the answers to all those "What is that floating in my Pool?" questions..

Sorry, but it is pretty hard to see anything in your pics due to all the reflections...

With your chemical readings I doubt it is a water qualify issue..

Can you scoop some of them out on a paper plate or something and take pictures away for the pool?

We have plenty of pool owners from the land of Disney, so I'm sure one of them will chime in soon..

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[Beast]

Hi Jim. Happy to be a part of this community!

Yea the pictures are really hard to make out since it was hard to get the camera to focus on it. I have some other pictures in the link I posted since the image sizes were too big to attach directly here.

I just went out to check on my filter and it doesn't look in great shape. Those pictures are also in that link. I did a pool school with my local pool store when I moved in a few months ago and he showed me the filter and said it was fine but I don't recall it looking this way. Is this normal or do I need to purchase a new filter? I recently purchased a dolphin oasis z5 and it picks up a lot of sand in the pool. I can only assume the filter is broken.

 

[Beast]

Hi Jim... Happy to be a part of this community

Yea the pictures didn't come out as I hoped because it was so hard to focus on it. I will try to pick it up with a paper plate tomorrow morning as I really only see it at that time when the pump hasn't been running all night. I'll post back pictures tomorrow

As a side note, I went out to check on my filter and took some pictures which are also in the link I included in my original post. The filter doesn't look in great shape but maybe that is how it is supposed to be. I did pool school through my local pool store after I bought the house and he showed me the filter but I don't recall it looking like this. Seems like a lot of sand. I also recently bought an Dolphin Oasis Z5 and it picks up a good bit of this sand from the bottom of the pool. Could the filter be broken? SHould I replace it with the same type or go with a non sanded filter.

 

[bmoreswim]

Welcome! On a computer screen I can clearly see the areas you are talking about. Looks like pollen to me. Pollen would break apart then the surface tension of the water pulls it back together. No worries that I see.

For your filter, I'd almost certainly start with a fresh cartridge. That one is nasty and the pleats are not well shaped anymore. I'm all about using them until they are spent but... But before buying, certainly hose that thing off well. How did it look after cleaning it with a hose? Pleatco is a good company for aftermarket cartridges.

 

[Jimrahbe]

b,

Sorry, I did not realize the filter pics were yours... In my mind, I think you should install a new cartridge..

Once you clean the inside of the filter and install a new cartridge, you need to record the filter pressure with the pump running. This will be your "clean" pressure.

Once the pressure increases about 25 to 30% over the clean pressure, it will be time to take the cartridge out and clean it again.

Cleaning your filter will allow your skimmers to remove whatever is floating on the surface.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[Beast]

Welcome! On a computer screen I can clearly see the areas you are talking about. Looks like pollen to me. Pollen would break apart then the surface tension of the water pulls it back together. No worries that I see.

For your filter, I'd almost certainly start with a fresh cartridge. That one is nasty and the pleats are not well shaped anymore. I'm all about using them until they are spent but... But before buying, certainly hose that thing off well. How did it look after cleaning it with a hose? Pleatco is a good company for aftermarket cartridges.

Pollen makes a lot sense and seems right. I think we have had high pollen levels here for the past week or two. I'll try cleaning the filter and check back to see the condition. Is the sand in the housing and all over the filter and pool floor normal with these type of filters?

b,

Sorry, I did not realize the filter pics were yours... In my mind, I think you should install a new cartridge..

Once you clean the inside of the filter and install a new cartridge, you need to record the filter pressure with the pump running. This will be your "clean" pressure.

Once the pressure increases about 25 to 30% over the clean pressure, it will be time to take the cartridge out and clean it again.

Cleaning your filter will allow your skimmers to remove whatever is floating on the surface.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

Thanks for the reply and thanks for the info on checking the pressure with new filter and when it is time to change. Is there a filter recommendation or should I stick with the same type? The previous owner did not leave behind any pool records except that I know it was built in 2014. I called the local pool places and found the builder. They were able to email me the pool plan and some other info. On the plan it states it is a Sta-Rite PLDE48 filter. However there are a bunch of numbers on top of the filter like 27002-0100 , 27002-0125, 0150, etc..

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Yup, looks just like pollen, which makes sense in FL this time of year.

Maddie

 

[Jimrahbe]

B,

I had assumed that you had a standard cartridge filter... It appears that the Sta-Rite PLDE48 filter is a DE filter that uses a special cartridge to hold the DE... I know zero about that type of filter, so it may be that the cartridge that I had assumed was old and bad, may not be.. I don't know what they should look like after use...

I'll reach out to someone that I know has a similar filter and ask them to chime in..

How about adding a picture of the filter showing the surrounding area...

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

That’s a older style filter that uses some hybrid cartridge / DE system. The QuadDE I have is a more modern version where the pleats are made of a spun polypropylene material that is rigid and avoids collapsing. I don’t think the PLDE filters use the sane materials. But I don’t know for sure.

It honestly looks like there’s too much DE on the grids. Service people rarely ever breakdown and completely clean a DE filter but opt to just backwash. Backwashing rarely removes enough DE so the filters just get overloaded over time.

The user manual can be found online and it will detail how to open and clean out the filter. I would opt to do that first, complete year down and clean out before buying anything. You will need 7lbs of DE to recharge it with

 

[bmoreswim]

Ah, sorry about the misdirection on the filter. I knew it looked off. Glad there is some good follow-up for you.

 

[Oly]

Strain some of the water with the foreign material through a paper towel or coffee filter and post a close-up pic. If you have access to a 10X magnifier take a look and tell us what you see.

 

[Beast]

Thanks all for the suggestions. I didn't get a chance to check this morning but hopefully tomorrow morning I'll use a paper plate or paper towel and report back