New sand filter, have questions before running

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M

matpic

0
Jul 30, 2017
19
Pipe Creek/San Antonio, TX
Pool Size
18500
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Salt Water Generator
I purchased an Intex 24'x52" round prism frame pool, along with a Model SF60110-1 Sand Filter. I heard that glass media was better for filtration than sand (my brother worked at an environmental lab and they used the same glass for their reverse osmosis system to clean the water they used for their tests). So I called Intex and verified what size glass I could purchase and be okay, they told me .45 to .85mm glass should be fine. I have .54-.75 glass particles so I'm good there. The problem is that they told me that I would need 80 lbs of glass instead of the 125 lbs of sand. Well I purchased the 80 lbs of glass and it comes up below the minimum line on the filter. I wasn't sure if this was okay so I started more research, found in the manual online that it says it takes 84 lbs. Will that 4 lbs of glass make that big of a difference where i should wait until I can get more (about a week) or would it probably be okay to do the initial setup and run for now and I can add more later when it comes in?

Thanks,
New Pool guy.
 
Its not that glass media doesn't work, its more that in a pool setting it doesn't work that much better to justify its price.

Glass media will also have to be replaced at some point, sand never needs to be replaced only cleaned. Which adds significantly to its lifetime cost.

As for topping off the filter, you should be fine if you just leave it alone. See how it runs like that for a while and if you find yourself having to backwash too often get some more media to top it off or just top it off with sand.
 
Thank you for the advice. I have it up and running now and i'm working on balancing out the levels before I start up the SWG. When I was researching I was looking for long term best solution. I didn't know you never have to replace sand. Only thing I found was that sand should be replaced every 5 years because the constant pressure from the water smooths down the granules so they don't trap as well after that period of time and that glass was 8 years or so. That was part of the reason I went glass. At any rate it's already bought and installed so no sense in swapping it now. LOL. Right now i'm trying to get the chemicals balanced out.

Intex Prism Frame 24'x52" pool
Intex SF60110-1 Sand Filter
Intex SWG CG-28669

Taylor K-2006 Complete test kit
PH 8.X (probably 8.2 Test only goes to 8)
CYA 0.0
FC 0.0
CC 0.0
TA 280

Added 3 lbs of stabilizer and 64 oz of Muriatic Acid this evening and am running the pump. Also finishing filling pool (have well and it's taken a while due to only filling for 2 hrs at a time). I added 6 bags of salt recommended 7.5 but I was at 3800 salt prior to filling the last 8" of the pool so I wanted to finish filling prior to adding anymore salt. Any other suggestions would be most welcome.

Thanks

Just to clarify, I was at 0 salt, added 6 bags yesterday and now with 8 inches left I am at 3800 so it should dilute the salt down by the time it fills.
 
Very important to get chlorine into your pool. Add at least enough liquid chlorine / bleach to get to 10% of your expected CYA level. Maintain that daily.

Once your SWCG is functional you can use that for your FC adds.
 
Thank you for your help.
Per the calculator I added 64 oz of bleach to take my FC up to 5. Would it be a good idea to shock it? Because it was filled from my well it was about 9 days from start of fill to where it is now.

Also, is it worth adding Borax into a salt-water pool? I liked how the water felt last year when I tried it on the small pool. Was wondering if it was worth it on this one.

Here are my current numbers
(Water temp 70 degrees F)
PH 8.0
CYA 50
FC 2.5
CC 0.5
TA 220

Used the calculator and added another round of the Muriatic acid to the pool to take it from 8.0 to 7.2 and hopefully another chunk out of the TA. Both the acid and bleach were done within the last half hour before I made this post.

Once the pump circulates a while I will retest my numbers.
My pool jet is also aimed up to help increase PH back up since it just dropped.

Thanks,
Matt
 
Would it be a good idea to shock it?
Click to expand...
Hey Matt! :wave: We typically don't shock for the short term like you might hear locally at the pool store. If we think there's something brewing in the water, we'll "SLAM" (link below). But in your case I do have a concern about the well water being in the pool and the FC being low for so long. Even now at 2.5 that's way too low. How does your water look at the moment? Did it start to get cloudy or do you see any green clouds or "puffs" from the bottom when you sweep? The water temp is becoming more & more attractive for algae, so you have to keep the FC maintained. If the water is still clear, we'll assume (for now) there's no algae. But I would increase the FC to about 10 for this evening. It won't hurt a thing since you have plenty of stabilizer in there. That's only half the SLAM/Shock level.

Good to knock that pH down. Stay on that one until it stabilizes. Do you know if your well water has any iron in it? If the water reacts to the elevated chlorine level (bright green or ice tea color - or staining) let us know. That's the iron reacting to chlorine (bleach).

Do you have plans to increase the CYA some more (to 70) for your SWG? I wouldn't worry about Borates at this point. Right now focus on FC, pH (to include lowering the TA some more), and the quality & clarity of the water. That's a big one at the moment.
 
Thanks for the help. The water was clear but now is starting to get slightly cloudy white. There is some brown puff's at the bottom of the pool when I swept. I vacuumed it and pulled out a ton of sand, dirt and weeds/tree parts so i'm not sure if it's an algae bloom forming or if it's just dirty. My vacuum is a Pool Blaster centennial with the upgraded filter on it.

All the water from my well is softened first, including the water I filled the pool with.

I didn't get this message until now so I will up my FC this evening when the sun goes down.

I'm about to add more acid to the pool, the PH is at 7.8 and TA is 200. I don't believe there is any iron coming from the well.

As far as the CYA that I have questions on. My SWG book says to have a 50 CYA max. Is that something I should raise up and say the book is wrong, If that's the case I have plenty of stabilizer that I can add to get it up higher if needed.

My FC did drop to 3.5 from 5.5 but my CC is .2.

Thanks again for all the help.

Matt
 
My SWG book says to have a 50 CYA max.
Click to expand...
You will find that manufacture's recommendations don't always take into account all pool care parameters that led TFP to recommend a minimum CYA of 70. Especially in our area with the TX summer sun, you'll find that your SWG performs much more efficiently with a higher CYA. It will protect the chlorine protected during pump run time and also extend the life of your cell(s).

I wouldn't increase it (CYA) just yet though based on the condition of your water. A combination of the debris in the water (breaking down) and cloudiness tends to imply the beginning of algae. After you adjust your pH, I would recommend a couple things for today:
1 - Increase FC to 10 and keep it there all day using some regular bleach. HEB's Bravo is still 8.25% @ $2.94, but use whatever is close by.
2 - Do an overnight test as noted here: Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)

It's important to rule-out any significant FC loss due to organics. This way you'll know for sure if you need to SLAM. Today's cloudy weather works in your favor to help preserve some FC from the sun and allow it to work mostly on the water. Test your FC drop in the morning before the sun hits the water and you'll have much better idea where you stand. If you pass the OCLT, you can increase the CYA to 70 to help your SWG. If you fail the OCLT, then leave the CYA alone and SLAM the pool (link below) by raising your FC to "20". Hope that helps.
 
I appreciate the advice. I'll pick up some bleach tonight and when I get home around 8 I'll spike it up to 10. I'll be able to do the test around 530am before the sun comes up, otherwise I won't be able to test it until 3pm. Tuesday I will be home all morning if you think I should wait until then to try the test.

TA is now 180
FC is 4
CC is .2
PH is 7.4 currently. I was going to keep the jet aimed up to increase the PH at least one or two more times to get it to 8 so I can keep working on dropping my TA until it gets to around 130.

One question. How long should I run the pump tonight after dumping in the chlorine? Do I run it all night or for an hour or so and shut it off?

Thanks again.
 

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Yes, do the OCLT starting tonight and check at 5:30am. That's your best bet to know right away.
One question. How long should I run the pump tonight after dumping in the chlorine? Do I run it all night or for an hour or so and shut it off?
Click to expand...
Run the pump for about 30 min after adding the bleach, then you can shut it off if you like. But if you do turn it off, you'll want to turn it on about 30 min before taking the 2nd OCLT sample for the morning test. I usually just leave mine on. Very important - Make sure the SWG is off during the overnight test. No chlorine added after your bedtime test.
 
Hi Pat. Okay so per the calculator I added a gallon of bravo last night at dusk. The SWG was shut off and about 30 mins later I tested and it came up as 11.5. Doing the test this morning around 5:10am with the pump running all night, the test came back at 11. so I had only a .5 drop from 8:45 last night until this morning so I think i'm good there. Should I up my CYA to 70 and then continue lowering the TA and PH? Also should I turn the SWG back on or leave it off until it the chlorine drops down to around 5 or 6?

Thanks,
Matt
 
Very good! :wave: You passed the OCLT. So with that I would indeed start increasing the CYA so that you can use the SWG more efficiently. I'm assuming you already have the salt in the water, so once the stabilizer is in the water all dissolved, it's just a matter of monitoring the FC closely for the first few days as you transition from bleach to the SWG exclusively. Your current FC will drop slowly. At the same time, you should start using the SWG more, either by percentage or pump run time (or both). Then simply balance the FC and CYA as noted on the Chlorine/CYA Chart for a SWG pool.

You can resume adjusting TA/pH at any time you like. Nice work.
 
Thanks for all your help. I am at an 8PH now so just added more acid to get my TA down some more. Water is nice and clear, still working on adding cya slowly. I added about a pound yesterday and it is only at around 55ish. Calculator called for 2 lbs yesterday so going to add another pound and see where that takes it tomorrow. Here's how the water looks as of last night.
pool.jpg
 
Hey Texas Splash. After all the rain the pool is slightly cloudy again. Been running the filter 24/7 and vacuuming it out as it needs but not quite there yet. One question. I got my TA down to 120. PH is still going up slightly. What would be the recommended # I should be getting my TA down to? Some guides say 120-180, on the calculator it came up as my goal should be 60 to 80 but I wasn't sure if it should be that low or not. Would like to hear your thoughts.


FC 7.5
CC .2
PH 7.6
TA 120
CYA 70
Salt 3100
 
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