New owner with Green pool. Help!

Jump to latest Follow Reply
D

Don55lk2

0
Aug 13, 2009
3
Hey guys,

After trolling for awhile trying to make sense of the art of pool cleaning. I have taken a number of steps to try to resolve my green pool problem. I have an idea of what needs to be done but there are steps I believe I am missing. With me missing steps my money is going down the drain on chemical after chemical to get this resolved. I just purchased a foreclosed home with a pool. Pool has sat for 2 years without maintenance. There is no porch but a inground pool that just sits out in the yard. There was a make shift cover but did nothing to keep debris out.

Facts:
12,000 gallon pool
Cartridge filter
Inground pool
in pool skimmer

What I have done so far and what I have noticed.
1. I have put 10-12 gallons of chlorine in its. Result I can see through water now. But there is algae and leaves sittin on bottom of floor. Do I keep adding chlorine in and give it time to clear up? Do I had clorox bleach from what I read on forums?
2. I scrubbed the walls and floor with a brush.
3. I put chlorine tablets in the pool.
4. I bought a new Hayward c-900 filter. After first 3 days I had to clean filter 8 times a day. It is now staying white for the most part. I believe I got all dirt out now I believe am just dealing with algae and leaves.
5. The pump is working but when my filter was first put in it was running around 25 psi. Now that the filter is staying white for most part its running at 32 psi. If the filter is cleaner why isn't my psi going down? The jets in the pool do spray right after I clean filter. After hour or so they are no longer spraying. Do I have a bad pump?
6. The skimmer is taking water but I feel it should me more powerful. When I put a manual hose and vac head on there is hardly any suction power. Is this normal?


Please help. I am desperately trying to learn the art and theory behind pool cleaning so that I have it down. Can someone guide me. I promise to get your coffee every morning I am a good student. :goodjob:
 
Hi,
I am no expert but here are a few things you can check. Make sure you clean out your skimmer and pump baskets regularly. You don't mention if you have a lot of junk floating on top of the water or not. Floating debris will be picked up by the skimmer and pump baskets and they can "choke down" water flow if they are full. Also make sure the water level in the pool is high enough. The water level should be at least half-way up the skimmer opening and no more than 2 inches below the skimmer opening. In other words, water level should be between 1/2 to 3/4 of the skimmer opening.
As far as the dead leaves on the bottom of the pool, you will need to get them out. Chlorine will deal with the by products of rotting leaves but not eliminate the leaves themselves. You can scoop leaves and debris out with a leaf rake that fits on a long pole. The best way to clear out the leaves is a pool vacuum, either manual or automatic.(links for clarity, not a recommendation for purchase). There may be some of these items around the pool area or garage. Good luck with the new pool!

EDIT: If you can post the brand and horsepower of your pump that will help the experts troubleshoot your pump issues.
 
Good Morning,

The pump is working but when my filter was first put in it was running around 25 psi. Now that the filter is staying white for most part its running at 32 psi.
Click to expand...
You have a major blockage on the pressure side of your circulatory system........somewhere between the pump and where the water goes back into the pool.

I suspect that blockage is the filter is totally clogged with debris but if it's not, that blockage exists somewhere in that path described above.

The guage could be faulty. When you turn the pump off, does your guage go to zero? (If so, that's good)

PS - Just finishing my coffee but "Thank You", nevertheless! Zea3 might need a refill, tho. :lol: :lol:
 
Welcome to TFP.

32psi is a lot of pressure and that and the lack of flow to the pool probably indicates your cartridge is not clean enough. A spare would probably be a worthwhile investment so you can soak the other to clean it.

Keep reading the Pool School articles.

Post a set of full water test results so we can advise you.
 
I saw someone post a response on vacuuming out the leaves at the bottom. I did that but clogged everything up relatively quickly. I would skim out what you can with one of the bags on the pole (the real name escapes me at the moment). It will muck up your water again, but you need to get the majority of the leaves out before vacuuming (at least in my experience). Two years worth of leaves at the bottom of your pool is a LOT of stuff to try to vacuum out, you will at a minimum have to clean out the pump basket every 10 seconds trying to get out that much stuff. Also, that much stuff at the bottom, will definitely impact the circulation through a main drain, I am not sure if that is an issue with your pressure.
 
Thanks guys for the help. I will wash my hands before serving my teachers :-D . I will net out leaves and check water level. I may just have the valves in the wrong position too. Wow I am so new. I will post water samples and updates later this evening. Thanks!
 
beaumatt,

Good post. Trying to vac that many leaves (if they're still there) is futile. A "leaf rake" (and a good one) is the only way to remove that many leaves......I'm in that spot every November 15th.
 
A leaf rake can be a great investment. They don't cost much much but allow you to get rid of most of the leaves before vacuuming.
 
Pardon my ignorance about this, I'm a new guy around here but have a question. I have read many opening posts like this here at TFP and am amazed with the skill and effort taken to clear up a pool full of nasty neglected water.

My question is with a pool such as this, why wouldn't your first order of business be to fully drain and clean the pool? I know it will cost some money to refill, but after two years of neglect it sure is a tall order to get it going again. It would also kind of give me the "heebie geebies" to be swimming in that water afterwards! :shock:

Anyway, I'm fascinated to follow the process here and wish you well with your results.

Jim
 
Well, there a few issues. Depending on the type of pool, water table, etc., it can be very risky to drain a pool entirely. You can ruin the liner, making it not "fit right" again, you can cause the pool to shift/heave if the water table is high, you can cause the liner to wrinkle from the ground water, there's a pic on here somewhere of an empty pool that popped right out of the ground....

Some areas it's possible to do, but there is still a certain amount of risk.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Well ladies and gentleman. Two local pool companies told me today to basically either net out the dead algae and leaves. Which by the way there is a ton of. Or two, which is my likely choice, to set my valves to my waste pipe and go over algae and dead leaves with a pool vacumn. They also mentioned I should take the cartridge filter out and have water hose running into the pool since alot of water will be sucked out. Do you guys have any other tips before I start this journey tommorrow morning?

This is going to be a stupid question. With the vacumn hose I should fill it with water to get air out before hooking up to skimmer right?

I believe my new neighbors may be mad at me for all the water that will be in the gutter of street. It is okay I will have the wife bake some goodies up. :mrgreen:

Any suggestions from the pool gods will be taken.
 
Totally forgot about this, but if you have a lot of leaves on a regular basis the Zodiac Leaf Catcher is wonderful! I use it every time I vacuum because I get a ton of leaves year round. It will trap most of the leaves before they get to your pump basket. It is very easy to use, I just wish it was larger!
 
Don55lk2 said:
Well ladies and gentleman. Two local pool companies told me today to basically either net out the dead algae and leaves. Which by the way there is a ton of. Or two, which is my likely choice, to set my valves to my waste pipe and go over algae and dead leaves with a pool vacumn.
Click to expand...

I vote for both.

First, use the leaf rake to net out what you can get easily. You can probably get a trash can or two full of leaves out that way really quickly. When your continued fishing does not yield any results, then let it settle to the bottom again so you can see better where it all is.

THEN, break out the vacuum and vac to waste for the finer stuff. Yo won't waste a ton of water that way.

Your chorine is just wasted until you have that mess cleaned up.

PS If the leaves are covering the main drain, they may be getting sucked into the lines -- not a good thing. They may make it through but small sticks may get stuck. Way better to get them out with the leaf rake first.
 
Even vacuuming to waste or without the cart. in place, you run the risk of clogging up your line if you are trying to vac 2 years of debris. Better off scooping the majority of the crud out with the leaf rake, and then vac to get the smaller stuff.
 
zea3 said:
Totally forgot about this, but if you have a lot of leaves on a regular basis the Zodiac Leaf Catcher is wonderful! I use it every time I vacuum because I get a ton of leaves year round. It will trap most of the leaves before they get to your pump basket. It is very easy to use, I just wish it was larger!
Click to expand...

There is a larger one available by another manufacturer in Scotland but i think its designed to go inline before the pre filter I will take another look at it.
 
Definately agree with getting a leaf canister to put inline with the vacuum. I picked up a large one, and it keeps a lot of the bigger crud that sinks to the bottom of the pool out of the filter, the crud left over after scooping up as much as possible with the leaf rake.

Steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply