This doesn't seem good. After adding some CYA and borax at the skimmer, I noticed some CYA pellets on the bottom of the pool below the returns. Does this mean there is a hole in the sand? What do i do to repair?
CYA added at skimmer coming out returns
- Thread starter iam4iam
- Start date
- May 3, 2014
- 58,570
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Those CYA granules can stain your plaster (do you have a plaster pool? - please add to signature).
Brush them around now. Try to get them to dissolve.
You may have a channel in your sand. You need to Deep Clean to see if you can fix that.
You should never pour the CYA granules directly into the skimmer. Place them in a sock and hang in front of a return.
Take care.
Brush them around now. Try to get them to dissolve.
You may have a channel in your sand. You need to Deep Clean to see if you can fix that.
You should never pour the CYA granules directly into the skimmer. Place them in a sock and hang in front of a return.
Take care.
Any chance the multiport valve was on recirculate?
If there was a hole or crevasse in the sand, CYA granules should still get stopped by the laterals. Just how big are these "pellets"? If they're bigger than a grain of sand and there's no sand blowing out, I'd look at the valve before I blamed the filter itself.
Vinyl, so no real worries there, hopefully, and not much came through. I will have to check out the deep clean process. As for putting CYA in skimmer, I am aware that this is a controversial topic, but other moderators on this forum have agreed that there is no empirical evidence of any harm in it, as long as you keep the pump running until it is dissolved, which is a few hours to a few days.
I've been working on clearing water, and pump has been on 24/7 for about a week, including a few backwashes. I understand the logic about the valve. it is definitely not on recirculate. Good idea to check, but it is relatively new. It does seem like sand would be getting through if granules larger than sand are getting through. Spider gasket is relatively new as well. Multiport valve still turns very smoothly since being lubed last year. How can I tell if ports are not being closed off properly?
- May 3, 2014
- 58,570
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Actually vinyl could be harmed by the granules too. They are acidic.
I do not believe any one on the forum advocates pouring the CYA powder in the skimmer. You can put the sock with the CYA powder in it in the skimmer if you leave the pump running.
I do not believe any one on the forum advocates pouring the CYA powder in the skimmer. You can put the sock with the CYA powder in it in the skimmer if you leave the pump running.
Typically, a bad multiport manifests itself with water dribbling out the waste port when it's on filter.
If you're not getting sand out of the returns, the cyanuric acid is probably getting out via an internal air relief tube that is missing a screen.
It might be a bad spider gasket segment. Sometimes only one leg of the gasket goes bad allowing debris to bypass the filter.
What model filter and multiport?
It might be a bad spider gasket segment. Sometimes only one leg of the gasket goes bad allowing debris to bypass the filter.
What model filter and multiport?
No leak via waste port.
Standard (?) Hayward 6-way valve. Checking spider gasket will be simple enough. I doubt that is the problem, but it would be a lot easier to fix than what you described in the first sentence. How do I even check that?
If the multiport is mounted on top of the filter, it's probably not worth removing it to check. Only a small amount of water bypasses the sand.
If the multiport mounts to the side, you can remove the top dome to check the air relief.
What model filter?
If the multiport mounts to the side, you can remove the top dome to check the air relief.
What model filter?
Not sure what model. I removed that info from the filter, because it was too faded to read anyway. The multiport mounts on top, though. So assuming spider gasket is okay, I shouldn't be too concerned? Is it normal for some (a small amount) of water to bypass the sand? Enough to explain why a bit of CYA would have made it through? Is it safe to assume there is no crevasse in the sand, because no sand is getting through?
With a top mount multiport, you might not have an air tube.
It might be a loose fit where the multiport fits over the standpipe or a bad spider gasket or maybe a channel through the sand and a bad lateral.
You could remove the multiport to check everything but it's a pain because you have to cut the pipes and the multiport might be stuck on the standpipe and the standpipe can get pulled loose if you lift too hard.
It might be a loose fit where the multiport fits over the standpipe or a bad spider gasket or maybe a channel through the sand and a bad lateral.
You could remove the multiport to check everything but it's a pain because you have to cut the pipes and the multiport might be stuck on the standpipe and the standpipe can get pulled loose if you lift too hard.
Not everyone agrees on this for sure, but four "TFP Experts" agree here that there is no significant risk of damage from adding CYA directly to skimmer. One has done so himself on multiple occasions. Granted, this is an old post, and I understand that at this point, the general consensus recommendation is to put it in a sock (or a t-shirt, like Richard) in the skimmer. Maybe I'm not using the right kind of sock, but this just results in it clumping up inside the sock, even with the pump running, so I decided to just add directly (but slowly), since the sock method seems to really just be a case of erring on the side of caution to avoid the outside chance of harm from foolishness, like dumping (as opposed to slowly pouring) in 5 lbs of stabilizer and then forgetting the pump timer was going to turn off the pump in 15 minutes.
- - - Updated - - -
So if the spider gasket is okay, I should just leave well enough alone? Filter seems to be doing its job.
As long as it's working, it's probably not worth taking apart. It's probably only a little bit of water bypassing the filter. The multiport might have a small air bleed hole but I don't know.
Thanks, James. That is what I wanted to hear. Last time cover was off, water had a bit of a green tint. Bumped up FC a bit and ran pump 24/7 for about a week (as long as pressure kept rising). Took cover off today for first time in over a week. Water is crystal clear. Filter is doing its job. I'll leave well enough alone.
- May 3, 2014
- 58,570
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I inspected the spider gasket this morning, just to rule that out, and it was fine. Should I be able to hear water in the multiport while pump is running? It seems like if the system is airtight, there would be no audible sloshing in the multiport, or is this a sign of there is an air bleed hole? The audible "slosh" gradually diminishes as the pump continues to run. Also, it takes a long time for the air bubble at the top of my SWG cell to go away. The fact that the air bubble forms in the first place seems to be a sign of a small air leak somewhere, but I've never spend much time investigating, because I'm not losing water and the system is working. Is it just an air bleed hole in the multiport that explains all of this?
