Fighting green swamp and DE filter problem

[Kaelix]

This is a great site, I've been reading posts for a while, but now I need some help. I don't have all my numbers from this morning, but hopefully I can get some help without that info. my CYA is 30 so i'm shocking to 12 per the charts I've seen while reading the forum.

I'm currently fighting a deep green algae mess, 0 visibility, can't even see the bottom of the 3' shallow end. Yesterday I skimmed the leaves off the surface and vacuumed as best as I could since I can't see the bottom. I removed all the grids from the DE filter and hosed all the gunk off the them, I got them as clean as possible with the water hose and reassembled the system. I then recharged the DE grids with FiberClear (I started using FiberClear last summer instead of DE, seemed a bit better in my pool). The normal pressure in the filter after all this is 15psi. I came back an hour and a half later and the pressure in the filter was at 30psi. I did the backwash/rinse/backwash cycles to clean the filter, recharged it and it was back down to 15 psi. I came back to check on everything a couple of hours later, the pressure was once again 30 psi.

It seems the filter is doing what it's supposed to, but that seems like a lot of backwashing, and a waste of FiberClear (or DE) which can get expensive. Could something be wrong (or user error?) it is a deep green mess, but the build up in the filter after a short time seems excessive. Is there a better way to handle this situation? I have a MPV and i thought about just using the 'recirculate' setting to bypass the filter and just get the the chlorine moving, but eventually I'll have to filter the dead algae. I've also read on here about nylons or skimmer socks, would something like that help in this case or will it just clog my skimmer intake?

 

[waste]

Welcome to TFP!!

Sounds like you've read this

You are discovering the wonderful world of using a DE filter to clean a swamp

Swamps aren't easy to clear but there are a few things you can do to speed up the process, use a leaf rake pole attachment to scoop out as much solid stuff as you can, vacuum to 'waste' to save on DE (fiber) replacement and keep the cl level up! The more frequently you test the fc and 'reup' it to shock level, the more quickly the process will go. Please read this.

We'll tell you what and how to clear up the pool, but you've got to put in the time and effort to conquer this beast

 

[zea3]

A skimmer sock will help some, but you will need to change it frequently, like every hour or so, until the water clears some. Get 2 or 3 and you can have one clean and ready to go when you take out the nasty one. You might want to switch back to DE until you have the pool cleaned up more. I went through a lot of DE early in the summer clearing out a swamp (or "bass pond" according to hubby). After I could see bottom I switched to fiber clear and it and proper chlorine levels have done a good job of keeping my pool clear.

 

[Kaelix]

Thanks of the advice so far, it's good know it's not my equipment but rather the state of my "pool". I thought I might be the only one with a DE filter that has had problems clearing swamps . Are there any recommendations for good vacuums that can vacuum to waste? I have a leaf rake with pole but there's a lot of gunk down there and at 10' deep it gets hard to get the stuff over the main drain.

 

[waste]

You just have to stick with it As said, the more stuff you can remove with the leafnet, the better it will be and the sooner you'll be able to have a clear pool

If you vacuum to waste, the model of the vac shouldn't be an issue If you're having trouble with the vac, let us know and we'll gladly tell you how to properly vac the pool :-D

Please keep us informed as to your progress

 

[geekgranny]

You just have to stick with it As said, the more stuff you can remove with the leafnet, the better it will be and the sooner you'll be able to have a clear pool

I really, really, agree about the leafnet. I've had a few spring time swamps over the years. Because of my shoulder injury I had to take it pretty slowly, carefully this spring. I did not have the pump running the whole time I was clearing out the 12" of leaves and gunk, including the 10 ft deep end. That way the stuff that did get stirred up with the net settled down pretty quickly. This is the fastest I've ever cleared out the gunk, and first time I used only the leaf net. One secret is to do it very slowly, stirring up as little gunk as possible. Pick out a section a few feet square, and then do only that area. While that is settling back down you can move to the other end of pool to do a section. I did it during a days time but only actually spent a few hours working as much of the time was spent waiting for stuff to settle.

gg=alice

 

[geekgranny]

Just remembered, this spring I did treat heavily, with CL, with bottom drain closed, pump running, to get the water cleared up enough to see the gunk before using leaf net. I had all returns pointed upwards too so as not to stir up anything. My water was a deep brown/green with 0 visibility, too. And I did have to backwash several times a day.

gg=alice