Possibly Algae, hard to get rid of!

[MarylandSwimmer]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the site and I have an on-going problem with my pool. When I use my well water to fill the pool, within 24-36 hours I have almost clear, tiny particles that are suspended in the water.

When I use Flock, it'll clump the particles together at the bottom. When I try to suck this stuff up, it breaks apart into very fine pieces and makes the water cloud up. After about an hour or so it settles and I'm back to square one!

I have a sand filter and a DE filter but they do not trap these particles, they get sent back into the pool.

Does anyone have an idea on how to get rid of this stuff?

I think that its a type of algae from the well and when it comes into the pool, it thrives and blossoms for a few hours and then dies (leaving the milky/muddy particles behind).

I've tried using my DE filter and it catches it to a degree but it clogs it up so fast that I end up having to stop every few minutes to backflush.

Please, any help or ideas would be appreciated! Thank you!!

 

[zea3]

Have you tried skimmer socks?

 

[Melt In The Sun]

Can you post some water test results? It sounds like you have algae, and if so, filtering won't solve your problem and you'll need to shock. We'll help you fix this!

 

[MarylandSwimmer]

Thank you guys for responding! The tests results on the water came back normal, nothing usual showed up including harmful biological matter so whatever it is, its not harmful. I've tried shock, around 5x the amount needed and it still doesn't help. I know how to kill it...but not how to get the dead particles out of the pool. I believe these particles are too fine for the DE filter, so they must be smaller than at least 3 microns. I've been looking around the net all day today to try and find a reusable cartridge filter that will filter a 1 micron nominal in hopes that it will catch it but I'm not having any luck.

 

[Butterfly]

The tests results on the water came back normal, nothing usual showed up including harmful biological matter so whatever it is, its not harmful

Is this test from your fill water or your pool water? What are the details of the test?

In order to help you, we need a full set of test results from your pool water that include:

FC - Free Chlorine
CC - Combined Chlorine
pH -
TA - Total Alkalinity
CH - Calcium Hardness
CYA - Cyanuric Acid (stabilizer)
Borates - (if you are using borates)

Also, how does your water look?

Have you added any sequesterant agents?

We'll help you get your water figured out. Welcome to the forum

 

[zea3]

You might want to try replacing the DE in the filter with Fiber Clear, it claims to filter down to 2 microns.

 

[JasonLion]

DE filters are the best available filters that work reliably year after year. There are a couple of more temporary things you can try, such as a Slime Bag Pool Filter.