Fighting cloudy pool for 3 weeks

[plaiming]

I've been fighting my pool for 3 weeks trying to clear it up. Last year used BBB and was able to get it clear in about 1 week - and I think I started with alot more leaves and dirt in the pool then. This year I unfortunately have been out of reagents so Ive been winging it with test strips. Now I have refills so I should have good test results.

Pool started green. After a few days of shocking it turned blue/grey, but cloudy. I have been running my sand filter constantly the entire time. Backwashing every few days (probably a bit too often). I am going to back off the back washing a bit, but it just doesnt seem like my filter is clearing the pool. I have pressure, but am getting alot
of air bubbles out of my deep end jet. I tried a couple cups of DE after the first week but it didnt seem to help much. Fast forward two weeks of on and off shocking.

This morning I backwashed and added some DE. Pressure started at 19psi. Tonight its 26psi.
Evening Test results are:

FC 4
CC .5
CYA 65
CH 100
PH 7.5
TA 90

Added 6x182oz 6% bleach at 9pm. 10pm get the following readings:

FC 21.5
CC 1

Will check in the morning to see where Im at.

 

[plaiming]

Tested water this morning at 5am

FC 21
CC .5

Seems like I held my chlorine pretty well. Ill retest CYA when there is a little more light to make sure
I didnt have a bad reading. This is pointing me to think I have some kind of filter problem. I checked
and pressure had climbed to 27. That made me a bit nervous so I backwashed just a bit and pressure
came back to 19.

 

[dmanb2b]

Hi There...Sounds to me like the filter is working OK. The rapid rise in pressure was probably the DE settling in...try adding half the amount of DE next time...a little goes a long way in a sand fillter

It's sounds like you just got done shocking (0.5 FC loss overnight), which you know is hard to do with strips but a sand filter can take up to a week to clear a pool and sometimes more, after your done shocking. Certainly try using a skimmer sock or pantyhose on the skimmer to help speed up the process...just keep an eye on it as they can gunk up fast when the water is full of stuff.

 

[plaiming]

Pool is still very cloudy, ill try a little less DE and try to keep pressure rise to 1-2 psi.
Im also concerned about the amount of air comming out of the deep end jets.
I also found clumps of leaves in my SWG cell today trying to get it going. Im not sure
how that could happen, but still makes me wonder about the filter. I did have the
filter on bypass when I first started it up this year and perhaps some leaves got through
the skimmer/pump basket.

-paul

 

[plaiming]

Why would skimmer socks filter particle that the sand filter isnt?? Isnt that the point of the filter?
Is there possibly something wrong with my filter and a test I can perform to make sure its filtering
properly?

 

[JasonLion]

One good way to check that the filter is working is to tie a stocking over the return. If any visible debris accumulates in the stocking there is something wrong with either the filter or the main valve.

A skimmer sock is normally used to reduce the frequency of filter cleaning. You clean out the skimmer sock frequently, which is much easier than cleaning the filter, so then you clean the filter less often. If you actually have something wrong with your filter/valve, a skimmer sock can also be used to reduce the amount of debris getting into the return, since it will catch most everything of any size before it gets to the filter.

 

[plaiming]

I put a sock over the outlet jet and in just a few minutes collected a noticable amount of large particles (including a 1cm worm)...
I inspected the filter yesterday and didnt see anything. Im wondering if maybe some amount inlet side water is bypassing the
filter.

 

[JasonLion]

Definitely something wrong then. What kind of filter do you have?

 

[plaiming]

I replaced the filter sand in mid 2008 due to cracked lateral. Here are some shots:

 

[duraleigh]

Re-reading this thread, it seems you are reporting two seperate issues...


1. Air bubles in returns. You have a suction side leak. Somewhere between the pump and the skimmers, you are sucking air into the system. Do you see any drips when you shut the pump off.

2. Solid matter coming out of the returns. It sounds like you have a damaged filter or an incorrectly functioning multiport valve. Does the valve feel like it's seating properly when you go from filter to backwash? I believe I would disassemble the valve and examine the gasket....it may be damaged.

I would solve the solids coming into the pool first. The air leak is unrelated and can be resolved seperately

 

[plaiming]

Yes, I agree. There are two separate issues - the filter being the most critical.
The multiport valve does feel a little sloppy. I guess I can go replace the multiport top and see if that helps. I know they arent cheap but
Im getting desparate and the kids are getting antsy about swimming.

 

[JasonLion]

It is time to open up the multi-port valve and check the condition of the main wagon wheel, the spider gasket, and the spring. If the main wagon wheel (central part of the valve that turns) is cracked or broken, or the spider gasket has come lose, or the spring is not putting the correct pressure on the spider gasket to seal the valve it could cause the filter problems you describe.

If the multi-port valve looks good, it is time to open up the filter, examine everything, and clean and re-settle the sand bed.

 

[plaiming]

I took the multiport valve with me into pool store. They said several of the gaskets were pretty bad - and the main wagon wheel gasket was so flat it probably wasnt sealing very well. They replaced several parts including the key seal. Charged me $50 bucks in parts and when I got home the fricken thing was leaking water out of the backwash port in filter mode. Im going to have to take it apart again tonight to try and figure out why its leaking out the backwash port. I would be really suprised if its a problem in with my sand as I replaced it two seasons ago and had no problems at all last year.
Definitely suspicions of the valve right now. Ill see if I can get it figured out and report back.

Update.
Took the valve apart and didnt see anything unusual. The diffuser was not seating completely up against the body but that shouldnt have mattered much. I tightened it a bit more - but maybe too much because when I was working the valve back down on the filter, the mount in the main body for the diffuser screw snapped off....been a great day.

Anyway, I lined the valve up straight and pushed it straight down. Clamped it down and fired on the pump. It did not seem to be leaking any more - not sure why it was at first, but Im going to leave it running overnight and see if there is any improvement in the morning.

 

[plaiming]

Just an update:
I let the "repaired" filter run overnight. The next evening I floc'd the pool and let it sit last all night. Tuesday morning, I vacuumed the bottom to waste. For the last week, I have been running the filter and the water has cleared up significantly. It is still far from crystal clear of last year but I am hoping the filter will continue to clear it up. I still have two concerns on the filter:
1. The repaired valve is not quite right, I had an incident yesterday where I backwashed and when I put the valve back to filter, I still had some leaking out the backwash port.
2. Adding just a cup or so of DE powder causes pressure to rise at least 5 PSI. I dont remember this being the case last year.