tried everything but replace filter

Jump to latest Follow Reply
S

smelansonca

0
Jul 23, 2012
5
New Brunswick Canada
24'
Hayward sand filter and Hayward pumo
well water
New Brunswick, Canada

The water in my pool has been cloudy for two seasons now. I've replaced the sand this year and make sure all my levels are where they need to be. I've drained a third of the water several times, added many different brands of flocculating agents, shocked the pool over and over.

When I vacuum the pool on waste it just shoots the junk back out the eye. I backwash my filter several times weekly and then rinse. Still no further ahead. I have a pantyhose over the Skimmer basket to collect the larger debris and I take care to ensure my pump is free of debris. My floor and walls are not slimy or slippery so it can't be algae, could it?

This past weekend we turned the pump off and just let the pool sit after four days the water was clear! I haven't seen past the second step of my ladder since the first year we had the pool. There was, however a large quantity of brown sediment on the bottom of the pool. Since vacuuming on the waste setting just puts the junk back in the pool, I vacuumed on the backwash setting. Took about an hour, had to switch to rinse and then waste (which still shot junk back into the pool) and then back to backwash just to maintain some suction. Well I was quite pleased with myself, the water wasn't sparkling but at least I could see the bottom of my pool. I put the hose back in her and let it fill with water again, leaving the pump off. Water now at appropriate level, all my chem levels perfect, turn on the pump and an hour later...no bottom of pool again. But at least the water looks blue and not brown.

Sigh...

Added more flocculating agent, let it run several hours and shut the pump off. I'm now waiting to see what will settle.

I've tried that trick several times so far but I always end up back where I started.

We took the filter apart last week, removed all the sand, removed the assembly, checked for cracks and loose fittings everywhere, everything seems plumb. I rinsed the sand, picking spruce needles out by hand. Obviously that didn't help either.

The first year we had the pool up the water was clear. The last two have not. I am spending all my time trying to clear my pool and none of my time actually enjoying it. I have had my water tested a dozen different times by the local pool company and other than the occasional calcium level a bit too low, everything is perfect. When asking the professionals what I can do to clear my water, they only recommended shocking and adding flocculating agents.


At my Witt's end.
 
It sounds like your multiport valve is either leaking by really badly or it's plumbed wrong.

If it's plumbed correctly then the spider gasket is most likely bad and needs replacing.

Also, don't vacuum on backwash any more. That forces dirt into the clean side of the filter and could clog the laterals to where you'll have to completely disassemble the filter and remove the sand to clean them out.
 
Thank you for your reply.

The spider assembly looks in fine shape, as mentioned we took the filter apart and inspected this.

How else might i vacuum to avoid putting the junk back into the pool? Vacuuming on waste just shoots everything back into the pool. I tried the backwash setting this time as a last resort. I let the filter be on rinse and backwash for another 10 minutes after i was done vacuuming the last time. water runs clear.

Any advice on what to look for with the multiport?

The water in the pond looks clearer than my pool. I'm about to demolish the pool and just use the pond.
 
With the multi-port on waste, you should not have ANY water returning to the pool. Does at least some water go out the waste pipe?

If you no water is going out the waste pipe, then something must be messed up with the multi-port or plumbing. Did it ever work correctly? Wondering if the valve got put together incorrectly at some point.

Is some water is going out waste AND back to the pool, then that certainly points to the spider gasket or the spring loaded handle not seating properly.

Can you post up some pictures of your plumbing and we can see if anything is obvious?
 
Did it work correctly previously?

Any chance the top part of the valve was put on in the wrong orientation? There should be some kind of indicator when it is aligned correctly.

If more water is going to the pool than to waste when the setting is on waste ... that to me does not sound like a gasket problem.

What happens to the water on other valve positions? Any water going to wast when it should not?

Is the multi-port on the top or side of the filter?

Drain port on the bottom of what? The filter?
 
When you vacuum on waste..there should be nothing going into the pool at all. It should all come out the waste port away from the pool. Can you take a picture of your multi port valve in the waste position?
 
YAY! after a week of letting the pool settle and vacuuming and shocking the water is finally clear-ish. I guess the husband had the pipes backwards, FOR TWO YEARS HE HAD THE PIPES BACKWARDS!?!??? I've been kicking him in the a** every day since the water cleared.

Still have some problem with sediment however. I find that i have to backwash daily or there is crud coming out of the return. I've vacuumed on waste several times and kept my chlorine levels up. I've also added a clearing agent directly to the skimmer basket (these little pucks in a blue mesh bag, forget the name of the agent). I still get crud from my return.

How often should one have to backwash a sand filter and for how long should i leave it on backwash? Should i put the filter on rinse after the backwash (ive been doing this)?

Thanks for your advice and help. It is much appreciated.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
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