Newbie's gonna scream! ! Please help!!

[karmazrevenge]

First the sand filter broke, then came the algae bloom, and today I learn that we were given the wrong sand for our pool filter

Does anyone know where to buy real no. 20 silica sand for my hayward dreamline filter? Apparently the quikcrete stuff is too fine, and has clouded up my pool big time.

 

[linen]

Did you do a long backwash before running on filter? Manual says to do it for at least 2 minutes. That is necessary with any version of pool sand.

Quikrete lists theirs as 0.85-0.425 mm and in the manual for your hayward filter it lists 0.45-0.55 mm sand, so I think that it should have worked. Sieve size appears to be non-uniform through the industry.

Pool store might have another version, but I would check it's size in mm and also make sure you do a long backwash after adding.

 

[Isaac-1]

Also you might want invest in a slime bag to catch the sand that is in your pool if you vacuum to recirculate

 

[karmazrevenge]

We backwashed for 5 full minutes. I noticed the pool was still cloudy as all get out, and I thought maybe the spider gasket got stuck (it does that from time to time). When I pulled the screws the whole lateral assembly just floated to the top. Half the sand we put in was gone!!
Now I'm wondering if it's been leaking into the pool, making it cloudy.
??? I really don't know what to do now. My hubby scooped out all the quikcrete sand already

 

[karmazrevenge]

Isaac-1.... what's a slime bag, and where do I get one?

 

[Isaac-1]

Slime bags are cloth filter bags (you can connect them in place of an eyeball return fitting with the addition of a couple of plumbing fittings, or on a backwash / waste hose) or use them to filter your fill water, or any number of other things depending on the size.

http://www.cleanerpools.net/slimebag.php

Most people don't need them, but they do seem to have a place under certain special circumstances.

Ike

p.s. I think they are also sold through amazon, ebay, etc.

 

[gtemkin]

Does anyone know where to buy real no. 20 silica sand for my hayward dreamline filter?

Other than the pool store, I've purchased #20 silica filter sand from a local concrete and construction supplier. They have the name Salmon Bay Sand & Gravel which makes it easy to figure out what they sell. You might check your local Yellow Pages under sand and gravel or masonry supplies or concrete supplies and make a few phone calls. The bags they sell should say #20 silica filter sand or it might not be the right stuff.