Backwash my filter into the yard

[rotenka]

I just purchased a house with a pool and have been performing the following tests twice a week for the last two weeks, Chlorine Residual, pH Test, Acid Demand Test and Total Alkalinity. Up until a few days ago everything tested fine, then there were a couple days with 100 degree temps and now I have a nice bed of mustard algae. Tested with a new test kit last night and discovered I had no chlorine the pool. In a panic I ran to the pool store Leslie’s and they sold me a two pound bottle of yellow out and six pounds of fresh n clear to shock the pool with.

My directions were:
Backwash the filter, an adventure all its own.
Recharge the filter with D.E.
Set the pump to run 24/7
(Not in directions but I brushed the pool the best I could)
Sprinkle Yellow out around the perimeter of the pool (2 pounds)
Wait five minutes and add two pounds of Fresh N Clear to the pool
Wait 12 hours and add two more pounds of Fresh N Clear
(Again I brushed the pool, most of the algae appeared to be on the bottom of the pool now and less on the walls and some of it did not brush off well.)
Wait 12 hours and add two more pounds of fresh N Clear (This last shock is supposed to take place tonight.)
Once water is clear bring them a sample of the water and they would probably give me some sort of first aid product that will eat the dead algae so my filter does not have to filter it all.

These were my test measurements to the best of my recollection. I will have to check and update when I get home from work today.

.5 ppm FC
.5 ppm TC
.0 ppm CC
8.2 pH just noticed I didn’t do the Acid Demand Test and the Base Demand Test
120 TA
70 CYA

Most of my pool is shaded by Oak trees; probably ¾ of the pool is in the shade the majority of the day.

So, I found out while backwashing my filter the water shoots out a 3” pipe at the bottom of the filter and hits a wood fence about 6 inches away then runs down my yard and into my neighbor’s driveway. Probably not a good impression on my new neighbors.

QUESTION: Is it acceptable to water you yard with the water as you backwash the D.E. filter?

Once I get the pool cleared up I will definitely do a better job at taking care of it after reading some of the posts on this site. For now I am spending my time painting and cleaning up the new house so I can actually move into it.

 

[Richard320]

Yes, you can use pool water on the lawn. I do it all the time. I also use fiber clear in my DE filter because it will eventually rot away in the grass, unlike DE.

Have you read about the SLAM?

 

[rotenka]

Yes Richard I have read about the slam but don't have time to commit to it right now.

Thanks for your response.

 

[techguy]

I highly recommend you do not let a DE filtered pool get too green. While DE filters are great, if will require dedication to get all of the debris filtered out. It is the only downside i see to DE filter... heavy debris loaded pools plug the filter... really fast. I have seen my filter plug up in as little as 30 minutes.

IS fresh clean water cost effective where you live? With a green pool and CYA of 70, it may be easier to do a dump and fill if your water table will allow. I don't like DNF but in some cases, its more effective.

 

[Isaac-1]

Let me start off by saying, welcome and we can help. I am sorry, but I have to follow that by saying a cringe when I read a message like yours, you are one step into being pool stored, it appears they have set the hook and are about to reel you in. Those chemicals they are selling you are great for their profit margin, but may not be the best solution to your problem at least not as they have instructed you to apply them, see this thread on use of yellow out

yellow-out-t7664.html

The solution to the problem your pool has is you need chlorine, the method of adding chlorine that has the fewest negative side effects is bleach / liquid chlorine, not some overpriced magic in a box/bottle. The second thing you need to do is replace about 30-40% of your water to get your CYA level down to something more manageable, even if you put that off for now do at least make sure to avoid using any stabilized dry chlorine products / shock which will drive your CYA even higher.

Ike

 

[rotenka]

Thanks for the response ike. I do plan on getting some of the water out of the pool soon. However, I am attempting to get the house painted so I can move in. I will get my wife to read up on the pool stuff and pass readings on to her so she can tell me what to put in it according to this forum.

 

[rotenka]

Last night before I put in the last treatment I tested the water.

FC 3
TC 5
CC 2
PH 7.5
TA 90
CH 570
CYA 45

After about three hours I checked chlorine again.

FC 5
TC 5

The water was clear and the pressure on the filter had not changed. The part that concerns me now is the CH test results.

 

[Isaac-1]

The CH is on the high side, but is manageable (you can avoid scaling) if you keep pH under careful control

 

[krazykrames]

What test kit do you have?

 

[rotenka]

DPD Complete Chlorine Kit from Leslie's.

 

[krazykrames]

From your last posted test results it indicates that you need to do the SLAM process because of the CC at 2. Your current test kit isn't adequate for this process. You need to have the FAS-DPD chlorine test. If you don't want to purchase the entire recommended TF-100 test kit you could get by with just ordering the FAS-DPD chlorine test from TFTestkits.net

 

[techguy]

The DPD drop based test is limited to 5 PPM, the FAS_DPD (powder based) test will measure to 50 PPM. Anytime you have more than 30CYA, you will be targeting FC values in the 5-7 range daily and the DPD test will not be able to measure these ranges. For most pools, more than 99%?, you will always have 30CYA or more therefore you will need the FAS-DPD.

 

[rotenka]

Well I guess that fifty bucks, on the test kit, was just wasted. I plan to slam the pool but as previous comments stated I am trying to get my house in shape to move in. I am working 12 hour days between my regular job and trying to get my house painted on the inside. Another couple of weeks and I will hopefully be able to move in. Once that is done I guess I will buy a better test kit and slam the pool. I also have to get rid of a lot of calcium scaling which I am not looking forward to.

So is the test kit I have adequate for everything else? Can I just order the chlorine (powder) kit for slamming? It appears everything else in the kit I have is similar.

 

[techguy]

FAS-DPD test <<Link

Just add this to your kit and you should be good.