Last fall before I closed my pool, I was starting to wonder if the sand filter was working. My water seemed to be getting cloudy with sediment. I gave up trying to fix it and closed the pool. I installed a new spider gasket in the multiport thinking that there was a bypassing leak in the filter. I also took all the sand out and checked the laterals, found no problems, and put the sand back in. Now that I am opening the pool and trying to filter again, I still don't think it is working. I have even seen some black sediment blowing back in the pool when I was vacuuming. Is it possible that the water is going into the multiport valve at the top of the stand pipe and not being drawn thru the sand? Is there supposed to be some kind of seal in the bottom of the multiport?
Sand filter working?
- Thread starter Sniper Racing
- Start date
We can be a lot more helpful when you post test results. There is just too much guess work until we understand the condition of your water.
What does your water look like clarity wise
What does your water look like clarity wise
I have not had a lot of time to do much water testing yet. I accidentally dumped a bunch of maple tree helicopter seeds in the water from removing the winter cover. I was trying to vacuum and skim the pool first. I did shock the pool and add some PH plus but now it is too cloudy green to see to vacuum. I shut down the pump over night to let it all settle so I could vacuum again. I should have waited to shock it. Maybe it wouldn't have gotten cloudy. I am just trying to get the sediment out right now.
Here's a way to tell: stretch a sock over the return closest to the filter and secure it with a rubber band or something, and then vacuum. Then remove the sock and turn it inside out. Tinted green is fine, full of debris means the filter is not filtering and it's time to open it up again and check that there is no channeling and all the parts are seated properly.
I have been reading about fine micron filtering, Slime Bags, and last chance sock filtering. It seems that a lot of people have this problem with fine silt or dead algea laying on the bottom of the pool. Is is so fine that if you touch it, it just dissapears but it is annoying to me to see dirt in the bottom. I am still thinking that the sand filter can be made to work better. There is no seal between the vertical stand pipe and the multivalve. I don't think most of the water is going thru the sand. I am using a Sta-rite 200# sand filter. I have seen some multivalves with a seal but mine does not show one on the parts list. It seems like a bad design to just set a high flow valve on a pipe that probably is not lined up perfectly and expect it to seal. Even adding DE would not help if there is a stand pipe leak would it? Any thoughts or ideas to improve it?
By the way, my water is clean and treated now. I don't have the water test results here with me now but I do use the BBB with your tests kit.
hopefully I am not hi-jacking this thread as I have similar issue....but how does one stretch a sock over the return of an in-ground pool when they are relatively flush and all I have is a TINY lip and the eyeball sticking out. I've tried a sock on the lip, but it keeps blowing off ?
I used a large zip tie to keep the sock on the return.
You could also remove the eyeball and try to screw in the top of the sock against the o-ring when you put the eyeball back in.
You could also remove the eyeball and try to screw in the top of the sock against the o-ring when you put the eyeball back in.