Hi, everyone. I'm just happy to be here.
Why couldn't I bypass the filter all together and just circulate the water or have a much smaller pump to do that like in an artificial pond? If I had an algae bloom I would need to filter those guys out after I killed them, but I won't have an algae problem if I keep the chemicals in order, right?
I bought my house at the beginning of August last year and, since I was really busy moving and whatnot, I just continued to use the full-service pool company that the previous owner was using up until they closed the pool in October. At $240/month for the service plus the $60/month increase in power usage, I elected to figure it out on my own. The pool liner is getting long in the tooth but I'm sure I can baby it through the season; and I'd rather screw up on the old liner and not have to learn on a new one. So far, I'm doing fine. Thanks to the fine folks here I successfully opened the pool and had my chemicals straight within 3-4 days. I have a rather substantial leak that I'm working my way through but I don't think I need help with it yet.
The thing that I can't really work out is what the filter actually takes out of the water. I understand the tree debris and pollen from the winter but what else is there to remove other than the wayward leaf or bug? I ask this because of the different filter types. My DE filter is supposed to be so much better than a sand filter but why? I brought the pump run time down from 16 hours/day down to 4 with no loss in water quality but why do I even need to run it at all other than to mix the chemicals and supply water to the vacuum booster pump (that I only run 2-3 times a week)?Why couldn't I bypass the filter all together and just circulate the water or have a much smaller pump to do that like in an artificial pond? If I had an algae bloom I would need to filter those guys out after I killed them, but I won't have an algae problem if I keep the chemicals in order, right?
What specifically causes the water to get cloudy if it isn't filtered daily?