I'm in the process of flocking my pool. I added the floc 3 days ago and it has kind of worked. It has sunk the particles to the bottom but when I vacuum it looks like it stirs more up than I'm getting with the vacuum. I'm vacuuming to waist so this is dropping my water level rapidly. I've vacuumed 4 times and I would say that I have at least 2 more to go. This is taking much longer than I expected and I'm wondering if I should be running the pump between vacuuming? Also, has anyone ever done this? How long will this take? Any advice?
Floc
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You will not likely find many members who have used floc ... we generally do not recommend it as it does not always work and often causes more issues.
Only they I can suggest is to keep doing what you are doing.
Only they I can suggest is to keep doing what you are doing.
I know you don't recommend floc but I finally got my water to test right and I ran the filter 24/7 for 5 days but the water wouldn't clear. It was still very cloudy and was not improving. I have a sand filter and it wasn't getting the job done.
Sand filters take a long time to clear cloudy water. As jblizzle noted, look into adding DE to the filter to aid in clearing the water. It all takes time... just like it takes time for a pool to turn into a pea green monster.
Did you turn the pump off over night to let all the particles settle? You could try brushing all the settled particles to one spot of the pool and vacuum it all from the one spot. It would take some time but just push it with the brush and let it settle and repeat that process. Would help to save water.
Floc should not be vacuumed to the filter. It can clump in the filter and form a gummy mess (doesn't always, but often enough to be an issue). You should also not run the pump once the floc is mixed into the water except to vacuum the floc to waste. Running the pump in filter or circulate mode will stir the floc up again and you will nee dot wait for it to settle all over again.
Floc should settle to the bottom in about 8 to 12 hours with the pump off, most people wait overnight. If it isn't settling after that, it isn't likely to settle at all.
Vacuuming to waste takes some practice. You need to move quickly because you are losing water, but you need to move slowly because moving quickly stirs everything up so it can't be vacuumed. So there is a balancing act to master. I can vacuum the whole pool is under and hour, but if vacuuming to waste I need to stop and refill the pool for hours every 20 minutes.
For these, and other, reasons we don't recommend using floc.
Floc should settle to the bottom in about 8 to 12 hours with the pump off, most people wait overnight. If it isn't settling after that, it isn't likely to settle at all.
Vacuuming to waste takes some practice. You need to move quickly because you are losing water, but you need to move slowly because moving quickly stirs everything up so it can't be vacuumed. So there is a balancing act to master. I can vacuum the whole pool is under and hour, but if vacuuming to waste I need to stop and refill the pool for hours every 20 minutes.
For these, and other, reasons we don't recommend using floc.