First, I just want to say thank you guys. I'm going into my third season as a pool owner now and have used TFP as my reference since about halfway through my first season. I'm fighting my first swamp pool this year, and everyone at every pool store is trying to sell me hundreds of dollars of **** I don't need. It's really awesome to be able to brush off the sales noise and know exactly what I need, based on the articles on this site and a well stocked TF100.
So how I ended up with swamp pool: it's California, and I have an irregularly shaped pool that can't be covered due to a waterfall, so I usually keep it open over the winter. This year my family had a medical emergency, and I ended up spending late December through early April out of town in a hospital, and by the time I got back my pool vac was busted and the pool was black and green.
It was a couple of weeks before I was in a position to start it, and that was when the pool stores tried to sell me everything from algaecides (three blondes in my family, there's no way I'm putting copper in my pool) to Green2Clean and I think they were pretty angry at me for only getting Cal Hypo (my ch was low) and muriatic acid.
Took two days and an entire jug to get my pH balanced, then I started the SLAM process. Took less than three days to go from green to cloudy blue, but about a week more to see the bottom. I only brushed, and didn't vacuum at this time because I didn't know what was at the bottom (and it turns out besides a ton of dirt, there was also some palm fronds and a tennis ball...).
Despite the pool having no CC, passing the overnight test, and being clear enough to see the bottom, I assumed that once I stirred up the junk at the bottom I'd be starting the fight over over again. Optimistically, I went ahead and let the chlorine fall to normal levels, thinking maybe I'd get lucky. Besides, I wanted to add some baking soda since my TA was off when I started, and get a new reading without being at SLAM levels to decide if I needed to rebalance the PH. Here's where I was at, after a week at normal levels and vacuuming, before restarting the SLAM process:
FC - 5
CC - 0.5
CH - 200
PH - 7.5
CYA - 50
TA - 90
I knew my TA and CH could be a little better, but after I had manually vacuumed a bunch of dirt to waste (it was such a big load it would spit out my returns if I tried to vacuum to filter), the water was quickly cloudy with a subtle green tint again. Decided it could wait, and it was time to get to SLAMing again, so I used the last 4 lbs. of Cal Hypo before shifting to bleach, and got my chlorine back up to 20 PPM and that's where I've kept it for seven days now.
I've consistently passed the overnight loss test for about 5 days now and have 0 cc. I also added some DE to my sand filter at that time, bringing my filter pressure from 10psi to 11psi, but the psi hasn't risen at all since then. So, finally, my questions:
1. Is it normal for the pool to be cloudy after 5 days of passing the overnight loss test with no CCs?
2. Should I be seeing a rise in my psi since adding the DE, besides the 1 psi bump I initially got?
3. Is 11 psi a little low for a sand filter with a DE boost, or is it normal considering I have 2 returns and a waterfall?
Trying to decide whether or not I just need to hold the course and be patient, or if it's time to service my sand filter (which I have never done before).
So how I ended up with swamp pool: it's California, and I have an irregularly shaped pool that can't be covered due to a waterfall, so I usually keep it open over the winter. This year my family had a medical emergency, and I ended up spending late December through early April out of town in a hospital, and by the time I got back my pool vac was busted and the pool was black and green.
It was a couple of weeks before I was in a position to start it, and that was when the pool stores tried to sell me everything from algaecides (three blondes in my family, there's no way I'm putting copper in my pool) to Green2Clean and I think they were pretty angry at me for only getting Cal Hypo (my ch was low) and muriatic acid.
Took two days and an entire jug to get my pH balanced, then I started the SLAM process. Took less than three days to go from green to cloudy blue, but about a week more to see the bottom. I only brushed, and didn't vacuum at this time because I didn't know what was at the bottom (and it turns out besides a ton of dirt, there was also some palm fronds and a tennis ball...).
Despite the pool having no CC, passing the overnight test, and being clear enough to see the bottom, I assumed that once I stirred up the junk at the bottom I'd be starting the fight over over again. Optimistically, I went ahead and let the chlorine fall to normal levels, thinking maybe I'd get lucky. Besides, I wanted to add some baking soda since my TA was off when I started, and get a new reading without being at SLAM levels to decide if I needed to rebalance the PH. Here's where I was at, after a week at normal levels and vacuuming, before restarting the SLAM process:
FC - 5
CC - 0.5
CH - 200
PH - 7.5
CYA - 50
TA - 90
I knew my TA and CH could be a little better, but after I had manually vacuumed a bunch of dirt to waste (it was such a big load it would spit out my returns if I tried to vacuum to filter), the water was quickly cloudy with a subtle green tint again. Decided it could wait, and it was time to get to SLAMing again, so I used the last 4 lbs. of Cal Hypo before shifting to bleach, and got my chlorine back up to 20 PPM and that's where I've kept it for seven days now.
I've consistently passed the overnight loss test for about 5 days now and have 0 cc. I also added some DE to my sand filter at that time, bringing my filter pressure from 10psi to 11psi, but the psi hasn't risen at all since then. So, finally, my questions:
1. Is it normal for the pool to be cloudy after 5 days of passing the overnight loss test with no CCs?
2. Should I be seeing a rise in my psi since adding the DE, besides the 1 psi bump I initially got?
3. Is 11 psi a little low for a sand filter with a DE boost, or is it normal considering I have 2 returns and a waterfall?
Trying to decide whether or not I just need to hold the course and be patient, or if it's time to service my sand filter (which I have never done before).
Also great to see you are actively using your TF-100 kit. I can say with confidence that yes, anytime you add DE to your filter it will increase pressure. Given the fact that you've never serviced your filter, and your pool was so mucky for a few months, you may want to consider doing it. If you are sure you're passing the overnight test, perhaps your filter can't handle the sediment remaining in the water and you're just recirculating stuff around. I suspect you'll see more advise on this thread shortly.
