ALright - Im back with normal CYA

[jordanlanderson]

That's hard to say, depends on how much is in the pool. It's kinda like the FC slam levels. At first you'll seem to be doing it a lot, but as it clears you'll be doing it less and less. That's why they say to do it at 20% above normal as it clears out the bad stuff and allows your pump and filter not to have to work as hard. If you look around the site, you will see it mentioned about adding some DE to the filter to help catch the smaller stuff quicker, but I have no experience with that so I leave that one to the pros. By the way........they are watching our conversations

I am going to buy some DE while I am out at the store. Anything to make it a little quicker is a good investment right now!

 

[kimkats]

Lefty you are doing a great job keeping him going! Nice work!

Jordan, You are doing fine! It did not take 2 days to get like this so it will take a while to clear up.

It is a good thing to brush and get all of the yucky stuff up. That will allow the filter to do it's job!

Backwash when your pressure gets 8 or so above the clean pressure.

You can add DE when you are able to "babysit" the filter. It will cause the filter pressure go up much faster because it is catching more nasties.

Please take a pic of your pool and post it up. Take a pic a day so we can all watch the color change as you kill the algae and clear up your pool.

Kim

 

[jordanlanderson]

Lefty you are doing a great job keeping him going! Nice work!

Jordan, You are doing fine! It did not take 2 days to get like this so it will take a while to clear up.

It is a good thing to brush and get all of the yucky stuff up. That will allow the filter to do it's job!

Backwash when your pressure gets 8 or so above the clean pressure.

You can add DE when you are able to "babysit" the filter. It will cause the filter pressure go up much faster because it is catching more nasties.

Please take a pic of your pool and post it up. Take a pic a day so we can all watch the color change as you kill the algae and clear up your pool.

Kim

Thank you! About to leave for a few hours after I check my chems again. Assuming my FC went down from 18 to 15 and I am going to be gone 3-4 hours - should I add enough chlorine to take me up to FC 22 or so to give me time to get back and check my FC?

 

[jordanlanderson]

K - Another hour went from 18 to 16 - went ahead and added a 121 fl oz of 8.25% - be back in a few hours with an update and hopefully some marginally clearer water!

 

[kimkats]

You can pump it up a couple over to buy you some time.

Have fun! I can't wait to see some pics!

Kim

 

[jordanlanderson]

Okay I was gone for almost 4 hours and the pool is now at 15. It is not green but it is still VERY cloudy. I would say the cloudiness has not changed at all in the two days - although today was the most I was able to babysit it. I am about to add a little bleach and a little DE to the skimmer and hopefully I can start to see a difference. Lastly - I bought some skimmer socks while I was out - should I give that a try?

 

[jordanlanderson]

Okay so that was weird - I read the article about adding to DE to a Sand Filter and I also read the instructions on the back of the Clorox DE Media box. I mixed some DE first about 1/4 cup in a big bucket with some water and put it in the skimmer. Psi went up about 1. I then put 2 cups in the bucket and diluted/mixed with a little more than 2 gallons of water and slowly poured into the skimmer. The psi started climbing and eventually got above backwash levels from roughly 21 psi to about 35 psi - What the heck?!?! I quickly backwashed and got it back to normal level. Does this mean I cannot use DE in my filter? UGH!!!! I just want some clear water!!!

 

[jblizzle]

You are only supposed to add enough to raise the psi by 1. Then backwash when the pressure rises 20-25% over your normal clean pressure.

 

[kimkats]

Jordan you put too much in at one time. We like to add it 1/4 a cup at a time. Your pool will tell you how much it likes at one time.

Mine like just over 1 cup at a time most times. I use it after we have friends over to help jewel up the water again by extra filtering it with the DE.

Will you be able to play with it tomorrow? If so put in 1/4 cup at a time. Watch the gauge and add some more if your pressure does not go up. Do it 1/4 a cup at a time and keep track of how much total it takes to move your gauge. That will be your go to number each time.

Kim

 

[jordanlanderson]

I am still playing with it tonight. Fortunately my kids went to sleep (they are 5 & 7). The reason I tried to add more is that the clorox box said to add a pound of the DE which is 6 cups. Obviously I wasnt going to do that much but, I figured a third would be okay. Just to make sure I am covering my bases is there any other reason the PSI would spike so high after adding the DE?

I accept that 1/4 cup is the right way to do it - just checking any alternatives.

Thx again for all of your help!

 

[jordanlanderson]

For those keeping score at home - another hour and another reading. FC at 19.

Also because I am hard headed - recreated the DE issue and it spiked again to 35 psi. Only this time I just turned off the pump and let it sit for 5 minutes. When I turned it back on it was hovering right at 19. I guess it got overwhlemed and then settled...?

 

[kimkats]

1 POUND of DE???????????? I am surprise it would only be 6 cups. That stuff is light like a feather!

I am so glad you found us! Your pool will be a jewel when we get done with it!

I really think it was the amount of DE. How did the pressure act after you did the backwash? That is your clue.

Kim

- - - Updated - - -

For those keeping score at home - another hour and another reading. FC at 19.

Also because I am hard headed - recreated the DE issue and it spiked again to 35 psi. Only this time I just turned off the pump and let it sit for 5 minutes. When I turned it back on it was hovering right at 19. I guess it got overwhlemed and then settled...?

Now THAT is interesting! I bet you are onto something. I do not see it as hardheaded. I see it as being through and making sure you understand what happened and why.

This is something we can all learn from.

Kim

 

[jordanlanderson]

Now it is up at 20 psi. I am going to watch this very close and see what it does.

Went ahead and shutoff the robot for the day. I think it is kicking up all the dead algae and I want to see if water is getting any clearer. Also, I have a waterfall in my shallow end and decided to turn it off and see if that has any positive or negative effect.

 

[lefty51]

Now it is up at 20 psi. I am going to watch this very close and see what it does.

Went ahead and shutoff the robot for the day. I think it is kicking up all the dead algae and I want to see if water is getting any clearer. Also, I have a waterfall in my shallow end and decided to turn it off and see if that has any positive or negative effect.

Hi, I'm back, had to be away all afternoon. Boy, you have got one of the real pros in Kimkats on your side ! Trust her and you can't go wrong. What's cool is you have the mod squad like Jblizzle overseeing the whole process. So if Kimkats is busy helping someone else at the moment they are there to step in to add anything that might have been overlooked.


I will be watching with interest your progress, but will stay in the background and let them lead the way. If I think you need a little more POP (pool owner patience) I'll post you a smiley . The other thing that I like is, if I or someone else happens to give you wrong or incorrect info :foot:, someone will be along to set things straight. That's what gives me the confidence to try and help.


P.S- Kimkats' post reminded me of a very important item I forgot. Pictures, these people LOVE pictures of your pool. From start to finish, send 'em if you got 'em !

 

[jordanlanderson]

I will be sure to post pics tomorrow. Fingers crossed that when I wake up I'll be able to see to the 2nd step in the shallow end.
Last fc reading was at 15 so I went ahead and added two jugs of 8.25%. Hopefully that'll last me till morning.


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[lefty51]

I will be sure to post pics tomorrow. Fingers crossed that when I wake up I'll be able to see to the 2nd step in the shallow end.
Last fc reading was at 15 so I went ahead and added two jugs of 8.25%. Hopefully that'll last me till morning.


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I can relate, we open to a swamp every spring. Don't get discouraged, when it finally takes hold it will change and you will have a pool so clear, as they told me " you can toss a quarter in the deep end and tell if it's heads or tails". We will get after it again tomorrow !

 

[jordanlanderson]

Okay Good Morning TFPers...my first reading this morning was FC 18 and that was down from FC 23 at 11:00pm last night. No real noticeable improvement in clarity of the water. PSI was up about 25% so I brushed and backwashed this morning. Next up on the agenda is vacuuming. Yay. Hopefully one day I will actually get to swim in this thing.

- - - Updated - - -

Struggling to figure out how to upload pictures. It would appear the photos I uploaded a few weeks ago about my old filter etc have used up all my space. Any tips on how to delete those out of my profile?

Here is the thread with the pics:
http://www.troublefreepool.com/threads/95163-Replace-Pump-amp-Filter

 

[jordanlanderson]

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[jordanlanderson]

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[Pops37]

Often the price of bleach is lower at WalMart vs Sams .. go figure LOL... also check your local Kroger and the forum thread on 2015 bleach prices. good luck.