Very fine dirt/silt/sand

[Razorhog]

I have a problem with very fine dirt settling on the bottom of my pool. The water is crystal clear until we swim a lot and it stirs up the dirt on the bottom. My Polaris 280 gets a good bit of the sandy stuff but this dust just gets stirred up and then settles back out. I've tried vacuuming it but it is so fine and "lightweight" that I end up disturbing most of it instead of sucking it up. Is this indicative of a filter problem or something? I would think the sand filter would get it out but maybe it doesn't get stirred up enough to get in the skimmer. Any tips, tricks, suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[JcSparky]

I've got a setup very similar to yours and have been experiencing the same type of sand/dirt and was wondering what that is as well. It's not enough for me to "worry" about, but I'd be interested in seeing what others have to say.

 

[Razorhog]

After doing some reading I think I need to try some things. First, I generally have my returns pointed up a bit to circulate surface debris toward the skimmer. Works great, but maybe if I pointed them in a more downward direction it would stir up the dust and allow the filter to get it. Second, this dirt in the pool might be related to the iron stains around the water line. The dirt has iron in it. Third, it might be possible to add pantyhose to the Polaris bag to trap fine particles. I think it already has the "sand/silt" bag but it came with the house so I'm not entirely sure. Fourth, try to vacuum it again but go very slow... Fifth, there is such a thing as "sand channeling" in a sand filter which can degrade performance. Still looking into that. I'm scared of the sand filter and pressures involved, and not being able to put it back together, etc.

 

[JcSparky]

My Polaris does a good job of picking up the sand/dirt. Sounds like my issue could be the returns currently pointed in the "up" position. I did just have my yard re-sodded, which was mostly dirt after the recent pool build, so I'm hoping this will cut down on the sand/dirt I see in my pool as well.

 

[Razorhog]

After doing some reading I think I need to try some things. First, I generally have my returns pointed up a bit to circulate surface debris toward the skimmer. Works great, but maybe if I pointed them in a more downward direction it would stir up the dust and allow the filter to get it. Second, this dirt in the pool might be related to the iron stains around the water line. The dirt has iron in it. Third, it might be possible to add pantyhose to the Polaris bag to trap fine particles. I think it already has the "sand/silt" bag but it came with the house so I'm not entirely sure. Fourth, try to vacuum it again but go very slow... Fifth, there is such a thing as "sand channeling" in a sand filter which can degrade performance. Still looking into that. I'm scared of the sand filter and pressures involved, and not being able to put it back together, etc.