Asking for my new neighbor who is a pool newbie, having issues with his inground pool...

[markc99]

My new neighbor is having some flow issues with his pool pump, and I was hoping to help him out. When we opened it for the season, there was a significant amount of algae to deal with, which he has cleared, but now the flow on the pump seems to be low.

He has removed the cartridges twice and cleaned them off (we estimate they are about 5-6 years old), but within a day the flow has diminished quite a bit.

Here are the particulars of his pool:

18'x36' Inground Pool with Vinyl Liner
Filter = System3 Model = S7M120
Pump = UST1102 = 1 HP
pH = 7.2
FC = 8
CC = 0.5
TA = 30
CYA = 45
CH = 80

I know the TA needs to come up a lot, and I wasn't sure about the CH.

I've heard FLOC could be used to clear the water, but I'm sure that would be another reason to have to clean the cartridges yet again.

I would love to hear thoughts.

 

[thomasandanita]

probably still has some algae restricting the filters

typically the algae cannot be seen in the filter.

 

[markc99]

probably still has some algae restricting the filters

typically the algae cannot be seen in the filter.

I forgot to mention, I don’t see any algae anymore, but the water remains cloudy.

 

[thomasandanita]

was a slam completed?

pass the oncl test?

 

[markc99]

was a slam completed?

pass the oncl test?

Working on the SLAM now. I tested last night and FC was 7 and CC was 1. It’s still the same this morning, but in checking the CYA chart for FC for slam level, it’s recommending a FC of 16. That seems really high. Wouldn’t that take a long time for that to come down to safe levels for swimming?

 

[thomasandanita]

Swimming is safe to slam level,

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

I'd suggest new filter cartridges. Mine was that old beginning of last year and was severely compromised.

I think with new cartridges he'd be happy with flow and filtration.

 

[mknauss]

've heard FLOC could be used to clear the water, but I'm sure that would be another reason to have to clean the cartridges yet again.

Floc = which TFP never recommends =-= must be vacuumed to waste. Unless this pool has a special plumbing configuration, they cannot vac to waste. The floc would plug and destroy the cartridge filters immediately.

 

[LoneWolfArcher]

Floc = which TFP never recommends =-= must be vacuumed to waste. Unless this pool has a special plumbing configuration, they cannot vac to waste. The floc would plug and destroy the cartridge filters immediately.

Please listen to this! Marty saved my pool last year when I was literally minutes away from using FLOC.