Brand New AGP - Need to Drain/Clean But Scared - Any Advice?

[MdMcoupe]

We just had a brand new 15x30x52 AGP installed (due to a winter storm crushing our old pool).

Pool was installed the day before we went on vacation for a week. The pool was filled about 2/3 of the way up before we left for a week vacation. We come back and it's a swamp. I filled the pool the rest of the way to hook up my Hayward EC-40 filter and I cannot get the algae out of the pool.

I spent all weekend 12 hours each day (even in the pouring monsoon we had) trying to get the algae under control. But my filter will clog every 16 minutes and I have to "bump/regenerate" and every hour I have to back wash and add new DE. Here is my nightmare thread, many here tried to help but I think it beat me....

Oh My Gosh, There Has to be a Better Way.......



I was thinking of draining the pool, then cleaning it, and starting over. But I have seen videos/threads saying it could be dangerous to drain an AGP w/ a vinyl liner. It could shrink or damage the liner.

Any suggestions or links/videos or anyone done this before safely?


1)I have a 2" submersible pump, that pumps 60 gpm (3,600 gallons an hour).
2)Can I just jump into this swamp and brush the bottom and walls to stir up all the algae and just drain the pool 1/2 way?

I just don't know what to do. I don't have the time Monday thru Friday to get the algae out and water balanced.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[zea3]

You can do a partial drain and refill safely. If you know there are going to be storms with strong wind coming wait until they have passed. You will need to start refilling the pool immediately. It won't get rid of all the algae but it should make it easier to kill and get rid of. You could drain quite a bit of the pool by vacuuming to waste. If your filter is connected to the pump with a hose, unhook the hose from the filter and direct it away from the pump. This will allow the water to drain into the yard. You can use a waste hose if you want to drain the water farther away from the pump. Connect the waste hose to the pump hose with a hose clamp. It doesn't have to be super tight, just tight enough to hold it on when the pump is running. Brush the walls then vacuum the floor. When you start loosing prime switch to the submersible pump. You can safely drain down to about a foot.

 

[MdMcoupe]

You can do a partial drain and refill safely. If you know there are going to be storms with strong wind coming wait until they have passed. You will need to start refilling the pool immediately. It won't get rid of all the algae but it should make it easier to kill and get rid of. You could drain quite a bit of the pool by vacuuming to waste. If your filter is connected to the pump with a hose, unhook the hose from the filter and direct it away from the pump. This will allow the water to drain into the yard. You can use a waste hose if you want to drain the water farther away from the pump. Connect the waste hose to the pump hose with a hose clamp. It doesn't have to be super tight, just tight enough to hold it on when the pump is running. Brush the walls then vacuum the floor. When you start loosing prime switch to the submersible pump. You can safely drain down to about a foot.

Zea3, thanks for the advice. I was hoping you might chime in as you were helpful in my original thread about fighting the algae.

If I am reading your post correctly, you are suggesting disconnecting/bypassing my DE filter and connecting a hose to my pump and discharge into the yard. I can then hook up my vacuum and turn my pump on and all the vacuumed algae would just discharge into my yard. This idea sounds freaking fantastic! But there is a hard pipe connection between my DE filter tank and the wet end of the pump . See attached marked up image of my Hayward EC-40. But when I get home from work today, you bet I am gonna have a look and see if there is some way i can hook something like that up.

View attachment hay_pump_ec40_gs.pdf


If I can't find a way to get that vacuum to work to help get rid of some of the algae while the pool is draining, would you suggest brushing the walls and bottom as much as possible and stir up the algae and then start my 2" pump.

I can drain down to about a foot. When I get down to there do I need to add any chemicals, or just start filling up the pool and then use my new TF 100 test kit (or should i be adding anything while the pool is filling up?)

Thanks Zae3

 

[zea3]

If yours is set up like the picture then you can unscrew the union. You won't be able to attach a hose at that point, so it would just spill water all over the yard, but if you want you can buy a second union, take it apart and run the waste hose through the opening. Split the end of the hose so it has 4 tabs that you can kind of tape down to the inside of 1/2 of the new union and then connect it to the 1/2 union on the pump. It should hold the hose in place well enough to be able to direct the water where you want it to go. I could leak a bit, but how it functions is the important thing.

Any hardware store that carries pvc should have these types of unions.

 

[dsmith99]

You can also just screw the union out of the pump.

Just loosen the union and set the filter aside, then remove the half that's screwed into the pump, it's just a threaded fitting going into the pump. You can then screw in a hose barb or pvc fitting or pretty much any 1.5" fitting that you need.

 

[MdMcoupe]

If yours is set up like the picture then you can unscrew the union. You won't be able to attach a hose at that point, so it would just spill water all over the yard, but if you want you can buy a second union, take it apart and run the waste hose through the opening. Split the end of the hose so it has 4 tabs that you can kind of tape down to the inside of 1/2 of the new union and then connect it to the 1/2 union on the pump. It should hold the hose in place well enough to be able to direct the water where you want it to go. I could leak a bit, but how it functions is the important thing.

Any hardware store that carries pvc should have these types of unions.

You can also just screw the union out of the pump.

Just loosen the union and set the filter aside, then remove the half that's screwed into the pump, it's just a threaded fitting going into the pump. You can then screw in a hose barb or pvc fitting or pretty much any 1.5" fitting that you need.

This is great stuff, and exactly why I turned to the forums here. Over the next couple days I will give this a try and update the thread.

Thanks

 

[MdMcoupe]

****UPDATE 7-29-2018******

The previous owner had a second pump in the basement. I have that setup to circulate water in the pool currently. I did not have to disassemble my EC-40. Thanks for the suggestions.

Pool was vacuumed to waste, scrubbed and drained down to about 1 foot.

Pool is filled about 75% of the way back up and about to hit my skimmer/filter. Water is still green in color.

Used my new TF-100 test kit.
FC --- 0
CC --- 0
TA --- 90
CH ---
pH --- 7.2
CYA. --- 0

Suggestions for first step:....?

I am reading through various posts now, I am 100% willing to follow directions. I plug results into poolmath, just don't understand which chemical carries the priority at this crucial stage.

While the pool fills the rest of the way can I add ---- 1lb bags of Sunguard Super Cal-Shock. Calcium Hypochlorite 73% - Min available Chlorine 70%. (i do have a pump with the filter bypassed running in the pool to circulate the water)


Thanks

 

[dsmith99]

You need to add CYA (stabilizer) and Chlorine right away.

You should follow the SLAM process using liquid chlorine. Add enough CYA to get to about 30 and get your chlorine to shock level. For a CYA of 30 your shock level FC is 12, according to the chlorine/CYA chart. You'll need to maintain it there by testing and dosing often because the algae can rapidly consume it at first.

Using products like the super cal-shock you mentioned, or powder/granular dichlor and trichlor tablets add extras that you might not need or want. The chlorine added by these burns off each day but the calcium or CYA they add stays in the water and can build up very quickly. You don't need CH in a vinyl pool and too much can cause scaling on your liner. Too much CYA inhibits the chlorine, the higher the CYA level gets, the higher the FC must be maintained to overcome it. Heavily dosing the pool with these products during a slam can really cause these levels to get out of hand very fast. Use liquid chlorine and avoid all of that. You can get plain, unscented bleach that is about 6% or you can choose a liquid pool shock or chlorinating liquid that is stronger, up to about 12.5%.