Cartridge filter struggles.

[Dabums08]

We are new to cartridge filtering. We were talked in to this system along with permasalt when we bought our second pool last year. We were told it's lower maintenance, etc, but ended cleaning the filter every 7-10 days...

We are ditching the permasalt method this year. It was a nightmare by the time we closed the pool.

We opened the pool with a pressure of 10. The pressure increased to 15 overnight, and return flow is impaired.

We we added a quart of super stain stop because we have very high iron in our well water.

Current readings:

FC. 2-3 ppm
CC- 1 ppm
pH. 7
Ta. 130
CH. 350
CYA. Completely clear. Test did. It turn cloudy

Question: Will the filtering issues even out since we are ditching the permasalt and going back to chlorine?? Or do we potentially have other issues?

 

[mknauss]

You most likely have an algae bloom that is clogging the filter. You need to get a proper test kit (TF100 or K2006C) and do a SLAM. Lots of information in Pool School (see links at top of page). I have a cartridge filter I clean once a year. And even then have 0 pressure rise during the year.

Good Luck!

 

[Dabums08]

I have a K2006 test kit.

 

[Richard320]

I suspect that once you get the pool chemistry tamed your filter woes will disappear.

What happens usually (especially with those fancy "systems") is that a low-level algae bloom develops. It never gets killed off completely, it just grows more to replace what is dead. The water always looks dull. The dead stuff gets filtered out. Since you have an endless supply of dead algae, the filter loads up.

Without algae, there's usually very little for a filter to filter. Some blown-in dust, some sloughed-off skin cells, some pollen. You can even reduce a lot of that with skimmer socks/nylon/hairnet over the skimmer basket as a prefilter.

 

[Dabums08]

That makes sense, but How do I "tame the chemistry"? I put my numbers in the calculator and it basically told me to do nothing...

The water is crystal clear...

 

[Richard320]

That makes sense, but How do I "tame the chemistry"? I put my numbers in the calculator and it basically told me to do nothing...

The water is crystal clear...

I see no CYA listed and 1 CC. CC is the bad chlorine.

I suggest you raise CYA to 30 and then SLAM Processthe pool. You needn't wait for the CYA to all dissolve before you start, either. You may find your idea of crystal clear will change.

If what I wrote makes no sense, head over to Pool School and study up on the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and then move on towars the chemistry topics.