Dirt on the bottom of the pool

[Aquaman7]

Started the pool build last year. Didnt have a pool cover But used a tarp which developed holes at aloud dirt and leaves into the pool bottom. Spring is here and I want to get a jump on clearing up the water. It’s cloudy blue but I know there is a good amount of dirt on the mobile. I began vacuuming it and after 20 minutes my DE filter became clogged and I had to clean it. I don’t want to keep vacuuming and cleaning the filter every 2030 minutes. I’m in the process of ordering a robot so should I put the robot in the pool I just clean the filters on the robot every hour or is it better to vacuum the bottom and clean the DE filter every 30 minutes?

The pool is a 21k gallon in ground. The filter is a Pentair quad 80 DE filter and the pump is an intelliflo.

Thanks

 

[an1vrsy]

Just a thought... Do you have a multi port valve? If so, you could set the multi port to waste then vacuum. You could throw a hose in to make up for the water loss.

Definitely, manage your chem levels after the water loss and fill.

 

[Aquaman7]

Just a thought... Do you have a multi port valve? If so, you could set the multi port to waste then vacuum. You could throw a hose in to make up for the water loss.

Definitely, manage your chem levels after the water loss and fill.

Great idea. Will pouring hundreds gallons of water on to the grass kill it? There is no salt in the water yet.

 

[kellyfair]

And sure, you can run your robot.

 

[an1vrsy]

Is your MPV waste line connected to the sewer? With your question in killing the grass, I should assume not connected. You didn’t provide what the chem levels are at. I don’t think there are high enough levels of chlorine in it, so... I would think that with no salt a minimal chlorine the waste water should not kill your grass. But, honestly, I don’t know.

 

[kellyfair]

Never harmed my grass.

 

[CraigChing]

One thing I found when vacuuming a lot of sediment (happens to me on opening) is using skimmer socks to capture as much as you can before it hits your filter.

I was vacuuming yesterday after opening and I probably had an algae bloom last fall because I had a lot of sediment. I was backwashing every 10 or 15 minutes and losing a lot of water. I installed skimmer socks and prevented quite a bit of backwashing. You do have to watch the skimmer, I would lose suction once the sock was full. I’d the replace it with another and clean the used one later to save time.

To make this work, you need one of those vacuum plates that fits over the skimmer and, of course, lots of skimmer socks.

 

[Aquaman7]

Is your MPV waste line connected to the sewer? With your question in killing the grass, I should assume not connected. You didn’t provide what the chem levels are at. I don’t think there are high enough levels of chlorine in it, so... I would think that with no salt a minimal chlorine the waste water should not kill your grass. But, honestly, I don’t know.

No the mpv is not connected to waste yet. I tested the water today...no chlorine. Was first working on getting acceptable reading of CYA before adding chlorine. I guess I definitely won’t hBe to worry about killing the grass if there’s n chlorine or salt in the water.

 

[Aquaman7]

And sure, you can run your robot.

I’m going to order one this week.

 

[Aquaman7]

One thing I found when vacuuming a lot of sediment (happens to me on opening) is using skimmer socks to capture as much as you can before it hits your filter.

I was vacuuming yesterday after opening and I probably had an algae bloom last fall because I had a lot of sediment. I was backwashing every 10 or 15 minutes and losing a lot of water. I installed skimmer socks and prevented quite a bit of backwashing. You do have to watch the skimmer, I would lose suction once the sock was full. I’d the replace it with another and clean the used one later to save time.

To make this work, you need one of those vacuum plates that fits over the skimmer and, of course, lots of skimmer socks.

That’s a good idea. I have to try it.

 

[Aquaman7]

Thank you guys for all your help I was able to vacuum half of the pool before running low on water. The water is now cloudy blue. I’m going to vacuum the rest tomorrow and get my water parameters in check. Hopefully that will clear things up.

 

[Beachgirl96]

Started the pool build last year. Didnt have a pool cover But used a tarp which developed holes at aloud dirt and leaves into the pool bottom. Spring is here and I want to get a jump on clearing up the water. It’s cloudy blue but I know there is a good amount of dirt on the mobile. I began vacuuming it and after 20 minutes my DE filter became clogged and I had to clean it. I don’t want to keep vacuuming and cleaning the filter every 2030 minutes. I’m in the process of ordering a robot so should I put the robot in the pool I just clean the filters on the robot every hour or is it better to vacuum the bottom and clean the DE filter every 30 minutes?

The pool is a 21k gallon in ground. The filter is a Pentair quad 80 DE filter and the pump is an intelliflo.

Thanks

Omg, this happened to me as well and I can’t find anyone to vacuum it up. The pool company who built my pool said that there is too much dirt and leaves to use the robot vacuum that came with our pool install. Apparently all the companies who clean pools on Long Island are booked 1 year out. I’m in eastern suffolk, trying to find someone who will do it on the side.

 

[Aquaman7]

Omg, this happened to me as well and I can’t find anyone to vacuum it up. The pool company who built my pool said that there is too much dirt and leaves to use the robot vacuum that came with our pool install. Apparently all the companies who clean pools on Long Island are booked 1 year out. I’m in eastern suffolk, trying to find someone who will do it on the side.

This is the way I went about it and now the water is crystal clear.

If you have a multiport valve, set it to waste and vacuum out the dirt. Add water to pool via a hose while your vacuuming. My pump basket had to be cleaned 5 times but eventually the bottom is clean.

Keep an eye on your water parameters and some will drop including your CYA and salt.

HTH’s