Hi John, I've been in your exact same situation last April. I was sure there was a deer carcas in mine, but it turned out to just be a leaf net pole (ironic) and my double drains.
If you're going to try clarifier, I found super floc to actually do something. One treatment and 24 hrs with the pump off after it's circulated. But while it makes the particles heavier for "capture" it will not necessarily touch leaves and you may still have more than you know. After removing 16 wheelbarrows full, shocking and filtering, I still found another pile of leaves
(if you search foreclosed swamp and errant pool service you can see the pics.)
I wouldn't vacuum blind -- you don't really know what you'll be sucking up that could clog you lines or get through to our pump impeller, and little stones or pine needles can jam or wreck it.
Instead, what worked for me was to shock at mustard shock levels or higher, and then to overshoot enough to make sure the chlorine read NEVER drops lwer than the min shock level until your next dose. That speeds things up.
One thing I found helpful was a cheapo leaf eater (about $25) that attaches to a hose, creating a
Venturi style force that draws leaves into the attached net. I used it after I "thought" I'd gotten
everything, and low and behold, came up with another wheelbarrow of leaves.
Note that even if you start to get clear, you will stir up the sediment each time you net stuff, so
you might feel like you're going backwards. Sometimes floc proponents say to just let everything
drop, don't disturb anything, and vacuum to waste. However, IMHO, that's not a great plan with a
foreclosure when you don't know what's been dropped in there -- eg I found a cell battery, stuff
like that. So the flc is more of a test to see what's down there, and if it looks good, then vacuum.
Eg. I also, ironically, found a full bottle of floc down there
When you vacuum to waste, you will only be able to do so until you "run out of water" eg water
level gets too low for suction, so you will have to do so a good few times, refilling, letting it settle
out a bit, then doing it again. I suspect you will also have to stop the process several times to
clean out both the skimmer basket and the pump basket. Be sure to prime the pump after you've
cleaned out the basket, even if it says it's self-priming. Be sure to clean off and possibly lubricate
the pump seal.
Another thing I did when filtering to help clarity was to only have the floor drain open a little and
have the skimmer line open full -- this made the top/surface filtering more powerful to get to a
place where I could see bottom.
If you're generous with the bleach, filtering 24/7, focus the filtering energy toward the top layers,
etc., I believe in a few days you'll be able to see better. Start (while waiting for a kit) to finish,
mine took 12 days, but the most progress was in the last five once I figured out not to let the
chlorine drop. I also had the advantage of cooler weather, so I had better conditions to stay
ahead of the algae, so take my experience with a grain of salt.
Feel free to ask me any questions -- I know how frustrating it can be, but this group here is worth
it's weight in gold.
And since you're starting clean, once you've completey got the pool clear and water balance, you
may wish to consider adding borates as well - you can read up on it and decide. I think it's a good
move especially for a rehab pool because it gives you a little better protection against algae,
fungicides, and to some degree reduces the bug population -- not to mention the aesthetic benefit
of enjoying a super sparkly, soft silky swim
Keep up the good work!
If you're going to try clarifier, I found super floc to actually do something. One treatment and 24 hrs with the pump off after it's circulated. But while it makes the particles heavier for "capture" it will not necessarily touch leaves and you may still have more than you know. After removing 16 wheelbarrows full, shocking and filtering, I still found another pile of leaves
(if you search foreclosed swamp and errant pool service you can see the pics.)I wouldn't vacuum blind -- you don't really know what you'll be sucking up that could clog you lines or get through to our pump impeller, and little stones or pine needles can jam or wreck it.
Instead, what worked for me was to shock at mustard shock levels or higher, and then to overshoot enough to make sure the chlorine read NEVER drops lwer than the min shock level until your next dose. That speeds things up.
One thing I found helpful was a cheapo leaf eater (about $25) that attaches to a hose, creating a
Venturi style force that draws leaves into the attached net. I used it after I "thought" I'd gotten
everything, and low and behold, came up with another wheelbarrow of leaves.
Note that even if you start to get clear, you will stir up the sediment each time you net stuff, so
you might feel like you're going backwards. Sometimes floc proponents say to just let everything
drop, don't disturb anything, and vacuum to waste. However, IMHO, that's not a great plan with a
foreclosure when you don't know what's been dropped in there -- eg I found a cell battery, stuff
like that. So the flc is more of a test to see what's down there, and if it looks good, then vacuum.
Eg. I also, ironically, found a full bottle of floc down there
When you vacuum to waste, you will only be able to do so until you "run out of water" eg water
level gets too low for suction, so you will have to do so a good few times, refilling, letting it settle
out a bit, then doing it again. I suspect you will also have to stop the process several times to
clean out both the skimmer basket and the pump basket. Be sure to prime the pump after you've
cleaned out the basket, even if it says it's self-priming. Be sure to clean off and possibly lubricate
the pump seal.
Another thing I did when filtering to help clarity was to only have the floor drain open a little and
have the skimmer line open full -- this made the top/surface filtering more powerful to get to a
place where I could see bottom.
If you're generous with the bleach, filtering 24/7, focus the filtering energy toward the top layers,
etc., I believe in a few days you'll be able to see better. Start (while waiting for a kit) to finish,
mine took 12 days, but the most progress was in the last five once I figured out not to let the
chlorine drop. I also had the advantage of cooler weather, so I had better conditions to stay
ahead of the algae, so take my experience with a grain of salt.
Feel free to ask me any questions -- I know how frustrating it can be, but this group here is worth
it's weight in gold.
And since you're starting clean, once you've completey got the pool clear and water balance, you
may wish to consider adding borates as well - you can read up on it and decide. I think it's a good
move especially for a rehab pool because it gives you a little better protection against algae,
fungicides, and to some degree reduces the bug population -- not to mention the aesthetic benefit
of enjoying a super sparkly, soft silky swim
Keep up the good work!
