Filter pump appears to not be filtering

[kapauldo]

I have a 5 year old pool, it's a Jandy filter, and this year, I cannot seem to remove the haze from the water. A little more info - when I opened the pool, in April, a bunch of sand pumped into the pool, it turned out the bottom of the pipe that connects to the filter finger thingys broke and the bottom was wide open. I repaired it, and ordered new sand. I added the sand, and added more. It was working fine. I know it was working because backwashing was productive, I could see a bunch of stuff pump out. The sand is now only a month old. Now, my pool is hazy and green. I've added chemicals, flocculant, nothing seems to work. It feels like the water is just circulating and not filtering anymore. I had a thought that perhaps the pipe that goes into the valve wasn't long enough and maybe it was just pumping water directly in there or something, so I measured it by putting a line of sand into the valve intake, placing the valve over the pipe, and noticed that it was only going in about an inch, there was about 2 inches of gap, so I cut the pipe, mended it with a connector and now it's right up in there. I'm almost positive it's not going to work though because it seems to operate the same. A couple more symptoms - The pressure gauge is on the valve, and it seems to keep it's pressure. I shut down the system, open the basket, and the pressure doesn't drop. When I open up the filter by removing the valve, the pressure drops to 0. It also feels like the pressure is higher than normal. If I walk over to the pool and look, the surface water seems to be moving faster than normal. None of this is scientific of course but I can say for sure that the pool has been cloudy for going on 2 weeks now and is not improving. I thought perhaps the spider gasket is bad, haven't opened that up yet but thought I'd post here first. So basically, I have new sand, good pressure, everything seems to be working, but cannot remove haze. Any thoughts on what I should look at next?

Thanks,
Kevin

 

[kevinskii]

Hello fellow Kevin,

First, let's make sure your chemical levels are ok. Please post results using a proper test kit like the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006C. It's possible that algae is growing faster than you can filter it. If you use the PoolMath app then we can see your logs under your user profile.

As for the filter concerns: I apologize, but I just don't understand at all what you are describing. Maybe someone else will, but in the meantime, maybe post some photos of your equipment pad?

 

[kapauldo]

Thanks Kevin, is it really possible that algae is reproducing faster than it can be filtered? I just ran the filter for 24 hours and hyper chlorinated (I am truing to follow the SLAM thing but I don't have the precision test kits so I figured I'd approximate by raising chlorine super high and keep the filter running) and it seems less green this morning, but still super cloudy. Is it possible that I'm misintepreting 2 weeks of cloudiness being due to the filter not working and instead it's because the algae is reproducing so fast?

 

[splashpad]

Hello! It looks like you've been around the forums since '16, that's great! Can you add your pool, equipment & test kit details to your signature?
Great job repairing the filter!

Do you have any testing kits on hand?

If you can get either the whole Tf-100 setup or at least acquire FAS-DPD and CYA tests along with the HTH 5-way drop test kit from Walmart, that can give everyone better/actual info to help along... Otherwise it's just randoming suggesting, dumping (or throwing) things in the water Not the preferred method of clearing water

 

[mknauss]

Filters do not remove algae, chlorine does.

 

[splashpad]

Thanks Kevin, is it really possible that algae is reproducing faster than it can be filtered? I just ran the filter for 24 hours and hyper chlorinated (I am truing to follow the SLAM thing but I don't have the precision test kits so I figured I'd approximate by raising chlorine super high and keep the filter running) and it seems less green this morning, but still super cloudy. Is it possible that I'm misintepreting 2 weeks of cloudiness being due to the filter not working and instead it's because the algae is reproducing so fast?

Q-1) Yes
Q-2) One "shock" won't clear the algae if it has that much of a head-start
Q-3) I'd order an FAS-DPD test asap, and try to get either the full TF-100 test kit on order or at least the Walmart HTH 6-way drop test to get under way testing properly! (You'll need the FAS-DPD and CYA tests also)
Q-4) Possible, if the filter wasn't filtering properly combined with inadequate chlorine levels, you could definitely be dealing with a "raging" algae bloom

 

[kapauldo]

I'm happy to say my pool is crystal clear. I followed the advice here, I kept the chlorine level high and ran the filter 24 hours. I cannot believe how quickly chlorine drops in the sunlight. I guess you have to see it to believe it. Thanks for everyone's help here!