Flocculant! Never again!

[EuropeanPool]

Well, thank you for all the infos you people post here ...

What can I tell you ... I have an in-ground pool, here in Eastern Europe. The people that build it, the company, told me to use on a weekly basis flocculant (with filtering system on), alongside antialgae, granulat chlorine and ph minus (the last two with a test). Besides these, to always have a multifunctional tablet in the skimmer.

No wonder my filtering system turns back water with no pressure in the pool - the flocculant is going in the filter and its effect. Tomorrow I will backwash it again and I will not ever use flocculant. I just hope that it didn’t ruin my filter.

1.) You think it ruined my filter? Until now, after a backwash, the filtering system works fine for like 3-4 days and after, I have no pressure on the water coming back to my pool.

2.) I should shock weekly, right?

3.) What should I do first, after a test? The shock or the PH minus? Or viceversa? And how long should I wait between the shock and the PH minus?

4.) My water looks just fine and crystal clear even if I make a shock and I add the PH minus once at every 2-3 weeks. In the weeks when I don’t do the shock, should I use the antialge? Since I don’t do the shock?

Thank you in advance.

 

[EuropeanPool]

And 5.) ... when I backwash, once a week, if my filter is not ruined (what are the chances? how it worked for people that used deloc with filtering on?) should I do one single cycle of backwash + rinse, or more cicles at the same time? Like 5 x backwash + rinse?

BTW -my filter is sand, an Emaux.

 

[mgtfp]

Welcome to TFP!

Stay away from flocculants. They are a last resort if nothing else helps. When used, the gunk that settles to the bottom of the pool needs to get vacuumed to waste, not through the filter. Clarifiers (also stay away from them) are designed to be run through the filter, and then to be removed via backwashing. Are you sure your pool builder told you to use flocculant, not clarifier? Just to be clear, we don't recommend either of them, but the advice to use flocculant on a weekly basis and run it through the filter is a little unusual, even from so-called pool professionals...

Best thing to do, is to open up your filer and give it a deep clean:

Sand Filter Use and Care - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...

www.troublefreepool.com

If chlorine levels are maintained according to to the FC/CYA chart, then ideally you'll never have to "shock" your pool:

The Free Chlorine and Cyanuric Acid Relationship

Managing your cyanuric acid and Free Chlorine levels is key to stabilizing your pool. Learn how these two items affect each other.

www.troublefreepool.com

"Shocking", we actually call it SLAM (Shock Level And Maintain) here, is only required to fight an algae bloom after allowing chlorine to drop too low.

TFP's philosophy is to get a good quality test kit rather than relying on pool store testing or test strips ("guess" strips). This can be a bit tricky in Europe sometimes. This article here mentions some sources outside the US:

Pool Test Kits - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

The best starting point is probably to go through the pool school articles:

Pool School

www.troublefreepool.com

Summary to get started:

• Go through the Pool School articles
• Stay away from flocculant and clarifier
• Stay away from algaecides (especially copper based ones - copper can create nasty stains on your pool bottom and side surfaces, and is also responsible for turning blond hair green)
• Be careful with these multifunctional tabs. They can raise your stabilizer (CYA) level way beyond required levels, making your chlorine ineffective, if used without care. They also sometimes contain copper based algaecides.
• Use liquid chlorine or a Salt Water Chlorinator. Chlorine (at the right level according the FC/CYA chart) is all your pool needs to keep it sanitized and free from algae.
• Get a test kit (see above) and test your water yourself and stick to the TFP recommended levels for your water parameters:
  
  

  What Are My Ideal Pool Levels?

  Use our tool to find ideal chemical levels for any swimming pool. Check TFP recommended levels on pH, free chlorine, cyanuric acid, and more.

  www.troublefreepool.com
  

  ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry

  There are several items things every pool owner should know about swimming pool water. We share details on the basics of Pool Water Chemistry.

  www.troublefreepool.com
• Best way to lower pH is muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid, HCl)
• Weekly backwashing is usually just a waste of water, it is only required once your filter pressure has increased 25% above the "clean" pressure. But first try to get the flucculant gunk out by deep cleaning.

 

[Newdude]

Hey EP !!! Markus above me hit a grand slam with the info above........ wait, Sorry, You are both non-Americans ....... He kicked a sudden death overtime goal to win the World Cup. He shot. He scored. There is a celebration on the field. All that’s left to do is welcome you to TFP. So, Welcome !!

 

[cowboycasey]

The Taylor K-2006C can be bought in Europe, this will let you take control of your pool

Taylor K-2006C online kaufen | eBay

Tolle Angebote bei eBay für Taylor K-2006C. Sicher einkaufen.

www.ebay.de

 

[EuropeanPool]

They also told me to keep evacuation closed when I perform a backwash, when it is on backwash and to open the evacuation only when I go with rinse. From what I see now, everywhere, the evacuation must be opened on both actions, backwash and rinse, correct?

 

[cowboycasey]

correct, that is the only way all that crud gets out of a filter

 

[EuropeanPool]

I appreciate your straight answer.
And I make one single cicle backwash - rinse? Everywhere I look on the Internet I see one cicle at a time.

The company that made my pool were saying to make several cicles on a single round.

 

[mgtfp]

You can run two cycles. What you are basically doing is changing the water flow direction back and forth, that helps to loosen some stubborn crud.

Maintenance and Cleaning of Pool Filters

Maintaining your swimming pool filter system is important. Learn how to clean and maintain your pool filter at low cost & enjoy a Trouble Free Pool.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[mgtfp]

One more thing: TFP has developed an App that helps calculating the required amounts of pool chemicals to maintain the target levels of all the important parameters:

PoolMath

www.troublefreepool.com