So, we stupidly assumed that any DE would be fine get our pool a little clearer. Now the pool is murky and has a film on top. What is the best way to go about getting the bad DE out?
Garden Grade DE in pool!
- Thread starter Josh_B
- Start date
dBsooner
Gold Supporter
Welcome to posting! That’s frustrating I’m sure! Just wanted to welcome you and thank you for reaching out for assistance. I’ll be following this thread for notes.
- Jun 24, 2021
- 16,276
- Pool Size
- 29000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-60 Plus
Look for a fibrous additive. Some are cellulose based. Some members in areas that DE is not allowed to be dumped or are concerned with the DE dust use it.
www.troublefreepool.com
The sand filter needs to be cleaned out. Get what you can with the filter fiber (Jack’s Magic sells “Filter Fiber Stuff”) and then change the sand.
Also, you might try turning off the filter overnight and seeing what settles out to the bottom. Then, if you have the vacuum equipment, vacuum the bottom, VERY SLOWLY, to WASTE. You’re going use a lot of fill water but it’s all you can do at this point.
Cellulose fiber in DE filter
Hi All, I have a few questions regarding Cellulose fiber replacement in a DE filter. I have a Pentair FNS+ 60 DE filter in which I'm using a Cellulose fiber replacement. Every 3 or so weeks my filter pressure runs high and backwashing becomes futile. As time goes on, backwashing seems to...
www.troublefreepool.com
The sand filter needs to be cleaned out. Get what you can with the filter fiber (Jack’s Magic sells “Filter Fiber Stuff”) and then change the sand.
Also, you might try turning off the filter overnight and seeing what settles out to the bottom. Then, if you have the vacuum equipment, vacuum the bottom, VERY SLOWLY, to WASTE. You’re going use a lot of fill water but it’s all you can do at this point.
Would putting a flocculant in the pool help any then if you are suggesting turning off the pump and seeing what falls out?Look for a fibrous additive. Some are cellulose based. Some members in areas that DE is not allowed to be dumped or are concerned with the DE dust use it.
Cellulose fiber in DE filter
Hi All, I have a few questions regarding Cellulose fiber replacement in a DE filter. I have a Pentair FNS+ 60 DE filter in which I'm using a Cellulose fiber replacement. Every 3 or so weeks my filter pressure runs high and backwashing becomes futile. As time goes on, backwashing seems to...
The sand filter needs to be cleaned out. Get what you can with the filter fiber (Jack’s Magic sells “Filter Fiber Stuff”) and then change the sand.
Also, you might try turning off the filter overnight and seeing what settles out to the bottom. Then, if you have the vacuum equipment, vacuum the bottom, VERY SLOWLY, to WASTE. You’re going use a lot of fill water but it’s all you can do at this point.
Hi, welcome to TFP! The garden grade stuff will eventually filter out. Flocc requires that you vacuum to waste. Odds are you will be vacuuming out accumulations of flocc several mornings in a row if you use it. You could just keep the pump off overnight and vacuum to waste in the morning without using the flocc and probably get most of the DE out of the pool.
Before using the DE how did the water look? You said you wanted it to be clearer so I'm assuming the water was a little cloudy?
Before using the DE how did the water look? You said you wanted it to be clearer so I'm assuming the water was a little cloudy?
- Jul 17, 2019
- 4,078
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Maybe im missing something, but why not just backwash? The sand stays, the DE in the filter is gone. Then just let the sand filter do it’s job clearing up the rest of the DE not in the filter.
Looking back I was just getting impatient and was trying to hasten the process of opening the pool. We had shocked it and got all the checks up to correct levels but we’re waiting on a replacement salt cell in the mail. We have a sand filter btw if that matters with your suggestion to just let it filter out naturally
I was under the impression that the sand wouldn’t be able to pick up that kind of de because it’s too fine
A handful or two of pool DE (or cellulose fiber) with each backwash and filter a lot. May take a while for any that got deep into the sand bed to be gone. I prefer cellulose as it is completely inert and any residue that may be on the ground from a backwash will naturally bio-degrade. DE will hang around and be a hazard for a long time if left on the ground.
For anyone wondering, I got some flocculant and let it do it’s thing for 48 hrs and vacuumed that all that out and that seems to have solved all my problems. Thanks to everyone’s suggestions.
dBsooner
Gold Supporter
Your sand will likely need to be replaced now.
FOR EVERYONE: Posting this here so anyone else that finds this thread won't think this was the solution. TFP does not recommend using flocculant. Flocculant is by far not "trouble free" and can severely damage your filter if used incorrectly. For this reason, TFP does not recommend using it.
From Non-Recommended Pool Chemicals:
And from Flocculant - Further Reading:
Vacuum through filter or to waste? Makes a difference to the sand.
dBsooner
Gold Supporter
Even if you vacuumed to waste, bypassing filter media, you likely still didn’t get all the floc out. Therefore when you start circulating again you’ll end up getting it in the filter media eventually. Yes? I mean you could get most, but there could still be residual leftovers.
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the pressure right now is lower than it was at the beginning of the season when I opened up the pool. If I see the pressure start to rise and never drop when I back flush, I will know I messed up I guess. If that happens, I’ll post here as well for anyone else that runs into the same trouble I had.
Besides, the sand in my filter is probably overdue for a change out anyway.
Try deep cleaning your sand filter before you swap out your sand. As long as the flocc didn't bind to your sand a deep clean will usually resolve filtration issues. Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter
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