Hi, really need help…

[OrlandoBrian]

Just had pool resurface to pebble tec 2 months ago. They just started the salt system about 3 weeks ago. From start up to now in front of my lights at night there are thousands of what appears to be tiny tiny bubbles or something else flowing by in both the pool and the hot tub. I wasn’t sure if it was bubbles (still not sure) or debris. My local pool store recommended putting about a pound of D.E into my skimmer so that my new Hayward cartridge filter would catch small debris.

As soon as I dumped it in the skimmer cloudiness appears in my spa and then went away. Now every couple of hours my spa gets milky white then clears in 15 minutes for another few hours.

The thousands of specks are still there 4 days later and now I keep rinsing my cartridge filter to get the D.E out.

Thoughts on the DE issue and also the thousands of specks of something or bubbles?

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

There are lots of dissolved solids in pool water. Pool light at night is not the way to judge pool water or to do anything.

You probably still had lots of plaster dust in the water that reflected the light.

Your local pool store did you no favors recommending you add DE to your cartridge filter.

I recommend you don’t look for answers at a Pool Store. They win by selling you something whether it fixes your problem or not.

At this point let your filter do its work and clean the cartridge regularly.

 

[Bperry]

Just had pool resurface to pebble tec 2 months ago. They just started the salt system about 3 weeks ago. From start up to now in front of my lights at night there are thousands of what appears to be tiny tiny bubbles or something else flowing by in both the pool and the hot tub. I wasn’t sure if it was bubbles (still not sure) or debris. My local pool store recommended putting about a pound of D.E into my skimmer so that my new Hayward cartridge filter would catch small debris.

As soon as I dumped it in the skimmer cloudiness appears in my spa and then went away. Now every couple of hours my spa gets milky white then clears in 15 minutes for another few hours.

The thousands of specks are still there 4 days later and now I keep rinsing my cartridge filter to get the D.E out.

Thoughts on the DE issue and also the thousands of specks of something or bubbles?

The DE was terrible advice.

 

[OrlandoBrian]

Will the cartridge filter eventually get rid of the D.E?

Also, what do you think those thousands of particles in front of the light could be? they look like either specks of something or tiny tiny bubbles?

Thank you all so much for helping… I was thinking about draining pool and starting over with a water truck to fill it

 

[ajw22]

Will the cartridge filter eventually get rid of the D.E?

It should eventually. It will take time.

Also, what do you think those thousands of particles in front of the light could be? they look like either specks of something or tiny tiny bubbles?

My WAG is plaster dust.

Thank you all so much for helping… I was thinking about draining pool and starting over with a water truck to fill it

You can do that.

 

[OrlandoBrian]

Wouldn’t it be crazy if it was still plaster dust? Honest question as I am lost on this… I have brushed the pool day times a day for the past two months and rinse the cartridge filter at least every other day. Sometimes once a day… that’s why I’m frustrated

Also, one last question… is the pool safe for my 5 year old to swim in with DE floating in it?

Thanks again!

 

[ajw22]

Wouldn’t it be crazy if it was still plaster dust? Honest question as I am lost on this… I have brushed the pool day times a day for the past two months and rinse the cartridge filter at least every other day. Sometimes once a day… that’s why I’m frustrated

What do you find on it when you clean the cartridge every day or two?

Also, one last question… is the pool safe for my 5 year old to swim in with DE floating in it?

Yes.

 

[ajw22]

Post pics of your pool equipment.

 

[OrlandoBrian]

Sometimes it’s dirty sometimes it’s rather clean… at the top of the cartridge I sometimes get small tiny pebbles

 

[Bperry]

Wouldn’t it be crazy if it was still plaster dust? Honest question as I am lost on this… I have brushed the pool day times a day for the past two months and rinse the cartridge filter at least every other day. Sometimes once a day… that’s why I’m frustrated

Also, one last question… is the pool safe for my 5 year old to swim in with DE floating in it?

Thanks again!

I’m not sure I’d drain it for this. Just keep filtering it out. As long as the filter is dirty every time you clean it, that means stuff is being removed.

 

[RLP]

Your salt water chlorine generator will absolutely produce tiny bubbles that will be visible at the returns.

 

[OrlandoBrian]

I’m not sure I’d drain it for this. Just keep filtering it out. As long as the filter is dirty every time you clean it, that means stuff is being removed.

Here is the odd thing… my return into my hot tub has a cloudy stream coming out and making hot tub cloudy and that spills into the pool. I am cleaning filter 2 times a day. I’ve also used clarifier… could I use flocculant? I have no way to filter to waste, but do have a cordless robotic pool vacuum… Polaris freedom

 

[BDY]

Do NOT use floc with cartridge filters - you will ruin the filters and have a major headache getting it out of the pool

 

[OrlandoBrian]

My pool guy was going to do t… he suggested shutting off the pump this upcoming Monday night. Let it sit for 24 hours and he would bring his riptide self contained Vaccum and vacuum everything up.

Would that work?

 

[Cena_sea]

Is your skimmer socks/hair net catching any of it? If yes you’d have to clean filters less.

 

[Bperry]

My pool guy was going to do t… he suggested shutting off the pump this upcoming Monday night. Let it sit for 24 hours and he would bring his riptide self contained Vaccum and vacuum everything up.

Would that work?

Keep far away from floc. I would have advised against clarifier as well. Given the info we have so far, You simply don’t need it.

 

[OrlandoBrian]

First thank you all so much for all the help... I have a 5 year old and kind of freaked out to let him swim since I know DE is floating in the pool. Ill post a pic of the equipment shortly. C1200 Hayward cartridge cleaner.

Just to recap - Pool resurfaced and filled with filtered water July 16th. Since then, I brush the pool at least twice daily - like a complete brush - I have change the pool cartridge 3 times and usually clean it twice daily until a few weeks ago. Now, its about 1 every other day. it usually appears to be slightly dirty, but not too bad. Since filling and prior to converting to salt after 30 days, I noticed either tiny particles (like thousands - lookes like sprite bubbles) floating across the light that is in the middle of the pool and also the spa light ( the jet is to the right of it). When I stop the pump, the particles stop and I see them but barely at that point. I have added clarifier several times as well as most recently being told to add DE to the skimmer.

Since doing that I still have the thousands of particles or bubbles (cannot tell), but at different times of day, the spa goes totally cloudy and then clears up then cloudy then clear every other hour or so..

I put a skimmer sock on and it looks fairly clean after 24 hours. I brought it in and squeezed it out into a glass and its cloudy water... other than that it looks clean.

Just concerned since I have a 5 year old and him swimming in something that could be DE and something else. All the chemicals test really well. Outside of the on and off during the day of the hot tub going cloudy and the nighttime cloudiness and bubbles around the light, the pool looks really clear.

Just totally confused as to what to do i saw somewhere someone saying use a slime bag or gym socks over the returns...


please help with go forward

 

[ajw22]

What SWG system do you have? Set at what %?

What automation do you have?

Give us a rubdown of your pool equipment.

I suspect your spa going cloudy is due to your SWG generation cycling and you are seeing hydrogen from the SWG generated. That is normal.

How does your pool look during the day? Seeing stuff reflected in the water from the lights is normal.

Your pool sounds fine. Let the kiddo swim.

 

[OrlandoBrian]

Ichlor 30 and it’s about a 16k gallon pool.

I have it around 10 when it’s running. The massive cloudiness has happened since adding DE to skimmer because I now see it around light in pool at night as well in addition to bubbles

 

[Bperry]

Ichlor 30 and it’s about a 16k gallon pool.

I have it around 10 when it’s running. The massive cloudiness has happened since adding DE to skimmer because I now see it around light in pool at night as well in addition to bubbles

For future reference, you don’t want to add DE with a cartridge filter (only in a sand filter). I personally dislike DE for this very reason and would never use it for anything.