I'm starting to think I have a hole in my Apollo 52-2 DE filter. Opened the pool this weekend (water was crystal clear thanks to all the guidance here) after my first self close last fall. Everything was quite smooth and after my initial vacuuming of worms, bugs and other grime primed my filter with DE. the next day I have what looks like sand all over the bottom of my pool. I'm thinking its the DE that I added. Is there anything else besides a hole that could have caused this (adding DE too fast, adding too much, etc)? Other than a crack in the PVC elbow at the bottom of the unit 2 years ago when the pool company closed it I haven't had any issues with the system. It's $550 for a new grid assembly, or I can buy new grids for $375 and rebuild. Any guidance on how to identify if it's a hole in the mesh over the grid (don't visually see it when I look at it) or other issue?
Hole in DE Filter?
- Thread starter fezzer0014
- Start date
MITBeta
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- May 28, 2020
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It collects around the edges of the pool. Looks a bit darker in the photos, but looks a lot like sand (but no sand filter and no idea where it would be coming from) in real life. I vacuumed last night and everything looked pretty good and then this morning it was back again. Pretty consistent that it's there, vacuum then it reappears. I've tried vacuuming with it on backwash but then need to add DE back so the cycle repeats.
MITBeta
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Yes, I vacuum it up and it comes back which leads me to believe somehow it's going through or around my filter
MITBeta
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How long does it take to come back? Does it "poof" away when you try to vacuum? Can you post a full set of water sample data?
FC
CC
TA
CH
CYA
pH
FC
CC
TA
CH
CYA
pH
Doesn't make a visible cloud when vacuumed, seems like it gets sucked up no issues. The DE powder i put in is much more white in color but not sure when it comes in contact with liquid if that changes the color
FC 4.5
CC 0
TA 90
CH 225
CYA 20 (currently have a sock in skimmer with stabilizer in it, but this was happening pre and post sock)
pH 7.8
FC 4.5
CC 0
TA 90
CH 225
CYA 20 (currently have a sock in skimmer with stabilizer in it, but this was happening pre and post sock)
pH 7.8
MITBeta
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I wouldn't be surprised if this was dead algae. I had a similar problem 2 years back and I chased problems with my DE filter when the problem was all in water chemistry. Have you done an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test?
Yes, did the overnight chlorine loss test when i opened the pool last weekend and didn't lose any overnight
MITBeta
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Maybe a little on the low side. Its running at ~7PSI and from memory last year I would have said it was in the 10-13PSI range
MITBeta
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What was your FC when you opened? When did you add chlorine relative to starting to see the white-ish stuff in the pool?
If it were me, I'd SLAM, vacuuming at least daily, to see if the amount of white decreases. This is a relatively cheap solution to try compared to replacing those grids.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but this looks a lot like the problem I had that I referenced above.
If it were me, I'd SLAM, vacuuming at least daily, to see if the amount of white decreases. This is a relatively cheap solution to try compared to replacing those grids.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but this looks a lot like the problem I had that I referenced above.
I opened it and it was 4.5 FC with 0 CC. I had a bunch of worms and bugs and stuff on the bottom so once i cleared that out i charged the filter with DE and that's when it showed up. I'm wondering if i pull the grid and look for holes as well as make sure everything is tight if that will help with the issue. If I only have to replace a handful of grids it's not that bad, as well as i'm wondering if things have loosened a bit over time if it's seeping though a broken seal so to speak.
You very likely have tears in the filter grids. I and at least two others received faulty grids from a new Pentair DE filter that resulted in the DE being blown back into the pool. It looks just like what you describe. Check the filter grids one by one, especially at the bottom, as this is where 3 of us have experienced the stitching coming loose and the entire grid(s) being open at the bottom. It was no doubt a manufacturing flaw and poor quality control, so that the stitching was either not secured properly and unraveled, or the person or machine sewing the bottom of the grid simply missed the fabric.
I am new to pool ownership and I am having very similar issues. I still get my pool serviced and trying to learn more. I have a DE filter. I started seeing the sandy looking stuff after I got my pool re-plastered. we have been chasing it down for months. The amount of the "stuff " in the pool keeps getting heavier over time. Not sure what to do?
IUsedToSail
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I had the same issue this past week. Last year I disassembled the filter towards the end of the season and cleaned the grids. Over the winter I found a complete set of replacement grids on Amazon at a crazy low price ($85) so I bought them. My intention was to open the pool using the old grids and then install the new ones after the everything was sparkling clean. Today I installed a SWG, an anode, and the new grids; I found a hole in one of the grids that I didn't notice last year. We just bought this house last Summer and the manufacturer date on the filter was 2015, so I'm guessing that they had 6 seasons on them. Anyway, with the replacement grids the water flow is so high that it's a problem, I had to lower the pump's priming setting by 650 rpms and tomorrow I need to reprogram the entire schedule.
See pic below.
See pic below.
Attachments
For anyone in the future that may have a similar issue, the driving force was the pins on the push pull valve had sheared off. It was then not sitting in the right position and I had filter material that was leaking back into the pool. I did have holes in the grids, but the issue persisted past replacing them. Hope this might help someone in the future.
