Hooray I'm Official!

[Phames11]

Hi I'm Milo, long time lurker first time poster. I have a pool, it's nice...enough. It needs work. I started by replacing the 70 sq foot cartridge filter with a Pentair DE cartridge filter 80sqft size. It's lovely the water sparkles now and my Chems stay balanced more since the water is cleaner. I guess. I haven't had to backwash yet thank God. I was cleaning my old cartridge filter 2 times a week because it was backing up so often. So far it's been 4 weeks and no cleaning needed. I'm using perlite instead of de. I've got kids don't need them or me getting the black lung. My setup is not normal. Most people like doing what everyone else does. I don't like doing what everyone else does. Usually pool boys recommend something that's easier on them. So I fired him and bought the new filter. Got the test strips and balanced the pool myself. Low and behold it's not green!

Got a great deal on the filter because I have a friend who does installs. Saved a boat load on the filter. I'd recommend the filter to anyone. I went huge because I have two trees directly over my pool and needed the filtration and ease of not needing to backwash this system. Just hose it off into the grass and recharge. Good to go for another few months. I was replacing cartridges every 3 months. They suck at 48 bucks a pop. I estimate at least 3 months before I need to clean the filter . The pressure hasn't risen 1psi since the install.

This post is disjointed and does not follow a linear thought because that's how intros go. Thanks for reading!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!

Typically cartridge filters that plug up quickly are because you have an algae bloom. They are not always visible.

You should invest in a proper test kit. Test(Guess) strips will not cut it. See Pool School - Test Kits Compared. I have the TF100. Great Value.

Can you add what state, province, or country LUTZ is in? Different climates lend to different methods.

Also -- a signature really helps us help you -- see Pool School - Getting Started

Take care.

 

[Brentr]

Welcome to the forum!

Typically cartridge filters that plug up quickly are because you have an algae bloom. They are not always visible.

You should invest in a proper test kit. Test(Guess) strips will not cut it. See Pool School - Test Kits Compared. I have the TF100. Great Value.

Can you add what state, province, or country LUTZ is in? Different climates lend to different methods.

Also -- a signature really helps us help you -- see Pool School - Getting Started

Take care.

Another Florida pool in the house, welcome
mknauss Lutz is a county just north of Tampa, FL
I totally agree, sounds like you have an algea bloom. Get a good test kit and post the numbers
FC -
CC -
pH -
TA -
CH -
CYA -
I too have the TF-100

 

[edwin2014]

Don't forget borates

 

[Phames11]

Another Florida pool in the house, welcome
mknauss Lutz is a county just north of Tampa, FL
I totally agree, sounds like you have an algea bloom. Get a good test kit and post the numbers
FC -
CC -
pH -
TA -
CH -
CYA -
I too have the TF-100

FC 3
PH 7.6
TA 80
CH 280
CYA 30

No Borates used.

CSI of .06

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Phames11, your Guess-Strips might give you a TC, but you really need to know both the FC (free chlorine) as well as the CC (combined chloramines, aka the cooties) that are in the water. Test strips aren't accurate nor do they give you exact numbers but rather a "range" which is pretty worthless when you need to know the exact number. Clear water does not mean safe water. You can be at risk for person to person transmission of disease (particularly gastro types) as well as viruses etc. and yet the water *looks* clear.

You need a serious pool tester! The kind that tells you accurately in exact numbers your:
FC
CC
pH
TA
CH
CYA

That makes for a safer pool for you and the kids!

Maddie

 

[Phames11]

Those numbers I posted are with a test kit from Taylor.

 

[mknauss]

Those numbers I posted are with a test kit from Taylor.

Great! Can you put what Model in your signature? You need the K2006 with the FAS-DPD chlorine test to ensure you have accurate tests.

Take care.

 

[Phames11]

Another Florida pool in the house, welcome
mknauss Lutz is a county just north of Tampa, FL
I totally agree, sounds like you have an algea bloom. Get a good test kit and post the numbers
FC -
CC -
pH -
TA -
CH -
CYA -
I too have the TF-100

HAD an algae bloom. After dumping 4 2.5 gallon jugs of liquid chlorine 12%, a month ago with a bag of shock...I had no bloom. And yes I scrubbed the walls, many times each week and still do. My pool has a painted surface. It's not looking good, I see roller marks. I'm not made of money so it's looking like close to a year before I have the money saved up to refinish.

 

[mknauss]

If you have a FAS-DPD test, I would suggest a Overnight Chlorine Loss Test. You did remove your visible algae. But it is possible you did not complete through a full SLAM Process and have algae with out it being readily visible.

Take care.

 

[Phames11]

Yeah no.....I've slammed the pool. All is well. I just wanted to share my woes and introduce myself. I didn't expect such a willingness to discover and fix all my problems so rapidly!

Alas, once I stopped paying someone else to work my pool the problems fixed themselves. Or I fixed the problems. Any way, it's all good for now.