Is phosphate treatment my final answer???

[chazas]

Wow, this thread is different! Can't wait to see what happens....

 

[Meghanfoss]

View attachment 423284


You GET it. You really get it.

The happiness this brings me is not measurable. I was miserable and clueless seeking guidance on from high schoolers working at the pool store. Wish I had found TFP so much sooner.

 

[Newdude]

Wish I had found TFP so much sooner.

Speaking of........ wanna know how I landed here ? I wad told to acid bath my SWG for 15 mins at the middle and end of the season. It soaked for 3.25 hours in straight acid over its lifespan and died with 6k hours showing. I learned on day 2 how to check it and why it likely died.

So yeah. When we say we were in your shoes. We were in your *actual* shoes.

 

[kimkats]

That pool store's advice ruined my liner My CYA and pH/TA were SO wrong my liner "dry rotted" with water in it My toe found something on the bottom of the liner one afternoon. I played with it and the whole bottom of my liner started cracking open!! I made it to the side of the pool just before all 25,600 gallons of water rushed out. THAT was when I found TFP!

 

[Meghanfoss]

That pool store's advice ruined my liner My CYA and pH/TA were SO wrong my liner "dry rotted" with water in it My toe found something on the bottom of the liner one afternoon. I played with it and the whole bottom of my liner started cracking open!! I made it to the side of the pool just before all 25,600 gallons of water rushed out. THAT was when I found TFP!

That must have been terrifying!!

 

[Meghanfoss]

So we are about 2.5 hours in…

Water is a bit cloudy but nothing crazy. My filters normal PSI reading when clean is about 14 (a bit higher if I have the Polaris running but I don’t for this). So far it has crept up to 18 and indicates for me to backwash at a PSI of 25.

Should I wait for that moment or do it in a few hours before turning in for the evening?

 

[Lilypad]

Will let bigger better pool brains answer your question.

@Newdude is right. You REALLY get this!

Very interesting watching this!

 

[kimkats]

I would do it as late in the evening as you could to get as much "good" out of as you can. Just check it every 30 mins to make sure it does not skyrocket up!

and yes it was VERY scary and my husband sure can run!!! He helped pull me up onto the deck!

 

[ajw22]

I think you can let your filter run overnight without backwashing.

 

[Meghanfoss]

@ajw22 @kimkats gonna monitor closely until I no longer have sunlight. Holding steady at PSI 18 so my inclination is we will be backwashing in the morning barring any sudden jump in pressure.

 

[Meghanfoss]

Pool has all but cleared from the cloudiness this morning and filter is at 22 PSI. Probably will backwash and add back DE later this morning.

At what point would we consider phosphate treatment “complete” and want to try and reboot the SWG? I was thinking after todays backwash we give it another full day of filtering to see where the pressure reading is at and if we need another backwash.

Thoughts?

 

[Orion7319]

Pool has all but cleared from the cloudiness this morning and filter is at 22 PSI. Probably will backwash and add back DE later this morning.

At what point would we consider phosphate treatment “complete” and want to try and reboot the SWG? I was thinking after todays backwash we give it another full day of filtering to see where the pressure reading is at and if we need another backwash.

Thoughts?

It will have worked when the phosphate test shows it worked. If it’s clear it’s a good time to test.

 

[Meghanfoss]

It will have worked when the phosphate test shows it worked. If it’s clear it’s a good time to test.

So!! Here is the kicker…I do not have a phosphate test. I feel like this experiment all came together pretty quickly and when we addressed “should I get my own phosphate test?” earlier in the thread, we weren’t there yet or even sure if I was gonna go through with it. I guess we should have revisited this topic but alas…

So, since we started with pool store numbers, should I just take a sample back to the pool store to evaluate results? I know…the horror.

 

[Jimrahbe]

So, since we started with pool store numbers, should I just take a sample back to the pool store to evaluate results?

Meghan,

Yes.. Go back to the same store and get the water tested again.

Jim R.

 

[Meghanfoss]

Morning update:

Water was clear and filter showed PSI of 22 so I backwashed. That was quite the experience! I thought the sight glass would never clear and actually stopped at one point to redirect my hose. Once that was complete, went back to filter mode and added DE through skimmer. PSI is now at it’s usual 14 and will monitor that regularly.

I lost a good bit of water so have the garden hose in the pool now.

FC this morning is 10. Once I get my water level back up and it mixes in a bit, I’ll test the water again for CYA and salt, then head to the ((cringe…gulp)) pool store ((shivers)) to see what the phosphate reading is.

Really hoping as soon as I post this someone hasn’t responded with suggestion to do something entirely different haha.

 

[Orion7319]

Morning update:

Water was clear and filter showed PSI of 22 so I backwashed. That was quite the experience! I thought the sight glass would never clear and actually stopped at one point to redirect my hose. Once that was complete, went back to filter mode and added DE through skimmer. PSI is now at it’s usual 14 and will monitor that regularly.

I lost a good bit of water so have the garden hose in the pool now.

FC this morning is 10. Once I get my water level back up and it mixes in a bit, I’ll test the water again for CYA and salt, then head to the ((cringe…gulp)) pool store ((shivers)) to see what the phosphate reading is.

Really hoping as soon as I post this someone hasn’t responded with suggestion to do something entirely different haha.

Sounds like a good plan.

 

[Meghanfoss]

Sounds like a good plan.

Phew

 

[IceShadow]

If they don’t show a drop I would get my own phosphate test at that point. It’s pretty cheap on Amazon but obviously would take a few days to get.

 

[jedigrover]

So, since we started with pool store numbers, should I just take a sample back to the pool store to evaluate results? I know…the horror.

I think that if you're trying to backup a warranty claim, that makes even more sense. "See, a POOL STORE (potentially one of their dealers?) said it was clear."

 

[ajw22]

I expect that the phosphates dropped. The water cloudiness and the filter show the phosphate emover did something. I would not worry about the phosphate level now or bother to get a phosphate test kit.

Tonight after sunset measure the FC and turn the SWG on at 100%. If the phosphates made a difference and the SWG is now working there should be a substantial FC increase in the morning.

You can run the SWG tomorrow during the day and see if the SWG holds the FC level or you get a FC loss.