Muddy water with de filter

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kteachrm

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Bronze Supporter
Sep 27, 2014
20
Northeast OH
This last fall, we were blasted with several bad storms. My pool is under a very old Maple tree and several small branches came down and went through the winter cover, resulting in about 5 holes. Of course, a great deal of the decaying debris from the tree went into the pool. I got the worst of the leaves and debris off and removed the cover to see that the bottom of the pool is covered with silt and leaves. I don't have the capacity to vacuum to waste, but with a DE filter, I don't see how to vacuum without ruining the filter. I'm not sure if it makes a difference in the process, but I'm down to about a foot of water. Any suggestions? Thanks! :)
 
A Leaf Gulper. And line the bag with some pantyhose to catch the fine stuff.

Alternately, fill the pool some more, attach your normal vacuum and set it in the pool, slowly feed the hose in vertically to purge all the air, then cap the hose with your hand, haul it out and over and get a siphon going. Then vacuum to waste. It'll make a huge muddy mess of your yard, which is why the leaf gulper (garden hose powered) is my first suggestion.
 
If your vacuum hose is long enough you can set up a siphon by having it out on the ground. You will probably have to tie it to an upright or something so it doesn't move around to much (tends to pull all the slack out of the pool).
 
Thank you both for your suggestions! I've actually been doing both. I added 4 gal. of liquid chlorine Thursday and used a leaf gulper first to get the big leaves. Yesterday I added 4 more gallons of chloring then used the leaf gulper with panty hose to get some of the smaller stuff but after 2 days of doing it and still not being able to see the bottom after 20 minutes to know if I was even making headway, I gave up! This afternoon, I got out my vacuum hose and put the vac head in the pool. I have a drain in the back yard, so I used the shop vac to get suction started and "vacuumed" into the drain. I just added 2 more gallons of chlorine.

My question now is should I be adjusting the ph now and/or adding algaecide, or wait until it's settled down again and I hook up the filter? The guy at the pool store said just chlorine but my neighbor insists I need to put all the other chemicals in.

Thanks again! I don't know what I would do without this site. I trust you guys a lot more than my neighbor. LOL
 
Well, thanks to this forum, my pool is clear and the filter is up and running. I've been reading Pool School about the advantages of using only liquid chlorine and I'm ready to give it a try. I bought stabilizer but I'm nervous about adding it. The "pool store guy" told me it's a waste of money and that stabilizer will only work if you use stabilized chlorine, but I know I read just the opposite here. So, after 30 years of apparently doing the wrong thing and wondering why I can't get rid of the algae, I'm ready for this old dog to learn new tricks. Any advice on adding stabilizer? I have a new test kit on order.

Thanks again for all the good advice!
 
Add the CYA by using what we call the sock method. Get an old sock (no holes) and put the measured amount of CYA. Tie the sock closed and either suspend it in front of a return (hang it from your brush pole works with something weighted on the deck) OR if it still allows flow thru the skimmer, place the sock in the skimmer. Every 15/20 minutes give the sock a squeeze to speed up the process. Please DO NOT follow the directions on the container of CYA to just pour it into the skimmer and don't put the sock in the pool as the CYA is acidic and can bleach/stain pool finishes.

I assume you have a proper test kit. Please add it to your signature.
 
kteachrm said:
Well, thanks to this forum, my pool is clear and the filter is up and running. I've been reading Pool School about the advantages of using only liquid chlorine and I'm ready to give it a try. I bought stabilizer but I'm nervous about adding it. The "pool store guy" told me it's a waste of money and that stabilizer will only work if you use stabilized chlorine, but I know I read just the opposite here. So, after 30 years of apparently doing the wrong thing and wondering why I can't get rid of the algae, I'm ready for this old dog to learn new tricks. Any advice on adding stabilizer? I have a new test kit on order.

Thanks again for all the good advice!
Click to expand...
Stabilizer granules go into a sock or nylon and it gets set in the skimmer or dangled in front of a return so the water flow pummels it. Aim low when adding. It's easy to raise CYA, not so easy to lower it.

What chemicals do what and how to add them is all laid out in Pool School - Recommended Pool Chemicals
 

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OK, the TF 100 came in yesterday and I checked it a few minutes ago. Here's what I got:

pH 7.5 FC 1 CC .5 TC 1.5 CYA 0 TA 70

I added liquid chlorine and will retest later. My question is this. I only added stabilizer for the first time ever to my almost totally newly filled pool just 5 days ago. I only added 2# (13,500 gal pool), as you recommended to go slowly, Richard. Should it still be at 0? I know I read that it can take a week or more to show up, so I'm not sure whether or not to add more stabilizer! I'm going through a lot of liquid chlorine, so I'm wondering if it would be ok to use the tablets I have left from last year until the CYA is high enough.

Thanks again for all of your help! After 30 years, I'm feeling like a newbie again! :confused:
 
kteachrm said:
OK, the TF 100 came in yesterday and I checked it a few minutes ago. Here's what I got:

pH 7.5 FC 1 CC .5 TC 1.5 CYA 0 TA 70

I added liquid chlorine and will retest later. My question is this. I only added stabilizer for the first time ever to my almost totally newly filled pool just 5 days ago. I only added 2# (13,500 gal pool), as you recommended to go slowly, Richard. Should it still be at 0? I know I read that it can take a week or more to show up, so I'm not sure whether or not to add more stabilizer! I'm going through a lot of liquid chlorine, so I'm wondering if it would be ok to use the tablets I have left from last year until the CYA is high enough.

Thanks again for all of your help! After 30 years, I'm feeling like a newbie again! :confused:
Click to expand...
The tablets will add more CYA and they're very acidic. The CYA should register about a day after it's all dissolved. If the test solution is at least a little cloudy, then it means you really were at zero and not just below the lowest mark on the tester, so add the remainder.
 
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