New to Washington from Florida, inherited 2 yr swamp

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Okay It is tomorrow! Are you ready for battle??? It will be a hard one but it can be won!

Takes lots of pics and share them here. You might even make it into the "Hall of Swamp to Clear" record book!

Kim (hoping you keep all of your bottles to the end so we can see how many it takes!)
 
I'm still preparing! I have collected the following questions:
1. Should I do a deep clean on the sand filter before the slam? Either way, should I do one after the SLAM has completed and all tests passed?
2. When, if at all, should I use recirculate as opposed to filter during the slam? I do not have a due date on a clean pool, I have POP, but I was wondering about the changing PH chemistry from hose water and loss of cya during all those backwashes impacting the efficiency of my bleach adds.
3. Found "Hayward W530 Large Capacity Leaf Canister with Mesh Bag Replacement" online and wondered if it could be used between the vac head hose and the skimmer basket hose in. It is several times bigger than my skimmer basket! I might be able to do that instead of siphon or trash pump if you think it would work as I imagine it, or however you suggest.
4. Leaf debris in pool is ridiculous here. What's my best option to keep the leaves from clogging the skimmer basket? Currently I am afraid to leave it on when no one is home or while we sleep. I am imagining plastic 2x4 attached to the leaf rake basket all mounted to the side railing a few feet before the skimmer basket.
5. Must all sand backwash last 3-5 minutes during the slam or just the 20-40 until clean? Also, 20 second rinse good for either duration backwash?
6. I was wondering how fast the chlorine sanitizes and oxidizes the nasty stuff. If I borrowed a boat trolling motor,circulator pump, or even used a trash/sub/sump pump to move it around within the pool itself during slamming, would that reduce the time I would have to wait between retests?
7. What is the upper limit of calcium in a vinyl pool? I'm wondering because I am sure there will be times I'll need to just throw some on hand calhypo in when I'm out of bleach and going to the store isn't tempting. (in the future, not during the slam)
8. In planning for TFP yearly costs, using 2.5ppm/day, I'm coming up with 63oz of 8.25% per day; so basically one 121 oz jug every other day, totaling 180 jugs/year @ $3 each, for a yearly bleach total of $540. Obviously there are the occasional water, MA, baking soda, and CYA, but right now I'm mainly focused on the big one, bleach. Is that about right?
Thanks!
 
Awesome questions :) I will answer some in bold below

BattleOfYakima said:
I'm still preparing! I have collected the following questions:
1. Should I do a deep clean on the sand filter before the slam? I would do a deep clean, wont hurt Either way, should I do one after the SLAM has completed and all tests passed? yes you can, no issues
2. When, if at all, should I use recirculate as opposed to filter during the slam? That is a good one, most people use it when they just do not want to filter, most of the time I have heard of the DE filters getting clogged and the pressure rising faster than 8 hours while they are at work.. with that said, if your filter pressure is rising more than 25% from clean pressure in 8 hours/while your at work then use recirculate. I do not have a due date on a clean pool, I have POP, but I was wondering about the changing PH chemistry from hose water and loss of cya during all those backwashes impacting the efficiency of my bleach adds. you will bring your water to correct levels before you start the SLAM, once you start the SLAM dont worry about PH or CYA..
3. Found "Hayward W530 Large Capacity Leaf Canister with Mesh Bag Replacement" online and wondered if it could be used between the vac head hose and the skimmer basket hose in. It is several times bigger than my skimmer basket! I might be able to do that instead of siphon or trash pump if you think it would work as I imagine it, or however you suggest. I just bought one, mine is here and it works great, everything gets collected before it hits the pump
4. Leaf debris in pool is ridiculous here. What's my best option to keep the leaves from clogging the skimmer basket? Currently I am afraid to leave it on when no one is home or while we sleep. I am imagining plastic 2x4 attached to the leaf rake basket all mounted to the side railing a few feet before the skimmer basket. for leaves or anything else in the pool I use "the pool cleaner :) attached to the above zodiac.. with both of those cleaning every time the pump comes on my pool is leafless and spotless
5. Must all sand backwash last 3-5 minutes during the slam or just the 20-40 until clean? Also, 20 second rinse good for either duration backwash? untill it is clean, may be 30 seconds and it may take 5 minutes, just depends on how much gunk its filtering
6. I was wondering how fast the chlorine sanitizes and oxidizes the nasty stuff. If I borrowed a boat trolling motor,circulator pump, or even used a trash/sub/sump pump to move it around within the pool itself during slamming, would that reduce the time I would have to wait between retests? just use the pool pump and filter, that is what it is designed for, brushing the pool is better for it and you get free exercise :)
7. What is the upper limit of calcium in a vinyl pool? I'm wondering because I am sure there will be times I'll need to just throw some on hand calhypo in when I'm out of bleach and going to the store isn't tempting. (in the future, not during the slam) we do not recommend just throwing anything in, we test and add specific amounts for what is needed.
8. In planning for TFP yearly costs, using 2.5ppm/day, I'm coming up with 63oz of 8.25% per day; so basically one 121 oz jug every other day, totaling 180 jugs/year @ $3 each, for a yearly bleach total of $540. Obviously there are the occasional water, MA, baking soda, and CYA, but right now I'm mainly focused on the big one, bleach. Is that about right? I think your price may be a little high but it really just depends.. I went to a salt water generator for that exact reason, all chlorine comes out to just about the same cost, SWG is upfront cost and bleach/chlorine is lower but you will always be going to the store to get more.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

I hope this helps :)
 
There is no real upper limit on CH as long as you manage your CSI. It is easier to manage with CH under something around 400-500 ppm.

When the water is below 65-70° you will use much less chlorine, maybe 1ppm or less. When it is below 50° you will only use a few ppm per week.
 
cowboycasey - thank you for the answers and sharing what you use for leaf vac, i like it and it's less expensive too!
pooldv - thanks for the clarification and also the reminder that my calculations don't account for the delightfully cold months here!
kimkats - thank you for motivation and tips
Richard320 - thanks again for those detailed answers, love them!

I've been calling laundry mats, dry cleaners, janitorial supply, farm supply, pool stores, pool cleaners, HASA, dairy supply, winery supply, and have a call in to the city about their public pools. I really, really want a source of chlorine that beats Walmart 8.25% 121 oz bleach! I was so, so, so, so spoiled in Florida! Refill 12.5% 2.5 gallon jugs were never more than $5 a piece and very often 2 for $7, always buy 10 get one free, frequent $5 reward bucks from loyalty programs, and the occasional extra card punches if there was a long line. If I don't find a source here soon, I'm going to give up and just tell Walmart to hold a pallet of fresh bleach to load on my neighbor's trailer.

We don't have curbside recycling here, and the recycle facility I use for my house stuff will not take colored plastics. I already run my trash can full weekly, and it seems like I'll have to hire a neighbor to bring a trailer load of jugs to the landfill unless I can find somewhere to take all those empty jugs I'm going to make.

On the bright side, the more I read and learn, the better prepared I am to clear this and prepare the residents on how to keep it a TFP!
 
BattleOfYakima said:
I've been calling laundry mats, dry cleaners, janitorial supply, farm supply, pool stores, pool cleaners, HASA, dairy supply, winery supply, and have a call in to the city about their public pools. I really, really want a source of chlorine that beats Walmart 8.25% 121 oz bleach! I was so, so, so, so spoiled in Florida! Refill 12.5% 2.5 gallon jugs were never more than $5 a piece=
Click to expand...

I'm totally amazed everytime I read all these stories of people buying hundreds of jugs of laundry bleach for their pools. Here in Canada every pool store under the sun has a bulk chlorine station. I have one of the jugs below that holds 25L (about 6.6G) of 12.5% and it costs me about $10-$15 or so to fill it. I refill it maybe once a month and liquid chlorine is all I use in my pool.

1132.jpg


I've no idea why pool stores don't do the same in much of the USA...seems like they'd be doing booming business. Heck, even the scuzzy little pool store not far from my house (not the one I use for much except for chlorine) has a bulk tank - see the link below, you can see the big green bulk tank in the back. Google Maps
 
I say drain it BUT not all of the way. Leave about a foot of water to help hold the side up and liner down.

While you are adding the water back in you can have a floater in the pool adding FC and CYA at the same time.

Kim:cat:
 
Wool! Siphon vacuuming going great! Sucked out the bottom 4 inches, added water to the top, waited a few hours, siphon vacuuming another 5 inches and counting off the bottom now (on break) and going slower this time since more is clear/light green but still getting patches of leaves and the brown/scary dark green sludge that was making filter vacuuming impossible. Thank you all! I'm thinking I'll do a few more rounds of this until the water is mostly clear, then ph adjust, then slam in 10 min intervals to get ammonia, then add cya, continue slamming every 30.

Question: 10% made on 16 057 stored indoors
Or
8.25% on 16 104. Which would you do if price per Cl oz was within a couple cents?
 
Good plan! I would get the 10%, less jugs to carry. And they are probably a full 128oz and the bleach is probably 121oz. Our 8.25% concentrated bleach is is only 121oz.
 

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Very pleased with siphon vac and refill process so far. I can see so much further down. I took a break to start the deep clean of the sand filter and was surprised when the standpipe came up too! Please advise on how safest to get it, and laterals, if attached, back to correct depth. I was wondering if it is okay to push when and if being agitated by water, to roll on side, or invert to dump sand in another container and then refill or what is to be done. I see little clips but I haven't tried them yet. I did the hose using the shown access for 25-30 minutes so far and it is just a constant flow of sediment tainted water. I unscrewed the plug to take these pictures, but did the deep clean with it capped.View attachment 47569
View attachment 47566View attachment 47568View attachment 47567
 
Looks like it came disconnected from the laterals...at that point it seems inevitable that sand would have got down into the laterals themselves...and in addition it'll be near impossible to get it hooked up again and you'll end up blowing all sorts of sand back into your pool when you power it up the first time.

If it were me I'd just remove all the sand and replace it with new vs bothering with the "deep clean" at this point.

Have you got the pool water clean enough now that you're not just going to suck all sorts of crud back into the filter again in short order? IMHO bothering with a deep clean at this point, if not, is a bit of a waste - once the pool is crystal clear and you're done with the heavy lifting would be when I'd do such...untill then, just backwash when necessary and continue on.
 
The naughty language filter won't let me post what I want to say.... so let's just say you're flocked.

You get to empty the filter, then reinstall the pipe and laterals, and then fill it back up again.

A shop vacuum saves your wrist from endless scooping with a plastic cup. But use a cup to cap the center pipe when you refill it, so sand doesn't get down inside. Some good illustrations in Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter
 
I did the hose for over an hour, only small leaf fragments and grey dusty particles and clumpes are coming out now, but leaving it in the same spot a few minutes will come clean until moving it. Thinking I'll keep this sand unless you advise otherwise. Pool is filling back up now, just below return and skimmer. Have all chemicals ready for war. There are now very few pine needles and leaves, and only small spots of dark green liquid, no more sludge, got it all for now! I feel confident regular filter vac is good to go now.

So ... Is it Safe to pull out standpipe thing through sand, invert tank, dump sand out, reinstall standpipe thing, dump sand in? Something like that? I'll lookup a manual for this sand dollar while I await more input. I have never done this stuff with a sand filter so I'm eager to learn, do, and slam!!
 
You really need to remove the sand in a gentle fashion. Inverting the tank will do he job quickly but risks damaging the laterals.

I went the shop vac route myself along with water mixed in to make a slurry.
 
Did I do something wrong? Why did the standpipe come with the black assembly? It didn't in other photos and video, did it?

- - - Updated - - -

I will do it gently then, by hand or with a shop vac if I can get one. Do I separate the standpipe and black or work around it? Also, how do I separate, pull or some release? Thank you so much, in over my head!
 
BattleOfYakima said:
Did I do something wrong? Why did the standpipe come with the black assembly? It didn't in other photos and video, did it?

- - - Updated - - -

I will do it gently then, by hand or with a shop vac if I can get one. Do I separate the standpipe and black or work around it? Also, how do I separate, pull or some release? Thank you so much, in over my head!
Click to expand...
Probably someone in the past did something wrong and things got stuck.
 
Chances are the standpipe is no longer connected to the laterals so just work it upwards gently, add some more water to slurry things up some more if there's any concern. Once you get the sand out the reassembly process will be evident. Make sure the standpipe is centered 100% before you start putting sand back in as you can NOT adjust it afterwards without risking damage to the laterals again.
 

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