Old Pool, New Owner, Cloudy Water

[TimeForPool]

Hi Everyone,
This is my first post so bare with me

In late Feburary I bought my first house. The house has a pool and when I bought it the pool was covered and winterized so only a minimal inspection could be done. After opening it we found that the filter was shot and the Polaris boosted pump was bad. We had to pool opened and stagnant (chlorinated but not circulating) for about 3 weeks before we were able to replace the parts and get the water circulating and filtering. Finally last Friday we had the filter and pump replaced and we were back in business. At that time the water was fairly clear but had a lot of debris at the bottom. I started the filter and ran the Polaris to stir up all of the junk so it could be filtered out of the water. Now 6 days later I see very minimal difference in the water clarity. The pool is blue but is very murky and I can only see about 2 feet down. I have backwashed the filter once already and have shocked the pool 3 days ago to keep the chlorine level up. I also noticed that when the polaris is running the small in-line debris catcher is getting clogged every couple of hours. After I backwashed the filter and started filtering again the pressure read about 12 psi, in about 30 min it was up to 14psi and after about 6 hours it was at 20psi and held at 20psi overnight.

Is my pool just VERY dirty and the filter is getting clogged really fast or is something just not right here?
Is this is a typical result of a new sand filter with fresh Zeolite?

I appreciate any feedback and help.

Thanks!

 

[loughps]

Welcome.

Sounds like there's a good chance it's just working on cleaning the water. If you can post a full set of test results, it will help everyone figure out the best course of action.

-- Pete

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

First, you should post a full set of water test results. There are a large number of possibilities. Test results will help us narrow it down a great deal.

You have a lot of debris in the pool, so it will take a while to filter everything out. You should backwash the filter as soon as it gets up to about 18 psi. You will probably have to do that a number of times before the water clears up. Zeo filters fairly well, so it clogs up with debris more quickly than sand would.

 

[JohnT]

Welcome to TFP!

Shocking 3 days ago on a newly opened pool probably means you don't have any chlorine left. You need to test the water daily, and until things straighten out maybe several times a day.
Check out this article for some advice:

Shocking Your Pool

 

[TimeForPool]

I had my water tested at a local pool supply store a few days after the filter started running. I dont have the numbers with me right now but I know that they were all good except for the low chlorine level. That's why I shocked the pool to get the chlorine level up. I tested the water last night and I had 5ppm of chlorine and 7.5pH. My test kit is a basic one with only chlorine and pH. I was going to get the water tested again this weeked at the store and get the full rundown once more to make sure all the levels are still good.

 

[Isaac-1]

You really need to get your own good test kit like the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006, I know they can be a bit pricey, but they will quickly pay for themselves in savings on chemicals and labor. Managing a pool based on several day old pool store test results is sort of like working in a garden based on a several day old weather forecast.

Ike

 

[TimeForPool]

I plan on getting a good test kit this week. From what I understand it may just be taking a while for the sand filter to clear out the gunk in the water. So should just keep an eye on the filter gauge and backwash it frequently until the water clears out?