Opened today, lots of sediment in pool

[mrgalati]

Thanks for the deep cleaning advice/confirmation. I’ve had the hose in my filter for over an hour and murky water with all sorts of organic matter is still flowing.

While I have no idea if this will resolve my issues, it certainly can’t hurt. My guess is that the filter has never been deep cleaned before this - I’ll definitely be adding it to my annual opening routine.

The mutiport valve didn’t separate from the standpipe, so my only real concern now is getting everything reseated without damaging the laterals, but I should know soonish...

I’ll report back later. Thanks!

 

[splashpad]

Thanks for the deep cleaning advice/confirmation. I’ve had the hose in my filter for over an hour and murky water with all sorts of organic matter is still flowing.

While I have no idea if this will resolve my issues, it certainly can’t hurt. My guess is that the filter has never been deep cleaned before this - I’ll definitely be adding it to my annual opening routine.

The mutiport valve didn’t separate from the standpipe, so my only real concern now is getting everything reseated without damaging the laterals, but I should know soonish...

I’ll report back later. Thanks!

So you have to empty it? (when you say the stand pipe didn't separate), if it got pulled out of the sand?

 

[mrgalati]

So you have to empty it? (when you say the stand pipe didn't separate), if it got pulled out of the sand?

Yes, you read that correctly. Realized shortly after I posted that I wasn’t going to be able to get the stand pipe back into position, so I emptied the filter entirely and am just going to replace the sand altogether.

At least I know that it’ll be new after today. ?‍

 

[splashpad]

Yes, you read that correctly. Realized shortly after I posted that I wasn’t going to be able to get the stand pipe back into position, so I emptied the filter entirely and am just going to replace the sand altogether.

At least I know that it’ll be new after today. ?‍

Bummer! Sorry!
If it's loose sand, you can reuse it (if it caught on a tarp/etc) Was it clumpy? Or sludge-like?

 

[mrgalati]

Bummer! Sorry!
If it's loose sand, you can reuse it (if it caught on a tarp/etc) Was it clumpy? Or sludge-like?

It was sludge like. Lots (maybe 20%) of it was a blueish gray substance. Not sure if this is common in the pool world or perhaps and additive that someone put in.

 

[splashpad]

It was sludge like. Lots (maybe 20%) of it was a blueish gray substance. Not sure if this is common in the pool world or perhaps and additive that someone put in.

Hmm, it sounds like someone had "ruined" the media at some point.

Hopefully you should start seeing progress now!

 

[mrgalati]

That took a lot longer than planned...turned out that the original installer glued the stand pipe into the bottom of the multiport valve, so I had to add a coupler.

Managed to get it all put back together and my psi is now in the 26 range. There’s good pressure at the jets, so I’m going to call it a night for now so that my saint of a wife can get a break from our 1 year old.

I’ll test the water again this evening and will work to maintain SLAM levels. If the psi is abnormally high, I’ll work on taking things apart again sometime this week or next weekend.

Fingers crossed that we’ll start seeing some progress with the water now.

 

[duraleigh]

I would rather have seen your psi around 10-15.....not 26. Does your gauge go to zero when the pump is off?

26 is really pretty high and if you feel you have very good flow from the returns, then I doubt 26 is correct.

 

[mrgalati]

I would rather have seen your psi around 10-15.....not 26. Does your gauge go to zero when the pump is off?

26 is really pretty high and if you feel you have very good flow from the returns, then I doubt 26 is correct.

Pressure gauge sits around 4-5 psi when the pump is off (this is new as of today). Should I be in the market for a new gauge? I’m already going to need a new o-ring for the valve, just couldn’t find my part number locally today.

 

[duraleigh]

Yes...........get a new gauge......sooner rather than later. TFTestkits.net has one that folks like a lot. I think it's about 15 bucks and glycerin filled so it wont freeze up in the winter. 2 day shipping (I think) to Cincinnati.

 

[splashpad]

That took a lot longer than planned...turned out that the original installer glued the stand pipe into the bottom of the multiport valve, so I had to add a coupler.

Managed to get it all put back together and my psi is now in the 26 range. There’s good pressure at the jets, so I’m going to call it a night for now so that my saint of a wife can get a break from our 1 year old.

I’ll test the water again this evening and will work to maintain SLAM levels. If the psi is abnormally high, I’ll work on taking things apart again sometime this week or next weekend.

Fingers crossed that we’ll start seeing some progress with the water now.

You guys definitely should, great update!

 

[mrgalati]

Checking back in after a few weeks.

Filter has been running 24/7 since I changed the sand on May 5. Making progress, but it certainly is slow. I can now see all 3 steps and can faintly see the floor of the shallow end.



Still haven't vacuumed to waste, as I cannot see the deep and and the shallow end appears to be mostly clear of debris. After a vigorous brushing of the deep end, I can see some pine needles & leaf particles floating around, so I'm beginning to think that my issue is more organic than sediment/dirt.

I'll do a full test tonight and will post the details, but besides what I'm doing, any suggestions on how to speed this thing along? I've been reading about clarifiers and it sounds as though I should avoid them - very tempting, but I obviously don't want to set myself back.

With a week of weather in the mid-upper 80s on the way, I would love to be swimming in early June, if at all possible.

 

[Richard320]

Still haven't vacuumed to waste, as I cannot see the deep and and the shallow end appears to be mostly clear of debris. After a vigorous brushing of the deep end, I can see some pine needles & leaf particles floating around, so I'm beginning to think that my issue is more organic than sediment/dirt.

Right there is your problem. You need to remove as much organic debris as possible early on in the process. It is the fourth item in the prerequisite list in the SLAM Process article, even. It's that important. You can vacuum to filter; it doesn't have to be to waste. If you use a vacuum plate over the skimmer basket, stretch a nylon or hairnet over the basket and it will catch almost everything before it loads up your new sand. If you don't use a plate, the pump basket will likely catch a lot of that stuff. The rest waits for a backwash. Right now the chlorine you're adding is trying to oxidize the pine needles you see. You want it to oxidize the dead algae. Get that stuff out of there!

 

[mrgalati]

Right there is your problem. You need to remove as much organic debris as possible early on in the process. It is the fourth item in the prerequisite list in the SLAM Process article, even. It's that important. You can vacuum to filter; it doesn't have to be to waste. If you use a vacuum plate over the skimmer basket, stretch a nylon or hairnet over the basket and it will catch almost everything before it loads up your new sand. If you don't use a plate, the pump basket will likely catch a lot of that stuff. The rest waits for a backwash. Right now the chlorine you're adding is trying to oxidize the pine needles you see. You want it to oxidize the dead algae. Get that stuff out of there!

Thanks - I've absolutely tried, but since I can't really see any progress, it's been tough. I'll get into the habit of vacuuming the deep end daily and hopefully will see some results over the next few days.

My skimmer basket is typically pretty clear, with the exception of leaves/bugs that have recently fallen in and floated around. I saw a reference in another thread about setting up the vacuum and leaving it in the pool to filter deeper water where there may be more junk - any insight into this technique?

Additionally, my pressure gauge still consistently reads in the 22-25 PSI range (new gauge purchased from TFteskits.com) - good flow from the returns and no obvious issues. Could debris sitting on the main drain in the deep end potentially be causing the higher pressure? (admittedly, I don't know what "normal" is with this pool - moved in last year and didn't have any major issues with maintaining, once new liner was installed).

 

[Richard320]

Main drain..... how is that plumbed in? Does it have a separate valve at the equipment pad, or does it connect to the bottom of the skimmer?

If it's to the bottom of the skimmer, you won't get very good suction on the vacuum unless you connect the hose directly to the suction port. It'll draw water from the drain rather than through 30 feet of corrugated hose.

 

[mrgalati]

Main drain..... how is that plumbed in? Does it have a separate valve at the equipment pad, or does it connect to the bottom of the skimmer?

If it's to the bottom of the skimmer, you won't get very good suction on the vacuum unless you connect the hose directly to the suction port. It'll draw water from the drain rather than through 30 feet of corrugated hose.

I'd have to assume that it's plumbed to the bottom of the skimmer, but I wouldn't be able to say for sure.

Previous owners left a vacuum plate with the hardware - at my previous pool, I just inserted one end of the vacuum hose directly into the suction port on the skimmer. Is this what you mean?

 

[Richard320]

I'd have to assume that it's plumbed to the bottom of the skimmer, but I wouldn't be able to say for sure.

Previous owners left a vacuum plate with the hardware - at my previous pool, I just inserted one end of the vacuum hose directly into the suction port on the skimmer. Is this what you mean?

Yes. With two holes in the bottom and the skimmer plate on top, you have one suction and two inlets. It'll go for the drain inlet before it goes for the vacuum hose inlet. So plug in directly so you have strong suction on the vacuum. Then see what you find in the pump basket. Or how quickly pressure rises. You'll know if you're getting stuff, even working blind.

You can also leave the vacuum down in the deep end on its side to use as the drain. You might even want to try shutting things down like that so everything settles, then restart the pump the next morning and immediately commence vacuuming.

 

[mrgalati]

5/26 update:

Have been able to faintly see the floor of the shallow end since early this week, but not much progress since then. Have been maintaining SLAM level FC, maintaining all other levels, and running filter 24/7 since opening.

Questioned the quality of my work when I had to cut and couple the standpipe a few weeks ago when I replaced the sand, so I set aside this morning to check things out.

Upon removing the multi port valve, noticed a lot of debris (small pieces of twigs, pine needles, bits of leaves, etc) in the filter, so decided to deep clean. Water ran for 60-90 minutes before it cleared - very murky, in addition to debris. My best guess is that most of what came out was pollen, so it had a very yellow/muddy look to it.

Once the water finally ran clear, I reconnected everything and started the filter. Still can’t see the deep end, but vacuumed to waste to the best of my ability.

Currently have the hose in the pool to bring the level back up.

Current chemical levels after all of the above work are:

FC - 15
pH - 7.5 (who knows how accurate this is?)
TA - 80
CYA - 30
CH - skipped this one since I’ve got a vinyl liner, but it was 75 two days ago

I’m feeling optimistic that the filter love will pay dividends...cross your fingers for me. Very jealous since my 2 neighbors with pools are out enjoying them this weekend.

 

[mrgalati]

5/30 update

Still not crystal clear, but can finally (faintly) see the bottom of the deep end and I have confidence that we will be swimming this weekend!

SLAM works, folks!

 

[mrgalati]

Wanted to close this thread out with good news (a bit overdue).

Pool is clear, I even got in back on June 2, a little over a month after opening. Now I’ve just got to wait for the water to heat up to convince the wife to join me - nights dipping into the 50s isn’t helping my cause...come on, summer!

Before & after pics below. Thanks again, everyone!