Please help! I need this pool clean!

[kimkats]

If you look back in the first page at the first picture you shared you can see there is a slight green tint to it. Now look at the last pic above. It is a light blue. You ARE making progress! It is just hard to see from one day to the next. What you can do is take a pic looking down at the ladder like you did to show the ends. Then post it here and you will see the S.L.O.W. progress. Now it is a matter of POP aka Pool Owner Patience

 

[RNeumann]

Yes. CAREFULLY insert a garden hose down towards the bottom. Be careful not to push aggressively or damage a lateral at the bottom. The whole intent is to get water to the bottom which will then lift up and fill the sand to break-up and compacted channeling and loosen debris that may have settled and could not be removed by a normal backwash.

Okay I have been running the hose for about 30 min. The water is still very dark and lots of wispys floating up and out. How long should I do this for?

 

[RNeumann]

If you look back in the first page at the first picture you shared you can see there is a slight green tint to it. Now look at the last pic above. It is a light blue. You ARE making progress! It is just hard to see from one day to the next. What you can do is take a pic looking down at the ladder like you did to show the ends. Then post it here and you will see the S.L.O.W. progress. Now it is a matter of POP aka Pool Owner Patience

It's definitely come a long way but something seems off with the water not clearing up a little faster. I'm deep cleaning the sand filter right now. Here is how it originally looked

 

[Texas Splash]

Yeah, that was rough. You'll get it.

 

[duraleigh]

How long should I do this for?

Basically, until it's clean. water doesn't have to be crystal clear so use good judgement and decide when it's running close to clear.

I would use my bare hand to loosen and "swish" the sand around as you run the hose. It may go a little faster if you do. Since you have the filter opened, tell us approximately how much sand is in it. 1/3 full? 1/2? 2/3? 3/4?

 

[RNeumann]

Basically, until it's clean. water doesn't have to be crystal clear so use good judgement and decide when it's running close to clear.

I would use my bare hand to loosen and "swish" the sand around as you run the hose. It may go a little faster if you do. Since you have the filter opened, tell us approximately how much sand is in it. 1/3 full? 1/2? 2/3? 3/4?

Okay well seems we have a ways to go then, still lots of debris coming up. The filter is about 3/4 full. I had the sand and laterals replace 2-3 years ago.

 

[RNeumann]

Once the water is running clear and I reassemble the filter do i need to do anything special? Or just start it up on filter mode?

 

[Texas Splash]

Or just start it up on filter mode?

I would run one final backwash & rinse first, then go to filter. After that, it's back to the SLAM Process.

 

[duraleigh]

Set the filter to "rinse" when you are done. run it in rinse until the ejected water looks clear (usually about a minute), then (shut off the pump first) switch to "filter".

Somewhere on this forum is one of the best TFP videos ever produced,,,,,,"Deep cleaning a sand Filter" It answers every question you have asked and you can see if you have followed it correctly......take a look at it.

 

[duraleigh]

I found it....watch it in its entirety......it's good!

Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

This post will walk you through the anatomy of a sand filter, and then provide a video at the end for how to deep clean your sand filter. The filter used in the photos and videos is a Hayward S180T top mount sand filter. The images are of a similar filter. Obviously not all filters are...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[RNeumann]

Set the filter to "rinse" when you are done. run it in rinse until the ejected water looks clear (usually about a minute), then (shut off the pump first) switch to "filter".

Somewhere on this forum is one of the best TFP videos ever produced,,,,,,"Deep cleaning a sand Filter" It answers every question you have asked and you can see if you have followed it correctly......take a look at it.

Okay all done. I did read up on that thread but it didn't really go into detail about how to disassemble the multi valve.

I've been keeping the pool at SLAM levels since I started this thread. Current readings fc 9 added half gal of lc. Cc 0. Bottom of the pool is officially clear. When I turned the pump off I checked once the water settled.

I also check the levels with last year's kit and the readings were off from the new kit. Make sure to get fresh chems everyone! Pump is running hopefully we see some progress soon! Thanks again everyone for all the help.

 

[Texas Splash]

Bottom of the pool is officially clear.

Fantastic. Stick with it and be patient. You're over the hump.

 

[RNeumann]

Okay, I'm learning an expensive lesson this go around. My cya is so low I am burning through chlorine like crazy keeping it at shock levels! I have added enough stabilizer to bring it up about 30 ppm. Hopefully the pain on my wallet ends soon

 

[kimkats]

But look how BLUE it is looking now!!!!

 

[Texas Splash]

Positive changes!

 

[RNeumann]

Thanks for the positivity but it honestly doesn't look much different to me. On a side note, is there anyway to figure out what the optimal setting is for these intakes?

 

[IceShadow]

I bet you see progress now that you’ve cleaned out the sand. Put a pool brush in and take a photo in the same place each day and you should see a difference.

Leave everything open. You have two intakes and two returns, and a valve on one of each (not sure why). For now let everything open to move water through the filter as much as you can. Later you can figure out how to maximize skimming, etc.

 

[RNeumann]

Morning update. Pool is still hazy with little to no visible improvements. It passed the ONCL test again and cc readings have been 0 the last couple of days. Filter has been running 24/7 but the pressure isn't rising at all. Robot has been running several times a day and comes up with nothing. I scrubbed all the nooks and crannies this morning just to make sure nothing is hiding.

When I turned the pump off yesterday to clean the sand the pool did seem to clear up some. I've been reading other threads with similar problems and it seems there may be very fine particles getting suspended in the water that aren't getting filtered. What's the best way to deal with this? Unfortunately I don't have a unit that can vacuum to waste.

 

[Mdragger88]

You can try adding de to your sand filter to help with the fine particles - be ready to babysit the filter

Add DE to a Sand Filter

A clean pool filter will increase the efficiency of your pool! ... your filter are to backwash it, clean the manifolds and grids, and add new DE.

www.google.com

It may be worth having a manual vac in your arsenal incase of bot failure - they’re not terribly expensive. Available at lowes, Walmart etc.

 

[IceShadow]

Yep, go ahead and add DE per the article.