That'll be up to you. I almost always vacuum to filter but you can vacuum to waste if you want. If you do vacuum to filter you'll want to backwash afterward to clear out anything you pick up.
Pool cloudy, mostly in deep end
- Thread starter Mattyssox
- Start date
maybe I'll give it a shot when I get home. I've been just brushing the walls and floor for the past few days, as I figure that stirs up the crud and allows the filter to grab some of it.
It does.... you could try turning the filter off so it all settles to the bottom and then very, very slowly, vac to waste. You'll lose alot of water that way though.
do you think it will sink to the bottom? thats the tough part. I could try it overnight, so I don't lose the chlorine I have in there. I worry about shutting it off and losing any progress I've made.
Mattyssox said:
If I were you, I wouldn't turn it off. Most of the stuff floating around the pool will settle anyway, so keep the filter going. Stop brushing for a while, this will help settle things to the bottom. When you vacuum, you must frequently check the bottom intake of your vacuum to make sure large pieces of debris are not being lodged in the opening and hindering your progress. Vacuuming to filter is okay, you just need to backwash to clean it when you begin to see loss of vacuum force. Whether you vacuum to filter or waste, make sure to empty the pump catch basket frequently, as a lot of debris will accumulate there and could cause reduce flow. Be aware that vacuuming to waste will use a lot of water. I don't know what the water rates are like in your area, but here where I live we are charged summer premium rates and it can get pretty expensive when vacuuming to waste. So for me it makes $ sense to vacuum to filter, even though I'll have to do a little more work when back washing.
i can vacuum to filter and just backwash as necessary. The tough part is, I can't see the bottom in the deep end, so I don't even know what I'm vacuuming if anything. the shallow end is cloudy, but i can see the bottom. But the shallow end doesn't appear to have much crud stuck to the floor.
That's probably your best bet because then you can watch your sight glass to get an idea of what you vacuumed up.
Mattyssox said:
Take your leaf rake and attach it to the end of your vacuuming pole. Extend it long enough to reach the bottom of the deep end. Scrape it along the bottom and see what you come up with. This will take some arm strength. If you are using one of those pool store poles (hollow aluminum), be careful not to bend it. I use this method to get up the large pieces of debris when I first open my pool before I begin to vacuum.
I'll give that a shot. Like I said, the interesting part will be trying to figure out if I'm getting anything or not as I vacuum. but I suppose if it's working, the pressure gage will go up.
I can sense your frustration with this and just wanted to take a second to say keep it up. YES....seeing the shallow end getting bluer is progress 
.
Are you SURE your CYA is what you think it is? That may be one reason holding shock levels at 14 or so isn't effective. If CYA is higher, shock levels will be higher.
Second question - I reviewed ALL of your posts.....are you still using that HTH test kit? I know this is going to add some more cost, but if you are, I HIGHLY recommend getting a test kit with a FAS-DPD chlorine test. That is the only test that can truly measure the higher chlorine levels required to shock. Small investment now to free yourself of the pool store forever.
If your pool has been cloudy for two years, it will probably take a while to clear it up. How long is "a while"? Every pool is different. But, chlorine is chlorine, bleach, cal hypo, di and tri chlor will all provide chlorine. Some, though, provide other, less than desirable things. The choice of what source to use is yours, but I prefer good, old fashioned bleach. Isn't this country great
???
My guess is you have never really finished shocking your pool, particularly with not being clear since 2008. You saw improvement after adding granulated shock, didn't continue shocking the pool, and viola, the cloudy problem returned quickly. So, the bleach isn't really more expensive. You are just shocking your pool to completion of the process and thus using more chlorine. I know you have heard this, but I want to reinforce.....shocking is a process and not a product. You HAVE to maintain high FC levels long enough to kill the algae, oxidize the organics, and break down the CC. This is the hardest part. P.O.P. Once you get through this, you will be amazed how clear and sparkly your pool is, and even more amazed with how simple keeping it that way is.
The good news here is you have seen progress, and the weekend is almost upon you. Go to wally world, buy a bunch of bleach, a case of your favorite frosty beverage
, and the snack of choice. Once you get home today, test your water, shock, have frosty beverage, test, shock, have frosty beverage. Snack every once in a while to soak up the frosty beverage. Repeat. Stay up as late as you can, and get up early. Spend this weekend aggressively hitting it. You will get there, I promise 
.
Keep posting. Keep up with the bleach. Post all test results.
.Are you SURE your CYA is what you think it is? That may be one reason holding shock levels at 14 or so isn't effective. If CYA is higher, shock levels will be higher.
Second question - I reviewed ALL of your posts.....are you still using that HTH test kit? I know this is going to add some more cost, but if you are, I HIGHLY recommend getting a test kit with a FAS-DPD chlorine test. That is the only test that can truly measure the higher chlorine levels required to shock. Small investment now to free yourself of the pool store forever.
If your pool has been cloudy for two years, it will probably take a while to clear it up. How long is "a while"? Every pool is different. But, chlorine is chlorine, bleach, cal hypo, di and tri chlor will all provide chlorine. Some, though, provide other, less than desirable things. The choice of what source to use is yours, but I prefer good, old fashioned bleach. Isn't this country great
???My guess is you have never really finished shocking your pool, particularly with not being clear since 2008. You saw improvement after adding granulated shock, didn't continue shocking the pool, and viola, the cloudy problem returned quickly. So, the bleach isn't really more expensive. You are just shocking your pool to completion of the process and thus using more chlorine. I know you have heard this, but I want to reinforce.....shocking is a process and not a product. You HAVE to maintain high FC levels long enough to kill the algae, oxidize the organics, and break down the CC. This is the hardest part. P.O.P. Once you get through this, you will be amazed how clear and sparkly your pool is, and even more amazed with how simple keeping it that way is.
The good news here is you have seen progress, and the weekend is almost upon you. Go to wally world, buy a bunch of bleach, a case of your favorite frosty beverage
, and the snack of choice. Once you get home today, test your water, shock, have frosty beverage, test, shock, have frosty beverage. Snack every once in a while to soak up the frosty beverage. Repeat. Stay up as late as you can, and get up early. Spend this weekend aggressively hitting it. You will get there, I promise .Keep posting. Keep up with the bleach. Post all test results.
Hey there, all I can say is loads of POP helps. Honestly I would ditch all the pucks and the walmart stuff, just use bleach and lot and lots of it! Keep your shock levels high and brush, scoop and vacuum, until you can't anymore. Actually for me it was 6 weeks and about 4 days before it was super sparkle, it was hard but I wasn't gonna let it lick me 
So....shock..shock..shock..brush..shock..vacuum..shock, you might feel like 
but just keep it up you can do it!
So....shock..shock..shock..brush..shock..vacuum..shock, you might feel like but just keep it up you can do it!
Great advice, whoozer. But don't forget the frosty beverages. They help with the POP.
today, improvement from this morning. less green. still a green tint. very cloudy. can see bottom of shallow end and not really green in shallow end. i pounded it with more bleach and the level is really high right now.
i vacuumed when i got home. i did so for an hour or so and went slow, but the psi didn't rise a bit. which leads me to believe most of my issue is suspended in the air. I brush the pool a real lot, but in this case i hadn't brushed it since this morning.
odd thing is i backwashed (8psi over normal run rate so it was time) till it was clear and then some. Then i rinsed till it was clear and then some. then i put the filter back on and a brownish cloud still came out.
i vacuumed when i got home. i did so for an hour or so and went slow, but the psi didn't rise a bit. which leads me to believe most of my issue is suspended in the air. I brush the pool a real lot, but in this case i hadn't brushed it since this morning.
odd thing is i backwashed (8psi over normal run rate so it was time) till it was clear and then some. Then i rinsed till it was clear and then some. then i put the filter back on and a brownish cloud still came out.
Hmmmm.....sand filter channeling???? When was the last time you opened or changed your sand????
Matt, are you sure that you are getting circulation in the deep end? It's not unusual at all for the deep end to be greener longer but with the shallow end clearing up I'm wondering why your deep end doesn't seem to be clearing...
1. Can we get some pictures? [yea, we love pics!]
2. Can you adjust the water from the pool to the pump so that part comes from the skimmer and part from the main drain?
3. Can you adjust a return in the deep end so that it forces circulation in the deep end?
4. You are maintaining 15+FC , and your CYA is ___ again?
5. The 'cloud' from the return after a backwash indicates not enough rinsing, or the filter isn't rinsing itself correctly. What does your sand look like, and have you ever cleaned it?
We want your pool clean !
Terry in NC
1. Can we get some pictures? [yea, we love pics!]
2. Can you adjust the water from the pool to the pump so that part comes from the skimmer and part from the main drain?
3. Can you adjust a return in the deep end so that it forces circulation in the deep end?
4. You are maintaining 15+FC , and your CYA is ___ again?
5. The 'cloud' from the return after a backwash indicates not enough rinsing, or the filter isn't rinsing itself correctly. What does your sand look like, and have you ever cleaned it?
We want your pool clean !
Terry in NC
NCFlyersFan said:I can sense your frustration with this and just wanted to take a second to say keep it up. YES....seeing the shallow end getting bluer is progress
If your pool has been cloudy for two years, it will probably take a while to clear it up. How long is "a while"? Every pool is different. But, chlorine is chlorine, bleach, cal hypo, di and tri chlor will all provide chlorine.
My guess is you have never really finished shocking your pool, particularly with not being clear since 2008. You saw improvement after adding granulated shock, didn't continue shocking the pool, and viola, the cloudy problem returned quickly. So, the bleach isn't really more expensive. You are just shocking your pool to completion of the process and thus using more chlorine. I know you have heard this, but I want to reinforce.....shocking is a process and not a product. You HAVE to maintain high FC levels long enough to kill the algae, oxidize the organics, and break down the CC. This is the hardest part. P.O.P. Once you get through this, you will be amazed how clear and sparkly your pool is, and even more amazed with how simple keeping it that way is.
Once you get home today, test your water, shock, have frosty beverage, test, shock, have frosty beverage. Snack every once in a while to soak up the frosty beverage. Repeat. Stay up as late as you can, and get up early. Spend this weekend aggressively hitting it. You will get there, I promise
Keep posting. Keep up with the bleach. Post all test results.
The bold part is the story of my pool career...not often actually green, but always just not quite completely clear. 'Shocked' it, and it would be better, just to return a few days later.
You'll get there. And sometimes POP comes in the frosty beverage form!!! Once you get this licked you will find renewed love of your oasis.
Today we were swimming at another pool...not an easy thing for me...and one parent there used to install pools and helps the owner where we were with his pool when they are away, etc. We were chatting. I showed him a pic of my pool taken last week. He said something like "oh, I love that liner ( I think he meant the one that has the ripples on it)" I chuckled and told him I have a plain light blue liner with no pattern and that it was my water that was doing that in the sunlight. He was amazed and complemented me. It felt good.
Keep at it.
Hey, I see a bottle of POP next to those bleach bottles...
Please hang in there. And keep taking pics.
Please hang in there. And keep taking pics.