Pool Still Cloudy 2 Weeks After Open?

[sim613]

Hi all,

Been an avid TFP reader/follower since acquiring home with pool in 2020.
I thought I had this pool opening thing down pat, and it has worked till now...
But this season seems to be different.
Here's what I've done so far:

Scooped as much debris as possible (had plenty of it), got pH down from 8.4 to 7.3, raised CYA from nothing measurable using TF-100 to 35ish, raised alkalinity from 40 to 70, then started SLAM.

Within 3 days pool slowly demanded less chlorine, and went from swampy to cloudy white.

However, I can't seem to get the water from cloudy to clear.

I deep-cleaned the Hayward S244T filter for over an hour till it ran clear 10 days ago to see if that would help; no difference.

I have found in previous seasons that a cup of DE helped clear up faster; it doesn't seem to be helping much now.

I am currently trying to keep it SLAMed. My FC is at a steady 20 using FAS-DPD, CC is still Approx. 2.
But it is barely clearer than a week ago.

I should add, I am going from a starting pressure post backwash of 13.5 to 18 nearly twice a day, and backwashing out cloudy water. So it seems like filter is doing something. But if I recall correctly, I may have loaded this filter with Quikrete pool sand before I knew better...
But it did work ok for last 3 seasons...

Any ideas?
Thank you!

 

[duraleigh]

Keep SLAMming your pool. You are getting a LOT of debris into your filter which means it is working.......you just need more of the same.

I would run 24/7 and keep FC at 20 for the next week. If you still no improvement to speake of, I think it will be time to open the filter and see what that quickrete sand looks like.

 

[sim613]

Ok Great!

Thanks!

My main concern is that somehow my sand is being ineffective, (perhaps due to sand being too small, like some of the Quikrete pics seem), and therefore loading up too quickly due to a smaller effective filter area, if that makes sense.

I did take a peek at the sand while deep cleaning, but didn't have what to compare it to... Should have taken out a sample, in retrospect.

 

[sktn77a]

Run the filter 24/7 until it clears up. Sand is the coarsest filter material and takes longer to filter out small particles than a DE or cartridge filter. Keep it slammed and filtering until it clears up.

 

[sim613]

So, here we are a week later.

Pool is still cloudy with no appreciable improvement.
The larger particles (that were visible with a flashlight at night) are largely gone, now it's just cloudy.

Been keeping it SLAMed and putting in DE after backwashes to 1 psi rise.

Needing to backwash less often than last week.

I opened up filter and scooped a sample of the sand.
If I recall correctly, it is Quikrete pool sand.

 

[sim613]

Not sure if that picture is clear.

I'm measuring the grains now with a micrometer: Most are between 1 and 1.4 mm, with very few in the range anywhere near the recommended .45 to .55 mm.

Any insight?
Thanks!

 

[mknauss]

Been keeping it SLAMed

Have you passed multiple OCLT?
Have you removed steps/ladders and cleaned them thoroughly.

 

[sim613]

Steps are out of pool still from winter...
I assumed the OCLT was supposed to be after water was clear...
Was that incorrect?

I am checking my CC now and it's at 1.5...

Also just rechecked my CYA and its somehow at 55,vs 35 when I began SLAM. No, I'm not using dichlor...

Seems like my FC of 20 that I was going with was too low for my CYA...
I just upped it to 32.

Can that be my issue?
Thanks

 

[mknauss]

CC of 1.5 indicates you still have an issue.

CYA of 55 is rounded to 60. SLAM level FC of 24.
Using a lower FC level during SLAM slows things down.

If you stick at a cloudy state with little FC loss, do an OCLT.