Possible Leak?

[Trey302]

So our pool has been up and running since this past September. It's an IG Latham fiberglass pool. I posted a while back about getting help with my water chemistry, and so far have gotten a pretty good handle on that. So this past Sunday I flushed out the DE filter for only the second time since the pool has been running. Pool hasn't gotten any use but we've had a lot of leaves and pine straw get in the pool during the late fall/early winter so I just figured I would stay on top of keeping it clean. So Tuesday I noticed the water level looked a little lower than what it should, but wrote in off on maybe flushing the filter taking out more water than what I would have expected. So I topped it off that afternoon and have been keeping an eye on it since. So yesterday I could tell the water level was definitely dropping faster than it should this time of year.(highs have typically been in the 50's with lows mostly in the 30's) Added more water last night and got a baseline measurement of where the water level started. I checked this morning after about 11 hours and the water had dropped about 1/2". Checked again at lunch and it has dropped close to an inch now after only 19 hours. I know I'm new to the pool thing, but that definitely seems excessive given the weather and the pool isn't even getting any use right now.

So I text the pool builder yesterday but have yet to hear from him. So I'm assuming maybe when I turned the pump on and off a few times maybe it caused a leak somewhere in the plumbing? I know when draining the filter a lot of air gets in the pipes which causes a lot of bubbles when restarting the pump, but is something like that enough to cause a leak? I've been keeping an eye on the area around the pump and filter so I don't think it could be anywhere around that area. Is there anything else that could have happened while cleaning the filter that would cause the pool to lose water? I assume not but would like to cover everything before I freak out too much about having my yard torn up again.

 

[mknauss]

Does your DE filter have a MPV? Can you see where the backflush water exits? Does it lose water with the pump off?

 

[Trey302]

No MPV on the filter. Lighting isn't ideal in this picture but at the bottom of the filter is the plug you take out to rinse the filter out. No leaks seen around the area since I've noticed the water level dropping. Not sure about with the pump off yet but that is my next step. Going to check water level today to see how much it has dropped in the last couple days. Then I'll add water back to about where I started from and turn the pump off and monitor it the next couple of days and see what happens.

 

[Trey302]

So a quick follow up. Had to run the pool over night due to low temps, but turned it off this morning and checked the water level. Just checked it again after about 6 hours of the pump being off and it has definitely dropped a little since this morning. I would say maybe between 1/4"-1/2". Temps have been in the 40's throughout the day, so I would assume this kind of drop is not normal? Looking around I noticed the outlet for one of the returns either appears to be cross threaded or not installed correctly. Could this be causing an issue? Not sure if water could leak back out from this spot or not, but it's the only thing I can think of if it's not something wrong with the plumbing since that water level is dropping even with the pump off.

 

[mknauss]

I think it will be really difficult to define a leak with that low of loss. You can try a bucket test, but again, it will need to be run for a week or so to see if it makes a difference. See Leak Detection - Trouble Free Pool

That eyeball should not effect a leak. The penetration of the shell should be with the item the eyeball screws into and will have a gasket on both sides of the shell.

If this install is new, get your Pool Builder involved.

 

[Trey302]

So another update after about 17 hours of doing the bucket test. I set it up last night about 9:30 and checked it this afternoon right around 2:30. Level in the bucket was even with the piece of tape when I set it up, and it doesn't appear that it has moved at all. Pool level on the outside was right at the top of the black & yellow label on the outside of the bucket. I didn't measure but it has obviously dropped I would say close to an inch so far without even making it 24 hours. I would assume this would mean that I definitely have an issue somewhere causing the pool to lose water.
Contacted the pool builder and he tried to put it off as normal evaporation with the colder temps. I told him that I'm pretty sure that's not the case and that I need him to come and figure it out. He is supposed to come by sometime this week and check it out.

Given this has only been going on a week, is there any real concern about serious damaged caused by this? I guess my main concern would be the ground washing away from under pool or concrete which could obviously cause some major issues. Is there anything else I should be doing before I'm able to get it fixed?

 

[mknauss]

As your water is cold and algae is not much of an issue, you could leave the pump off and let the pool water level continue to fall. If it stops at a certain level, that will show where the leak most likely is.

I agree that your pool builder needs to be involved. Do not make any repairs of any kind yourself.