So I have been slamming my pool since Saturday. Water is starting to clear up finally, but I still have tons of dirt/powder on the bottom of my pool. It could be dirt, old de(had a bad grid last fall), or dead algae I guess. I have been brushing about 3 times a day and it just seems to settle back to the bottom/sides/steps. I brush it again and it just clouds back up. It doesn’t seem like anything has been filtered out. Doesn’t seem to be getting any better. Pool doesn’t seem like it has much movement at all except right at a couple of the return jets. Otherwise the pool just seems still. My robot cleaner picks up a tiny bit at a time, but it says it’s “full” after about 15 mins, and it’s not even noticeable that it has run in the pool. Could my pump be the issue? Is it just old and worn out? It seems to run like it always has, but the pool has always just seemed like it doesn’t have any movement since we’ve lived here. Any help would be appreciated.
Pump not working right????
- Thread starter BKennedy
- Start date
Show us a pic head on of the skimmer, please?
How forceful are your returns to your hand?
What is your flter pressure- have you cleaned them lately?
Maddie
How forceful are your returns to your hand?
What is your flter pressure- have you cleaned them lately?
Maddie
I’ll get a pic of the skimmer, however, I’m wondering if the main drain isn’t drawing enough either. The two skimmers don’t seem like they draw very much water either. One of the returns is definitely a lot stronger than the rest. Two of the others are decent pressure and the other few are not that strong. Pressure is ok. I cleaned it about 2 weeks ago and backwashed it twice since then while slamming. It seems like it has been this way for a while. I want to say about 4-5 years ago we didn’t have this problem. But now it seems like the pool is “still” except right at a couple of jets and cannot get it filtered and cleaned.Show us a pic head on of the skimmer, please?
How forceful are your returns to your hand?
What is your flter pressure- have you cleaned them lately?
Maddie
Is your water too high in the skimmer, I'm wondering? That's why I asked to see the skimmer;
It’s about half way up the skimmer. I never go higher than half way up.
Okie doke...that rules out what I was thinking.....putting on my thinking cap 
Haha!!! Here’s a pic of the skimmer. Water still looks like it has tons of particles all in it. I cannot figure out why!Okie doke...that rules out what I was thinking.....putting on my thinking cap
Attachments
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,053
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Remember that with a DE filter, it is going to fill up0 very fast from algae and debris. You're going to have to backwash quite regularly. Be sure to backwash when the filter pressure increases by about 25% from the clean filter pressure. Be sure to inspect and clean all areas in the pool that water touches. Algae can get into the tiniest places. Main drain covers (underneath) and behind lights in the niche are common hiding places.
I have been backwashing every 2-3 days trying to get rid of all this Crud!
- Jun 22, 2014
- 52,053
- Pool Size
- 17888
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Sounds like your filter is doing what its supposed to. It's just going to take a while to filter it all out. But stick to the SLAM Process page and review it for all details. As long as water is moving well through the pump strainer pot (under the clear lid) it is doing what it's supposed to. If you have a lot of junk settled on the bottom, you might be able to vacuum to waste on occasion. But with several backwashes, be sure to re-test the CYA to ensure you are maintaining the proper FC SLAM level per the FC/CYA Levels.
Cant really tell, but do you have weir doors on your skimmers?
Also, are all your valves open? Perhaps one is slightly closed?
Also, are all your valves open? Perhaps one is slightly closed?
If you split the flow between 3 suction ports, each will have less. Close the main drain ( don't really need it) and the flow will increase at the skimmers. Close one of those and all flow will be at the last one. IF the weir is working you will get a current that will skim the water. A single weir hinged at the bottom works far better than a skim round.
Last edited:
Yes, I’ve checked all the valves. They are all fully open. I don’t have weir doors on either skimmer. They haven’t been there since we moved in. Could that be an issue? I thought without the doors that it would create more flow, but I have no idea really!
There are no weir doors on the skimmers. I have the main drain going in hopes that it will clear some of the debri that’s settled on the bottom, but it won’t go away!
No weir, no current, no skim, only flow. Main drain is more likely to pull from above it than from the side.
So adding weir doors would help? The skimmer baskets seem to collect a lot of stuff, but don’t seem to be as effective as they should be.
Baskets catch debris if it is large enough. Water still goes through them, regardless. They just sit there and collect what is in the stream. Working skimmers pull in more debris.
Weirs cause a skimmer to "skim." They work much like an airplane wing. The water has to increase in speed to go over them which creates a current at the surface of the water. That's the simple explanation. Fluid dynamics are involved. Way above my pay grade.
No weir, no current, no skim, only flow. When the pump stops they will also help debris from returning to the pool, added benefit.
Weirs cause a skimmer to "skim." They work much like an airplane wing. The water has to increase in speed to go over them which creates a current at the surface of the water. That's the simple explanation. Fluid dynamics are involved. Way above my pay grade.
No weir, no current, no skim, only flow. When the pump stops they will also help debris from returning to the pool, added benefit.
I’ll be adding some soon. Hopefully they are pretty much universal and I can install them without any modifications! Thanks for the tips!
Get spring-loaded like a curtain rod. Measure the throat and get the next smaller size. It will work and is less likely to get stuck. Be sure it can only fall into the skimmer body, not swing outward.
Will give it a shot! I’ll check Amazon unless you have a better suggestion