I also want to ask about my large haywood sand filter. I have had the sand replaced but every time I do a back wash which I do for a good 5minutes when I redirect it to the pool all the debris seems to make the pool so cloudy you cant see the bottom. Isnt the debris supposed to go out the through the backwash pipe?
Recent pool owner with algae problems in Phoenix AZ
- Thread starter chrisowen876
- Start date
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,365
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
In your first post, you indicate you added 2 gallons of acid. What was the acid percentage - 31.45% or 14.5%?
That's a lot of acid (for either percentage).
I recommend you go to Walmart and purchase the Chlorox 3 way test kit while you are waiting for one of the recommended test kits to arrive. You need the drop test instead of the worthless test strips.
Chances are you may have an extremely low pH after that acid addition, which will cause harm to the pool and pool equipment. This needs to be corrected - but you need a reliable way to test the pH.
That's a lot of acid (for either percentage).
I recommend you go to Walmart and purchase the Chlorox 3 way test kit while you are waiting for one of the recommended test kits to arrive. You need the drop test instead of the worthless test strips.
Chances are you may have an extremely low pH after that acid addition, which will cause harm to the pool and pool equipment. This needs to be corrected - but you need a reliable way to test the pH.
- Feb 6, 2015
- 6,365
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool RJ-45 Plus
Fill out your signature as requested in post #18 - and post a few picks of your equipment pad and pool - so we know what you are working with.
I bought 8 gallons of LC and I raised the pH some. The 2 gallons of Muriatic Acid I added was 14.5%. I had not added any for 2 months.
I read that A rule of thumb says that you should add 1 gallon of muriatic acid per 10,000 gallons of pool water. It will lower the pH by about 0.5 points and raise the TA by about 0.5 points (if you do it slowly). So two gallons reduced pH by 1. Phoenix water is extremely hard and we get much dust storms and leaves also, so that is why I thought it necessary. I have added this much MA in the past also.
This is the sand filter which I am having trouble backwashing. Most of the filtered debris ends up back in the pool after a backwash.
I just cannot get the pictures to show up in my signature, tried everything. I guess they are still working on this sw..
I read that A rule of thumb says that you should add 1 gallon of muriatic acid per 10,000 gallons of pool water. It will lower the pH by about 0.5 points and raise the TA by about 0.5 points (if you do it slowly). So two gallons reduced pH by 1. Phoenix water is extremely hard and we get much dust storms and leaves also, so that is why I thought it necessary. I have added this much MA in the past also.
This is the sand filter which I am having trouble backwashing. Most of the filtered debris ends up back in the pool after a backwash.
I just cannot get the pictures to show up in my signature, tried everything. I guess they are still working on this sw..
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Do you turn the valve to Rinse and wait until the water runs clear before turning back to Filter? If not, all the suspended debris inside the filter is getting sent back to the pool.
I drop the pool level about 6 inches and let it backwash for several minutes. It looks clean to me. I tried stopping and starting the pump a few times also.
- May 23, 2015
- 24,633
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Wherever you read that, it is complete and utter nonsense. Muriatic acid, in fact any acid, LOWERS TA always. And the reduction in pH is a complex function of the starting pH levels and TA. There is no “rule of thumb” when it comes to lowering pH. It has to be calculated which is why PoolMath is such an important tool to have.
Based on the volume of acid you added, you lowered TA by 63ppm. Depending on what your starting TA was you may or may not have zero’ed out your TA. Yes, Arizona water is hard and high in alkalinity but it is very manageable and does not require a lot of acid use if you keep the water balanced.
This is the link:
poolurchin.com
If you have it what does the PoolMath app give with a starting pH of 7.8?
The Phoenix tap water is pH 7.6 to 8.4 and the total hardness of the tap water is 280. The pool hardness is over 700 due to evaporation!
I still need help with the backwash issue if anyone can think of anything.
How Much Muriatic Acid To Add To Pool? (Secret Revealed)
So, you're ready to add muriatic acid to your swimming pool. But, how much acid do you need?
poolurchin.com
The Phoenix tap water is pH 7.6 to 8.4 and the total hardness of the tap water is 280. The pool hardness is over 700 due to evaporation!
I still need help with the backwash issue if anyone can think of anything.
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- May 23, 2015
- 24,633
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
You can find the old PoolMath webpage at the bottom of the forum pages and do the calculations. The link is here -
PoolMath
Discover the calculator behind the perfect pool, PoolMath. Dealing with pools has allowed TFP to become the original authors of the best calculator on the net.
www.troublefreepool.com
- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,578
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
I added the pictures a few messages earlier.
I will use that app when I have a few weeks free time! I question whether such precision is needed especially when I am only one monsoon storm away from a total pool catastrophe!
The Phoenix tap water is pH 7.6 to 8.4 and the total hardness of the tap water is 280. The pool hardness is over 700 due to evaporation! No precision is possible with so many uncertainties.
I will use that app when I have a few weeks free time! I question whether such precision is needed especially when I am only one monsoon storm away from a total pool catastrophe!
The Phoenix tap water is pH 7.6 to 8.4 and the total hardness of the tap water is 280. The pool hardness is over 700 due to evaporation! No precision is possible with so many uncertainties.
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- Jun 8, 2019
- 4,578
- Pool Size
- 20000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
joshuaj1975
Well-known member
joshuaj1975
Well-known member
Burke_B
Well-known member
Only a few minutes are needed.
Only needed if you care about your pool surface, equipment, and water quality/clarity.
PoolMath app takes all those uncertainties and calculates exactly what you need to add after you enter each of the results from your daily testing using the previously recommended test kits.
I am sure it is fast if you know it. I looked at it and thought where are the instructions and then decided it wasn't worth the time.
The pool actually looks great now but we have a storm coming tonight which likely dump another pile of desert dust. Not sure how to compensate for that either.
Anyway, what I really want help with next is the sand filter backwash issue. I am using it less and less because it REALLY messes up the pool. I will probably wait until the end of season before I use it again as a result..
The pool actually looks great now but we have a storm coming tonight which likely dump another pile of desert dust. Not sure how to compensate for that either.
Anyway, what I really want help with next is the sand filter backwash issue. I am using it less and less because it REALLY messes up the pool. I will probably wait until the end of season before I use it again as a result..
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Britali
Well-known member
- Jun 15, 2022
- 193
- Pool Size
- 7000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Intex Krystal Clear
About your sand filter, it has been asked… are you doing RINSE after your backwash? Usually you do a backwash, then a RINSE, before you put it back filter. You mention backwash but have not said whether or not you are rinsing after the backwash.
- May 3, 2014
- 59,290
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
They have a push pull valve. No rinse.
www.troublefreepool.com
Slide Valves - Further Reading
www.troublefreepool.com
- May 23, 2015
- 24,633
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Lack of precision and reliance on "rules of thumb" is exactly why pools turn cloudy, green, and "are only one monsoon away from disaster". I can tell you for certain that Tucson water is no different, and in some areas worse, than Phoenix water AND our monsoon season is longer and dumps more water and "junk" into pools. I never get cloudy water and I have never had a green swimming pool. When the monsoon rains hit or dust storms blow through, it has precisely zero impact on my pool. And the reason for that is not blind luck but rather that I treat my pool with precision and care ... It's not at all hard to do. Pool stores and service companies want you to believe that pools are hard because it's in their financial interest to do so. People that own pools tell tall-tales about "algae season" and "pools are just expensive money pits", etc, etc. and all of that is nonsense.
The TFP Method of pool care is simple - test the water yourself and know exactly what to add to your pool and when. TFP provides the methodology for doing this as well as the tools to make the calculations simple. Test kits are easily available online. You are the only one that will care enough about your pool to do the job right and so it is in your best interest to do it yourself.
As for your filter issue - at no point during a backwash should any of the discharge water be going back into your pool. If you put the handle in backwash position, then the water should come out of the backwash line. Once the water runs clear, you turn the pump off and reset the valve to filter mode. Then you turn the pump on again. You should never operate the slide valve with the pump running or else you risk blowing backwash water into your pool.
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