River Rock Dust in my pool

[Johnpfeifer4]

I am a new pool owner with an in ground vinyl pool that was just installed. I recently had landscaping completed around the pool which included river rock surrounding the pool. Everything was great until we had our first big storm last week which seems to have cleaned the river rock right into my pool. I have a Jandy filter which has glass and sand but it didn’t seem to filter the debris. My pool guy tried floc and it was not effective. Yesterday he had me add cellular fiber to the skimmer to try to get filtration to 2 microns. For the first time in a week I could see dirt in the looking glass when backwashing. The pool looks a little better but I’m frustrated with the lack of progress. Any ideas would be appreciated! My pool is about 36k gallons.

Thanks

John

 

[Texas Splash]

Hi John and welcome! I'll mention a few things that may/may not be new to you here at TFP and let you run with it. So first off, you should know that whenever heavy rains push dirt into a pool, its organic load increases tremendously. If the chlorinate level is not adequate, you'll not only battle dirt/dust, but alao algae very quickly. For that reason, we always ask TFP members to obtain one of the recommended test kits - a TF-100 (link below) or Taylor K-2006C. See Test Kits Compared

We would also ask you to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info (include the test kit too). This will help on all future posts. A couple things about your note above. Hopefully the floc that was added was vacuumed to waste. If not, it probably ruined (gummed-up) the filter media. Typically, pool sand it all you need, and if taken care of properly will last a lifetime.

Dirt in the pool takes time - days even a week or more depending on the flooding. You have to be patient. Continue to stir it up towards the drain or skimmer and backwash as needed when the pressure increases by 25% from clean pressure.

At this point, it will be good to see a pic of your water and full set of water test results. Again, if you don't have a TF-100 (or Taylor K-2006C), you should consider it as soon as possible. Keep us posted and thanks for using the forum.

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

Hi John and welcome! I'll mention a few things that may/may not be new to you here at TFP and let you run with it. So first off, you should know that whenever heavy rains push dirt into a pool, its organic load increases tremendously. If the chlorinate level is not adequate, you'll not only battle dirt/dust, but alao algae very quickly. For that reason, we always ask TFP members to obtain one of the recommended test kits - a TF-100 (link below) or Taylor K-2006C. See Test Kits Compared

We would also ask you to update your signature with all of your pool and equipment info (include the test kit too). This will help on all future posts. A couple things about your note above. Hopefully the floc that was added was vacuumed to waste. If not, it probably ruined (gummed-up) the filter media. Typically, pool sand it all you need, and if taken care of properly will last a lifetime.

Dirt in the pool takes time - days even a week or more depending on the flooding. You have to be patient. Continue to stir it up towards the drain or skimmer and backwash as needed when the pressure increases by 25% from clean pressure.

At this point, it will be good to see a pic of your water and full set of water test results. Again, if you don't have a TF-100 (or Taylor K-2006C), you should consider it as soon as possible. Keep us posted and thanks for using the forum.

Thanks for the reply. Ordered the Taylor K-2006C on Amazon. This has been a forcing function to not rely on my local pool store which I really wanted to do anyway to save money and buy products online. I also updated my signature accordingly.

The cellular fiber seems to be helping as the pool continues to get cleaner but it has taken some time. I am also running my dolphin M400 several times a day as well. Here are before and after pictures. I will update this thread when I get my test kit from Amazon on Wednesday.

 

[Texas Splash]

I see what you mean about all the rock and cloudiness. I have a lot of rock and xeriscape around our place as well. There's a lot of dirt on new rocks like that. While you may think of the K-2006 as an initial expense, it will pay for itself with accurate results and avoiding chemical waste. Good choice.

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

This was a pic from last Monday. The others are from this morning. I think I need to stay the course until I get the test kit. I did have the water tested on Friday and it was good but the PH was a little high. Added PH reducer but haven’t retested since.

 

[Texas Splash]

While you wait for the K-2006C to arrives, I'll give you some things to consider..
- Be familiar with the SLAM Process page - just in case. Right now the water just looks dirty, but that could change.
- The Taylor kit instructions give a 25 ml water sample example for FC testing. Instead, you can use a 10 ML water sample as follows:
** 10 ML water sample with ONE heaping scoop of powder (should turn pink). Mix until clear and divide the number in half. Example, 10 drops equals an FC of 5. All of the testing instructions can be found on the Extended Test Kit Directions Archives - Trouble Free Pool page. If you don't already have a magetci speedstir from TFTeskits.net, you should consider getting one too. It makes stirring MUCH easier. See Speedstir
- Make sure to review our ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry, practive using the PoolMath tool or APP, know the FC/CYA Levels, and save any other Vital Links you see below in my signature. You'll go back to these often until you have them memorized.

We'll watch for your first test results. Have a good day.

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

While you wait for the K-2006C to arrives, I'll give you some things to consider..
- Be familiar with the SLAM Process page - just in case. Right now the water just looks dirty, but that could change.
- The Taylor kit instructions give a 25 ml water sample example for FC testing. Instead, you can use a 10 ML water sample as follows:
** 10 ML water sample with ONE heaping scoop of powder (should turn pink). Mix until clear and divide the number in half. Example, 10 drops equals an FC of 5. All of the testing instructions can be found on the Extended Test Kit Directions Archives - Trouble Free Pool page. If you don't already have a magetci speedstir from TFTeskits.net, you should consider getting one too. It makes stirring MUCH easier. See Speedstir
- Make sure to review our ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry, practive using the PoolMath tool or APP, know the FC/CYA Levels, and save any other Vital Links you see below in my signature. You'll go back to these often until you have them memorized.

We'll watch for your first test results. Have a good day.

Lots of great information, I'll start the reading! Thanks, this site is so helpful!

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

I received my test kit and here are the results. Since using the cellular fiber, the water is much cleaner and I can now see the bottom of the pool in the deep end.

Ph = 7.3
TA = 130
FC = 13.2
CH = 300
CYA = 100

 

[Texas Splash]

Good job John! There is one concern that stands-out ...... your elevated CYA. Perhaps from previous chlorine tabs/bags of shock? I would recommend performing a diluted CYA test as noted HERE to see if it's actually higher than 100. Very possible. Once you know that, you will have an idea of how much water should be replaced to lower the CYA to something more managable. Ideally your CYA should be somewhere between 30-50. So that would be step #1.

CYA Testing:
Proper lighting is critical for the CYA test, so you want to test for CYA outside on a bright sunny day. Use the mixing bottle to gently mix the required amounts of pool water and R-0013 reagent, let sit for 30 seconds, then gently mix again. Recommend standing outside with your back to the sun and the view tube in the shade of your body at waist level. Then, begin squirting the mixed solution into the skinny tube. Watch the black dot until it completely disappears. Once it disappears, record the CYA reading. To help the eyes and prevent staring at the dot, some people find it better to pour & view in stages. Pour some solution into the viewing tube, look away, then look back again for the dot. Repeat as necessary until you feel the dot is gone. After the first CYA test, you can pour the mixed solution from the skinny view tube back to the mixing bottle, gently shake, and do the same test a second, third, or fourth time to instill consistency in your technique, become more comfortable with the testing, and validate your own CYA reading. Finally, if you still doubt your own reading, have a friend do the test with you and compare results.

 

[JamesW]

The landscaping is not a good design.

Why is the grade like it is so that you get water flowing into the pool?

This is going to be a continuous problem every time it rains.

You really need to change the grade and how the water drains during rain.

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

The landscaping is not a good design.

Why is the grade like it is so that you get water flowing into the pool?

This is going to be a continuous problem every time it rains.

You really need to change the grade and how the water drains during rain.

Agreed... it was a complicated dig... When digging they encountered a 2ft concrete reinforced pipe and had to remove about 16 ft of it. That in addition to the location of an abandoned well force the pool to be moved. I am going to have a drainage trench run on that side of the pool to empty water away from the pool.

 

[JamesW]

Did you hit water on the dig?

Based on the ground design, I would be concerned about high ground water floating the liner.

A dry well tube with a submersible pump would be a good idea to monitor ground water and dewater as needed.

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

No water. The pool is cut into a hill so drainage on the other side of the pool goes right into a swale. The reason for the slope is because there is a fence at the top of the rocks. I’ll post more pics later.

 

[tcason]

I might suggest running the Dolphin M400 as close to 24 hours a day as possible.

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

I have been running the Dolphin non-stop, it's always saturated. My pool guy came out and did a manual backwash of the filter yesterday and cleared out quite a bit of mud. He put some other chemicals in which I didn't realize so I'm going to do another test on Sat AM. Could explain the crazy CYA levels. I'll report back on the next test. The good news is that the pool is now pretty much clean and I really think the cellular fiber is the main reason for that.

 

[Johnpfeifer4]

I took a water sample to my pool guy and compared that with what my test revealed. Wanted to calibrate to see if my test was off or if they are trying to just sell me stuff.

Pool company
pH 7.9
FC 11.7
TA 76
CYA 89
CH 147

My results
pH 7.8
TA 110
FC 13.4
CYA 85
CH 250

 

[Texas Splash]

It will always be hit & miss when you compare anyone's test with your own testing. On that recent occasion, some where close while a couple were unusually different. If you did the same thing tomorrow, you could find your tests still consistent, but the store or pool guy's tests all over the place again. That's why we don't bother with anything other than our own testing.