I have been using fiberclear for the past few years in my pentair quad de 100 filter and have been very happy with it. I have gone as long as 8 months before cleaning the filter and I am using it like a cartridge filter so it doesn't have backwash set up. A few months ago I noticed that my flow was greatly reduced roughly 2 months after cleaning the filter. I cleaned the filter and recharged with fiberclear like usual and again after 50 days my filter pressure is up 10 psi and flow is greatly reduced. I'm not sure what could be causing this as it didn't happen the first few years using fiberclear. The only change I made was using a poolrx in my pump basket since spring. Does anyone think that could cause the filter to clog up in 50 days? I should mention that when I cleaned the cartridges i did not use any cleaning solution on them, just hosed them off with water. They looked ok after so I wouldn't think that would be causing this issue. Next time I clean them I have some spray on cartridge cleaner I'm going to use. Other than that I figure it must be something to do with the poolrx since i never had this issue before. Any thoughts?
trouble with fiberclear and poolrx
- Thread starter vegas-doug
- Start date
- Jun 1, 2018
- 13,908
- Pool Size
- 26000
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
If you reduced your fc level below min for your cya because of the use Of the poolrx contraption you likely have algae.
Do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
Do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test
PoolRx is just copper, which is extremely discouraged.
If you've been keeping your FC at 3 regardless of CYA level (see the FC/CYA Levels) then you likely have algae. The copper itself would not cause any clogging issues, but its use is usually a sign that the person is not properly maintaining chlorine levels (intentionally or not) and some algae is usually an ongoing issue.
If you've been keeping your FC at 3 regardless of CYA level (see the FC/CYA Levels) then you likely have algae. The copper itself would not cause any clogging issues, but its use is usually a sign that the person is not properly maintaining chlorine levels (intentionally or not) and some algae is usually an ongoing issue.
Yes, somehow I got talked into the poolrx. never had any issues before it but have been some troubles since. my cya was just tested at 55 but i have added some conditioner to raise it up to the 70 that is recommended for salt water pools. so basically if i have algae it would clog up my pool filter relatively quickly?
Yep. A DE filter filter is great at filtering, but it can also mask a low-level algae problem. So instead of dull or cloudy water you end up with a filter that clogs quickly. The good news is that it's probably not too bad, otherwise you wouldn't be getting so long between clogging, and a good SLAM Process implementation will fix the problem.
I would remove the PoolRx. Copper staining is unsightly and difficult to remove, with such a nice new pool I would avoid that at all costs.
ok, thank you! will do overnight chlorine test and go from there. i assume i will need to clean the filters again but should i do that before or after the SLAM?
If the filter doesn't need cleaned yet then it can wait. You might need to do it mid-SLAM, or it can wait until after if not. Any live algae trapped in the filter will be killed during the process so it's not much of a concern, especially if you recently cleaned it.