Water is balanced but still slightly hazy/dull?

[Smehltrett]

So I have been having this problem for the last few weeks where my water just isn't sparkling. Last season it was always crystal clear and sparkling this year I just can't seem to get there. At the beginning of the season I deep cleaned my sand filter with my hose and also chemically cleaned it. I also changed out my old 3/4 hp pump for a nice new variable speed pentair superflow. I did notice that the sand filter seemed a little on the low side but its only my second season and figured that it was probably fine since I did not have trouble last year. Upon first opening this year it was indeed sparkling but its just been these last 3 weeks or so. I think its worth noting I also have two dogs one 95lbs and one 70lbs who go in the pool quite often. I am thinking that they might be my problem but then again last year it was fine though we only had the one bigger dog the little one is just a pup. The pool opened very easy with a short slam this year and was crystal clear in like 5 days. Since then I have kept the water levels pretty consistent there was maybe one time where the chlorine dropped to 1.5 after being away for a weekend but I brought it right back up to the 4-5 ppm area when I got home. Does anyone have any suggestions on what else I could try at this point? I was thinking maybe I should add more sand to the filter but im not 100% sure if it needs it I added a picture here of the inside. Would a shock help at this point? I have 0 CC so I figured that would just be a waste of chlorine no?


Water Levels

• Cya 20-25ish
• FC - 5
• CC - 0
• PH 7.3
• CH - 150

Difference from last year to this year

• New Variable Speed Pump
• 2 dogs instead of 1
• Replaced Dolphin robot(had cloth filter bag) with Polaris Robot (has a screen filter that sometimes seems to kick dirt around with its jet propulsion rather then pick it up)

Things I tried

• Flocculant sink to clear - this worked quite well but my polaris couldn't seem to pick up the dirt that sunk to the bottom it would get some but blow the rest all around the pool with its rear jet. I did my best to manually vacuum it but I can never seem to get that thing to work for long it always loses suction.
• Blue water clarifier - it helps some but doesn't last long definitely not a long term solution
• Added some DE through skimmer - I didn't notice any difference.

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

It is normal when vacuuming manually for a sand filter to start to lose suction as it gets dirty. This is when you backwash, rinse, and then continue. Your polaris WILL NOT catch the fine dust particles the previous vacuum did, and you will have to manually vacuum it if you want to keep it looking spotless like in the first pic. Very nice btw

Have you deep cleaned the sand since you used the floc and clarifier? Those will clog the sand rather quickly and we don't recommend use of either.

DE in the filter is not something that is "noticed" immediately, it just gives a slightly higher ability to filter out the smaller particles. This may be something you'll repeat more than once to see the effects, especially with the Polaris stirring up the dust, you might find this more effective over time moreso than anything immediate. I hope that makes sense. But it is the polaris that is making the difference (in my opinion).

 

[Smehltrett]

I'm sort of dissapointed the polaris cant pickup the fine dirt I wonder if there is any aftermarket basket for it that would? I have back washed since using those products but have not done a deep clean. I did not know that losing suction was normal I was getting really frustrated thought it was just my equipment. I will have to get in there and vacuum manually for now I guess

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

I have never seen an aftermarket bag as you describe. Filter could have been clogging faster than it normally would because of the floc and clarifier so yes definitely do a deep clean.