What’s this I found in my Sand filter?

[Askanison]

So new pool owner. Replaced Standard filter with a nicer sand filter. Work well for about a week. Then flow started to slow to a crawl. Backwashes several times. Maybe works for an hour or so and the slower down again. Took apart the entire filter looking for a clog. Then checked out the sand and there was this floating in there. A lot. I shoved the hose into the sand several times and more of this gunk kept coming up? Is it algae? The pool has been crystal clear. Do I add algaecide to the pool? Is cleaning of the sand going to be a regular maintenance for me?

 

[TO116]

Have you added anything to the pool since you replaced the filter?

What does it feel like?

 

[Askanison]

Baking soda and 3 or 4 days later some ph up.
Chlorine tablets floating in there constantly and shock granules.
Obviously not all at once.

 

[Askanison]

Baking soda and 3 or 4 days later some ph up.
Chlorine tablets floating in there constantly and shock granules.
Obviously not all at once.

It felt like soemthing hard to describe but how about wet paper towles but more firm. It had some fibers in there also.

 

[TO116]

I have no idea what this could be. Sorry.

Hopefully someone else can chime in.

 

[Richard320]

It's probably clumping algae. Fast pressure rise is a classic symptom.

A steady diet of trichlor pucks will send the CYA level sky high. If the shock is dichlor or trichlor, it made it even worse. Corroborating evidence is the fact that you've had to raise both TA and pH. Dichlor and trichlor are both very acidic and tend to drive pH and TA down. As the CYA increases, the FC must also be increased. FC/CYA Levels The problem is, if you increase the FC with something that also raises CYA, you're just making the problem worse. And the FC gets used up but the CYA remains.

You've got algae. You think the water is clear, but if it had an 8'deep end you probably would say it was cloudy in the deep end. Give it a few more days -- it'll all be cloudy by then, and maybe even green. Or you can do the SLAM Process One caution: your HDX test kit won;t work at the chlorine levels you'll be needing.

The only other alternative is that your pucks are some kind of 4-in-1 wonders that contain clarifiers. Clarifiers are great at gumming up filters and turning sand into clods. But that wouldn't correct itself with a backwash.

 

[mguzzy]

Clarifiers are great at gumming up filters and turning sand into clods. But that wouldn't correct itself with a backwash.

I was going to guess that it looks like a cinder block in your sand.

Can you put it on a white paper towel for the pic? it will be easier to see. My first thought was a some kind of congealed clarifier muck. But it has fibers, perhaps is some pollen or other plant fiber falling in your pool

 

[Askanison]

Thank you for the reply. I was looking at the SLAM a little bit ago thinking if it is mold or algae the SLAM would kill everything. I noticed my little kit would not be up to task. The HDX kit was the only thing available when I was in need. The little test strips I did have showed I had 0 for everything in my pool.

 

[Askanison]

On white background so you can see the contrast.