Strange test results, help!!

[CarlD]

You will want to backwash every day.

You may want to get "skimmer socks" and use them, too. They will catch surface stuff.

If you have a sand filter you should add a little DE powder (normally used for DE filters) to through the skimmer (but not with the skimmer sock in place). You add just enough to raise your pressure by one pound and add it anew after backwashing. This increases the filtration capability of the sand. Do NOT add DE to a cartridge filter. Initial amount of DE is 1/4 to 1/3 cup, no more. Add more only if your pressure doesn't increase by a full pound.

[lisak]

I do have a sand filter but have never tried that. I'll go get some today. Have also never used a skimmer sock so will get one of those too. The filter has been running continuously since I left for vacation on 6/30. Am I right in assuming that all the crap on the bottom is dead whatever that the chlorine has killed? Thank you for helping.

Lisa

[aylad]

Yes, the "crap" on the bottom is dead algae, combined with the other normal pollen, dirt, etc that blows into the pool on a daily basis. The link that you put in the above post for the clarifier was actually a repeat link for the phosphate remover, but in any event, a lot of the clarifiers also contain a flocculant, designed to make small particles clump together and go to the bottom where they can be vacuumed out. Just keep vacuuming this stuff out as much as you can--I would vacuum it to waste and bypass the filter, that way you know it's going OUT of the pool. Just make sure that you switch your pump to "rinse" before going back to "filter" to rinse all the residual out of the pipes.

When you get ready to add the DE, like Carl suggested, start with a very small amount and wait several (up to 30) minutes before adding more, because the pressure rise can be slow. You don't want to increase your pressure more than 1 psi. If you overshoot it, just backwash it out and try again.

Janet

[lisak]

Here is the link for the clarifier.

http://www.halosource.com/userfiles/...20Clarifier%20[Rev03].pdf

I just put the DE right into the skimmer basket?

[aylad]

Here's Carl's stickied post about adding the DE..

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3742

Janet

[lisak]

ok, here are this mornings test results:

FC 21
CC .5
pH 7.2
Alk 100
CYA 45

The color of the tests is back to normal so that's good. The FC was at 25 last night and dropped to 21 this morning (about 12 - 13 hours). The deep end is still cloudy but I can make out the bottom. I did add more water last night as the pool was low from all the vacuuming and waste. Do I need to add more chlorine at this point or will the cloudiness clear up if we keep scrubbing and vacuuming? I can see more of the dead algae and stuff on the bottom but significantly less than there has been. Thanks again for your help.

Also, my kids want to know if they can swim in it today. Any thoughts? Is the chlorine way to high for that?

[aylad]

If you had a 4 ppm chlorine loss while the sun was off the pool, then you're still fighting something in your water and need to keep it at your shock level for a little while longer. It needs to stay at shock level, as consistently as possible, until you're losing no more than 1 ppm overnight. Unfortunately, if you drop the chlorine level enough to let the kids swim, you're going to lose ground, because shocking to kill stuff in the water depends on SUSTAINED high chlorine levels. Besides, if your chlorine in the water is busy fighting something else, then it can't work on viruses and bacteria in the water, so it's really not clean enough for the kids to get in, anyway.

Keep the chlorine level up, the filter running and backwashed as needed, and it will clear up--it will just take a good-sized dose of POPP--pool owner patience and persistence!

Janet

[PoolDoc]

Right, DE goes in the basket.

Ben
"PoolDoc"