Halfdones's pool

[Halfdone]

Great idea about the signature, done.

I am following your instructions. The algae is fairly dead I think unless there is some still alive on the bottom. The pool is blue but very cloudy. Since the filter is fairly stable at clean-out pressure I went ahead and added a cup of DE to the filter. I did a fresh backwash before adding the DE even though I was only 1psi over nominal. The pressure went up about 4-5psi within about 2 minutes of adding the DE. I did dissolve it in a bucket of water but perhaps I should have added it slower so I could stop at 1psi over nominal. The normal starting pressure is about 15psi so I backwash at 25psi. I will watch it closely and backwash if it gets to 25psi. When adding DE to the sand filter do I use the original starting pressure after the fresh backwash or use the new "DE" pressure as my starting point. Next time I'll add less DE so I only increase about 1psi.

I added 4lb of CYA in a sock and hung it in front of the return line. After about 4 hours its almost gone. Isn't that a bit fast? I expected it to slowly dissolve over several days. I have been checking the FC levels and am still at 8 after about 4 hours since I added Bleach. I should have been at around 15 after my last dose 4 hours ago. I'll re-dose to get back to 15 for the night.

Thanks

[Watermom]

You only want a 1psi increase when the DE is added. Backwash it out and try again. Add a smaller amount. You may not see the pressure rise immediately. It always takes 20-30 minutes to show up in my pool. Pre-dissolving it is right.

It is fast for CYA to dissolve, but even still, I wouldn't test for it for a few days.

[Halfdone]

I backwashed the DE out and reapplied. This time I used about 1/2 cup predisolved and it went up about 1-2lbs. I'll leave it there and keep an eye on it. I see what you mean about it taking 20-30 min for the full increase. I'll figure it out sooner or later how much to apply, then it should be easy after that.

I'll wait for another couple of days for the CYA test but already our Chlorine seams to be lasting a bit longer.

Any ideas on the cloudy water problem. We have tried clarifiers in the past but it didn't do a thing. It almost looks like white smoke in the pool. I can barely make out my second step. I think the particles are so small they pass right through the filter. I am hoping the DE trick will help but would like to get it done quicker. I have been running the filter constantly for 4.5 days now.

On the Chlorine test when checking the CC level do I multiply the CC test with the result from the FC test or do I multiply by the value (1 drop = .5ppm) that I used for the FC test? Does that make sense?

Thanks again, its nice to finally start seeing progress.

[Watermom]

On the CC test, multiply each drop by 0.5ppm.

Resist the temptation to add a bunch of stuff right now. Just bleach. Give your filter a chance to do its job.

[BigDave]

Your CYA may have come right through the sock without being dissolved in which case it is probably sitting on the pool floor but you can't see it through the opaqe pool water. As I understand it, CYA has a very low pH and may damage your liner if it sits on it. I'd brush the bottom as often as possible until you can confirm it is granule free.

[Watermom]

Or vacuum it up and let it dissolve in the filter if there is any on the floor.

[Halfdone]

Ok, so I will go out and sweep and try to see if a cloud comes up off the bottom. If so I'll go ahead and vacuum it up. The problem with that is I cant see to tell if I get it all. I'll do a fresh backwash before vacuuming so I can leave the powder in the filter longer. I tested the CYA this morning and am at about 25, so at least its coming up.

As far as the CC, this morning I am at CC-1 with FC-5.5. I have been using bleach to keep the chlorine up to between 10 and 15 but my CC isn't moving, should I be concerned? What is the Combined Chlorine mean anyway?