For the last 18 months or so i've been looking after my pool and been happy with its condition until this month. Over the last 3 weeks however i have hoovered 4-5 times, swept a couple of times and backwashed twice, however within 48 hours of the last backwash the pool floor is now covered in a fine dirt layer and the clarity of the pool is far from perfect. 3 weeks ago it was too cloudy so i added 1litre of "flocculant" which after 48 hours left the floor dirty but the water perfectly clear & sparkly, i hoovered, backwashed & rinsed (as pressure was up) but within a week the water was dull and the floor dirty, so i hoovered again and the pressure hardly increased. i swear by the time i had finished hoovering the water was visibly cloudy, so i left for a few more days again the dirt dropped to the floor and the water was dull but clear. So come yesterday evening i hoovered the visibly dirty floor and sides again and whilst the floor looked cleaner the water was not looking very inviting. This morning it just looks horrid.
The pump runs for 8 hours a day, chemically pH 7.2, Alk 120ppm, Stabilised Chlorine 150ppm, Active Chlorine (i think) varies between 0-3. I have 2 x 3-in-1 tablets (one each skimmer) and periodically add a cup of powder stab'd chlorine (about 200g) into water then into the skimmer. Pool installation is no more than 4 years old, the filter document says the warranty is 10 years.
From my research thus far i`m thinking the "sand filter" has had its day and thus the medium needs replacing or the valve has stopped routing properly and needs repairing/replacing ... any pointers/tips
Pool won't clean ..... equipment problem ?
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Guest
Re: Pool won't clean ..... equipment problem ?
First thing to clear up is stabilizer level. How did you measure it at 150? Most kits will measure to 100 ppm. If you really have a level of 150 ppm or even close you need to lower it.
At that high a level your chlorine level would have to be maintained at a much higher level than 0-3ppm. To lower stabilizer levels you drain some water, refill and then retest.
As far as the sand filter goes, you can open up the top and inspect the sand. See if there are channels formed in the sand which would allow debris to go right back to the pool.
At that high a level your chlorine level would have to be maintained at a much higher level than 0-3ppm. To lower stabilizer levels you drain some water, refill and then retest.
As far as the sand filter goes, you can open up the top and inspect the sand. See if there are channels formed in the sand which would allow debris to go right back to the pool.
BigDutch wrote:For the last 18 months or so i've been looking after my pool and been happy with its condition until this month. Over the last 3 weeks however i have hoovered 4-5 times, swept a couple of times and backwashed twice, however within 48 hours of the last backwash the pool floor is now covered in a fine dirt layer and the clarity of the pool is far from perfect. 3 weeks ago it was too cloudy so i added 1litre of "flocculant" which after 48 hours left the floor dirty but the water perfectly clear & sparkly, i hoovered, backwashed & rinsed (as pressure was up) but within a week the water was dull and the floor dirty, so i hoovered again and the pressure hardly increased. i swear by the time i had finished hoovering the water was visibly cloudy, so i left for a few more days again the dirt dropped to the floor and the water was dull but clear. So come yesterday evening i hoovered the visibly dirty floor and sides again and whilst the floor looked cleaner the water was not looking very inviting. This morning it just looks horrid.
The pump runs for 8 hours a day, chemically pH 7.2, Alk 120ppm, Stabilised Chlorine 150ppm, Active Chlorine (i think) varies between 0-3. I have 2 x 3-in-1 tablets (one each skimmer) and periodically add a cup of powder stab'd chlorine (about 200g) into water then into the skimmer. Pool installation is no more than 4 years old, the filter document says the warranty is 10 years.
From my research thus far i`m thinking the "sand filter" has had its day and thus the medium needs replacing or the valve has stopped routing properly and needs repairing/replacing ... any pointers/tips
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BigDutch
On the filter.
Getting two lots of conflicting advice over here in Cyprus. One is to just change the sand which is a lot of labour and €80 of sand (150kg), whilst the other is to clean the sand with a chemical which costs less and is a lot less labour. Had the pool installer come by today who opened up the filter and said it doesn't need cleaning, showed me a handful was visibly greasy but still soft. He said he would suggest to clean with chemical and then add another bag (or two) of sand as there appeared to be less than there should be. Option 2 would appear to try and fix the problem whislt option 1 would just remove it totally?
On the high stabilizer level.
The dip-stick tester i have shows this upto 150ppm, and the local supplies shop tested a water sample too. The pool is approx 50cu.m, how much water would you suggest to drop the stabilizer level ? Is there any other way to reduce it ?
Getting two lots of conflicting advice over here in Cyprus. One is to just change the sand which is a lot of labour and €80 of sand (150kg), whilst the other is to clean the sand with a chemical which costs less and is a lot less labour. Had the pool installer come by today who opened up the filter and said it doesn't need cleaning, showed me a handful was visibly greasy but still soft. He said he would suggest to clean with chemical and then add another bag (or two) of sand as there appeared to be less than there should be. Option 2 would appear to try and fix the problem whislt option 1 would just remove it totally?
On the high stabilizer level.
The dip-stick tester i have shows this upto 150ppm, and the local supplies shop tested a water sample too. The pool is approx 50cu.m, how much water would you suggest to drop the stabilizer level ? Is there any other way to reduce it ?
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Guest
I would go with the pool installers option. If he is saying the sand is low, adding some may make the difference for you.
To lower stabilizer levels you have to do some draining. I don't know of any other way to do it. I would lower it slowly meaining draining off a foot of water and refill. Completely draining a pool all at once can be dangerous to do.
Testing for stabilizer levels is generally inexact at the high levels. That means your level may be 200 ppm or only 100 ppm. Keep draining and refilling until you get readings below 100ppm. If you have a chlorine generator on the pool you are shooting for 60-80ppm. If not, you want the level even lower.
To lower stabilizer levels you have to do some draining. I don't know of any other way to do it. I would lower it slowly meaining draining off a foot of water and refill. Completely draining a pool all at once can be dangerous to do.
Testing for stabilizer levels is generally inexact at the high levels. That means your level may be 200 ppm or only 100 ppm. Keep draining and refilling until you get readings below 100ppm. If you have a chlorine generator on the pool you are shooting for 60-80ppm. If not, you want the level even lower.
BigDutch wrote:On the filter.
Getting two lots of conflicting advice over here in Cyprus. One is to just change the sand which is a lot of labour and €80 of sand (150kg), whilst the other is to clean the sand with a chemical which costs less and is a lot less labour. Had the pool installer come by today who opened up the filter and said it doesn't need cleaning, showed me a handful was visibly greasy but still soft. He said he would suggest to clean with chemical and then add another bag (or two) of sand as there appeared to be less than there should be. Option 2 would appear to try and fix the problem whislt option 1 would just remove it totally?
On the high stabilizer level.
The dip-stick tester i have shows this upto 150ppm, and the local supplies shop tested a water sample too. The pool is approx 50cu.m, how much water would you suggest to drop the stabilizer level ? Is there any other way to reduce it ?
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