Ok, my lesson learned the hard way.......

[aylad]

When you add new sand or zeolite to your filter, MAKE SURE YOU START IT UP IN BACKWASH MODE!!!!!

Since my pool runs year round and I never drain my lines, the only time the filter was started up from ground zero was when I was a brand new pool owner 8 years ago. So--when my nice pretty new liner was in place and my pool refilled, spider gasket replaced in the multiport, 25 lb bag of zeolite put into the filter to replace what the filter had pushed into the pool the year before (different story, now I have a new filter), I threw the power switch with the valve in "filter" mode, and.....voila!!! a horrendous cloud of yellowish-greenish dust from the new zeosand plus all the crud that was in the old sand from over the winter flooded my pool, and in about 30 seconds it was so muddy you couldn't see the pattern in the bottom of the shallow end, let alone the deep!!!!

Although a lot of the crud was the sand itself and settled out, the "dust" part of it simply wouldn't--so after almost 3 weeks of continuous filtering, even with DE thrown in, it wasn't clearing. Water numbers were perfect, held it at shock for almost a week just in case. We have since replaced the sand filter with a new one, new zeolite, started up in backwash and interestingly enough, all the crud that came out with the backwash was the exact color my pool water has been.

I am proud to say now that even though I am NOT a proponent of clarifiers/floc except in extreme situations, we were down to draining and refilling again (30K gallons) or try the clarifier. Put it in last night, ran pump all night, this morning it's crystal except the very bottom "layer" of water in deep end, and even then I can clearly see the pattern (and color) in the deep end, for the first time since the initial pump start.

So....battery on my Poolbuster vac is charging, have new Polaris bag installed, and will be vacuuming up the remaining sand in the morning. Pressure on my sand filter is up 2 psi from yesterday, so it's apparently doing the trick.

I'll never make that mistake again!!!!

Janet

[Watermom]

I am so glad this will all be soon behind you and you'll be having fun swimming. What a pain this has been for you!

Lisa

[AnnaK]

What a nightmare this must have been!

I didn't know about starting a newly refilled sand filter in backwash mode. I, too, learned from your mistake. It's good that the clarifier worked and you have your nice clear water back.

[chem geek]

Chlorine is great at clearing up a pool of organic debris including dead algae, but some types of chemicals (or particles like fine sand) don't get oxidized well from chlorine and are better dealt with by using a clarifier or flocculant. If you go a week with shock levels of chlorine with little visible improvement and very little drop in chlorine overnight, then it's usually a sign that chlorine isn't going to work to clear the pool.

[chrisexv6]

Dont feel bad!

Had my liner installed, plumbed the filter up myself. Even backwashed the fresh sand like you're supposed to.

Fired up the filter and let it go 24/7 for a few days, yet the water looked like yours.....fine floating particles that werent algae, more like sand. I couldnt figure it out for the life of me.

Standing next to the pump/filter one day, I realized.....I had plumbed the multiport backwards!! Talk about a "DUH" moment. Re-plumbed it correctly, and just like you the stuff still wouldnt filter out.

Threw in some clarifier before leaving for work one day. Came home after work and the water was crystal clear. I hate using floc/clarifier, but Im also impatient so sometimes Ill give in and use it to help clear up the pool faster (like this years opening). $9.00 for enough for 2 uses, I guess thats not really getting pool stored is it? :)

[aylad]

No, I don't consider that pool-stored! :) Just as long as you didn't also bring home a bag of calcium flakes!! :D


Janet

[CarlD]

You can use Polyquat as your floc as well. It's more expensive but it helps prevent algae starting if your chlorine level drops--that's its main job.

[chem geek]

A minor clarification...

PolyQuat is not only an algaecide, but is also a clarifier and was initially sold as such until the manufacturer figured out it was also a good algaecide and more profitable sold as such. It is a polymer with a net positive charge so attracts particles with a negative charge (including algae cells) and can consolidate and get caught in the filter which can then get cleaned or backwashed.

It isn't technically a flocculant which is usually something that consolidates into much larger and heavier particles that settle to the bottom of the pool if you turn off the pump and then need to vacuum to waste.

[CarlD]

I always defer to Richard in these matters, but you'll notice that it DOES help clump particles so the filter can trap them--I think this is BETTER than having them fall to the floor of the pool.

And, BTW, I've never used or needed a flocculent in this pool going on 8 years. I did use it once in my old pool, a little Intex, and only because I had messed up by following pool store instructions!

[chrisexv6]

A minor clarification...

PolyQuat is not only an algaecide, but is also a clarifier and was initially sold as such until the manufacturer figured out it was also a good algaecide and more profitable sold as such. It is a polymer with a net positive charge so attracts particles with a negative charge (including algae cells) and can consolidate and get caught in the filter which can then get cleaned or backwashed.

It isn't technically a flocculant which is usually something that consolidates into much larger and heavier particles that settle to the bottom of the pool if you turn off the pump and then need to vacuum to waste.

Learn something new everyday!

I had polyquat just sitting in my pool chem cabinet, would have saved me the drive to get floc.

[chem geek]

About the only time a flocculant would be better than a clarifier (which again, neither are usually needed since chlorine alone can frequently clear a pool) is if there is a substantial amount of debris in the pool as this could overwhelm a filter or require many backwashings. For those with the ability to vacuum-to-waste, it helps remove debris so that it reduces the amount of chlorine needed to clear the pool and reduces the number of backwashes needed.

Imagine the classic algae opening handled by chlorine as shown in this post (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=1180). Here the chlorine caused the algae to settle to the bottom and after day 2 (early day 3) there was a vacuum-to-waste to get rid of what settled to the bottom. That sped up this clearing. A flocculant is the same principle, but obviously would only make sense if chlorine didn't have the settling effect and there was more debris than would be reasonably cleared by the filter.

The bottom line is that normally neither a clarifier nor a floculant are needed and that chlorine alone will clear most pools. Of course, even when using chlorine you need to brush the sides, run the pump 24/7, backwash or clean the filter if it gets too full, etc.

Richard

[chrisexv6]

Last season I had the pool opened and clear in 24 hours. I took the cover off, got the pump up and running and then vacuumed to waste once. Refilled the pool, vacuumed to waste again. The water was crystal clear at opening, and vacuuming to waste made sure nothing got stirred up and suspended in the water.

This year for some reason it took me a lot longer using the same procedure. I think mostly because I closed earlier than normal last year and I opened later than normal this year.

After vacuuming to waste a few times there was still a bunch of stuff suspended in the water. Of course brushing made it even worse. Even with 24/7 filtration after 4 or 5 days it was only making a small dent in the clarity. I forgot about the DE in the sand filter tip until after I had added floc, but the combination of those 2 things got it clear overnight.