I am planning on replacing my pump, pretty sure its too big

ok so I remembered that I needed to go to edit signature to show that I am now using the k-2006 and not strips anymore. However, I cant remember why I have "hrs" and 'city" in my signature? Also cant remember what PF:10 means...........lol. Cant believe its already been 3 yrs since I registered and started coming here............
.My first 2 summers were spent learning how to balance/control my water using BBB method. Last summer I spent trying to figure out my filtering problem to no avail. I also have a very small leak that I cant find. Since I kept having to add water, I realized my CYA level wasn't a concern so I cheat and use tablets/pucks too for ease. At the end of last summer, I let the water start leaking down so that I could see how far it would leak down to and hopefully pinpoint the leak. But we had so much rain thru the fall, even winter that the pool kept filling back up. Finally during a couple dry weeks it seemed to stop at 27" but it was so cold I couldn't get in there and look closely at the walls. Then it started raining again and the pool filled back up. Hopefully when water is warm enough to get in, I can closely inspect the wall at the 27" mark and maybe find that elusive leak!

@leena,

Looking through all you wrote it would seem to me that you've done quite a lot of work on your sand filter to no avail. Here are some of my thoughts/responses -

1. DE Blowing through filter - I would hazard a guess that the DE did not work because your old filter media was probably suffering from deep channeling. That's a condition that only occurs in sand filters whereby old media that isn't cleaned thoroughly develops deep channels throughout the volume of the sand. Think of it like a cracked mud bed that you would see in a dry lake. The DE that you added to the skimmer simply shot right through the deep channels and straight back into your pool. Sand filters should be deep cleaned (that's not the same as backwashing) at least once per year or more frequently if you have heavy debris loads. Deep cleaning is a labor intensive process whereby you stick a garden hose into the bottom of the sand filter and to wash all the "gunk" out of the sand and, as needed, use a long wooden pole to break up chunks of clustered sand being careful not to damage the laterals.

2. Oversized pump - without more detailed knowledge of the make and model of the sand filter, it's hard to know if your pump is properly sized. However, if you think it's oversized, I believe you on that. And it is definitely not good to have an oversized pump and an undersized sand filter or vice versa for that matter.

3. Spider gasket - I don't think your problems are with a spider gasket as that would manifest itself as weird leaks between different settings on the multiport valve, eg, water leaking from the backwash port when valve is set to filter mode, etc. However, it is always a good idea to check the spider gasket when doing filter maintenance to make sure there's no cracks or tears in it. If you take the top of the multiport valve apart, you'll see exactly why it's called a spider gasket (looks kind of like a spider's web).

4. Pool leaks - I'm not an AG pool owner so I don't have much to say for finding leaks. I just hope you can locate it and fix it easily. Makes me wonder if something like red food dye would work as a tracer to see where a leak is? My guess is on a tiny leak it would be hard to do. Since it's an AG pool, can you see tell-tale water stains around the pool that might indicate the location of the leak?

Good luck and keep posting, I'm sure all of us here can help.

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Originally Posted by leena

ok so I remembered that I needed to go to edit signature to show that I am now using the k-2006 and not strips anymore. However, I cant remember why I have "hrs" and 'city" in my signature? Also cant remember what PF:10 means...........lol.

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That was a signature scheme that pooldoc is/was using to store info. The idea was that your pertinent info was attached to each post so the mods wouldn't have to ask every time they tried to post something helpful for you. I don't know what the "hrs" field is about, I suspect the number of hours/day you run your pump. "City" is most likely a reference to your fill water source - city water vs well. PF:10 is the "pool factor" used for calculating dosage in your pool. I personally have never used that calculation so I don't know exactly how it goes.

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Originally Posted by SunnyOptimism

it is definitely not good to have an oversized pump and an undersized sand filter or vice versa for that matter.

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Vice versa is definitely preferable, smaller pump and bigger filter.

At the sort of pressure I imagine Leena's setup to have I doubt good filtration will happen but tricky when you can't see the whole setup.
Any Pictures Leena? what size plumbing etc.

I had a similar problem, my valve was 2" but the installer had put a 1.5" pick up pipe in the filter.
Filter would never clear out the water. Since I did this fix my water is crystal clear.

we finally got a chance to take apart the sand filter and check the spider gasket. It looked ok. Before we started taking sand out to check the laterals we noticed a crack where the hose goes in. There was a tiny crack there last yr but it barely leaked so we kept using it. I don't think its useable this time, the crack is completely across and much wider. So looks like we will be buying a new sand filter too. Would it be cheaper to get a pump/filter combo? Or is it no different in cost to buy them separate?

how do I upload pics here

down at the bottom where is says posting permissions.....mine says I may not post attachments. Is there something I need to do to be allowed to post pics?

while I am waiting to find out how to post a pic, Here is a combo I found on amazon. Its Hayward and a 2 speed pump. Is this something that would work for me? On high I think the pump is still 1.5hp which I do not feel I need but couldn't find a smaller 2 speed pump/filter combo.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CG4EDW4/...I3NHVZOKQHTCLG

Here is another combo, also a 2 speed pump, also a Hayward but with a larger sand filter....21" versus the 18" above. This confuses me as before we talked of sand filters as being 200lbs, etc so not sure why it tell the inches rather than lbs of sand? Im assuming I want my sand filter to be the correct size for my pump or do I go by the size of my pool?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002HHM020/...P89FGH0U&psc=1