too small to get grabbed by filter while vacuuming?

the pool gods are having a joke at my expense for sure. i had what looked like sand on the bottom of my pool but when i actually would touch it it was very soft, almost like...babypowder in water. it smooshes up and turns into a puff of cloudiness if agitated under water. so i say no problem, ill vacuum it up. prime the hose, set it all up nice, man its running primo. so i lay into it nice and slow, and ...wait..its shooting back out through the return? this cant be right, i just changed the sand in my filter, it should be running great.

let me back track one month from now. my pool was in terrible shape. i do everything on this forum to try to remedy it. everyone is so helpful. but it just doesnt clear up. so i unhappily drain the pool, wet vac the gunk off the bottom and refill. ooook, yessss, time to get the levels right. and i do. i follow suggestions on here and its great.

but then the pool begins to cloud. what am i doing wrong?! well turns out the pool guy had the valves mixed up and it was set up backwards. he had it backwashing for a week right back into the pool intstead of filtering. {hes a buddy , i know i know, never use a friend who isnt a pro. thats the lesson i learned}. so of course it would cloud. it wasnt filtering. i think to myself, good god why me. i shut it all down, and decide its time to check the sand. we bought this house as a foreclosure so who knows what shape the filter is in. open it up...and its only 1/3 full. oook. take out the inner component, cracks all over it. oh man that cant be good. so for a week the pump and filter were running but it wasnt filtering. so i go to the local pool place and get the piece. forty bux not too bad. its an astoria or something. it has 8 fingers that came off the middle tube and some weird thin straw piece that i have no idea what that does. it runs right up next to the main tube.

put the piece in, add water, add the sand, close it up. everything is running great!!!! great return power unlike before.

the pool is 24 ft round above ground, 1.5hp pump, and 150pd filter. im not even sure if this is the correct setup, it was what was here.

so i decide, ok, ill just vacuum on waste, and i do. i get about 80% of the stuff off the floor. some of it gets kicked up and im sure it will settle again.

i guess im making this thread because its been a month of issue after issue and i just want to swim with my family before the summer is over. im hoping one of the vets, or anyone, has seen this before and knows what the stuff is and maybe what my issue is. im not going to lie. im quite frustrated but i have high hopes that it can be remedied.

so please, pool friends, any and all advice would be helpful. {i am currently adding new water to replace what was lost via vacuuming to waste}

thanks in advance
dave

Try adding ~ 1/2 cup of DE, mixed with 3 gal. water into the skimmer while the pump is running. The DE will help catch that extra fine silt;)

Sorry you're having such trouble!

You could also try a fresh skimmer sock, they catch an astonishing amount of fine 'dust'.

Thx for the tips waste and annak, I just added the d.e.

Im not sure about the sock, its a pretty hefty amount of fine stuff. I vacuumed out 80% to waste out of the pool but it initially covered the whole pool floor so that sock would be filled pretty quick. Right now i only have a basket in and no sock so it cant hurt to try one.

Im crossing my fingers that the de works.

Anyone have any idea what the stuff could be. the water was new fresh water when i refilled it so its either some sort of algae, or something from the busted filter shooting back in?

Could be any number of things. If your test numbers are good then it isn't algae. 'Good' means CC of 0.5 or none. Could be dirt carried by wind. Do you live in a rural area where farmers might be discing, tilling, spreading lime, seeding? Do you have trees or fields around that could drop pollens?

And yes, it could come from the repaired/rebuilt filter. Occam's Razor, you know? If it quacks like a duck and etc. The DE might well do it for you. Skimmer socks are great but when you have a lot of fine debris you do have to babysit them and replace them frequently. When I vacuum with a sock in the basket I normally have to stop halfway through and replace it.

nope nobody tilling or farming near me. i live in pennsylvania but not deep into it, just outside of philadelphia.

ill go out in the morning and reassess it. then try to get a sock at some point.

You usually cannot vacuum with a skimmer sock in place because you have to take out the basket.

If your pump is what is called "uprated", it's probably OK with your filter. However, if it's what is called "full-rated" it is almost certainly too much pump and stressing or even damaging your filter.
Solutions:
1) Get a bigger filter or
2) Get a smaller pump or
3) Get a smaller impeller for the pump so it reduces the flow. If everything is good, this is the least expensive solution. The pump guys can help you with that.

Carl

Carl,
When I vacuum, I do not take my skimmer basket out. But, at any rate, I agree that you should remove the skimmer sock when you vacuum.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Watermom

Carl,
When I vacuum, I do not take my skimmer basket out. But, at any rate, I agree that you should remove the skimmer sock when you vacuum.

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do you have one of those 5" round angle plates? If no your vacuum usually goes in the pipe at the bottom of the skimmer case, requiring you to remove the basket.

I have a plate that goes on top of the skimmer basket. The basket stays in place during vacuuming. I do use skimmer socks when I vacuum. Is that a bad thing to do?

As long as your pressure isn't plummeting, I guess it isn't a concern.

AnnaK,
If it works, go for it! Having the sock catch all the debris rather than the pump's basket is always a good thing.

Carl

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AnnaK

I have a plate that goes on top of the skimmer basket. The basket stays in place during vacuuming. I do use skimmer socks when I vacuum. Is that a bad thing to do?

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I don't any more. I used to vacuum with the skimmer socks in but mine seem take a beating and wear out prematurely.

They do prevent a whole lot of fine debris, especially tree flower bits (bracts) and dog hair, from getting into the filter and I save much water by not having to vacuum to waste or backwash. The pump pressure doesn't appear to be affected, the gauge stays steady.

Yes, the socks do take a beating but they really are very inexpensive in the overall scheme of things. I go through maybe six skimmer socks in a season. My pool store sells 5 for $6 and they sell for less than that on eBay.

Got'cha! Be kind to skimmer socks :)

Something Poconos mentioned to me some time ago when I was unhappy with a Polaris cleaner for leaving the fine stuff. The suggestion was to put a wad of medical gauze or cheese cloth inside the Polaris bag to help trap that dust. I sold the Polaris because I really do like vacuuming by hand and the thing got in my way but the idea of trapping what amounts to silt with gauze or cheese cloth is a good one.

In fact, I think I'll try that in my skimmer basket, see what happens.