really cloudy water

[tarak]

ok headed out to get DE let's hope my always understocked walmart has it, tested water an hr and half ago and ph was at a 7.6 and CL was a lil higher than ideal
water still cloudy and not being able to see the bottom I backwashed and it didn't look to bad from what I could see.
quick question.....if/when I find DE do I mix it with anything or add straight to skimmer? do I remove skimmer basket? sorry that was 2

[Watermom]

Just put it into the skimmer basket. It will quickly get sucked into your filter.

If you can't see the bottom of your pool, it is a real safety issue to let children swim. It only takes a few seconds......

[tarak]

None of the walmarts in my area carry the hth de I'm at home depot and they have pool time de in a lg 25lb box or another brand called safer that's in their pesticide section are either of these acceptable? I'm thinking of checking Lowes

[PoolDoc]

Get the pool DE from any location that has it. Do NOT get the pesticide grade, since it may not be the same particle size.

[tarak]

got it from Lowes AquaChem DE media and filter aid ( but good lord 24lbs ) gonna last a lifetime
1/4 cup right into skimmer basket alrighty here goes nothing

ps
watermom I promise I'm not letting the littles in, their hating on me for it, but they'll live

[tarak]

alrighty I backwashed it was clean, I added 1/4 cup of DE straight to skimmer and nothing came out
and my water is still cloudy
what do you guys think of adding clarifier I have 2 different kinds
1. 10ozs of Bioguard improve polysheen blue ( someone gave me)
2. 14ozs left of Natural chemistry Clear 4 in 1 Clarifier all natural ( that I bought from pool store) used 10ozs of previously did nothing

[PoolDoc]

Add a couple of cups of DE. If the DE stays in your filter, it will help filter out whatever is in your pool -- but you'll have to backwash more frequently.

Polysheen won't hurt . . . if you haven't used any OTHER sort of clarifier in the past 2 weeks. There can be some bad interactions that make things worse, instead of better.

More DE would be safest.

[tarak]

ok I'll go put about 2 more cups of the DE in I'll wait on the clarifier for about a day or 2 cause it's been about a week and half since I used that stuff from the pool store.....I'll let ya know how I make out.
Thank you soooo much for all your help

[tarak]

back quickly I know, I put 1 cup in and noticed a little coming out of the return so I turned and looked at the speed meter and the psi had jumped to 18 when it always stays at 15 or below, so I didn't add the 2nd cup and I backwashed and it was really dirty
what does this mean?

[Watermom]

Do it again and watch the returns again.

BTW -- Many of us often use a little DE in our sand filters on a routine basis, not necessarily for testing to see if the filter is working properly but just for the little extra it can give in filtration. As you found, the pressure goes up quickly. You just have to learn how much to put in for your setup so that you only get that slight increase.

More about this here: http://pool9.net/de-test/

(That is not a speed meter; it is a pressure gauge.)