Cloudy Pool Water!!

[Vsmith1005]

Hello,

I browsed another thread of someone who had the same issue I am having here. We used the pool the first year we had it and it was great! It was a swamp that we worked through to get crystal clear water. This year we had the same swamp(no pool cover) and I figured we could clear it up again. I changed the pool sand because it is an older pool and I have no clue how old the sand is. I used the QuickCrete Pool Sand from Home Depot. Filled the tank with a little water so I wouldn't crush anything in the filter. When I started it up there was a 5-10 second blast of sand that came out the of the filter. My local pool store said I may have gotten sand in the main shaft of the filter or broke the filter while pouring the sand in. I scooped all sand out and checked everything(three times because after pouring the sand in the top wouldn't fit, when it rains it pours).

Nothing was broken and there was only a little sand in the middle filter shaft(don't know the exact name) After getting my PH and Chlorine levels in check we ran the filter for 2 weeks never turning it off. We had minimal ran in our area and we shocked it weekly. The water is a nice blue but I can only see one step on my ladder. I read on here to put a little Diatomaceous earth in the skimmer and see if it comes out of the return.

WELL IT CAME OUT AS SOON AS I POURED IT IN THE SKIMMER!!!

Is my filter broken? I am a DIYer so I want to exhaust every option before I call someone out or buy a new filter.

Help please my kids love the pool and I have put too much money into it this summer to only use it once or twice.

[BigDave]

Sorry for the late reply.
Yes, if you put DE in the skimmer and it came out the return, your filter is damaged. Time to open it up again and figure out where its getting by. We have seen trouble with that QuickCrete branded pool sand; it is not adequately sized for pool sand filters according it's label.

[Vsmith1005]

I took it apart and none of the pieces were cracked or had sand in them. The sand was fairly clean. I took the valve off and brought it to the pool shop. They said the spider gasket was worn but not too bad. The spring is in good shape. They suggested buying a new filter! I can see if something was broken but the filter worked before. The only difference is the sand. I don't want to buy more sand unless the symptoms sound like that could be my issue. I don't get why they suggested the valve is broken. I can see that it spins and gets a decent seal when I had it off.

I also used some Sink N Sweep(I was desperate). It worked great! I could finally see the bottom when I was done vacuuming to waste. I really thought that was it but the next morning after running the filter it was back to cloudy.

[BigDave]

Can you give us size, model manufacturer of filter and pump? Maybe the pump is too big. The Quickcrete sand (according to it's label) contains particles that are both too big and too small for some filters (specifically Hayward - that's what I have).
Also tell us about your pool size, type, construction, drains returns, heater etc. and how you test. We need to know how you chlorinate and what's already gone into the pool. Sometimes floc and clarifier end up making the trouble worse rather than better.
The next thing we're probably going to ask is if you have a Taylor K-2006 and if not, we'll recommend one.

[CarlD]

Sounds like your filter is damaged. However, even if the insides are damaged (the "laterals"), if the tank of the sand filter is fine, then you just need to replace the laterals, and, of course, the sand.

One of the few things I find generally reasonably priced at pool stores is filter sand. Using Home Depot's pool salt an SWCG is fine, but I would NOT use their sand.