Too much DE in pool

[SL Dan]

I've got a couple other test kits here. One's called Guardex; the other doesn't have a name. But the refills are from Home Depot.

[Pappy]

I'm absolutely certain that MOST of the time, the experts here, and I'm not one of them, advise against flocculants. That might clear the DE out of the pool quicker, but many flocculants contain other "stuff" that is bad for your pool and often introduce other issues that are much more difficult to correct than filtering excess DE from the water. I assume you are running the pump 24/7? Are all your test kits strips? If you have a drop based (titration) kit, that will probably get you by for now.

[Pappy]

Also, if PoolDoc or one of the others does advise a flocculant later, maybe they can offer a good choice brands. Waiting a day at this point isn't going to make much difference, and it is much easier to add something tomorrow, than to remove something you shouldn't have added today. POP means Pool Owner Patience - that's a term that I learned here. I've often heard that lack of POP is one of the biggest problems pools have.

[SL Dan]

OK, thanks. The test kits are 2 drop, 1 strip.

And no, it's not on all the time. I ran it that way for 3 or 4 days and saw no change.

[Pappy]

Running 24/7 will clear up the excess DE faster, and you'll have to clean it more often. Have you tested chlorine and ph levels with a drops kit? Do you know what your CYA level is? I was under the impression that DE filters "like" to be run constantly to keep the from dropping off the grids. BUT again, I'm not the DE filter expert.

[SL Dan]

Yes, I've tested with the drops kit, and I'm good on chlorine levels. CYA is hard to tell, but might be a bit low.

Many thanks for your help.

[SL Dan]

BTW - if anyone cares, this problem has been going on for two months now, but until yesterday, and for the longest time, I was unable to get into this site.

It takes an inordinate amount of my time, and has my wife saying, Let's just drain the pool and leave it empty.

[Pappy]

I don't know what to tell you about not being able to get into the site. Is the your filter pressure climbing? What is the current water condition? Are you able to post actual numbers for chlorine, ph, and cya levels? Nobody can help very much when they have no idea what they are working with. Draining a pool, even a concrete pool, can cause severe damage.

[SL Dan]

Yeah, I'm aware of that, so I'm trying everything. My wife doesn't care, she'll never go in again. But if it ever starts warming up here, I go in every day.

No, the filter pressure is right where it was.

The water is seemingly unchanged. The filter has been running for 2 days. I say seemingly, but the DE MAY have thinned out slightly. It actually seems to be as thick in there as ever, but there's less build up on the bottom. So maybe it's working.

I have no idea how you folks come up with numbers. I've got the yellow liquid and the red liquid, and the best I could come up with is an estimate.

Thanks again.

[PoolDoc]

If it IS DE, flocculant will NOT help. DE settles more quickly than flocc-ed algae . . . if you turn the pump off.

I haven't read this thread carefully, but I read enough to know that you need to verify that it IS DE, and not dead algae. If you grab a pinch, DE will have texture and substance; dead algae will not.

And IF it IS DE, something's wrong with the filter, though it could just be a mis-oriented valve.