Too much DE in pool

[SL Dan]

Hi,

I've got a problem which has persisted for a couple months and I've searched but maybe I'm not searching for the correct terms.

All winter long (such as it is in LA) the pool was nice and blue. Come spring I cleaned the DE filter, and must have put too much DE in, because it blew straight back into the pool. The bottom of the pool is cloudy, unless I try to brush off the sides, in which case the entire pool is cloudy. I've cleaned the filter again - twice.

And now it's been turning green (slightly, but enough). My best theory is that the DE is holding onto the the algae. So I'm about to try a flocculant, followed by vacuuming.

Am I thinking right?

[Pappy]

I'm surely not the expert on DE filters, but I do know DE should NOT be blowing through your filter. Too much DE would clog a properly operating filter, not blow through it. If it's turning green, that probably means you have an algae problem that is not directly related to the filter issue. To get good answers, tell us the brand and model of the filter, how you are testing your water chemistry, chlorine, ph, cya, etc. levels. I'm pretty certain the experts here will advise against flocculants.

[SL Dan]

Right, yet there's a lot of DE in my pool, and it's been there for a while now. The pool clouds up as soon as I attempt to brush the algae off the steps and sides.

It's a Purex/Pentair 36 sq. ft filter. I'm testing with strips, recommended by my neighbor and acquired from the experts at Home Depot. I didn't realize until today that they were no good.

[SL Dan]

PS - everything I've been able to find online tells me that one of the surest ways to get DE back into your pool is to put too much into the filter.

[Pappy]

A lot of DE in your pool indicates your filter is malfunctioning for some reason. I would open the filter, and CLOSELY inspect all gaskets, o-rings, grids and connections. The fact that the issue started when you serviced the filter leads me to believe there is "probably" an easy fix issue. An out-of- place gasket or o-ring letting water bypass the filter or maybe a torn grid. When you cleaned the filter after the problem started, was there DE on the grids or in the bottom of the filter housing? Is your filter pressure normal? I'd bet it is running low. Do you know if your filter is a 2000-series or FNS - or something else.

[Pappy]

How much DE did you put in? If your pressure is running high, keep cleaning the filter and brushing. Eventually you'll filter out all the excess DE. If your pressure is running low, that means the DE - and lots of other stuff - is bypassing the filter grids. And all this has nothing to do with green.

[SL Dan]

It WAS running high. Now it's normal. But I still have all this DE in my pool.

I believe it's a 2000 series filter.

[SL Dan]

Everything else checked out normal. Some DE at the bottom of the filter, most of it on the grids, which were new last year and have no holes.

[Pappy]

Okay. If you keep brushing and stirring up the DE where the filter can catch it, then cleaning when pressure gets high, you'll eventually get that issue cleaned up. If there's a walmart close to you that has the HTH 6Way pool test kit, get one and tell us what your chlorine, ph, and CYA levels are. Then someone can help with the green.

[SL Dan]

Alright. So no to the flocculant, then. You sure?