Too much DE in pool

[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?

[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.

[SL Dan]

Well, it wasn't in the pool til I cleaned the filter. Then it was in the pool immediately. It's not dead algae, as far as I know. It's been a couple months, and it immediately clouds the pool the minute I stir it up. It's greenish now, but it used to be more-or-less white.

The strange thing is that I could swear I saw it spouting back into the pool the minute I put the DE in, much faster than the water actually goes.

===========================

BTW, this equipment is dead simple. Just off and on. If by a mis-oriented valve, you mean one of things on top with multiple settings (I have one of those on our pond), it's not that.

[PoolDoc]

It really sounds like you have a hole in one of the membranes (or fingers?).

But again, if it's DE, it WILL have 'texture' when you pinch it between your fingers. And, it will NOT be green.

So, I'm thinking you have a filter problem AND algae.

[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.