salt water system

[LG1003]

My de filter pump has stopped working and I am thinking of getting a salt water pump.

Does anyone have any pros or cons to share about salt water systems?

Any recommendations regarding brands?

I was constantly fighting algae and am told that with a salt water system there is no algae.

[Poolsean]

LG,

Please clarify what you are looking for.

You state your DE filter pump has stopped.
A DE Filter is not a pump. It is the filtration for your system
Your pump draws the water from your pool and circulates the water through your filter.
A salt chlorine generator is a sanitizing system that replaces the need to add chlorine manually, as you will be producing your own.
There are several posts here that compares salt systems, describes benefits to salt systems and also describes what is involved to salt pool ownership.

There is another pool owner based site that you can read other reviews.

www.troublefreepools.com

If you have any specific questions about salt systems after you have reviewed the other posts, let me know and I can help.

[LG1003]

Thanks for clarifying that.

Okay, here's what's going on as of today:

Pump was running but water was not flowing through the filter. I drained the spa and filled it. Water was slow to come at first but eventually did fill the spa. Water is now circulating through the filter but pressure is around 35. I have not been able to bring the pressure down this past week inspite of backwashing repeatedly and adding De each time.

Any suggestions? The filter is a STA-RITE and I'm guessing is around 15 years old.

[CarlD]

Thanks for clarifying that.

Okay, here's what's going on as of today:

Pump was running but water was not flowing through the filter. I drained the spa and filled it. Water was slow to come at first but eventually did fill the spa. Water is now circulating through the filter but pressure is around 35. I have not been able to bring the pressure down this past week inspite of backwashing repeatedly and adding De each time.

Any suggestions? The filter is a STA-RITE and I'm guessing is around 15 years old.

Something's clogged. If the pump is pumping water nicely, then it's in the filter. Your screens may be clogged--soaking in muriatic acid is supposed to be how you clean them. They may be too far gone and replacement is necessary. Some input or output is clogged. Something, somewhere--even DE filters just aren't that complicated.

[Poolsean]

Typically if your suction side (anything from the pool skimmer, main drain and suction cleaner line up to and including your pump impeller) is clogged, you will see LOW pressure on your filter pressure gauge.
A blockage on the return (pressure side) will result in HIGH filter pressure.

Is it your filter elements? Simply remove them and do not recharge with DE. Run your pump and see if the filter pressure is still too high. If so, the blockage is in your lines or diverter valves.
If it drops down, try just the elements (with out DE). Still low or normal? Add your DE, but do not overdose.
If it goes high with just the elements, as Carl said, it may be time to replace them.
--> I would recommend that you soak the elements in a Tri-sodium Phoshate bath (tsp) before the acid bath. The acid bath can lock in any oils, making it next to impossible to get out afterwards.

Check any diverter valves that may be closed off (and shouldn't be).
A line blockage (do you feel a strong stream at your return jets?) can be cleared with the use of a drain jet (available at most hardware stores) or pressurizing the lines.

[CarlD]

Here I defer to Sean completely. He's far more knowledgable about DE filters than I ever intend to become!

[waterbear]

Poolsean is right on the money. I would guess that you have been backwashing the DE filter and have not broken it down to clean it and the DE has bridged the laterals. Tearing down the filter and cleaning it would be the first step as Poolsean suggested. If this solved your problem then I would suggest breaking down the filter and cleaning it about every 3 months (your milage might vary) instead of just backwashing all the time.