Green Pool Water tried everything Please Help

[VickiP]

Hi, Just saw Chucks post. What is DE??? I read the thread but not sure what it is. Also we did have the water tested and no iron but small amt of copper and after the metal out the copper was not even reading. Should we still use the DE?

[ChuckD]

Hi Vicki,
DE is Diatomaceous Earth, of course! Everyone knows that. (just kidding).

You can look up a better definition of DE on Wikipedia than I can give, but suffice to say it does the same thing your sand does, but better because it's a finer filter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_Earth

It also requires a bit more work as you have to flush out the old and replace with new on occassion, sometimes frequently when you're fighting algae. But the results are the clearest water you'll ever see.

And because it's a naturally occuring substance it's fairly safe. When I flush, or more appropriately "backwash", I just run it out onto the yard. Been doing that for a couple years now and there's no trace of it or any damage. The first rain washes it into the ground.

But you can get the benefits of it with a sand filter too by adding a small amount. As you probably read, you'll have to add more each time you backwash the filter but the stuff's pretty cheap.

Hi, Just saw Chucks post. What is DE??? I read the thread but not sure what it is. Also we did have the water tested and no iron but small amt of copper and after the metal out the copper was not even reading. Should we still use the DE?

[VickiP]

Thanks so much Carl and Chuck. I will keep adding the bleach and keeping checking it. I will go to my pool store and get some of that DE and try it and see how it works. Thanks so much for the help I will let you guys know how it works.

[CarlD]

See if they have the 10lb box--the smallest amount. It will last years. Backwash then start with about 1/4 cup. Wait 20 min to 30 min and see if your pump pressure goes up 1 lb. If not, repeat with about 1/2 that amount. When the pressure has gone up 1lb, you'll know how much to use. If you put in too much, your pressure will shoot up and your flow to your skimmer and return will noticeably decrease. You'll have to backwash again to clear it out, then start again.

I don't think it adds anything during an algae fight--you don't need the filtering to be that fine until AFTER you've won the battle as the pressure will be rising every day from just the algae in the filter that you should be backwashing out everyday during the fight. After, the DE will help 'polish' your water till it looks crystal clear.

DE and skimmer socks are two of the cheapest, best additions to help keep your water beautiful.