Having Trouble Cleaning a Pool..

[PoolDoc]

Yes, from your drawing, it looks like that would work.

I'd recommend that, if you can, you remove the solar heater loop connection completely, and pipe straight to that return, so you can have full use of the circulation system.

[BoredOne]

Yes, from your drawing, it looks like that would work.

I'd recommend that, if you can, you remove the solar heater loop connection completely, and pipe straight to that return, so you can have full use of the circulation system.

Actually the picture is a little off.. The solar heater is right before both outlets.. So it goes up and through that first then back to the chlorine feeder then out the return/jets.. Removing the heater loop really isn't viable at this point in time.. Nor probably in the near future..




So this is more what it looks like..

Also you didn't answer about the hair basket.. What do you do with this? I'd imagine from vacuming it'd get filled extremely fast, as it was from just sweeping it was getting filled were it was completely black.. I don't think the little cap thing is on the thing in the deep part of the pool..

[PoolDoc]

Not sure what "hair basket" you're talking about . . . or what the "little cap thing on the thing" is.

Ben

[BoredOne]

Not sure what "hair basket" you're talking about . . . or what the "little cap thing on the thing" is.

Ben

The hair basket skimmer thing that is on the pool pump.. It goes through that before getting sucked up into the filter.. the cap thing is the thing that you put on the drain in the deep end of the pool so large things don't get sucked into it..

So today I cleaned out my filter and instead of being green it was more of a brownish tint, is that a good thing? Or does that mean the color came out of the algae from all the chlorine thats in the pool? I've taken your advice and the color of the chlorine test is a dark orange.. I just added 4 gallons of 10% yesterday evening.. I'll be getting the 2 2.5gal buckets from pinch a penny to have those on standby hopefully today.. Other than that I'm just waiting for the pool to clear up a bit.. Every time I sweep it goes from being like a bluish grey to a bluish green so there is still tons of crap on the bottom that I want to vacuum as soon as I can start seeing whats down there.. Cause I know for sure there is an old skimmer at the bottom somewhere, but I'm not about to dive in to find it, and trying to get it out with my brush proves pointless..

As for the PH its ~7.2

[PoolDoc]

OK. The pump strainer basket, and the main drain cover. Don't think I'd offer to swim down to get that, either.

Dead algae is brown, so that's probably a good thing. Continuing to keep the chlorine high is the right thing to do, especially if you have piles of algae. Otherwise, the pile will consume the chlorine when you brush up the algae, and leave you with a pool no chlorine and lots of live algae -- NOT a good thing.

Just FYI: when you have layers of algae like you describe, the total consumption of chlorine, before you finish, can be enormous. So, don't be surprised.

[BoredOne]

Ok my mspaint skills not that great.. =) However I do have pictures to better give an idea of the setup I have..

A link to the page that has 6 images..

http://imageshack.us/g/689/20110912184709.jpg/

Pump = Flotec AT251001-01 1HP
Filter = Sta-rite Posi-flo II PTM70
Chlorine Feeder = Hayward 4.2 cl110/100?
Current Pool Status = Still cleaning out dead algae, bluish grey? Fairly Cloudy, can see second step and slight shadow on the floor of the shallow end..

[BoredOne]

Alright I've gotten to the point that I can see fairly well in the deep end.. As I've been able to nearly see the drain.. However its still fairly cloudy what steps should I take to clear this up? Also I seem to be gaining a fair bit of sand.. I don't know if this is from the bottom of the pool or if a line broke. Cause I also seem to be losing a bit of water, tho I thought that might also be because of when I clean out the filter I drain the water out of it to clean that up a bit..

[PoolDoc]

Sorry -- too many "maybe's" in there for me to offer any suggestions.

You can always vacuum up the sand, and see if it reappears. If it does -- and if you have a sand filter -- then your filter needs some repairs.

[BoredOne]

No I have a cartridge filter.. For now lets focus on clearing up this pool.. How to go about that? I can see fairly well to the bottom of the deep end however its just not crystal clear..

[PoolDoc]

It's a function of time, filtration, and vacuuming.

You should think about clearing it AFTER you are pretty sure all the algae is dead. ALL the algae.

The key ingredient here is P.O.P. -- pool owner patience, or sometimes, pool owner persistence.

If you get impatient or in a hurry, and go buy some "floc" or other pool store chemicals, you can *sometimes* speed things up. But, there's some skill involved -- doing the right thing, the right way, at the right time -- and also some luck, because different 'blends' of muck react differently with various types of floc. Experienced pool service guys can usually be successful with this stuff, particularly when they've gotten used to working successfully with a particular product. But what happens, more often than now, when pool OWNERS use that stuff is that they make it worse, not better.

And, it's possible to make it MUCH worse. Many clarifiers actually work in reverse, suspending guck rather than sinking it, or making fine particles harder to filter rather than easier, if you misuse them.