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TommyDee, on 2012-02-06 07:40:50, said:
AllanB, on 2012-01-29 10:13:24, said:
TommyDee, on 2012-01-24 10:45:08, said:
PoolDoctor, on 2012-01-23 21:47:23, said:
A tiny bit of cheap clarifier works wonders well too, once alkalinity, pH and ORP are in range. Cloudy water is almost [...] always a filtration problem, but algae is a chemistry problem.
when I finished standing in it and scrubbing the walls, the water was pea soup. thick as soup too. in the last two weeks it has been treated and vaccumed semi daily, backwashed and rinsed and now.. is crystal clear. at one tie I thought it was beyond me, but there it is. just needs some cosmetic work and all will be perfect
My goodness you are a brave man, standing in filthy water scrubbing a swimming pool, reminds me of the Shawshank Redemption. I fear the pool will be perfect for a couple of days only and you will be fighting a rear guard action forever, so buy a lot of chlorine, etc. If you have 4 more pools to do in the same way, I fear for your health.
On the estate where I live the builder built a beautiful "overflow" communal pool, with sand filteration, which was clean and lovely to swim in for a few months and then it went green. He tried a clean up job and each time the water was clear for a few days, but the taste was not good and no one would swim in it and it went green again. He got so sick of constantly shocking the thing at his expense, that he left it and it went very green and thick with algae, a home for amphibians.
Last new year he held a party there and decided to do a clean up job, drained and refilled the pool. I told him he should replace the sand in the filter and bleach the whole thing out, but he said it was unnecessary. The pool was clean for about 3 weeks and then the green returned and he began shocking again. He then gave up and the pool is now a wreck.
I do not have "25 years experience in the business", but logic tells me decontamination is the best answer.
I would add that algae is a filtration problem and the chemical solution is not your best answer, or most cost effective answer.
I am a worker not a shirker
so a bit of labour doesnt bother me really. the water was the colour of peas soup by the time I had finished though. the filters and pump were turned off to let the s**t settle on the pool floor,(2 days) and the pool was vacuumed, by me, 3 times a week until last week.Meanwhile I was advised to invest in baking soda and fought for the same time to remove the acid level which was messed up by the ex pool guys. the change was very slow, from acid to acceptable and I was dis-illusioned to start with as the test i did daily didnt sem to change.
BUT.. the water is now clear, lovely and clear, the walls are fine, the PH and chlorine levels are exactly where they are supposed to be, the pump runs4-5 hours a day, the sand has been backwashed twice a week and finally I am on a normal maintain programme, which involves a weekly or 2x weekly vaccum, depending on the weather, storms wind and crud, daily "viewing" and chem tests 2x a week too.
the tiles are not the best they are cheap ones and really the pool needs to be renovated but to be honest the cost is a bloody nightmare especially if we are to consider saltwater system too. so I think we will plough on as we are and "see".
I truly appreciate the advice I got here, its been invaluable in many ways and the difference of opinion.. very interesting
so far...so good
I'd back off on sand filter backwashing though now to every 2 to 3 weeks is plenty and actually beneficial as a sand filter is more efficient when it's a bit dirty and the sand has settled back in place especially the large sand grains used here.
In essence when you backwash you loosen up and reverse water flow through the filter to remove the captured debris so at that point your actually at your worst filtering efficiency with a sand filter for the next several days AFTER backwashing until the sand settles back to be more compact thus closing up the spaces between grains..
The trick is not to override that time frame as once you do achieve dirt saturation then it will begin to bypass or can crush an internal lateral from too much pressure as it can be a rather sudden increase in pressure change at that point. That is a bit rare and mostly a concern on older filters but to be aware of, if you have a PSI gauge that is helpful and should be backwashed after a rise of no more then 5 pounds which usually occurs in the recommended time frame.
