@@NotJustJoe Not likely. Take a water sample to Leslie pool supply. They will test it for free and tell you what the issue is. If nitrates are high you probably need to change the water. I have to do that every 3 or 4 years where I am.
When you sweep the bottom of the pool, the ick is going right back into the pool via the filter. Balls or sand would not matter. You need to vac pool and put filter on 'waste' so it does not go back into the pool. Then your chems might work better and sand or filter balls won't get as icky and will work better also. We vac to waste a few times a year. It wastes a lot of water but it keep the gunk from going back into the filter so if clear water is the goal, it's worth it to waste some water. GL
I kept trying to vacuum all that sediment with the sand filter and I also used a cartridge filter pump I had rigged up on the side. But it kept coming back, it wasn’t until I pumped it straight out of the pool that I got rid of it. 😊
I’ve had this problem currently. Vacuum to waste daily. Switched back to a paper filter stile vacuuming everyday except now trying to not keep backwashing by using the paper filter.
So one thing to keep in mind sand filters filter better the longer they're in use. You should not be backwashing a sand filter every day. You should only backwash your sand filter when the water flow has significantly decreased and the pressure has significantly gone up. I also recommend Zeo sand rather than regular pool sand
Our pool is a 27' above ground and we've got one of those cordless battery powered pool vacs that looks like an upright vacuum cleaner and it's the best thing I've ever bought for the pool.
I have a sand filter and got a bunch of alge in mine too. i found that the sand by itself wouldnt clean it as the dead alge particulates must have been too small for the sand. I found that putting a sock on the skimmer intake bin cleared it up finally. this is likely the same idea as the filter balls. once the alge was gone I used chlorine pucks regularily and it never happened again.
Get some baking soda (alkalinity) and Borax (raise pH). pH and alkalinity are related but distinct concepts in chemistry and water quality. pH: This measures the acidity or basicity of a solution on a scale from 0 to 14, where 7 is neutral. A pH below 7 indicates acidity, while a pH above 7 indicates alkalinity. The pH scale is logarithmic, meaning each whole pH value below 7 is 10 times more acidic than the next higher value, and each whole pH value above 7 is 10 times more alkaline than the next lower value. For example, a pH of 5 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 6. Alkalinity: This refers to the ability of a solution to neutralize acids. It is a measure of the buffering capacity of water, indicating its resistance to changes in pH when acids or bases are added. Alkalinity is usually expressed in terms of its carbonate concentration or equivalent, often measured in units of ppm (parts per million) or mg/L (milligrams per liter) of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Higher alkalinity means that more acid is required to lower the pH of the solution. In summary, pH tells you how acidic or alkaline a solution is, while alkalinity tells you the water's ability to resist changes in pH by neutralizing acids. High alkalinity can help stabilize pH levels in water systems, such as in aquariums or swimming pools, by preventing rapid pH swings.
I changed to filter balls from sand and while it stsrts off well, if you don't take them out to wash after its been used up, it just stops working and backwashing doesnt work well with them. I ended up with glass media and its been a lot better
@mariatheresasuan1908 here is a link to glass filter media on Amazon (affiliate link). I’m not familiar with the product or its advantages. amzn.to/3KOGGmn
Stop using test strips and take your water in to a pool store to get tested. If you don't trust that... get a dye kit and test that way. Your issue is the pool chemistry is off.
I had good luck with sand and a clarifier so far at least had a very green appearance to the water at first, but it did clear up also check your hose that you use to fill the pool mine was copper lined which turned the water green maybe too much metal in the water
Sand is not the problem. You'll need to use an algaecide and pool shock every week. A lot of people are scared of chemicals but imagine if the water treatment plants didnt use them... Test your ph and alkalinity levels weekly as well. Sand is good for 3-5 years and actually cleans better on years two and three. Now one exception to this is baquacil (its nasty stuff that does not effectively sanitize a pool). Baquacil requires a yearly sand change. Ultimately you wont have a problem with it until you do and then it is awful! Filter balls will temporarily clean it up but they tend to make the pressure go wonky and seep water from the filter eventually. You are also not supposed to use clarifier with filter balls at all. On a positive note you can wash filter balls in a washer and bring them back to life. Most entertaining customer I ever met was a lady saying she didnt want to use chemicals in her pool so she only used borax, vinegar, and baking sodas. Those are all chemicals.. pretty much everything is a chemical. Pool looks great sir, you'll find a good system for your family. We love Pristine blue and pool tabs its amazing stuff! We shock weekly and add Blue and clean in every two weeks. You can use tabs but dont have to. I did not like it in the spa though.
In einigen Punkten stimme ich mit Ihnen über ein, und zwar, dass man den Pool schocken sollte und ein Algizid verwendet wenn der Pool dazu neigt grün zu werden. Allerdings würde ich es nicht jede Woche machen, sondern nur nach Bedarf. Es ist hilfreich, bei Algen ein Flockenmittel hinzuzufügen, der bewirkt, dass die kleinen Schmutzteile zusammen gehalten werden und vom Filter besser aufgenommen werden können. Dass der Sand mit den Jahren besser wird, kann ich nicht bestätigen, da ich ihn nach zwei Jahren oder drei Jahren immer gewechselt habe und er hat unheimlich gestunken. Ich bin jetzt auch auf Filterbälle umsteigen und hoffe, dass der Druck nicht so schnell nachlässt wie beschrieben und ich damit ein gutes Ergebnis erzielen kann und ich nicht jedes Mal Sand neu kaufen muss und vor allem, dass das Sand nicht immer ins Getriebe von dem Poolsauger kommt und in den Pool, da kann man sich ganz schön die Füße dran aufreiben.
Looks like chemicals are off to me not the filter, I had a similar issue when I stopped treating for a couple weeks while on vacation and came home to a cloudy turquoise pool. It took allot to get it clear but I knew it was just the chems cause my sand filter gets more dirt out of my pool than my mesh filter does.
A salt filter is the easiest way to keep a clean pool imo. I am crap with chemicals, i set up my salt filter and never have to worry about it for the summer. Maybe I've been lucky.
My pool also turned green in August. 2 gallons of algaecide and 5 oz. Clarifier and my pool is blue again. My CYA got too high from using pucks--150 ppm. I had to add 15 lbs baking soda to get the ph and alkalai back within range. Im thinking of discontinuing pucks. They work well in winter/spring but when triple digits come, shock and tabs are not enough.
We have had a pool for 35 years once we went to salt 15 years ago, all we have had to do in the spring is add a couple of bags of salt, some shock, clarifier, and algaecide. Make sure to check to see if you need to add acid or backing soda. Then vacuum it a couple of times and enjoy. The salt system takes away most of the work for the rest of the season.
@@NATALIEGARZA-kt4kd we just use the large bags of salt from Walmart, we have the automated Hayward digital monitoring Box on the wall next to the pumps that will read the parts per million (PPM) in the water. But a good rule of thumb is to figure one of those bags will raise the PPM of salt 200 to 300, depending on how many gallons of water is in the pool. For us we keep our pool around 3000 PPM. Don’t overdo it because the only way to reduce the salt content is to take it out by draining water and refilling with freshwater. You can also take a sample of water from the pool to your local pool store and have it tested to see what the PPM are. You will need to run your pump after adding the salt to help mix the salt, check the PPM the next day after it has time to completely mix or you will likely end up with a inaccurate result.
you’ll be switching back. filter balls just hold all the gunk and get gross. we started with them because they came with our pool and could never get our pool algae free and clear all summer no matter what! Needless to say we just switched to sand
I had this issue one summer with the pool staying green. It was because the sand had live algae and needed to be changed. I'm trying filter balls for the first time this summer. I don't think they are any better. If you had changed the sand, you would have the same results, but I don't know that for a fact. Either way, good job.
Hope you're using --> washed play sand. That alone will not leave your water looking 'sandy'. For your size pool, use Hayward 1 1/2HP pump. Use a strainer basket sock. Put the sock inside the strainer basket -AND- pull it down over the whole outside of the basket also.
We used this clarifier amzn.to/47wYL2o (affiliate link) that coagulates debris together and keeps the debris suspended so the filter can get them. As I understand it, a flocculant also coagulates debris, but the debris sinks so it can be vacuumed up. Hope that helps.
Uh oh...! I need another update. When I called IN The Swim and talked to them at length about these balls they made it extremely clear NOT to use clarifier because that will break down the balls and turn them into a pile of goo. Even the product description states that. The ones from Amazon are basically identical just branded different.
I just saw a video saying, if you plan to use filter balls, the sand filter should have laterals at the bottom (rather than the bell shaped thing like your filter has). They encourage you to add sand or pea gravel at the bottom to stabilize the laterals, and then add the balls. Btw, I’ve been battling similar water issues and had phosphates contributing to algae, also had to increase water hardness (calcium chloride) because soft water holds things in suspension “cloudy issues”. Yesterday washed the sand with a garden hose and a siphon. I’ve been shocking and adding clarifier every few days while running the pump longer and the pool is slowly starting to clear.
![[TH] FS vs BME - VCT Ascension Pacific - Lower Bracket Final](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wnygqsR2Fig/mqdefault.jpg)
Algae is not a filtration problem, its a chemical balance problem. I would guess your nitrates are high or your PH / alkalinity is off.
Yeah it’s the alkalinity making him not to be able to see the bottom and the algae is the chlorine level paired with the Cynaric acid
This!
So dump a ton of chlorine in? 😊
@@NotJustJoe Not likely. Take a water sample to Leslie pool supply. They will test it for free and tell you what the issue is. If nitrates are high you probably need to change the water. I have to do that every 3 or 4 years where I am.
@@joeprimal2044cool didn't know Leslie's would do a test for free.
When you sweep the bottom of the pool, the ick is going right back into the pool via the filter. Balls or sand would not matter. You need to vac pool and put filter on 'waste' so it does not go back into the pool. Then your chems might work better and sand or filter balls won't get as icky and will work better also. We vac to waste a few times a year. It wastes a lot of water but it keep the gunk from going back into the filter so if clear water is the goal, it's worth it to waste some water. GL
I kept trying to vacuum all that sediment with the sand filter and I also used a cartridge filter pump I had rigged up on the side. But it kept coming back, it wasn’t until I pumped it straight out of the pool that I got rid of it. 😊
I’ve had this problem currently. Vacuum to waste daily. Switched back to a paper filter stile vacuuming everyday except now trying to not keep backwashing by using the paper filter.
The bag is for washing them in the washing machine ;)
So one thing to keep in mind sand filters filter better the longer they're in use. You should not be backwashing a sand filter every day. You should only backwash your sand filter when the water flow has significantly decreased and the pressure has significantly gone up. I also recommend Zeo sand rather than regular pool sand
I read clarifier with those balls is a no no.
Thanks for this comment. I didn't know that.
Only if they are blue in color cause it means they have the blue Chitosan in it ... I buy Chitosan separate off Amazon
I thought a clarifier shoukd not be used with filter balls?
Correct. The clarifier will stick to the balls and no amount of back washing will remove it.
@@TofuInc, I wonder if a washing machine will clear them, or are they just trash?
You are correct
Our pool is a 27' above ground and we've got one of those cordless battery powered pool vacs that looks like an upright vacuum cleaner and it's the best thing I've ever bought for the pool.
I have a sand filter and got a bunch of alge in mine too. i found that the sand by itself wouldnt clean it as the dead alge particulates must have been too small for the sand. I found that putting a sock on the skimmer intake bin cleared it up finally. this is likely the same idea as the filter balls. once the alge was gone I used chlorine pucks regularily and it never happened again.
Thank you for sharing your helpful hints!
Floc it let alge settle to bottom then vacuum
Get some baking soda (alkalinity) and Borax (raise pH). pH and alkalinity are related but distinct concepts in chemistry and water quality.
pH: This measures the acidity or basicity of a solution on a scale from 0 to 14, where 7 is neutral. A pH below 7 indicates acidity, while a pH above 7 indicates alkalinity. The pH scale is logarithmic, meaning each whole pH value below 7 is 10 times more acidic than the next higher value, and each whole pH value above 7 is 10 times more alkaline than the next lower value. For example, a pH of 5 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 6.
Alkalinity: This refers to the ability of a solution to neutralize acids. It is a measure of the buffering capacity of water, indicating its resistance to changes in pH when acids or bases are added. Alkalinity is usually expressed in terms of its carbonate concentration or equivalent, often measured in units of ppm (parts per million) or mg/L (milligrams per liter) of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Higher alkalinity means that more acid is required to lower the pH of the solution.
In summary, pH tells you how acidic or alkaline a solution is, while alkalinity tells you the water's ability to resist changes in pH by neutralizing acids. High alkalinity can help stabilize pH levels in water systems, such as in aquariums or swimming pools, by preventing rapid pH swings.
Thank you for an excellent explanation!
I changed to filter balls from sand and while it stsrts off well, if you don't take them out to wash after its been used up, it just stops working and backwashing doesnt work well with them. I ended up with glass media and its been a lot better
Thanks for the note and good info!
Where you buy your glass media from?
@@KatxGuzmanDo a Google search, young buck!
What do you mean glass media please?
@mariatheresasuan1908 here is a link to glass filter media on Amazon (affiliate link). I’m not familiar with the product or its advantages. amzn.to/3KOGGmn
Are you testing your water? The filter can only do so much if your levels are off.
Stop using test strips and take your water in to a pool store to get tested. If you don't trust that... get a dye kit and test that way. Your issue is the pool chemistry is off.
I had good luck with sand and a clarifier so far at least had a very green appearance to the water at first, but it did clear up also check your hose that you use to fill the pool mine was copper lined which turned the water green maybe too much metal in the water
Sand is not the problem. You'll need to use an algaecide and pool shock every week. A lot of people are scared of chemicals but imagine if the water treatment plants didnt use them... Test your ph and alkalinity levels weekly as well. Sand is good for 3-5 years and actually cleans better on years two and three. Now one exception to this is baquacil (its nasty stuff that does not effectively sanitize a pool). Baquacil requires a yearly sand change. Ultimately you wont have a problem with it until you do and then it is awful! Filter balls will temporarily clean it up but they tend to make the pressure go wonky and seep water from the filter eventually. You are also not supposed to use clarifier with filter balls at all. On a positive note you can wash filter balls in a washer and bring them back to life. Most entertaining customer I ever met was a lady saying she didnt want to use chemicals in her pool so she only used borax, vinegar, and baking sodas. Those are all chemicals.. pretty much everything is a chemical. Pool looks great sir, you'll find a good system for your family. We love Pristine blue and pool tabs its amazing stuff! We shock weekly and add Blue and clean in every two weeks. You can use tabs but dont have to. I did not like it in the spa though.
In einigen Punkten stimme ich mit Ihnen über ein, und zwar, dass man den Pool schocken sollte und ein Algizid verwendet wenn der Pool dazu neigt grün zu werden. Allerdings würde ich es nicht jede Woche machen, sondern nur nach Bedarf. Es ist hilfreich, bei Algen ein Flockenmittel hinzuzufügen, der bewirkt, dass die kleinen Schmutzteile zusammen gehalten werden und vom Filter besser aufgenommen werden können. Dass der Sand mit den Jahren besser wird, kann ich nicht bestätigen, da ich ihn nach zwei Jahren oder drei Jahren immer gewechselt habe und er hat unheimlich gestunken. Ich bin jetzt auch auf Filterbälle umsteigen und hoffe, dass der Druck nicht so schnell nachlässt wie beschrieben und ich damit ein gutes Ergebnis erzielen kann und ich nicht jedes Mal Sand neu kaufen muss und vor allem, dass das Sand nicht immer ins Getriebe von dem Poolsauger kommt
und in den Pool, da kann man sich ganz schön die Füße dran aufreiben.
Dumo a ton of chlorine yo get rid of algae, a good dose of blue Chitosan pool clarifier and buy a water test kit too. The filter balls are meh.
Looks like chemicals are off to me not the filter, I had a similar issue when I stopped treating for a couple weeks while on vacation and came home to a cloudy turquoise pool. It took allot to get it clear but I knew it was just the chems cause my sand filter gets more dirt out of my pool than my mesh filter does.
will only work for a month then you will nead to take out and wash them yo cant back wash the dirt out
Huí did your psi always stay low ? Mine is like yours with the sand balls
A salt filter is the easiest way to keep a clean pool imo. I am crap with chemicals, i set up my salt filter and never have to worry about it for the summer. Maybe I've been lucky.
I also am using the balls. They only fill my tank half way. My pipe in the middle of the filter has a min and max mark.
filter is to small small for the pool
My pool also turned green in August. 2 gallons of algaecide and 5 oz. Clarifier and my pool is blue again. My CYA got too high from using pucks--150 ppm. I had to add 15 lbs baking soda to get the ph and alkalai back within range. Im thinking of discontinuing pucks. They work well in winter/spring but when triple digits come, shock and tabs are not enough.
Thank you. I just swam this afternoon, and the water was nice and clear. A big relief. We'll see how the rest of the summer goes....
We have had a pool for 35 years once we went to salt 15 years ago, all we have had to do in the spring is add a couple of bags of salt, some shock, clarifier, and algaecide. Make sure to check to see if you need to add acid or backing soda. Then vacuum it a couple of times and enjoy. The salt system takes away most of the work for the rest of the season.
Salt is the way to go.
@@rolltide5586how and what salt do you use
@@NATALIEGARZA-kt4kd we just use the large bags of salt from Walmart, we have the automated Hayward digital monitoring Box on the wall next to the pumps that will read the parts per million (PPM) in the water. But a good rule of thumb is to figure one of those bags will raise the PPM of salt 200 to 300, depending on how many gallons of water is in the pool. For us we keep our pool around 3000 PPM. Don’t overdo it because the only way to reduce the salt content is to take it out by draining water and refilling with freshwater. You can also take a sample of water from the pool to your local pool store and have it tested to see what the PPM are. You will need to run your pump after adding the salt to help mix the salt, check the PPM the next day after it has time to completely mix or you will likely end up with a inaccurate result.
Welcome to the struggle my friend.....
NEVER backwash too often! It takes away from the filtration properties of the sand
same
Tried the cotton balls not as good as sand, went back to sand, your problem is chemical imbalance
Wait your missing some of your filtration parts is that the only pc you have down the middle, there should be more than that
Your using to much chlorine. If the chlorine is to high ut wont be as effective
Filter balls hold the junk id switch to dr drydens glass it has a lifetime warranty
Yes I agree that waste setting and adding water at the same time is the way to get it done. I call it a pool tranfusion
itd easyer to change water.. new clean 😮
you’ll be switching back. filter balls just hold all the gunk and get gross. we started with them because they came with our pool and could never get our pool algae free and clear all summer no matter what! Needless to say we just switched to sand
clarifier is also not recommended for use with the balls. learned this after the fact. it gunks them up
You need to get rid of those little hoses and harp pipe it
I had this issue one summer with the pool staying green. It was because the sand had live algae and needed to be changed. I'm trying filter balls for the first time this summer. I don't think they are any better. If you had changed the sand, you would have the same results, but I don't know that for a fact. Either way, good job.
take your water to a pool place. they test it for free
Hope you're using --> washed play sand. That alone will not leave your water looking 'sandy'. For your size pool, use Hayward 1 1/2HP pump. Use a strainer basket sock. Put the sock inside the strainer basket -AND- pull it down over the whole outside of the basket also.
why did I get lines in my comment??
I don’t know. That’s odd. Maybe you can edit it?
It looks like your pump hose is crimped.
If it was, I’m sure we in-crimped it after the video.
Looks.like.u need 2 gallons of liquid shock and a gallon of liquid chlorine also a clear balance tablets and a stabalizer
(The missing ingredient was water clarifier.) We added it and the pooled cleared.
is the clarifier a flocculent-product?@@fixthishouse3303
We used this clarifier amzn.to/47wYL2o (affiliate link) that coagulates debris together and keeps the debris suspended so the filter can get them. As I understand it, a flocculant also coagulates debris, but the debris sinks so it can be vacuumed up. Hope that helps.
Uh oh...! I need another update. When I called IN The Swim and talked to them at length about these balls they made it extremely clear NOT to use clarifier because that will break down the balls and turn them into a pile of goo. Even the product description states that. The ones from Amazon are basically identical just branded different.
I just saw a video saying, if you plan to use filter balls, the sand filter should have laterals at the bottom (rather than the bell shaped thing like your filter has). They encourage you to add sand or pea gravel at the bottom to stabilize the laterals, and then add the balls.
Btw, I’ve been battling similar water issues and had phosphates contributing to algae, also had to increase water hardness (calcium chloride) because soft water holds things in suspension “cloudy issues”. Yesterday washed the sand with a garden hose and a siphon. I’ve been shocking and adding clarifier every few days while running the pump longer and the pool is slowly starting to clear.
I have a different but similar filter and pump to yours. It looks plumbed wrong. The inlet from the pump should be on the side spout.
Which filter/pump do you have?