Gary

A few weeks ago we noticed the pool level of our spa (we have one of those pool/spa combos where the spa flows into the pool) was going down alot every day. We called a company we were referred by a friend. The guy came out and after inspecting the filter system, etc he said the o-rings were bad and replaced them. Once he replaced them, the spa water level has been perfect. HOWEVER, I have noticed that NOW the pool water level has been going down alot more than normal, I would guess almost 3/4 - 1 " a day. I have checked the pool pump basket and when the filter is running it looks to me like there is no water circulating in there. I have called the company back in the hope that they can come out and check their work, they want to charge me again to come out. They are certain that my problem is now a leak which required me to use another company. Re. pump basket, he is telling me that water is circulating in there but it is almost not visible? When I switch off the filter, I do see wate rgush too the top so perhaps water is flowing? I have noticed that the ring (not sure what this is as he replaced the rings where the valves are that required removinga number of screws) in the pool basket is loose and each time I open the basket, the ring falls off the top part that I twist to take off. Not sure if that could be a problem. Any advice would be appreciated We are in Sarasota, FL Gary

Okay, so we have a cage surrounding our pool that is flat on top and we have alot of trees around. Hence we get alot of debris, pollen and leaves that end up on top of the cage, and end up (esp after it rains) in our pool. When I put the filter on and vacuum the pool the first few minutes are fine and then I notice what looks like dirty water coming thru the blowers. The spa fills up quickly and within minutes you cannot see anything in the spa. I then go over to the filter and check the skimmer which is filthy, full of mud and leaves. I clean the skimmer, put the filter back on and then the water looks clean coming thru the blowers, only problem it is not flowing like it was when it was feeding the filthy water, but more like a trickle and lots of bubbles. When I normally am not cleaning/vaccuum the pool and the filter is on, all is fine - clean water and the flow thru the blowers is fine. Any ideas, will be much appreciated Gary

My wife was at home when he checked the pool. I dont think he did a thorough check of the filter but was ensuring all the parts were there and everything was functioning. I clean the pool myself, this guy was just doing us a favor (he services some friends of ours' pool). Im not really sure how much he knows but never charged us anything.I do have some debris (not pollen but possibly sand particles) coming back into the pool each time I vacuum (not at that given moment as in the past) the next day or so after the filter has been running for a few hours. How long do cartridges normally last - I will take it to the pool shop and see if they can find any issues with it Thanks, Gary

Okay I had the pool guy there on Thursday. He said the problem was the amount of pollen that I have accumulated in the pool and clogs the system. He said quite a few pools he services has this problem being surrounded by trees and during pollen season in Florida, one can get quite alot of pollen in your pool. It all seemed a bit confusing to me. He checked the filter & pump and said everything looked fine. Anyway, what he did was vacuum all the pollen from the pool & spa into a vaccum bag. The next day when I got home, after the filter had run, there was no more pollen but alot of (what looks like grey powder/sand) on the bottom of the pool. He said tell me that this may well happen? Anyway, I vacuummed this up with my manual suction vacuum and then ran the filter for about an hour or so and there seemed to be very little dirt/debris coming back into the pool. There was a tiny bit but that may well be from dirt that did not get sucked up by the vacuum when I vacuumed. I guess the true test will come when I come home and the filter has run for 4 hours? Im still a little confused why the pollen shoudl at all be coming back into the pool, but for now I will give him the benefit of the doubt. If nothing comes back into the pool over the next few days, then he may well have been right. Thanks, Gary

The air relief tube looks fine to me. There are 2 tubes, placed inside of the cartridge. Im confused re. "wall fitting screen" - what is this? I have a pool guy coming tomorrow afternoon to try and diagnose the problem so we will see what happens. he does not think that it is the cartridge or filter, but to do with the fineness of the debris and that it could be getting through the filter, and was talking about using clarifier to try and bring the debris together. Makes no sense to me, as if that was the case everyone would be sitting with the debris in their pool (i.e. filters not catching debris that is very fine).

It is a cartridge filter (so I presume I dont need to do backwashing). I cleaned the cartridge the other day, but still have the problem. I have not had it inspected. I clean the pump filter basket all the time - It does pick up quite alot of debris. Yes, I use a suction hose and it is picking up the debris.If it is all getting through to the pump, I have no idea. Checking Pressure at the filter. I will check that? Missing air relief screen in filter - Is this applicable to cartrige filters? Based on my reading up and research online over the past few days it seems the most common cause of debris returning to the pool after cleaning has to do with a faulty cartridge. I have a Hayward Star clear Plus Thanks, Gary

This is a confusing problem and it has taken me months to figure it out so I am really hoping someone can help us here as Summer is approaching. Okay - I have a Spa and pool. Over the past few months I have had consistent debris in the spa and the pool (when the filter runs water from the spa feeds the pool). Whenver I vacuum the spa and then the pool, debris comes back into the spa within minutes after cleaning and eventually debris comes back into the pool (I presume from the spa feed). We do have a flat top cage surrounded by a lot of trees, so I have always thought maybe the pollen and other debris from the trees was the problem. Today, I emptied all the water out the spa, and refilled it. Back came the debris! Then, I emptied the spa again, opened that screwed on cover on the bottom of the pool and wet vaccumed the two holes on the bottom of the spa, and then refilled the spa with water (I have the filter running all the time). Well then the water in the spa was spotless, beautiful and clean!! Okay, problem solved I thought! Then I decided to vacuum the remaining debris in the pool....Well, as I was vacuuming this debris in the pool, I noticed the spa getting dirtier and dirtier. It did not look like it was coming from bouys. It has to be those 2 holes on the bottom, I presume!! I dont know how this all fits together, but if anyone can shed some light here and point me in the right direction that would be so much appreciated. My direct email is gmsafrica_2000@yahoo.com if you any questions. Thanks so much Gary