New Pool.. Poor Water Clarity

[WRS]

Hi All.

We just had our 60's era in ground gunite pool completely refurbished. So far

we have no luck getting the water to clear.

Here are the details....

Everything but the shell was replaced and upgraded. Pool size is roughly 30K

gallons. We have the following setup:

Pentair 1.5 hp WhisperFlo pump.

Pentair Pentair Triton II TR-140 sand filter (36")

Pentair Legend Platinum cleaner w/dedicated booster pump.

3 Skimmers and main drain

6 Returns

Pool was re-plastered with French Grey Diamond Brite (exposed aggregate) plaster.

Filter media is ZeoSand. Upon start up, acid was added to help with the

plaster curing.

We have run the main pump 24X7. Pressure started at 10 lbs and has remained there

the whole time. Today marks 7 days since startup. Contractor didn't intially

want chlorine in the pool while the plaster was curing, but we eventually shocked

(4 lbs) the pool several days ago.

Water is still cloudy. You cannot see the bottom anywhere except at the shallowest

point.

Two days ago, we added a clarifying agent which is supposed to cause the fine

particles to adhere together so the filter can do it's job.

So far nothing has worked. What is going on here? I know sand filter aren't

supposed to filter as well as DE but this seems extreme.

I wonder if ZeoSand is the culprit here. What should we try next?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Bill

[starrlitepools]

I don't know if you've tried this yet but, there is a clarifier that is called aqua floc or Floccing agent . How it works is that once added to the pool leave pool pump running 1 hour and shut off. Ideally, the clarifier takes all the particulate and drops it out of suspension to the bottom of the pool so it can be vacuumed out.

If it works, you will want to be sure to vacuum that debris to waste before the pool pump comes back on the next day or all that debris will be stirred up again.

[AFiremanFirst]

floc is a good option, but we really need more answers, what is your water balance values... FC TC pH ALK CYA CH.

[Pool Clown]

I saw that you listed that Zeo sand was used. Did you actually SEE them put ANYTHING in the sand filter? I'm not suggesting that your PB is trying to rip you off but, Putting the media in a sand filter can get lost in the confusion of pool building. The plumber may had not even known that it was a sand filter, let alone know that he had to put sand in it too. If media was put in, was it the correct amount? You can have too little as well as too much.

Also, can you verify that the filter has been plumbed correctly(inlet and outlet)?

[CHRIS-in-AZ]

TRUST ME on this one!

It's the ZEOSAND. I had the same problem too, Two years ago I replaced my sand with Zeo and backflushed it once, started it up and BOOM! clouds came out of my jets like nothing I'd ever seen. The only thing that remedied the problem was filling the pool up very full and backflushing it 6 times. Zeosand has some very fine particles that if not flushed out will keep the Zeo from beggining to filter correctly, An experienced pool guy should of known this.

So I'd recommend shut it off, fill it up and start backflushing a few times that will clean the filter media and make it ready to clean the pool effectively. You may want to add a small amount of claryfier and shock it well, to much claryfier can clog Zeosand so be careful. Then let it run 48 hours you should begin to see a big difference. Then maybe backflush it one more time. You will be happy with Zeosand when you finally get it clear it works better than sand and I'm happy with the clarity.

[WRS]

I don't know if you've tried this yet but, there is a clarifier that is called aqua floc or Floccing agent . How it works is that once added to the pool leave pool pump running 1 hour and shut off. Ideally, the clarifier takes all the particulate and drops it out of suspension to the bottom of the pool so it can be vacuumed out.

If it works, you will want to be sure to vacuum that debris to waste before the pool pump comes back on the next day or all that debris will be stirred up again.

I'm not at home so I don't know what exactly was used to clarify the pool. I will check on what was used when I get home.

[WRS]

I saw that you listed that Zeo sand was used. Did you actually SEE them put ANYTHING in the sand filter? I'm not suggesting that your PB is trying to rip you off but, Putting the media in a sand filter can get lost in the confusion of pool building. The plumber may had not even known that it was a sand filter, let alone know that he had to put sand in it too. If media was put in, was it the correct amount? You can have too little as well as too much.

Also, can you verify that the filter has been plumbed correctly(inlet and outlet)?

Yes I was there. Definitely zeosand was used. Not sure on the amount. I looked for details on the multiport valve online

but did not find anything. So I can't confirm that it is plumbed correctly. The valve is a 2" side mount. Anybody know the

details on this so I can confirm if it was plumbed correctly?

[WRS]

TRUST ME on this one!

It's the ZEOSAND. I had the same problem too, Two years ago I replaced my sand with Zeo and backflushed it once, started it up and BOOM! clouds came out of my jets like nothing I'd ever seen. The only thing that remedied the problem was filling the pool up very full and backflushing it 6 times. Zeosand has some very fine particles that if not flushed out will keep the Zeo from beggining to filter correctly, An experienced pool guy should of known this.

So I'd recommend shut it off, fill it up and start backflushing a few times that will clean the filter media and make it ready to clean the pool effectively. You may want to add a small amount of claryfier and shock it well, to much claryfier can clog Zeosand so be careful. Then let it run 48 hours you should begin to see a big difference. Then maybe backflush it one more time. You will be happy with Zeosand when you finally get it clear it works better than sand and I'm happy with the clarity.

I think the filter was back washed/rinsed only once for about 5-10 minutes before switching to filter mode. I agree with you

... I think the zeosand and the startup procedure caused this. I will try your suggestions.

[WRS]

An update on this. I continued to have issues since this post was made (nearly two years ago), So I finally replaced the zeosand with regular silica sand.

The pool was green and the bottom (even in the shallow end) was not visible. After the switch, and 36 hours of filtering the pool is now crystal clear.

So my problem all along has been zeosand. I've read as much as I could find online. Some people seem to have good results with zeosand. Others have

my results... I've also heard that you can get a bad batch of this stuff. Who knows....

Listed here just in case others are having problems. For me, at least, problem solved.