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"dust" On Bottom Of Above Ground Vinyl Liner Pool


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Hi All - I have an above ground vinyl 18' x 33' x 54" pool thats about 6 years old. Chlorine, 1 HP, paper filter ("Splash Pack") located in central New Jersey. Almost from the first year I've had what appears to be a super-fine "dust" that settles ONLY on the bottom of the pool. Seems to be dark brown and/or dark gray. Does not stain/settle on the walls. Doesn't seem to appear until the pump is run and it coalesces from the circular motion. Pool is absolutely crystal clear with no greenish color, etc. All chemistry is spot on. The stuff seems to "pile up" a little, and if just very, very lightly disturbed it seems to dissipate/dissappear. I've actually "captured" some in a jar by diving with a container and googles. Let it settle out for a day, poured bleach in it, and nothing happened. I originaly thought it might be pollen/air pollution but I've gotten this all-year round. I've also checked with a few other pool owners on the block and they don't appear to have the problem. It's intensity varies, but it never goes away. Can't really tie it in to weather/air/water temperature, though I've tried. Get it almost immediately after opening the pool and then thru the whole year. Mid-summer is no worse or better than early/late in the year.

I've tried Polyquat and even 20 gallons of bleach at season's end to no avail. I've tried vacuuming to waste. I constantly clean the filter. I've replaced the filer. Tried just about every chemical know to man.

Some have suggested black algae but it never stains or sticks .... same goes for mustard algae. And it seems impervious to chemicals.

HELP!!! This is driving me crazy!

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I'm new to pools and definitely no expert, but the dust might be a sign of early gasket failure on the filter valve. I just set up a 18x33 that was given to us. I got impatient getting the filter fired up and didn't read enough and fired it up without rinsing it first so I managed to blow a cloud of dust into the pool. After allowing it to settle and attempting to vacuum it up, I realized I was getting an immediate cloudy discharge from the return while vacuuming. I was also getting a consistent flow from the backwash port on the valve. I talked to a few people and did a little research and everything pointed to the valve gasket. My filter uses a rotor/gasket assembly (had to buy the whole piece) but there are plenty of units out there that allow for independent gasket replacement. My part was 35.00 shipped but I saw plenty of gaskets online for under 10 and your local pool supply might even have one (just get the filter model#) When I pulled mine the gasket was a gooey pliable mess about the consistency of plumbers putty, while the new one had a somewhat rigid rubber like rope with a fin along the sealing edge. Since you get the dust when the filter operates, you might have a failure that is allowing silt or sand dust from the canister to bypass under pressure to the discharge port. My filter has a recirculate setting that allows water to run straight through the valve, by passing the canister, you might try that if you have the option - if you get any sediment I'd say you have a gasket issue and your dust is sand or filter sediment related. The only other thing I can think of is that you might have a break in the water line in the tank that is allowing pressure to push fine sand dust into the line.

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I'm new to pools and definitely no expert, but the dust might be a sign of early gasket failure on the filter valve. I just set up a 18x33 that was given to us. I got impatient getting the filter fired up and didn't read enough and fired it up without rinsing it first so I managed to blow a cloud of dust into the pool. After allowing it to settle and attempting to vacuum it up, I realized I was getting an immediate cloudy discharge from the return while vacuuming. I was also getting a consistent flow from the backwash port on the valve. I talked to a few people and did a little research and everything pointed to the valve gasket. My filter uses a rotor/gasket assembly (had to buy the whole piece) but there are plenty of units out there that allow for independent gasket replacement. My part was 35.00 shipped but I saw plenty of gaskets online for under 10 and your local pool supply might even have one (just get the filter model#) When I pulled mine the gasket was a gooey pliable mess about the consistency of plumbers putty, while the new one had a somewhat rigid rubber like rope with a fin along the sealing edge. Since you get the dust when the filter operates, you might have a failure that is allowing silt or sand dust from the canister to bypass under pressure to the discharge port. My filter has a recirculate setting that allows water to run straight through the valve, by passing the canister, you might try that if you have the option - if you get any sediment I'd say you have a gasket issue and your dust is sand or filter sediment related. The only other thing I can think of is that you might have a break in the water line in the tank that is allowing pressure to push fine sand dust into the line.

bluerdg - THANKS for the thoughtful and complete reply! I appreciate the effort.

I have a pleated paper cartridge type filter (it looks like a giant oil filter, about a foot in diameter and about 2 feet long). It has the gaskets, etc built right in. I replaced the entire cartride (about $130) and it changed nothing.

Thanks for you interest and concern.

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I'm not even a rookie, but with the little intex pools I have had in the past, sounds like residue of chlorine tabs that I used to get in my pool. I used to put too many tabs in and get white cloudy dust on bottom of pool and was constantly cleaning that lttle cartridge filter. Maybe, I don't know

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