Alternatives To Sand In Filter?

[Naam]

It can take up to an hor to thuroughly vaccume that green monster and with a 2 hp pump, a lot of water goes to waste.

i had no idea that you have an olympic size pool mine is 8.00x3.80 and it takes 10 minutes to vacuum and 15-20 minutes to top up the pool.

why is your monster reddish and mine greenish??

perhaps you use a different flocculation agent or the impurities in your pool water which coagulate are of a different kind.

[Naam]

PAC is a bright yellow/orange powder so I imagine that's what Naam is referring to.

correct!

Actually come to think of it PAC might be more economical to use routinely than Pooltrine liquid...but I don't know if chlorine alone will suppress algae.

who or what is "Pooltrine"?

[cloudhopper]

Pooltrine is a liquid algaecide (maybe algae isn't as big an issue in an indoor pool?) and, since they claim to improve clarity, apparently a flocculant too. It costs 1900/gal and I go through one bottle every 6 weeks or so in my 3X18 lap pool. Is chlorine alone enough of an algaecide? The PAC is not very expensive as I recall.

[jaideeguy]

"i had no idea that you have an olympic size pool mine is 8.00x3.80 and it takes 10 minutes to vacuum and 15-20 minutes to top up the pool."

mine is 5X11 and when the 'monster' is big, it does take that long to suck him out [or at least 95% of him].

"perhaps you use a different flocculation agent or the impurities in your pool water which coagulate are of a different kind"

could be....I use a liquid flocculent that is the color of dilute milk, and my greenish color could be algae attached to the calcium particles?? I do stay on top of cholorine, using trichlor 90%granuels.

[Naam]

Pooltrine is a liquid algaecide (maybe algae isn't as big an issue in an indoor pool?) and, since they claim to improve clarity, apparently a flocculant too. It costs 1900/gal and I go through one bottle every 6 weeks or so in my 3X18 lap pool. Is chlorine alone enough of an algaecide? The PAC is not very expensive as I recall.

of course it is. the problem in Thailand is the misconception of "pool experts" who tell you that 1.0-1.5ppm Cl and a pH of 7.2-7.5 is "ideal". reality: this is bullcrap²! my pool in Florida (less heat and sunshine than Thailand got only a few hours sun daily but three days with Cl below 2ppm yellow mustard and green algae developed within HOURS. to avoid both types of algae i had to keep a constant Cl of >3ppm AND shock the pool once a month with chlorine (3 gallons of chlorine plus 1 gallon of hydrochloric acid to balance pH). the afore mentioned was the case for several years till i installed a copper/silver catalyst. with this setup i was able to reduce chlorine contents to 1.5 ppm. cost was 90 dollars a cartridge which lasted ~3-4 months. later i "recharged" the cartridges myself at a fraction of the price by using pieces of very thin copper sheet and silver nitrate granules. this system is unheard of in Thailand.

with my present setup i have no problems to run the pool at 0.5ppm because no sun and a UV-treatment. nevertheless i will shock the pool every three months just to be on the safe side.

PAC is not an algaecide but acts only as a flocculant.

[Naam]

when the 'monster' is big

after reading that again JD-guy i wonder what "monster" you are talking about. is it the sediments that the flocculation agent causes or some algae growth?

[jaideeguy]

"after reading that again JD-guy i wonder what "monster" you are talking about. is it the sediments that the flocculation agent causes or some algae growth? "

I think maybe a combination of both, could the algae be attaching it's self to small calcium particles?. As mentioned before in another post on 'hardness of water', my well water does have lots of calcium and altho i do run my pool filling water and house water thru a resin filter, I think that I am overburdening the resin and the calcium still builds up.

[stevehaigh]

i was very disappointed with the performance of my sand filter too. then i noticed the recommended grain size should be .6mm. i looked at the sand i bought at the pool shop and is was clearly larger than 1mm so you should check that out first. i went to a normal building shop and found some sand that is used for decorative sand finishing. I used that in the top half of the filter and now it filters fine.

i also tired adding DE but that filters a bit too well i think. the pressure went way high in less than one day and i ended up breaking the pump!

have you checked your total alkalinity BTW? test kits in LOS doesn't seem to check much beside ph and TC (total chlorine). you need to test total alkalinity and free chlorine for sure. if TA is high, aerate the water by making a temporary water fountain at the returns using PVC pipe.

if you are still having problems with cloudy water , get some Sarn Som (aluminium ammonium sulphate) at your local building shop. its a semi clear cyrstal that Thais have used for centuries to clean water. desolve a few kilos in the pool water, turn off the pump, wait 12 hours and ALL the s%$t will sink to the bottom. Pump out the sludge form the bottom and throw away, instant clean.

steve.

[Naam]

i also tired adding DE but that filters a bit too well i think. the pressure went way high in less than one day and i ended up breaking the pump!

you really have to be careful dosing DE in a sand filter AND you have to watch the pressure every couple of hours when applying DE.

[Naam]

i was very disappointed with the performance of my sand filter too. then i noticed the recommended grain size should be .6mm. i looked at the sand i bought at the pool shop and is was clearly larger than 1mm so you should check that out first.

after you mentioned grain size i checked my sand. definitely bigger than 1mm. however it is not only the surface area (which is bigger with smaller grains) but the shape of the grains which should be crushed and have sharp edges. does the "decorative" sand meet this demand?

Edited July 13, 2008 by Naam

[Naam]

"after reading that again JD-guy i wonder what "monster" you are talking about. is it the sediments that the flocculation agent causes or some algae growth? "

I think maybe a combination of both, could the algae be attaching it's self to small calcium particles?.

in my view you are trying to CURE a disease JD-Guy. what you have to do is PREVENT it. what is the average chlorine content and the pH of your water?

[jaideeguy]

my cholorine levels are always in the yellow side of the scale indicating that it's above the recomended amount.

on average I dose with a half kilo a week with 90% trichlor slow release granuels.

Naam, what do you think of my theory of algae attaching to suspended calcium particles??

[Naam]

my cholorine levels are always in the yellow side of the scale indicating that it's above the recomended amount.

on average I dose with a half kilo a week with 90% trichlor slow release granuels.

Naam, what do you think of my theory of algae attaching to suspended calcium particles??

"yellow side" is not very specific JDG i have no idea whether algae can attach to calcium particles but doubt it. what i know is that algae or any water impurities attach to a flocculant.

bottom line: if you have algae then your water is not treated as it should be based on the circumstances and i repeat "don't cure but prevent!"

[jaideeguy]

by saying 'on the yellow side' i mean that it is always above the 'ideal' level according to my basic cholorine test kit.

That being said, can I still have algae?? maybe there's a cholorine resistant kind??

Anyway, next time I go into the city, I'll get some flocculent and start again from scratch.

ps, by regularly adding cholorine and recent change of media, I am trying my best to 'prevent'.

[minimoocher]

by saying 'on the yellow side' i mean that it is always above the 'ideal' level according to my basic cholorine test kit.

That being said, can I still have algae?? maybe there's a cholorine resistant kind??

Anyway, next time I go into the city, I'll get some flocculent and start again from scratch.

ps, by regularly adding cholorine and recent change of media, I am trying my best to 'prevent'.

Why dont you try Purapool based in Samui. They sell a chlorine free system that is 100% chlorine free and requires no residual whatsoever. They also supply recycled glass media priced at 1250THb per 23kg bag and sell the preferbal snot block or Puragel as they call it. My pool actually runs on their system and with the glass media the water is crystal clear and has been now for over 18 months. I have never had to put chlorine into the pool.

[ACMIKE]

Can anyone please tell me where to buy Zeolyte in Pattaya, I am in the progress of installing a large jacuzzi and the builder doesn't seem to know about this product.

I apologize if I missed this info somewhere in the thread.

Thanks.

Edited September 11, 2008 by ACMIKE

[Naam]

Why dont you try Purapool based in Samui. They sell a chlorine free system that is 100% chlorine free and requires no residual whatsoever. They also supply recycled glass media priced at 1250THb per 23kg bag and sell the preferbal snot block or Puragel as they call it. My pool actually runs on their system and with the glass media the water is crystal clear and has been now for over 18 months. I have never had to put chlorine into the pool.

get your water tested for bacteria. i had that system for years in the U.S. and was very happy with the efficiency. BUT a chlorine shock once or at least every two months is mandatory. copper/silver catalysts are perfect algae killers/preventers but a variety of bacteria is immune.