Pool Problems

Seems like nothing I do lately is without issues. The pool was leveled but not very well, so that when the water delivery happened it was about 3″ out of level. Not too bad, water guy said he had seen worse. The water was delivered on a beautiful day.

Water Delivery
Water Delivery

It just looks so inviting going into the pool. I’m not going to worry that it is a bit uneven.

Off Level
Off Level

I had dumped the old sand from the filter tank thinking pool sand would be available at several local stores. But I was wrong. Home Depot and Walmart and Lowes did not have pool sand in stock.

Pool without filter
Pool without filter

I did some research and ordered a filter medium that is supposed to last longer than sand and filter out smaller particles.It is a zeolite mineral found in volcanic rock called ZeoSand which is an alternative to pool sand. It replaces pool sand by a 1 to 2 ratio so I only needed 50 lbs. Some reviewers were unsuccessful with this product saying it leaked into the pool water making it cloudy. But so far I have not noticed that issue.

Zeosand
Zeosand

I backflushed the filter twice and each time had to work on pipes that were not fully tight. The water ran clear quickly though and I did let the media settle for a day before I started the filter.

Filter set up
Filter set up

The problem was that the multi valve on the filter was cracked.

Crack in Multivalve
Crack in Multivalve

There are actually two cracks, one around the pressure dial and one in the body. I was able to use plumbing Goop to seal up the pressure dial leak but could not get the long crack to stop leaking completely. I even tried a pool patch but with no more luck that Goop. Finally I wrapped silicone tape around the top and reduced the leak to a trickle. In the meantime I ordered a new multivalve from Intex and a few gaskets. Their shipping is delayed due to the Coronavirus so it will be a few weeks before they arrive.

Temporary repair
Temporary repair
Still leaking
Still leaking

I was able to run the hose into the pool while filtering to prevent too much loss of water. So I added the salt to the pool. I put in three of four 40 pound sacks because although the manual called for four, I was leery of putting in too much salt as the only fix is partially draining the pool and putting in fresh water.

The filter ran with the low salt warning before I put in the salt but afterwards the low salt warning was off. So 120 lbs of salt seem to be enough for now. I distributed the salt around the edge of the pool and then brushed it towards the center so that no thick piles of salt remained on the bottom.

Pool salt
Pool salt

Once the filter was set up I put in a thermometer to read the water temperature. It is about 65 degrees. But the nights are cold at around 40 degrees so I washed the solar cover that came with the pool in the driveway. This time I just used a hose with a spray handle and got most of the worst dirt off. I didn’t want to pop any more of the air bubbles. It was not difficult to fold it up and carry it to the pool. I spread it out over the water myself using some clips I bought for the heavy pool cover.

Plastic pool clips
Plastic pool clips
Stainless clips
Stainless clips

The first plastic clip popped off immediately. These are not very sturdy, but I was able to fit four on one side and hold the cover enough to spread it out. I’m hoping the stainless clips that I also bought will hold better.

Solar Cover
Solar Cover

With the cover on the pool water maybe it will warm enough to swim in a week or two.

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