SWITCHING from SAND to POOL FILTER BALLS - Is This a Good Idea??? 

When you sweep the bottom of the pool, the ick is going right back into the pool via the filter. Balls or sand would not matter. You need to vac pool and put filter on 'waste' so it does not go back into the pool. Then your chems might work better and sand or filter balls won't get as icky and will work better also. We vac to waste a few times a year. It wastes a lot of water but it keep the gunk from going back into the filter so if clear water is the goal, it's worth it to waste some water. GL

Our pool is a 27' above ground and we've got one of those cordless battery powered pool vacs that looks like an upright vacuum cleaner and it's the best thing I've ever bought for the pool.

So one thing to keep in mind sand filters filter better the longer they're in use. You should not be backwashing a sand filter every day. You should only backwash your sand filter when the water flow has significantly decreased and the pressure has significantly gone up. I also recommend Zeo sand rather than regular pool sand

Algae is not a filtration problem, its a chemical balance problem. I would guess your nitrates are high or your PH / alkalinity is off.

I had good luck with sand and a clarifier so far at least had a very green appearance to the water at first, but it did clear up also check your hose that you use to fill the pool mine was copper lined which turned the water green maybe too much metal in the water

The bag is for washing them in the washing machine ;)

Yes I agree that waste setting and adding water at the same time is the way to get it done. I call it a pool tranfusion

I have a sand filter and got a bunch of alge in mine too. i found that the sand by itself wouldnt clean it as the dead alge particulates must have been too small for the sand. I found that putting a sock on the skimmer intake bin cleared it up finally. this is likely the same idea as the filter balls. once the alge was gone I used chlorine pucks regularily and it never happened again.

I had this issue one summer with the pool staying green. It was because the sand had live algae and needed to be changed. I'm trying filter balls for the first time this summer. I don't think they are any better. If you had changed the sand, you would have the same results, but I don't know that for a fact. Either way, good job.

Floc it let alge settle to bottom then vacuum

A salt filter is the easiest way to keep a clean pool imo. I am crap with chemicals, i set up my salt filter and never have to worry about it for the summer. Maybe I've been lucky.

I changed to filter balls from sand and while it stsrts off well, if you don't take them out to wash after its been used up, it just stops working and backwashing doesnt work well with them. I ended up with glass media and its been a lot better

I also am using the balls. They only fill my tank half way. My pipe in the middle of the filter has a min and max mark.

I thought a clarifier shoukd not be used with filter balls?

How is your pool this season? I had this struggle too a few years ago. The water just had too much chemicals in it and nothing I did seemed to solve the issue. I ended up doing a drain and fill and the water has been really easy to keep balanced now. I also recommend getting a robotic pool vacuum. I have an Aiper one (under $150 with coupon from Amazon) and it greatly helps keep the floor clean which I believe keeps the overall water clean.

Hope you're using --> washed play sand. That alone will not leave your water looking 'sandy'. For your size pool, use Hayward 1 1/2HP pump. Use a strainer basket sock. Put the sock inside the strainer basket -AND- pull it down over the whole outside of the basket also.

Get some baking soda (alkalinity) and Borax (raise pH). pH and alkalinity are related but distinct concepts in chemistry and water quality. pH: This measures the acidity or basicity of a solution on a scale from 0 to 14, where 7 is neutral. A pH below 7 indicates acidity, while a pH above 7 indicates alkalinity. The pH scale is logarithmic, meaning each whole pH value below 7 is 10 times more acidic than the next higher value, and each whole pH value above 7 is 10 times more alkaline than the next lower value. For example, a pH of 5 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 6. Alkalinity: This refers to the ability of a solution to neutralize acids. It is a measure of the buffering capacity of water, indicating its resistance to changes in pH when acids or bases are added. Alkalinity is usually expressed in terms of its carbonate concentration or equivalent, often measured in units of ppm (parts per million) or mg/L (milligrams per liter) of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Higher alkalinity means that more acid is required to lower the pH of the solution. In summary, pH tells you how acidic or alkaline a solution is, while alkalinity tells you the water's ability to resist changes in pH by neutralizing acids. High alkalinity can help stabilize pH levels in water systems, such as in aquariums or swimming pools, by preventing rapid pH swings.

I read clarifier with those balls is a no no.

My pool also turned green in August. 2 gallons of algaecide and 5 oz. Clarifier and my pool is blue again. My CYA got too high from using pucks--150 ppm. I had to add 15 lbs baking soda to get the ph and alkalai back within range. Im thinking of discontinuing pucks. They work well in winter/spring but when triple digits come, shock and tabs are not enough.

Sand is not the problem. You'll need to use an algaecide and pool shock every week. A lot of people are scared of chemicals but imagine if the water treatment plants didnt use them... Test your ph and alkalinity levels weekly as well. Sand is good for 3-5 years and actually cleans better on years two and three. Now one exception to this is baquacil (its nasty stuff that does not effectively sanitize a pool). Baquacil requires a yearly sand change. Ultimately you wont have a problem with it until you do and then it is awful! Filter balls will temporarily clean it up but they tend to make the pressure go wonky and seep water from the filter eventually. You are also not supposed to use clarifier with filter balls at all. On a positive note you can wash filter balls in a washer and bring them back to life. Most entertaining customer I ever met was a lady saying she didnt want to use chemicals in her pool so she only used borax, vinegar, and baking sodas. Those are all chemicals.. pretty much everything is a chemical. Pool looks great sir, you'll find a good system for your family. We love Pristine blue and pool tabs its amazing stuff! We shock weekly and add Blue and clean in every two weeks. You can use tabs but dont have to. I did not like it in the spa though.

Welcome to the struggle my friend.....

Which filter/pump do you have?

Huí did your psi always stay low ? Mine is like yours with the sand balls

I just saw a video saying, if you plan to use filter balls, the sand filter should have laterals at the bottom (rather than the bell shaped thing like your filter has). They encourage you to add sand or pea gravel at the bottom to stabilize the laterals, and then add the balls. Btw, I’ve been battling similar water issues and had phosphates contributing to algae, also had to increase water hardness (calcium chloride) because soft water holds things in suspension “cloudy issues”. Yesterday washed the sand with a garden hose and a siphon. I’ve been shocking and adding clarifier every few days while running the pump longer and the pool is slowly starting to clear.

I have a different but similar filter and pump to yours. It looks plumbed wrong. The inlet from the pump should be on the side spout.

Wait your missing some of your filtration parts is that the only pc you have down the middle, there should be more than that

same

itd easyer to change water.. new clean 😮

Looks.like.u need 2 gallons of liquid shock and a gallon of liquid chlorine also a clear balance tablets and a stabalizer

you’ll be switching back. filter balls just hold all the gunk and get gross. we started with them because they came with our pool and could never get our pool algae free and clear all summer no matter what! Needless to say we just switched to sand

Stop using test strips and take your water in to a pool store to get tested. If you don't trust that... get a dye kit and test that way. Your issue is the pool chemistry is off.

Filter balls hold the junk id switch to dr drydens glass it has a lifetime warranty

NEVER backwash too often! It takes away from the filtration properties of the sand

Tried the cotton balls not as good as sand, went back to sand, your problem is chemical imbalance

Uh oh...! I need another update. When I called IN The Swim and talked to them at length about these balls they made it extremely clear NOT to use clarifier because that will break down the balls and turn them into a pile of goo. Even the product description states that. The ones from Amazon are basically identical just branded different.

It looks like your pump hose is crimped.

take your water to a pool place. they test it for free

Your using to much chlorine. If the chlorine is to high ut wont be as effective