Filter Maintenance
Lotions, hair oils and skin oils build up inside your filters, on the grids, cartridges or sand. Therefore, they must be cleaned periodically with OPAquatics Filter Cleanse.
Pressure Diatomacious Earth Filters
The procedure for cleaning a pressure Diatomacious Earth Filter is to first backwash the filter. Next, drain the tank and open the filter. Remove the element assembly from the tank, hose off and place in a plastic drum of OPAquatics Filter Cleanse. Let soak overnight. This will remove scale and oil build-up from the elements. Hose off the elements and replace in the filter tank. Pre-coat elements with Diatomacious Earth
Vacuum Diatomacious Earth Filters
Backwash filters and hose off elements. Refill tank with water to a level approximately 4 inches above elements. Put system in recycle. Add OPAquatics Filter Cleanse to the tank. Recycle for approximately 6 hours or overnight. Drain tank and hose off elements. Refill tank to 4 inches above elements and recycle water for 15 minutes to rinse elements. Drain tank again and then refill with water and pre-coat system with Diatomacious Earth
Pre-coat Formula
for Diatomacious Earth application after backwash. Add one pound of Diatomacious Earth per 10 square feet of filter area. EXAMPLE: 60 sq. ft. filter area, add 6 lbs. of Diatomacious Earth
*A two-pound coffee can = One pound of Diatomacious Earth
Sand Filters
Sand filters are by far the simplest systems. Backwashing keeps your sand clean. Periodically, you should open your sand filter and scrape a handful or sand off the top of the sand bed. Squeeze the sand in your have to see it creates “mud balls.” If it does, you want to remove the top 3 to 8 inches of sand and replace it with new sand.
Push Pull Valves should be lubricated periodically with Aqua-lube.
Cartridge Filters
The cartridges in your filter also become clogged with oil and scale. Periodically, they must be cleaned with OPAquatics Filter Cleanse. Drain the filter, open and remove the cartridges. Place them in a plastic barrel with OPAquatics Filter Cleanse solution and allow to soak overnight. Then let dry and brush small particles from the folds in the cartridges. Having two sets of cartridges allows one set to be cleaned while the other set is in operation.