Vacuum to waste vs through the filter, still deciding for spring cleanup

Started by swamp_tyler · · 1 reply
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#1
so last year fighting the swamp i just vac'd everything through the filter and it worked but i swear it clouded things up for a day or two after and made the DE... wait i dont even have DE, sand filter, but still felt like i was just stirring stuff around sometimes. this year i got some silt built up in the deep end again over winter and im weighing just vacuuming straight to waste instead, i know it wastes water and ill need to top off and rebalance after but feels less like im recirculating gunk. anyone actually compare the two for like actual dirt/debris cleanup, not just algae. is to waste worth the water loss for a one time cleanup or am i overthinking this

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#2
For a one time deep clean like that with real silt built up, waste is the way to go, not overthinking it at all.

One thing folks forget though, run your pump on low if you got a variable speed, or just take it slow no matter what, sucking that silt up too fast just kicks it into the water column before it ever gets to the pipe and you're back to square one with cloudy water anyway.

Been doing sand filters since 94 and any time I got heavy gunk in the deep end I go to waste, then just top off and rebalance same day, water bill is cheap compared to fighting cloudy water for a week.