Recent content by arvil

So, in 2017, drove to South Carolina, caught that totality, perfect weather, awesome. So this time, stayed at home, expecting 90%. Set up the 60 mm refractor I’ve had since 1960, 25 mm eyepiece projecting into a box with copy paper taped in it. Perfect view, saw a large sunspot. Looks great...

I do agree that the CH is difficult to tell the endpoint, unlike the TA test where it jumps right out at ya.

I just reread your post again, looks like you’re speaking of a small pond rather than an aquarium. My neighbor as well as a couple others I know have koi ponds. Typically they clean about once a year. They clean the pond about once a year, cleaning out sludge and stuff and a partial water...

At my old house, I had a 10 gallon tank, moved here in 2002, changed to 20 gallon at about the same time I got my AG pool. Did OK, but not great. Aquarium chemistry was not really a thing in those days. Discovered www.fishlore.com forum and the aq.uarium wiki a few years ago. The forum got me...

Didn’t say above ground or in ground, nor how far does the piping have to go. My in ground, the pool has 1-1/2, pump was 2”. But it’s less than 6 ft each side, so I reduced to 1-1/2. 2 inch will always give better flow rate, especially for longer runs.

Unless you know someone has been in your pool with crypto or any of the other critters, it’s not likely a problem to the typical home pool. Otherwise, it would’ve been in the news everyday. Because the public pool keepers don’t know who’s in their pool, when when they find yuckey things...

To put into more simple terms. It would be difficult to maintain that minimum of chlorine in the pool unless you are constantly measuring the level in the water and adjusting the feed. The Sun’s UV burns off chlorine very quickly, within a couple of hours. It would take a lot of chlorine to...

When my AG was installed back in ‘03, the PB said just use these pucks and do shock every other week, that’s all ya need. That was good for a couple years, then in August ‘05, I started getting algae even at shock levels. So, I browsed around until I fell upon this forum, and I learned much. Got...

Others can certainly weigh in, but, I guess the standard answer would be no. The cement actually works by slightly melting the two surfaces thereby ‘welding’ the parts. But, it could work, with any luck. The joints would have to be perfectly clean and dry. I once broke a union nut like the the...

Do be careful removing and reinstalling the weir. I used to take mine out when closing each fall because of winter ice, and frequently cracking it where the springy part above the pins. Now I just leave it in place.

Press the button and let go, it runs for one minute or if you repress the button. Mine’s old and I have to press a couple of times until it stays on.

I’ve had my speedstir from TFT, I think maybe 15 years, still works. The membrane over the left button has worn off, but, still working. I may have to push the button a couple of times to get it to stay on, but, it goes. Nonrechargeable batteries last me one to two years, even using it for my...

If it really is 20 mule team borax, not ‘Boraxo’, I use it to raise pH, minimizes TA increase. I fill a 5 gallon bucket about 2/3 full and mix in a couple of shakes, say a quarter of the box or so. Stir it up for a few seconds, breaking up lumps, then pour it in front of the return, including...

Post 74 referred to testing for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates at a fish store. Maybe once to see if there is any, but, be skeptical of those tests for the same reason we are skeptical for pool store testing. Nothing like taking ownership of your own chemistry. But, stay away from test strips...

I knew a pool owner once that used broom pucks. Seemed to me that while tricolor pucks were dead white, the broom pucks were a bit tan or beige. But, I guess different manufacturers may be different. EDIT: Bromo pucks, not broom pucks, dang autocorrect!