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Pool is perfectly balanced, clear as can be. It's a bit cold so no one is using it yet. When I went to buy something at the store I had them test the water (I do this once in the beginning of the year just to see how well it matches up to my measurements, but I never bought a phosphate testing...

Are these thripes? Twice this year I've gotten them right after some major rains. I had switched over to SWG this year and this is the first time in 8 years I've ever recalled seeing them. Is there anything specific to SWG and thripes that would be something I need to check or worry about...

New SWG, but not new to TFP. Switched over recently and had everything balanced and good, salt about 3600 ppm and IC60 said it was happy. Had a big party with lots of kids swimming in the pool (enough that post end of day the water in deep end began getting a bit cloudy). I checked my IC60 at...

I read here: https://www.troublefreepool.com/wiki/index.php?title=Free_Chlorine#:~:text=Active%20chlorine%20levels%20are%20different,in%20from%20a%20chlorine%20perspective. I won't go into explicit details, but I had just converted over to an SWG and my pump was off for a day and then there...

Hi All, indirectly pool/chemistry related. I have extra Calcium Chloride I also have a safe in which I typically use Damp Rid buckets to keep the items in the safe from gaining too much moisture. I understand Damp Rid is predominantly Calcium Chloride. When my damp rid bucket is used up, can...

My pool is all opened and usual liquid chlorine and cya levels. Everything is clear and stable. I intend to switch over to a SWG (pentair ic60) and I'm waiting for the site evaluation and installation. I'm trying to jump this sooner than later given the cost of liquid chlorine. Can I start...

So I've been doing the TFP methods for 3-4 years now and it goes well. This year (as expected because I have a gap in my cover between pool and waterfall) I opened green swamp. I began the SLAM process and my pool turned blue, but it is still a very cloudy blue. This morning was the first day...

So my TA is a bit high, 110 and my pH was a little high as well at 8.0. So I wanted to lower the pH with muriatic acid and then raise the pH up to clear out a bit of the TA. Was hoping my pH would then hover around 7.6-7.8 instead of 7.8-8.0 So I put my muriatic acid in (I only had about 48oz...

So a long time ago I ditched the chlorinator and now follow the recommended guidance here. However, today I still have the black tubing going from the input tubing to the output tubing without the chlorinator in the middle. This of course means it is skipping the filter as that is how the...

Pentair Intelliflow 2 VST Pump - about 3 yrs old. Pool recently opened, pump was primed and running. I noticed one day later my pump was not running and reason was it had not primed (if it can't prime after 11 minutes, it goes into an error state.) So I did the following: (1)...

Hello. First my #s: FC: 6 CC: 0 pH: 7.9-8.0 TA: 100 CH: 170 CYA: 50 Temp: 82-84 F I keep adding Muriatic Acid to get my pH back to 7.6-7.7, but every few days it seems to keep creeping up to high 7s or after 4 days w/o muriatic acid, now it is at almost 8 Does a new liner in anyway...

Hi everyone, my neighbor just got new plaster put in his pool and asked me to bring my test kit over to test. So I ran a pH test and it was YELLOW - off the bottom of the chart. So I used a new fairly well calibrated electric pH test and it came out to 3.0. Yes, THREE POINT ZERO. Should I...

Hi everyone, I just got a new heater and was turning it on to test it out after install a day ago. my Ph was like 7.3 and my TA was about 55. The heater RayPak recommends ph of at like 7.5-7.6 and TA of i think around 100, but I was shooting for 90 for the moment. So I added some Baking...

Hi Everyone, So last year, I got a new liner at the end of the year AND did a pressure test - just to be sure everything was good. I was losing water, but I knew I had made a slit in the liner which we patched like 3x, but it just kept getting bigger and bigger. We managed to survive 2 years...

So I am waiting on a gas plumber to help me figure out if my line is big enough to support 300k btu or if I can go up to 400k btu. However, until then, I keep hearing different opinions from local installers about whether Raypak or Pentair is better. Many say Pentair newer units are great...

Alrighty experts, tell me if I am finally getting the hang of this or not. Just opened yesterday. Pretty darn clear, minus the usual dirt at the bottom. Robot is cleaning that up at the moment and backwashed once already. I had installed a brand new liner at end of season, so it was a fresh...

Hi everyone, I currently have a Hayward 300k BTU heater and the attached pictures gas line. The heater is super old and at this point not worth replacing pieces. I was looking to upgrade to the Pentair MasterTemp 400k. However, I am not sure if my gas line is sufficient for it. Attached are...

Ok, what is the difference between the 400 and 400 HD? I know the ASME is considered "commercial" but what is the difference between 400 an 400 HD? Pentair's own site doesn't provide any clarity from this - at least not anywhere I can find.

Hi. Had a perfectly balanced pool, but then needed to replace my liner. Currently new liner is in and I am refilling from the tap in anticipation of closing for the year (only did the liner because of leaks). Is there anything special to consider when refilling pool with tap water and seeking...

Hi everyone. So we have a 32,000 gallon free form pool. See image: The landscaped area in red has 3 spouts for waterfalls embedded in the rock that go into the pool. I want to completely remove the landscaped area and add an inground hot tub/spa. However, I don't want some dinky 6 person...

Hi, is it possible when you have a vinyl pool to add a freeform sauna area that flows over into the pool? presently we have 3 waterfalls that go into the pool and behind it is landscaped area. I would want the landscape area to become a free-form sauna (can you have that with a vinyl pool?)...

hi, so i've been teaching my dad the TFP methods and finally convinced him to move over to just using basic chemicals and bleach. When he opened his pool it was a CYA of about 50 (I confirmed with my test). He didn't listen to me initially and for a few weeks he was still using pucks, but also...

My pool is perfectly balanced, thanks to all the advice here over the past 1+ years. The only thing is my CH is a little low at 100 and even though I know the topic is debated, I figured I'd bring it up to 175. I bought a big 50lb bag of calcium chloride (I only need 22lbs, but plan to share...

Hi, I use the k-2006 taylor kit and it has served me well. I want my dad to get his own kit and want to buy him one, but not sure if k-2006 is still the one to get or if it has been replaced by something newer/better or more inclusive? We both have in ground, vinyl pools (neither of us have...

Helping my dad and trying to get him to stop going to the pool store and wasting his time and money So I brought my taylor kit over and did some measurements: PH: 7.0 (maybe lower/off the chart) CYA: 60ish TA: 130 (high) FC: 0.5 if that CC: 4.5 What was confusing was the app says for TA of...

Hi everyone, followed all the great advice last year and lead to a crystal free pool. I have a mesh cover and opened up this past Saturday to a nice green colored pool. So I thus began to follow the SLAM process after running my initial test: PH: 8.0 (or higher) CYA: 80 (yes I know this is...

Hi everyone, my heater is or has been on the fritz for some time. It's pretty old and probably near end of life, but also probably serviceable. It's an older Hayward, dont' have the model offhand. I wanted to know what I could expect to pay for a new heater and installation (assuming same...

Just wondering if it is ok to close your pool at the SLAM level? Meaning actually putting the cover on over the pool while the chlorine level is at shock level based on corresponding CYA and the slam chart. Not sure if the chlorine at that level is ok long term over the NJ winter. Since my...

Hi Everyone. I had an existing patch put on due a slit in the liner before closing up last year. The patch seemed to hold, as my water level was fine when I opened. However, I had a ton of algae and ended up putting another slice in the spot or somehow extending it either from my brush or...

Hi all, Assuming a balanced and clear pool and you are adding liquid chlorine just to keep your levels up (meaning you haven't fallen below min thresholds and aren't attempting to shock the pool with the dosaging) - how long should you wait after adding liquid chlorine before going in the pool...