Search results

It never ceases to amaze me that the pool water doesn't fall straight down out of the pool into the sky.

Put the pool toys away in the attic :( Pool looks great and still warm but as the daytime highs get lower, interest wanes quickly! Reduced pump run time to 6 hours, might change it to 4.

Circling back: Calcium Hardness Testing, comparison of Taylor and CCL Simple average of tests below 263 269 New Taylor supplies (Hardness buffer and indicator from Mr Pool Man, titrating reagent from PoolVacParts) New CCL Dedicated Calcium Hardness Test Kit Oldest pool test 1 225...

SWGs here in Sydney run all year (colder water than yours). USA models shut off at certain low temperatures, TBMK around 10 degrees C. Our water barely gets that cold, so I have no idea if our SWGs shut off, but they certainly show low salt indicator lights, their internal sense of current...

kudos to Gene!

I'm starting my testing of testing supplies and I noticed some progress. My old original 4in1 Aussie Gold comparator block shows 7.2-7.4 as "ideal for fibreglass pools" and "7.4 to 7.6 as ideal for concrete pools" The new one just shows one band called "Ideal" at 7.4 to 7.6

I woke up this morning realising I said this wrong for your situation. IIRC, mgtfp mentioned earlier that keeping CSI between 0.0 and -0.3 will help keep your saltwater chlorinator free of scale between the plates inside the salt cell, which is good advice. CSI can be found in the PoolMath app...

That sounds fine to me. I add acid when I see pH of 8.0 and correct to 7.8 and that works out to about once every two weeks in summer. I tend not to need any acid in winter. As sources of info, my experience has been that pool builders and pool stores, on average, are equally misleading and...

Sounds like terminating the 1kg (2.2 lbs) of alkalinity increaser per six weeks is the first step. I would double-check the alkalinity testing, carefully reviewing the method with the CCL kit, and/or for $30 or $35, you could cross check it with an Aussie Gold 4in1 test kit and same caveat on...

This thread has gone a bit off the well-traveled road and into the weeds. Dirk, I think your method is TFPC, at least based on not adding chemicals without a valid reason and based on reliable test results. You have the history of trends and know what can be expected, and it's backed by...

"Bicarb" can arrive in the form of various pool products known as: Buffer; pH Buffer, Alkalinity Increaser; Alkalinity Up; or the commonly used chemical, sodium bicarbonate aka baking soda FWIW because pool and fill water varies, I do four pools and experience a range of 1 quart/~litre to 1.5...

Good stuff! Congrats on the new pool. Welcome to TFP. Good to have you here :)

We had this exact problem and it was a tiny pebble caught in a gear that perhaps caused the unit to sense a momentary slight resistance and shut down. It would travel around 5 or 6 feet, stop and require resetting, just to do the same thing again. Pool shop said "It's the computer. Wanna look at...

And finally, it's very much appreciated that you've certainly done a lot of reading here and have a great start on Trouble Free Pool Care. I think it's important to tackle one thing at a time, given that you probably have multiple challenges with the pool.

To summarise a little, is it correct that there was significant surface runoff that went into the pool?

The cloudiness may be just time needed for filtration. It's likely an old filter that hasn't been maintained. Post a picture of the filter and I can explain how to deep clean it, for starters. Or you can read this big ole link: Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter Also be sure you've backwashed it when...

On chlorine, yes, keep it around 10% of CYA until you're next able to SLAM, based on your last CYA measurement. Again, remember volume is reduced. Adding large amounts of chlorine doesn't do anything more. Have you been brushing?

Do you mean a pool plasterer? Add enough baking soda to bring TA to 60. Let pH rise to 7.8 and don't add acid until you see 8.0 (remember most water volume is in the upper half of the depth. Adjust for the lesser volume. Order CYA testing supplies.

Very sorry to hear about the larger challenges :( If/when patching or replaster gets decided and done, let us know and we might have some useful tips.

Is any of the runoff going into the pool?

In the pool draining article, you'll notice "No Drain Water Exchange" which is the safest way to swap your water. It may seem complicated but it's actually not that hard to do. There's a calculation you can do or I can do it for you. We can temporarily raise the salt level to help ensure that...

Are you in northern Queensland? If so, you'll get enough dilution over time to drop the copper level down to where staining won't occur, now that you've stopped the pool from getting any more copper. I took over a pool of that vintage, that had been regularly polluted with copper. It took...

Draining is not something you want to do in a hurry. Especially when the surrounding ground is saturated. Read this: Draining - Further Reading

CCs usually arise from heavy use of the pool or contamination coming in from runoff. We've had heavy use by a lot of kids the last few days and the water got a little cloudy one day. I had CCs higher than I've detected before. All gone now, although I did run the pump for longer hours and added...

Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here :) Re: "Australia (Hot Part)": Do you mean top end or outback? Big difference in terms of dilution you'll eventually get. You may or may not have an iron issue, and ascorbic acid doesn't work for copper, so let's set that one aside. I'd say leave the...

Perhaps you're referring to ORP (Oxidation Reduction Potential)? A couple of caveats on that, but especially fouling of ORP sensors caused by cyanuric acid, an essential ingredient for pool water sanitation management that makes sense (per the thread topic). There's also calibration and...

To all the pools closing, cared for by curious, industrious and ingenious people... sleep tight! Seeya soon. (y)

Great description and helpful story, new. I could barely believe my eyes when I saw that "Acid Every 3 Months" travesty. Masterful wonks with spreadsheets in every company tweaking out extra revenue by any means possible.

At least one SWCG manufacturer is including an instruction on their saltwater chlorinator cells: "ACID CLEAN EVERY 3 MONTHS" Doing so will significantly reduce the life of your saltwater chlorinator cell. For pool water that is kept well-balanced using TFPC, acid cleaning is seldom necessary...

Is the "Nooooo!" also to the "ACID CLEAN EVERY THREE MONTHS" Awesome technique for ensuring more cash flow from pool owners to the pool industry!