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  1. arvil

    Total Solar Eclipse April 8, 2024 Monday.

    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...
  2. arvil

    CH is the worst test....

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

    Any aquarium nuts on this site?

    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...
  4. arvil

    Any aquarium nuts on this site?

    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...
  5. arvil

    Pipe size

    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.
  6. arvil

    I don't understand the need to use CyA

    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...
  7. arvil

    I don't understand the need to use CyA

    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...
  8. arvil

    Chlorine pucks are enticing to me.

    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...
  9. arvil

    Little drip. Ideas?

    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...
  10. arvil

    Any Tips on Getting Weir Door Out

    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.
  11. arvil

    TF Test Kit - Smart Stirs going bad

    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.
  12. arvil

    TF Test Kit - Smart Stirs going bad

    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...
  13. arvil

    Borax did not dissolve

    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...
  14. arvil

    Chlorine is disappearing!

    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...
  15. arvil

    Help, Bromide tablets dissolved in 2 hours.

    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!
  16. arvil

    Ph test very light pink

    Some of these reagents can settle, a good shake can help.:kim:
  17. arvil

    Merry Christmas

    That’s Pennsylvania Dutch.:oops:
  18. arvil

    Merry Christmas

    Freelich Grischtdaag, yedermann.
  19. arvil

    How to replace the skimmer?

    Or an eggbeater drill like this-...
  20. arvil

    Oil spill

    JoyfulNoise beat me to it👍.PigMat makes those pads, and even socks, they float on water, don’t absorb any, just oil. We carry them on the fire trucks for spills. You can throw a few pads in the pool, tie them so they don’t get in the skimmer, they’ll soak up oil as it floats by.
  21. arvil

    How to replace the skimmer?

    Many years ago when the hoses the PB installed pump to pool went bad, I hard piped with PVC. A couple years later I broke the nut on a union. I used PVC cleaner and glue to repair the nut, and it’s been fine ever since. If the hairline crack is tight you may be able to slather it on both sides...
  22. arvil

    A couple winterizing questions

    I drain the pool to just below the skimmer, the drain plug for the cartridge filter fits the return so I use that. The pump, filter, etc goes in the garage. Those pillows ain’t worth a dime, had two and they deflate within a month so the tarp sinks. I went to my local friendly tire guy and...
  23. arvil

    how quickly will FC decrease after a SLAM and shouldn't you keep the CYA on lower end to not have to use as much chlorine?

    Think of this. There’s a bit of chlorine in the air as Cl2, you breathe it. The chloride ion is in salt, you need a certain amount of it. The form in your pool is hypochlorite, -OCl. It doesn’t cause cancer. If you’re on public water, there’s hypo in there. I wouldn’t drink a lot of pool water...
  24. arvil

    Cleaning Hayward c3030 cartridge filter

    Mine’s not Hayward, it’s Sta-Rite, but should pretty much the same. Takes maybe ten minutes to rinse, the outside is easy, the inside is a bit harder. Even though you vented the air, there’s usually a bit of air left in there. The pump should push it out in a minute or so and you see bubbles...
  25. arvil

    Can someone explain this to me - air bubbles in pump lid solved

    If the bubble is stable and not significantly increasing, no problem as long as the water flow is good. I usually have a bubble in mine. It’s when you start blowing bubbles out the return then there’s a problem on the low pressure side.
  26. arvil

    Is a main pool drain necessary ?

    Makes sense, if an above-ground pool doesn’t have one, why would an in-ground really need one? The only differences are shape, material, and location.
  27. arvil

    Cartridge soak cleanser

    I’ve done that a couple of times based upon an article that appeared here some years ago by former member Chemgeek. This only needs to be done if the pump pressure gets significantly higher no matter how clean it gets with a hose. That indicates stuff in the mesh that won’t come out. Rinse the...
  28. arvil

    CYA is a CURSE!

    It has two power buttons, the left one runs with an LED on if you need light, the right one runs it with the LED off. Each one runs about a minute, then shuts off. Sometimes I have to restart it in the middle of the TA or CH test. Push the power button a second time shuts it off. A set of...
  29. arvil

    Stained Cylinder "Chlorine Only" TF Graduated Cylinder

    The stain is where the magnet smacked the granules into the cylinder wall. Remember, you are adding enough granules to make a saturated solution, not all dissolves. The worst the stain can do is redissolve back into solution, leaving other granules undissolved, the test runs the same.
  30. arvil

    CYA is a CURSE!

    I even use the speedstir to mix the CYA test, fill the squirt bottle as directed, to the bottom of the label with pool water, then to the top with R13, pour the contents into the grad cylinder, drop in the magnet. It ‘s a slow reaction, so mix for a minute ‘til it shuts off, let it rest for a...