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Weld-On Pool Heavy saved my butt when I was putting the return manifold together. I put all three pipes in at the same time. Nerve-wracking but doable!

I’m just doing it because that’s what all the pumps and filters take these days. I’ll let you know if I see any difference in the flow rate!

They're starting to leak so they definitely need to be replaced. I'm replumbing the whole thing in sections, upgrading to 2" pipe.

It's time to replace the ball valves with nice Jandy valves. On the returns, you can see in the photo I just used two-way valves on each of the 3 return lines. But on the suction side, I know it's popular to use Jandy 3-way valves to divert flow from the drain to a skimmer, etc. But the...

Green Olympic Pools EXPLAINED - YouTube Another idea on the green color. Copper algaecide + CYA + hyperchlorination = green. Thoughts?

The easiest way to test is in your pool! Enter 8.25% in poolmath with your current and desired FC level. Say you add enough bleach to theoretically go from 2 to 5 ppm FC. After the addition has been allowed to mix, retest the FC and see how close it got. If it's at 5 ppm, the bleach is right on...

I'm sure most of you know this already but many have reported dates approaching 6 months old for some of these 4x1gal cases of 12%. Check the Julian date or subtract 1 year from the best-by date. 6 months will be about one half-life at 75 degrees. This effectively doubles the price.

For those in the north Twin Cities metro, I just discovered "The Swimmin Hole" in Fridley that sells 13-15% manufactured on a weekly basis for $3.60/gal with a deposit for either 2.5 or 5 gallon carboys.

I use cal hypo when I have a new partial refill and need to raise my CH at the same time. You have to make sure to brush the undissolved solid on the bottom of the pool until it dissolves fully or it can cause damage. Once it's dissolved, and with the pump circulating, there should be no...

Even for those gifted with exceptional color perception, those test strips are still worthless. My entire family agreed that the test strips showed our CYA was between 30-50. When the test kit came, imagine our surprise when our actual CYA was over 200! Get some accurate test results and the...

If the walls even feel slick with algae you are mere hours away from a full blown algae bloom. Continue SLAMing and brushing until you pass the OCLT.

You will very quickly get very good at pouring just slowly enough so you get a steady constant stream that doesn't "glug" from the bottle or splash out of the pool.

Re: Getting "keys to the pool" next week Definitely whatever information you can get about the age of each of the components and the company that did the work will be helpful. We'll be able to tell immediately from your first valid test results how the water upkeep was. I just had a...

This thread has some discussion about tips for using a vacuum plate: Dumb question about using a vacuum plate I do it a little differently, it's much more simple and should work fine for IG pools: Attach one end of the hose to the vacuum plate, the other end to the vacuum head itself. If the...

Your CH is fine, by the way.

Most people use a vacuum plate that fits on top of the skimmer basket. The vacuum hose plugs into this - it can just stay on the end of the vacuum. Your water level has to be high enough that it covers the vacuum plate while it's in use. Amazon.com: Hayward SP1106 Large Skim Vac Plate with...

Right - wait a few weeks to get an idea of how your pH drifts over time, and adjust TA as appropriate to counteract the drift. There's no need to adjust TA just to get the number right. I've found, especially since I use a solar cover that's on almost all the time, having a slightly higher TA...

Get some FC in there. I don't think there's need to shock if the water is still clear. I'd say 2-3 ppm each evening as it will burn off in the sunlight without CYA. Next is pH - those values look about right but do the washing soda (sodium carbonate) first as it will also raise TA some. Retest...

I can taste it at 2000 ppm but it doesn't really taste "salty," just a little off. I actually appreciate it as it's more of a deterrent for getting too much pool water in your mouth! And the slight taste was far outweighed by the improved skin feel and decreased eye irritation.

There are extreme dilutions you can do to be able to use the FAS-DPD test, but honestly the easiest way is to see how close it gets you to the poolmath predicted result.

Keep in mind that bleach decomposition rates can be predicted: Breakdown of bleach over time by storage temperature - Page 2

By the way, I'd also like to give a HUGE shout out to Jesse's Graphical Pool Testing Log which has been huge in getting everything under control for me. How gratifying is this??? :D

Here in the midwest Menards once again has very fresh 12.5% on sale for $2.50/gal. This matches Fleet Farm, but theirs is older based on the package dates I saw.

Would it be indelicate to require all spa occupants to shower before entering?

Now to work on a signature - I've actually never taken the time to inventory the exact model names of everything. It should be a good exercise.

As a chemist (physical organic chemistry, undergrad teaching professor), and a new pool owner, I can't begin to describe how beneficial this forum is as a resource for getting the pool chemistry right. I only wish I had found it earlier! I've now spent more time correcting my own mistakes than...