Bought a foreclosure with as saltwater pool.....HELP!

[TunaJoe]

Hi everyone

I just closed on a foreclosed house and it has a relatively new pool (2008) with all Jandy equipment

I know nothing about pools, let alone salt water pools.
My questions are as follows:
How do I know the equipment is working ok? Water fall, pumps, jacuzzi, lights all appear to be working. however, the Jandy PDA doesnt seem to "talk" to the antennae portion. The PDA is all I have to program the pool as it isn't hardwired.
How do I know the salt maker is working?
I called Jandy and thry said it's probably the antenna, yet the pool guy said they told him the opposite... it's probably the remote. Anyway to confirm which one isn't working correctly?
I've tried to change all the channels on the remote, yet can't get it to "talk".
I wish I could get the Jandy rep to come by and test all the equipment. Heck, the corporate headquarters are less than 30 miles away.

The pool guy says that I may have black algae. He wasn't sure though. I looked up some images on google and my algae dosn't look like the stuff I looked up. Is there a test for black algae?
BTW, I have pebbletek.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank!

 

[zea3]

Hi! Welcome to TFP!
Black algae will look like black spots on the surface of the pool. Scrape some off with a fingernail and smear it across the back of a white business card. If it leaves a deep green smear it is black algae. You get rid of black algae by completing the shock process as described in the articles defeating algae and
how to shock your pool, and brushing the spots.

You can post some pictures here and we can help you identify the algae if you want, however the one thing that kills any type of algae is chlorine maintained at shock level for your pool.

Read through Pool School for information on maintaining your pool. Also I highly recommend that you purchase a high quality test kit, such as a Taylor k2006 or the TF 100. When you do your own testing you will get more consistent results and you will have the results necessary to dose the pool correctly and complete the shock process. Test strips will not give you adequate information to complete the shock process.

I'm sorry I can't help you with the Jandy issues. Just make sure the parts are returnable if you replace one or the other.

 

[duraleigh]

TJ,

Welcome to the forum :lol: Go to a pool store and get your water tested and post the results here. It is not nearly as good as doing your own testing but it's a good start until you can decide to get a GOOD kit.

Prioritize your issues. Getting chlorine in the pool would be my first priority. The test results will tell you if it's in there.

I can't help with the programming but if you can make your pump run, you can get the pool cleared up. I would work on cleaning the pool and then work on the Jandy issue.

 

[TunaJoe]

thanks guys.
The pool guy has been a couple of times over the last few days and the pool is looking much better. Although the one small area on the shadowy side of the pool is still stained from algae. And I have no idea what the chemistry of the pool is.
Looks like i'm going to be picking up one of those nice kits......

I'll try and take a few pitures of the pool next time over.

 

[Richard320]

thanks guys.
The pool guy has been a couple of times over the last few days and the pool is looking much better. Although the one small area on the shadowy side of the pool is still stained from algae. And I have no idea what the chemistry of the pool is.
Looks like i'm going to be picking up one of those nice kits......

I'll try and take a few pitures of the pool next time over.

Spring for the XL option and the speedstir when you order a kit. You'll be burning through reagents at an amazing rate when you first start playing with your new toy; that way you'll save on shipping by not ordering refills right away!

You probably will be wanting the salt test too.

And no, I don't get a commission.