Pool newbie seeking advice and with a few questions! :)

[rdb4133]

Hello all! So I'll start with the usual opening line, long time lurker first time poster haha

My wife and I purchased our first house together in July. With this house came our first taste of pool maintenance. The pool was is pretty bad shape when we got here (previous owners did not take care of it). We had to get a new filter, drain, acid wash, valves replaced & timer replaced.

We also got an AutoPilot Digital Nano SWG put in. Unfortuantely we have had some bad luck with pool service companies in our area, the first one that installed the AutoPilot SWG never really showed my wife how to use it, maintain it, etc. With all of the other many projects we were dealing with the house (painting, flooring, etc) the pool was a bit neglected.

A fair amount of leaves get into the pool from our neighbors trees. We seem to have that under control now with the Baracuda G3 with Hayward Leaf Canister and we got a skimmer door which seems to do a pretty good job of cleaning the top. I did go ahead and purchase the PoolSkim that comes highly recommended here and on Amazon but being a rookie at all of this I didn't fully research it and my return outlets are not threaded at all. Now if I'm reading correctly on the PoolSkim website I'll have to purchase another adapter of some sort for another $60?

Now recently we neglected to clean the filter and something went weird with the valves and the pool turned green. We have since shocked the pool and use Leslie's Green to Clean which seems to have cleared it up.

I was reading about the TF100 Test kit and would that be a good idea to purchase or would something like either of the following suffice:
1. Poolmaster 22260 http://amzn.com/B00107039U
2. Kem-Tek 5 Way http://amzn.com/B000FJR0N6
3. Jed Pool Tools Dual Test http://amzn.com/B0038YL4M8

I'm at work now so I don't have full info on my pump and size of my cartridge filter. I will get that info later on

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[jblizzle]

Welcome to TFP!!!

We would not recommend any of those test kits ... they do not test for everything you need.

Either the TF100 or the K2006 are your best bet. You need to be able to test FC, CC, pH, TA, CH and CYA. None of the ones you listed test for CH or CYA ... and CYA is critical to know as that determine how much FC you need. Also, the key to the kits we recommend is the FAS-DPD chlorine test in which you count drops and not trying to match colors. The FAS-DPD is more accurate and also can test up to 50ppm while the link you posted max out a 5ppm.

While the TF100 costs a little more than the K2006, you get significantly more reagent for the tests you actually need more often, so it lasts longer and ends up being a better value.

EDIT: I suggest reading the articles in Pool School (button at upper right of the page) to get an understanding of the pool's chemistry. We would not have recommended the use of Green to Clean as you could have cleared it for less money with bleach. There is also no way to know if you have REALLY cleared the pool without the accurate test kit and following the shock PROCESS as described in Pool School ... it really is the most important tool you will buy for your pool.

 

[rdb4133]

Thanks for the quick advice jblizzle! I will go ahead and purchase the TF100!

Regarding the PoolSkim, since it can't work with my existing return outlets, would it be worth it to get the adapter kits recommended by PoolSkim or just stick with the the door that has been installed on the skimmer and seems to be working ok for now?

EDIT: Just saw your edit and I did go ahead and purchase the TF100 so once I get that in the next few days I will post my results so I can try to prevent the crazy green from happening again!

 

[jblizzle]

The skimmer must have a weir (door) for it to work correctly. I do not know anything about the Poolskim, but I would hold off on buying for parts for it until you determine that you actually need it.

Now that you have a weir, the skimmer may keep the surface clean enough. Are you able to adjust the direction of the return jets to improve circulation toward the skimmer?

 

[rdb4133]

The skimmer must have a weir (door) for it to work correctly. I do not know anything about the Poolskim, but I would hold off on buying for parts for it until you determine that you actually need it.

Now that you have a weir, the skimmer may keep the surface clean enough. Are you able to adjust the direction of the return jets to improve circulation toward the skimmer?

The pool company I had come out previously adjusted the return jets to improve circulation to the skimmer. So it was pretty funny to watch all of those leaves moving over the skimmer finally!

 

[jblizzle]

Now I am curious, if you have jets that you can move ... can you not unscrew the eyeballs to then screw in the PoolSkim? Or do the rings that hold the eyeballs not screw in?

 

[rdb4133]

Now I am curious, if you have jets that you can move ... can you not unscrew the eyeballs to then screw in the PoolSkim? Or do the rings that hold the eyeballs not screw in?

Unfortunately it does not screw in, this pool is on the older side (built in the mid 80's) and it's just a push in.

 

[rdb4133]

Hello all! I updated my signature with my filter & pump info. Also I received the TF100 test kit and here are my results from Saturday:
- CYA: 60
- FC: 11.5
- CC: 0
- TA: 70
- CH: 310
- pH: just looking over my notes I took and I didn't note this down for some reason.

Hopefully the above in will be enough to get me started. As of right now the water looks fairly clean for the most part, maybe just a very slight cloudiness to it but certainly much better than it was a week ago.

Thanks in advance again everyone!

 

[jblizzle]

Check the pH again, as that is pretty important.

Given that you noted cloudiness, and now that you have a good test kit, I would recommend you perform the Overnight FC Loss Test to determine if there is anything living in the pool or if the cloudiness is just due to slow filtration. Keep the pool filtering overnight and make sure the SWG is off.

You FC is quite a bit above the normally recommended levels, but it is also only half of the shock FC level for you CYA ... so kind of a limbo valve. ARe you intending to follow the shock process or did the FC just get a little higher than required?

 

[msgtdan]

You need to wait until FC is below 10 to get an accurate read on PH. PH will read high above 10 FC. As Jblizzle said PH is important so you might let FC drop a little more get a PH reading and then if needed run FC back up.