A Houston Pool Build Inside the Loop
- Thread starter Marlahoutex
- Start date
The red is what pushed your FC up so high!
I had to so some playing with Pool Math but really think this is what did it.
I would ask the PB if he really wants it that high. BUT with them only doing it one day a week..........that is what most services do........push FC up VERY high so there might be some left over when they come back.
Kim
- - - Updated - - -
The red is because it is SO high.
Kim
You need to decide, with your pool builder, who is going to maintain the pool through start-up. Him or you. Can't be both. That's a recipe for disaster.
She is not maintaining or adding anything. All she did was test the water per our instructions.
I do not think it is wise to blindly trust someone else to keep my $$$$$ investment where it should be without making sure they are doing it correctly. When they tell her they will be treating her water ONLY once a week a red flag went up. This is just what I feared would happen. This water is not safe to swim in due the over high FC
Kim
- - - Updated - - -
Have a sit down with you PB and talk to him about it. Show him your test and ask him why the FC is so high. Ask him about you adding product as needed as shown by your test kit. Get him to sign a paper saying he agrees with you or that he will have someone there more often to safely maintain your pool levels.
Another question. My vs pump, filter and water features have been running pretty much 24/7 since last Friday. I would like to reprogram via the AquaLink so they don't run as much. Any suggestions as to when, i.e. time of day, and how long the pump and filter should run? The water feature will come on when the pump does unless we manually turn them off.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Sunbaby
LifeTime Supporter
- Feb 27, 2015
- 1,397
- Pool Size
- 15000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Jandy Truclear / Ei
I would turn your water features off and only manually turn them on when you are out working on the pool. Since they drive your ph up & you're already dealing with ph from new plaster.
I think I ran mine 24-7 for a month I brushed like crazy and just wanted it to be as filtered as possible. My PB said it wasn't necessary but what can I say m I'm an over achiever.
Then I went to 2x a day to skim (lots of trees) I think I ran 4 hrs each.
I've recently knocked more time off, trying to figure out how much time it really needs to run.
I think I ran mine 24-7 for a month I brushed like crazy and just wanted it to be as filtered as possible. My PB said it wasn't necessary but what can I say m I'm an over achiever.
Then I went to 2x a day to skim (lots of trees) I think I ran 4 hrs each.
I've recently knocked more time off, trying to figure out how much time it really needs to run.
- Jul 16, 2012
- 7,212
- Pool Size
- 27000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Hayward Aqua Rite (T-15)
Kim's thoughts are right on the money. I'd add, why let him to take care of the water unless your PB requires it for warranty purposes (and yes get that in writing). No good can come of it honestly. I was thrilled to take care of my water right away since my PB didn't care. I was armed with was TFP knowledge and a proper test kit, a recipe for success.
I shared the TFP way I printed from the site and my PB will do it for us or let us do it. They're completely comfortable - as long as we keep a good log for warranty purposes.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I shut off the water features this morning but am leaving everything else running. The pH was 8.2 this morning so I am going to test again tomorrow to see if 24 hrs makes a difference.
Marla..... I have so much to congratulate you for!!!!! Aubrey is beautiful! A sweet bundle from Heaven! Seeing her picture gave me chills.
And your pool!!!! Oh my..... a piece of Heaven for sure!!!! I love the Blue Smurf pebble color. It's a wonderful blue! I am thrilled for you on both counts - baby and pool!
You may not need more input on maintaining your pool, but here goes. I can't give technical help with levels outside of the standards on TFP, but I know there is some haggle room with different combinations (that's what I still haven't got a good handle on). That's awesome your PB's service will do it the TFP way and for 2 months! My pool guy more or less handed the reigns over to me pretty quickly when he saw my record keeping chart of chem levels. I don't believe he intended to come out more than once a week, either. He still came out weekly for the first month, but I think just to check my FC levels as a backup. Also, he did insist on using pucks for the first month until we switched over to the SWG system. I guess that was for warranty purposes. Even with pucks, I was still adding lots of bleach to keep FC up - that was the end of July through August, hot and lots of sunshine. Once the SWG system was switched on, I don't believe I added anymore bleach until winter.
Because my pool guy was using pucks, he wanted the pump running 24/7. I think I remember someone on here just removed their pucks as soon as their pool guy left. But this is where I was like a deer in the headlights - I didn't even know where the pucks were added, so I couldn't remove them!! Lol!!!! I know, hard to believe, right? But all those pipes and everything at the equipment pad totally overwhelmed me. Now it all seems pretty easy! And I'm still learning.
My pool guy also set the water features to come on about 10 minutes each day - to keep things moving and avoid algae growth in the basket on the equipment pad (mine gets lots of sun).
As far as your pH level..... I don't believe your pH level will lower just because you shut off the water features; that will just slow down the pH rising. (PLEASE TFP experts correct me if I'm wrong!) For my pool, the pH always wants to rise - I believe due to the new plaster. It's still a challenge to keep the pH where it should be. I've read on TFP that a SWG system raises the pH somewhat. (not affecting you until your SWG is turned on) For sure, running your water features a lot will raise the pH even more. But I think the pH will be rising anyway without the water features running with the new plaster.
Once the puck month was over, I ran my pumps in the daytime. There's a lot of variables in that decision, such as - if your electric plan is cheaper at night, then I might do that; I believe the aeration may help cool the water some if run at night when trying to keep the water cool; I preferred daytime running because I like the pump on when I'm swimming (too many floaties on the water's surface for my liking without water movement). That's all I can think of right now for reasons pro and con when to run pumps.
I was playing with the pump run time quite a bit in the beginning to get the SWG system leveling out the FC. I ended up with a schedule of about 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in later afternoon to early evening. If I wanted to swim when the pump wasn't scheduled, I just turned it on for me. But pretty much, I set the schedule to fit when I liked to swim the most.
A suggestion I got from my pool guy (which may not be necessary, but now it's stuck in my head, so I still do it), is to run my pump at different speeds. I have a 2-speed pump, not your VS, so I can't tell you how it would work on your VS. The first 30 minutes and last 30 minutes of the day the pump is on, I run it on high. My pool guy said that would do a better job filtering debris - start the day and end the day with a good 'sweep' of the pump filtering. If I had more debris, I might add another 30 minute session. With your VS pump, you might have a more in-the-middle speed that meets a good balance of filtering debris and cost efficiency.
Lastly, as far as using pool math.... I really got the hang of it when Kim talked me through it one time by phone. That made it click for me. Again, now it seems so easy, I shake my head at my confusion back then. But at the time, there was just so much to process, that I couldn't do it all at once. Thank goodness for TFP, Kim, Patrick, and everyone else!!! Feel free to call me if you have questions about Pool Math. Send me a PM if you'd like my number. I'll answer what I know, and send you back to TFP on what I don't know!!!
Do you use the PDA AquaLink or use your phone? I use the PDA. If ours are similar, I may be able to help with the programming if you need any.
Congrats - all your vicarious living on TFP more than paid off!!!!!
Suz
One more thing. Do you have a record log you like for recording your chem levels and what you add? If not, I'll be happy to share the one I adapted from 'Flotsam' s log he posted on his thread on TFP 5-3-11.
Take care!
And your pool!!!! Oh my..... a piece of Heaven for sure!!!! I love the Blue Smurf pebble color. It's a wonderful blue! I am thrilled for you on both counts - baby and pool!
You may not need more input on maintaining your pool, but here goes. I can't give technical help with levels outside of the standards on TFP, but I know there is some haggle room with different combinations (that's what I still haven't got a good handle on). That's awesome your PB's service will do it the TFP way and for 2 months! My pool guy more or less handed the reigns over to me pretty quickly when he saw my record keeping chart of chem levels. I don't believe he intended to come out more than once a week, either. He still came out weekly for the first month, but I think just to check my FC levels as a backup. Also, he did insist on using pucks for the first month until we switched over to the SWG system. I guess that was for warranty purposes. Even with pucks, I was still adding lots of bleach to keep FC up - that was the end of July through August, hot and lots of sunshine. Once the SWG system was switched on, I don't believe I added anymore bleach until winter.
Because my pool guy was using pucks, he wanted the pump running 24/7. I think I remember someone on here just removed their pucks as soon as their pool guy left. But this is where I was like a deer in the headlights - I didn't even know where the pucks were added, so I couldn't remove them!! Lol!!!! I know, hard to believe, right? But all those pipes and everything at the equipment pad totally overwhelmed me. Now it all seems pretty easy! And I'm still learning.
My pool guy also set the water features to come on about 10 minutes each day - to keep things moving and avoid algae growth in the basket on the equipment pad (mine gets lots of sun).
As far as your pH level..... I don't believe your pH level will lower just because you shut off the water features; that will just slow down the pH rising. (PLEASE TFP experts correct me if I'm wrong!) For my pool, the pH always wants to rise - I believe due to the new plaster. It's still a challenge to keep the pH where it should be. I've read on TFP that a SWG system raises the pH somewhat. (not affecting you until your SWG is turned on) For sure, running your water features a lot will raise the pH even more. But I think the pH will be rising anyway without the water features running with the new plaster.
Once the puck month was over, I ran my pumps in the daytime. There's a lot of variables in that decision, such as - if your electric plan is cheaper at night, then I might do that; I believe the aeration may help cool the water some if run at night when trying to keep the water cool; I preferred daytime running because I like the pump on when I'm swimming (too many floaties on the water's surface for my liking without water movement). That's all I can think of right now for reasons pro and con when to run pumps.
I was playing with the pump run time quite a bit in the beginning to get the SWG system leveling out the FC. I ended up with a schedule of about 4 hours in the morning and 4 hours in later afternoon to early evening. If I wanted to swim when the pump wasn't scheduled, I just turned it on for me. But pretty much, I set the schedule to fit when I liked to swim the most.
A suggestion I got from my pool guy (which may not be necessary, but now it's stuck in my head, so I still do it), is to run my pump at different speeds. I have a 2-speed pump, not your VS, so I can't tell you how it would work on your VS. The first 30 minutes and last 30 minutes of the day the pump is on, I run it on high. My pool guy said that would do a better job filtering debris - start the day and end the day with a good 'sweep' of the pump filtering. If I had more debris, I might add another 30 minute session. With your VS pump, you might have a more in-the-middle speed that meets a good balance of filtering debris and cost efficiency.
Lastly, as far as using pool math.... I really got the hang of it when Kim talked me through it one time by phone. That made it click for me. Again, now it seems so easy, I shake my head at my confusion back then. But at the time, there was just so much to process, that I couldn't do it all at once. Thank goodness for TFP, Kim, Patrick, and everyone else!!! Feel free to call me if you have questions about Pool Math. Send me a PM if you'd like my number. I'll answer what I know, and send you back to TFP on what I don't know!!!
Do you use the PDA AquaLink or use your phone? I use the PDA. If ours are similar, I may be able to help with the programming if you need any.
Congrats - all your vicarious living on TFP more than paid off!!!!!
Suz
One more thing. Do you have a record log you like for recording your chem levels and what you add? If not, I'll be happy to share the one I adapted from 'Flotsam' s log he posted on his thread on TFP 5-3-11.
Take care!
Hi Suz! Glad you stopped by! Yes, Aubrey is pretty special!
I haven't talked to my PB yet about all of the concerns I have about the pool service. I think you must have misread, but no, the pool service isn't doing it the TFP way. They just come once week and use pucks. I'm at work when he comes, so I haven't talked to anyone, just get an email on what they did. Nothing was said about running the pump 24/7. I guess I was just concerned that our electric bill would be ginormous if i kept it on! I like the idea of running the pump on high for 30 minutes at the beginning and end to get rid of debris. i'll see if i can figure out how to do that. if not i will PM you for help!
Our PB seems to be anxious to have Pool School soon, so I am going to bring up my concerns then about the balancing of chems
Pool Math i think I've got for now, but maybe that's because i haven't had to add chems yet! Might be different when that time comes!
I do have the Aqualink PDA. Can you also set it up on your phone? I have difficulty seeing the PDA screen.
I am keeping a log of all my testing in a small notebook. However, I would love to have what you adapted, especially when it comes time to add chemicals. I'm sure it's much better than what I am doing!
Please come back soon! You have lots of wonderful knowledge to share! Thanks!!
I haven't talked to my PB yet about all of the concerns I have about the pool service. I think you must have misread, but no, the pool service isn't doing it the TFP way. They just come once week and use pucks. I'm at work when he comes, so I haven't talked to anyone, just get an email on what they did. Nothing was said about running the pump 24/7. I guess I was just concerned that our electric bill would be ginormous if i kept it on! I like the idea of running the pump on high for 30 minutes at the beginning and end to get rid of debris. i'll see if i can figure out how to do that. if not i will PM you for help!
Our PB seems to be anxious to have Pool School soon, so I am going to bring up my concerns then about the balancing of chems
Pool Math i think I've got for now, but maybe that's because i haven't had to add chems yet! Might be different when that time comes!
I do have the Aqualink PDA. Can you also set it up on your phone? I have difficulty seeing the PDA screen.
I am keeping a log of all my testing in a small notebook. However, I would love to have what you adapted, especially when it comes time to add chemicals. I'm sure it's much better than what I am doing!
Please come back soon! You have lots of wonderful knowledge to share! Thanks!!
Hope y'all are staying high and dry with all of this rain! And more to come so it seems!
My overflow seems to be working well. And I guess I don't have to worry about my cya being too high! Is there any reason to turn on the pump? Seems to me it should be off.
My overflow seems to be working well. And I guess I don't have to worry about my cya being too high! Is there any reason to turn on the pump? Seems to me it should be off.
I was thinking about everybody on here too. It's really coming down. It made me wonder about the overflow... My street was flooding. Would the overflow contribute to that problem?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
TM, I'm sure it could. Ours drains to the street. But our street doesn't flood, not even when Ike or Allison hit.
It looks like my street has cleared up now so I think there might have been a blockage somewhere that resolved on its own. Usually we don't flood too much and it stays in the streets but my neighborhood and 290 under construction is a different story! It's a mess out there!
#firstworldpoolproblems? Lol
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
#firstworldpoolproblems? Lol
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Stay dry! Cant even imagine that much rain overnight.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Just went out and looked at the pool. Lots of tree stuff in it. Cleaned the skimmers and put in my hair nets. Tried to skim off as much as I could, then turned on the pump. Tried to give the pool a good brush, but it does have a lot of dirt in it. The pool is cloudy but I am hoping with the pump on it will clear up. Since I can't use a robot yet, I am guessing the pool service will have to deal with it. They were supposed to be here today, but Im guessing tomorrow due to all the rain/flooding.
I am betting they are dealing with the emergency due to all of that rain! UNREAL!!
Kim
Kim