New Pool Owner in Mesa, AZ

Jump to latest Follow Reply
rustyandbonnie said:
We do have an underwater light which was broken when we got the pool and you can see water in it.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry I misunderstood what you meant in the comment above. I was under the impression it was the cover of the light that was broken allowing the water in. DUH lol Go me!!!

If the light is allowing water in, and possibly allowing algae out then it stands to reason there has to be an opening around it somewhere, right? Perhaps if he pours the bleach directly over the light area a few times enough will work it's way inside to do some good until you can get it replaced? LOL that's just a thought, and I'm not sure it will even work, but I'm a biggy on hey, but it could be worth a try.

Any new grandbaby yet? Have a wonderful day. :)
 
I doubt that the water inside the light would cause much issue. The glass lens has a single gasket that goes around it (a cross section of that gasket looks like the letter "U" and the lens sits inside that U). The gasket is then compressed between the housing (which holds the light bulb) and the bezel - this creates the water tight seal. For one reason or another, the gasket can become compromised and a tiny bit of water can leak in. This type of leak is usually only a pinhole sized one. Most important is to keep the space between the niche and the entire housing clean and free of gunk.

If only the light bulb and gasket needs to be replaced, $400 seems excessive. You may wamt to seek out other bids - or attempt to do it yourself. Your biggest issue is in getting the screw out in one piece. Ask Rusty if the screw sticks out or is flush with the bezel. If it sticks out, a small pair of vise grips may be able to grab enough of the head to unscrew it. Just don't use too much force as you don't want to snap the screw.
 
Hello Bonnie,

How's the Grandbaby process coming along? Any baby yet?

I agree with Proavia that $400 seems steep to have it fixed.

Your statement of "A black leaf and a bunch of black gunk came out" during the hosing down, with no visible holes, splits etc. makes me question where did it come from? Was the "black leaf and gunk", merely around the light fixture, or did it actually come out from inside the light itself-which after reading Proavia comment on how it's set up in, and around there is probably not likely.
The light installation, and the way they are set up is out of my area of expertise, (my pool has No light at all), but it sounds like Proavia has a good handle/understanding on how all that is set up in there.

I did just want to mention though that I have known of cases where the person was having a problem resolving an algae bloom, then after investigating their lights, and discovering algae inside, once the algae was cleaned out they were then quickly able to resolve their algae issue soon after. (But the best I can recall, those were all in one way or another somehow open to the water with broken, cracked lens, etc. It may have just been a coincidence, and the algae issue may have been resolved at that time regardless, but it certainly not something to rule out if we continue to not have any luck on getting this algae issue resolved.

Rusty has also though had a couple of episodes within the past week, or so, of locating another hiding area of algae dust during his brushing of the pool too, so it could also be possible that the problem still remains because there is more algae still lurking, and hiding out down below too?

It's definitely a tough call, trying to determine where the true algae culprit is. (Although we know it is somewhere in your pool that still doesn't help a lot at all in pinpointing the remaining algae), but removing the light should be done as soon as you can get it out to see what's behind it.

I can, however, say that we All have the same end goal in mind, and that is to find it, and get it the heck out of there, so your FC levels will stop dropping like they have been. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that that happens soon because you all have been working so hard, and doing such an awesome job on it. It's time you all be rewarded for all your hard work.

Keep up the great job, and Have a wonderful day :)
 
Wow, that light must be at least some of the problem. 4 hours later and we went down 8.5 to FC 17. That's after spraying around the light and getting all that black gunk out of there.

We just put a gallon of chlorine in to boost it back up to 25.5.

The guy that gave us the quote for the light said it's a sealed unit and therefore the whole things needs to be replaced. We are also going to ask someone else for a quote.

No baby yet.
 
The large drop was probably the algae attacking all the stuff that came out, but Wow, I definitely didn't expect to see that large of a drop for sure. A bunch of it must have came out for it to have dropped that much. Well hopefully it will help. Getting anything out of there is better than it remaining in there so we will see how the numbers do. You may also see an increase in your CC level too?
 
My light housing looks like this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Hig3-zInL._SY300_.jpg

And the niche is similar to this:
http://www.howibuiltmyownpool.com/images/electrical-light-grounding1-large.JPG

The black cord (which encases the light wires) runs through a small hole at the rear of the niche, thats connected to a copper tube, and continues to the equipment pad. I can replace just the bulb (always installing a new gasket) - but others may be totally sealed and the entire unit and wiring may need to be replaced. If that's the case, the parts will cost more and its more labor intense too.

Only reason I'm mentioning it is the pics may help you compare to yours.

The gunk folks find in there is usually between the housing and the niche - not behind the sealed area. Even without me getting an algae bloom, I always pop my light housing out at least once a year. I'm amazed at the dirt and sometimes leaves that I've found in there. And, as CJ referenced, many have been able to get through their SLAM by cleaning that area out.
 
I'm confused. When we did the last test 4 1/2 hours ago our FC was 17. Pool Math calculator said to add one gallon of 10% chlorine to bring it up to 25.5 which is exactly what we added. Our current FC 28.5. I know the pool doesn't make its own chlorine...lol. This is like the 3rd time during the SLAM that this has happened. I just checked pool math again and came up with the same results for how much to add last time for 25.5.

I looked at the light photos. Yes, when he sprayed around tge light
 
Oh, and if you see a sizable overnight drop in the morning, have Rusty rinse really good around the light area again. Use a bit of water pressure, it won't hurt anything - especially since your light is INOP already. As always, be safe and shut the breaker for the light off first.
 
Sorry that sent before I finished typing. When he sprayed around the light, black dust, dirt and black flakes came out like in the photos. He is going to brush down the pool again in the morning and spray around the light again to see if we can get anything else out of hiding.

Still waiting for the baby to be born. It's been a long day.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Even though it said 10%, it might have been a little stronger. I get 12.5% at Corson's in Gilbert, AZ and sometimes I've noticed it's a little stronger too. I wouldn't worry too much about it. And, since you tested again after adding, you're good to go.

When you test in the AM, test for CC also and post that number along with your FC reading. That may help us to better assist you going forward.
 
Waiting is the worst - and tiring too. Go get some much deserved rest and let us know of any developments (baby and/or pool) in the morning.

:sleep::sleep::sleep::testkit:
 
Your AM plans sound good Bonnie. LOL on the chlorine making more again. I told you before if you can figure out how your pool is making its own chlorine to please be sure to let the rest of us in on the secret, so we don't have to buy it anymore. Best of luck on the baby being born tonight, I'm sure momma is really worn out. You guys have a great night :)

Proavia you have a great night too, and thanks for your assistance. :)
 
8 am FC 22, down 6.5 overnight, bumped back up to 26
12 pm FC 23, down 3 in 4 hours
12 pm CC .5

Rusty sprayed the light fixture after the first reading. Very little came out. He then vacuumed the pool.

Our grandson was born at 11:57 pm central time last night. He and his Mom are doing great!
 
Congrats on the new arrival. How precious.

Hopefully the spraying will allow him to get the majority of all the crude out of there in order to prevent the high FC drops, and allow you guys to pass OCLT. Since you all can see so much in there getting that screw out, and cleaning behind it, even if you don't get the light fixed right now, will probably help prevent a constant recurring problem even if you do pass OCLT.

In that thread I linked to you yesterday once they were able to get into their light space they scrubbed it down (a toothbrush works well in small spaces for that purpose), and they also used a turkey baster, took diluted bleach water, and squirted it all around in the nooks, and crannies of the light fixture to try to kill out anything the scrubbing missed.

I hope this helps. Congrats again on the baby, I know you have to be so excited. Have a wonderful day :)
 
Congrats on your new grandson!

Well, obviously there's still something in the water. Maybe rinse out the light again and try to get the screw out so you can clean behind it better. If no more gunk flushed out with water and you still can't remove the screw, you may want to try CJ's idea of bleach in a turkey baster. Ideally, get the screw out, but use the baster as your second option - it will help kill at least some of the algae that doesn't flush out.

When is the last time you backwashed the filter? If it's been a couple days, backwash it until the discharge water is clear. How is the pool looking today? Did Rusty pick up a lot of dirt, etc. when he vacuumed?

You're real close, hang in there!
 
9:20 pm FC 25, down 1 in the last 5 hours.

He last back washed it a few days ago. When he vacuumed he only saw it pick up a few leaves. We don't really think our vacuum does much of anything. He did say it was ducking hard this time. When he brushes he sees a little swirl of dust but not much of anything.

The pool has been crystal clear the entire time we've been doing the SLAM. This pool has just been eating chlorine like crazy since 2 months after we moved here, so since May. We'd put chlorine in it before we went to bed and in the morning it would be completely gone according to the basic chlorine test. We only tested it on the morning and at night back then. Leslie pool did say that citrus trees could have a big effect on the pool and chlorine. Our lemon tree is back in the corner behind the palm trees and our grapefruit tree is way across the yard from the pool so we don't think it's a factor. They also kept blaming our phosphate levels for our problems.

We need to buy more of the R0870 drops before our 2nd bottle runs out. We've used 1 1/2 bottles since we started. Any suggestions on cheapest place to get them?

- - - Updated - - -

R0871...I hit the wrong number
 
http://tftestkits.net/R-0871-2-0z-FAS-DPD-Reagent-p53.html

This is TFP's site owner's store in the link above, and it is about as cheap as anywhere else plus I know their reagents are good/not old, they ship really quickly too, plus buying from them helps support the site too. The link above is for a 2oz bottle the bottle won't fit In your kit, but you can use it to refill your empty smaller bottle.

or

if you prefer the smaller 1 oz size here it is too: http://tftestkits.net/R-0871-1-oz-FAS-DPD-Reagent-p45.html

The numbers actually appear to be holding better, so hopefully he was able to spray it all out of there, and the chlorine during those last drastic FC drops has gotten it all gone now.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they hold tomorrow so maybe you can Pass OCLT tomorrow night, but we will see. :)

Have a wonderful night :)
 
Thanks for the links for the R0871. I was looking all over this website for that link and couldn't find it. We went ahead and placed an order so we don't run out.

It seems like every day we have a couple of good tests where the FC holds and then, just when we start to feel good about our numbers, it all of a sudden drops a lot (like 5 6 or 7 points) all at once. We're hooing, and keeping our fingers crossed, that the numbers hold soon.

Rusty plans to brush out the pool again in the morning. We will post our numbers again tomorrow.

Have a good night!
 
That is kind of strange that the FC loss is bouncing around like that.

Just because I am too lazy to read through over 100 posts - please confirm that the filter pump has been running 24/7 and that the water samples have been taken from the approximate same location in the pool and from a depth of at least 12-18 inches down.

What is your clean filter pressure and what is it now? If it has increased about 25%, its time to backwash again.

If Rusty wants to hop in again, have him attempt to loosen the pool light screw again by inserting the screwdriver into the screwhead and tap lightly on the end of the screwdriver with a hammer while turning the screwdriver counter-clockwise. The extra impact of the hammer may just allow the screw to be removed.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply