Standard Lurker, with a problem or two

[stupidsmee]

Hey folks,

Yall helped me out about a year ago and everything was going fine....until

Two issues, but one is "easy". The pool light must have broke and caused some bonding issues (AKA shocking my daughters when getting out of the pool). So I plan to change out the light and check the housing etc etc. It was even causing grounding issues in our bathrooms. Shocking my wife. Oddly enough, i never got shocked. We narrowed it down to to the pool light.

The second one, we finally have some chlorine/alge issues. We're in the SE USA and dealing with 100 degree weather basically. I'm trying to SLAM. Added the calculated amount of bleach and had about 1.5 or so FC yesterday after adding about 500-600 oz of bleach. I checked this morning it is probably .5, barely pink. one drop back to clear. So, I assume something is "eating" all the chlorine. So I should brush, backwash/rinse, and add 5 gallons to get to slam target. Do I keep adding bleach? or do I need to check CYA first? I got clorox bleach from walmart, i assume it was "good". I have access to some 10% jugs but still havent found a perfect place to buy. all bleach does not seem to be equal in potency.

Any advice.....or reassurance would be helpful!

This forum is awesome. I always lurk and try to learn!

thanks!

 

[AK-]

Check CYA first. You can’t really SLAM without knowing your CYA. If you assume a CYA way above your actual CYA you can bleach your liner. If you assume one way below your actual level then you will be wasting chlorine without effectively killing whatever is lurking on your water.

Once you know your CYA start the SLAM Process. Make sure you test and add chlorine as needed as often as possible until your chlorine starts to somewhat hold.

 

[HermanTX]

With regard to the algae, you did not provide your CYA value. The higher the CYA, the higher the FC needs to be higher. Please refer to the FC/CYA Levels. Refer to the SLAM values which are 40% of your CYA value. So a CYA of 60 requires you to maintain your FC at 24ppm for the duration of the slam.

You need to purchase bleach (Liquid Chlorine) with 10%. You can purchase it at Walmart in the pool supply section. Buying household bleach at 6% will cause you to purchase many more gallons. You need a higher strength bleach to make it somewhat easier task with a SLAM. Once you get your FC to Slam level - you need to test every 3-4 hours and add liquid chlorine to keep at that level. We need to know your CYA level to determine Slam level.

 

[CTFocusST]

If you get clorox make sure it doesn't say Cloromax Technology on the packaging

 

[stupidsmee]

Thanks. I’ll double check CYA and look for 10%.

So my light issue seems a little bigger . Looks like I’ll need to replace the whole thing.

 

[reggiehammond]

Thanks. I’ll double check CYA and look for 10%.

So my light issue seems a little bigger . Looks like I’ll need to replace the whole thing.
View attachment 425947View attachment 425948View attachment 425949View attachment 425950

I had a great experience with TFP recommended Florida Sunseeker PoolTone® Color LED Pool & Spa Lights and Bulbs

I sent them pics, told them I knew nothing, and they took care of the rest.

 

[stupidsmee]

I had a great experience with TFP recommended Florida Sunseeker PoolTone® Color LED Pool & Spa Lights and Bulbs

I sent them pics, told them I knew nothing, and they took care of the rest.

Sounds good to me. I'll connect them right now.

 

[stupidsmee]

Sorry for the delay. I tested my CYA, as suggested, and it was low. less than 20. So i've been trying to raise it slowly. Should I not add chlorine, (SLAM) until the CYA is to level? Might take a few days for me to get the CYA up.

 

[duraleigh]

The SLAM is most easily performed at a CYA level around 30 or so. I would suggest adding enough CYA to get the total close to 30 and then you can start immediately with the SLAM, You don't have to wait for the CYA to register, simply calculate your dosage carefully, put it in the pool and start the SLAM

 

[Poolbreh]

Make sure the light is on a gfci circuit, any ground interference should have tripped it.

 

[stupidsmee]

Make sure the light is on a gfci circuit, any ground interference should have tripped it.

Thanks. An electrician is coming back today to double-check. Its 120v And im trying to track it to the transformer and J-box. But man. Dealing with an older house/pool and a lot of DIY wiring. I doubt its on GFCI.

There’s a disconnect box connected to the house. Not sure where that goes to.
The timer is by the pump, by the shed. Nothing else over there.
Then there’s this box. Which I assume is connected to the light. Being so close to it.

The switch for the pool light is in the house.

So. We just need to narrow everything down.

 

[Poolbreh]

It’s possible it’s pulled directly to the house with the deck junction box being the only junction. I would not reuse the deck junction, if there isn’t any other junction I would find the conduit under ground and bring it up a foot above water and pull directly to it. You can place a gfci at the new junction. Good idea on getting an electrician, deaths have occurred from faulty pool light wiring.

 

[stupidsmee]

It’s possible it’s pulled directly to the house with the deck junction box being the only junction. I would not reuse the deck junction, if there isn’t any other junction I would find the conduit under ground and bring it up a foot above water and pull directly to it. You can place a gfci at the new junction. Good idea on getting an electrician, deaths have occurred from faulty pool light wiring.

Looks like I didn't hit send on my reply. The electrician came and looks like we're going straight to the house from that box.

We jumped in and tried to remove the old fixture/wiring, but man it's in there good. Going to try to get it out this weekend after I have time to try and remove some more of the epoxy. Apparently, it can get on the wire and make it hard to pull. I get a little bit of give, but not much. Hoping to not have to break any concrete.

 

[stupidsmee]

Just an update for future readers. I found the issue this morning. Looks like we had two elbows in opposite directions. Likely for water flow. Cord easy to pull after moving them.

Plan to move things around a bit and GFCI etc to make it safer.

 

[stupidsmee]

All good to go. Went with the Pooltone Standard 16 Color LED light (120v, 35w) and everything looks awesome.

The only "small" issue that I need to find a fix for is that the light is smaller than the old light, so there is a bit of a gap in the housing. I'll get some caulking/underwater epoxy to remedy.

Other than that, CYA, Chorine, PH, and everything are stabilized for now. Hopefully, the next big project will be scheduled (SWG). Maybe next season.