I live just below the high point on a mountain. We have an incredible amount of ground water and run off. The fiberglass pool is in the ground and we have a dewatering system but haven’t put the French drains in yet that will go around the pool area. Even with all the drains I’m worried about the groundwater popping the pool. Should I pump the water out of the dewatering pipe on a regular basis? Right now it’s got about 8 inches of water in it. Pool builder says as long as we keep the pool filled we will have no problem and the. I googled fiberglass pools popping.

Hi everyone. I’ve never posted before. I have a 10,400 g fiberglass pool, pikes pump, 24” pikes sand filter

I hate to be a “Karen”, but the new PoolMath update is driving me nuts and wanted to give you all some (unsolicited) feedback lol. First, I cannot tell you how many things I’ve deleted by accident due to the “Delete Log” button when I click on an existing entry to update and/or correct something. WHYYYYY?! It was already easy to delete a log entry. Example:

This was when I realized (23 hours later lol!) that I put the wrong temperature. I accidentally put 83 when I meant to put 73. I almost deleted the entire test log bc I’m not used to the big ole DELETE button being there. Yes, I need to pay attention and I’ll get used to it, but it’s still buggin me lol!

SECOND…..why why why did you take away how many gallons of each chemical when you go to the “Summary” section?! You already had it where it showed the ppm +/- total, which was cool. But it’s also nice to know how many gallons of Liquid Chlorine (or whatever) that I have used. I clicked on the little circle with the plus sign to see if it would appear there, but it didn’t. This would be a nice feature to add. Example:




I really hate to sound petty, but I do pay for the app yearly so I just wanted to give you guys my opinion on the update and whether or not there are still some things that are being worked on? Or do I need to just get over it? lol! Thank you TFP for all that you do! I really hope my constructive criticism isn’t offensive. I know you all work very hard and it’s so appreciated! Thank you for reading my little rant lol

For background, last fall after some heavy rains our heater controls stopped working properly. I ended up replacing the motherboard and I was able to control almost everything. I just wasn't able to get the heater to switch between pool and spa without doing it manually on the heater. But we were ready to be done with the pool for the year so I just left it alone. Now we're ready to reopen the pool for the summer and I'm hoping to fix whatever the issue is.

Here's what I'm running into:

The Intellitouch panel and Screenlogic app are able to turn the heater on and off and set the temperature without issue. However, when I need to switch from the pool to the spa (or vice versa) that is where the problem arises. Say I'm heating the pool and I want to start heating the spa. I can turn off the heater, turn off the filter, and and switch the valve from pool to spa. I can then turn the filter back on, and turn the heater back on. So far so good. However, when the heater comes back on it is still in pool mode not spa mode. The only way I can get it to switch is to hit the pool/spa button on the heater. Again, this happens both ways (pool to spa and spa to pool) and also happens if I switch the Intellitouch to Service mode and try to do everything manually on the panel. Somehow the panel is not telling the the new motherboard to switch modes. With the old motherboard it would automatically switch modes when the valve switched.

I'm hoping someone here has seen this before and can help. Attaching pics of the heater controls and the Intellitouch panel in case they're helpful.

Thank you!

Looking for some advice on correcting the issues of Calcium build up and the inability to lower the PH. We have moved into a house approximately 18 months ago and have been battling with issues of a calcium problem (assumed) and a constant high PH level.
In summary:
Pool is in Queensland, Australia

1. 45,000 litre saltwater pebblecrete pool
2. Yellowing of the surface in patches and around the waterline, which I assume is calcium buildup
3. Constant high PH (8.2 - 8.4) despite adding at least 5 litres of acid (over a 4-5 month period)
4. Acid demand 2 drops (equates to need to add approx 400 ml acid??)
5. Salt water chlorinator cell has been cleaned but CL level remains around 1.2 - 1.5
6. Salt concentration is around 6000 ppm which is the specified level for the brand of chlorinator

My assumption is that the pool was not properly looked after for a long period, hence the calcium issue.
Also, my thoughts are that the high calcium level may be neutralizing the acid, which is probably why I am having trouble dropping the PH level.
I did read somewhere that a possible cure with the calcium build up would be to drop the PH level to 6.8 for a period to get rid of the calcium issue, and as we are going into winter, this is a possibility.
So, I am looking for the advice from the experts on this forum - suggestions/advice please?

Sorry this is so long. I have some issues I’m dealing with on my fiberglass pool that is not quite finished but running. I’ll start from the beginning.

After running the pump for awhile the first time, after the pump was shut off I noticed water seeping up from under the pool and water level in my spa drained down to the return jets. My installer thought it could be because he forgot to plug one of the outlets on the skimmer since only one is needed. More on this later.

Also my plumbing had a single 3 HP pump pushing water to the spa and the pool at the same time. The return jets in the spa had enough water flow to fill up and run over the spillway but you could barely feel any flow coming out of one jet and seemed no flow at all in the other 3. So my installer changed the plumbing up separating the spa from the pool and putting a valve that allows me to switch from spa to pool. That made the pressure better but still not like it should be.

we started filling the pool back up, and while he was there had the water going into the spa only, while pump is on. After awhile when the pool level was back to normal I went out switched to the pool to get circulation going. After a bit, water began seeping out from under again. This leads me to believe one of the returns going to the pool has a leak when under pressure. Probably because when the guy came to clean my pool the first time it was after a lot of rain, and his plan was to drain the water to clean. Before he could get it drained completely, a bulge began to form in the shallow end from rain water under the pool. I believe this bulge caused a damaged pipe at a return jet above where the bulge is. (Probably not a good idea to drain the pool but there was a lot of rocks in the pool from when they backfilled)

So I have two problems. One is a possible damaged line that is leaking only when pressure is on the line. The pool level does not lower any that I can tell when the pump is not pushing water through the pool.

I don’t know why I don’t have the pressure I think I should for the spa jets. But now that the spa plumbing is separate from the pool plumbing except for the skimmer line that runs to the pump, I can only assume today that when my spa was drained down, it backed up in reverse after the pump was off and pushed water up through the skimmer. I assume this because the pool level is way higher with the spa drained. I do not believe he installed any type of check valve to stop the water from draining back into the pool. But since the plumbing is separate on the return line side, I know the water isn’t backing up through there. Can it back all the way back through the pump up through the skimmer?

Would a check valve increase the spa pressure? I am used to the water in the pump being all the way up to the clear lid but with this setup even on the quick clean mode it doesn’t get up there which makes me think there is a pressure issue.

Long time reader, love the TFP methodology, forum and helpful regulars! My new tiled infinity edge pool is awesome so far. SWG keeps chlorine between 1 and 2. PH loves 8.0 or more, so working on that. Got TA to 60, but adding 35 pounds of Calcium Chloride yesterday knocked it back to 50. CH should be 200 now though, based on Pool Math. PH is still 7.5 this morning, so CH must be helping stabilize it!

Ready to add Boric Acid today, but should I bring TA up before or after? Should I lower PH more before the boric acid? I’m a little nervous dumpimg 15 pounds of anything into my shiny new pool!

Side note: Any chance of getting a TF-100 Salt shipped to Thailand?

Thanks in advance and happy pool season!

Hi everyone. I’ve never posted before. I have a 10,400 g fiberglass pool, pentair pump, 24” Hayward Pro sand filter [7 years old], Pentair heater, Hayward PS8 controller for SWG with T-15 turbo cell. For past 7 years have had crystal clear water within weeks of opening using TFP SLAM method and values during pool season. However, will also throw in that in the past 7 years have gone through 3 solar covers and the little blue dots I’m sure got into the sand filter. Not sure if they backwash out, but kinda assumed they did...

After pool was closed down last season, we took off cover while bricks were being re-sealed. The brick guys used polymeric sand and a top sealer applied with a sprayer, getting into the pool. I removed as much of the chemical sealer that polymerized on top the water as I could, then put cover back on and let winter go by. Enter 2024

I opened early [4/1/24] and the water was deep forest green but no chemical residue on top. Before turning on the equipment, mega-shocked for weeks with brushing until the bottom was visible [no equipment running], vacuumed the bottom to waste, then turned on filter. Despite SLAM’ing to CC <0.5 with CYA 60, salt 3000, pH 7.5 and taking Chlorine to 18. Pool wouldn’t clear.

After 2 weeks we replaced 1/2 of water, [water was clear with the replacement] brought salt up to 3000 and CYA up to 60 again, pH 7.4, and SLAMMED again. Filter has been running for another 3 weeks and the water is very cloudy, but pool blue. Can’t see bottom.

Questions:

1. Could the chemicals or even the cover circles have destroyed the filter?
2. Replace sand or entire sand filter?
3. What about going to DE if sand is shot?
4. Any other thoughts would be much appreciated.

Im new to the group and this is my first post. We are in the process of opening and cleaning out our 22 ft above ground round pool. We did not cover it over the winter so it is a swamp right now. We cleaned all the leaves off the bottom and filled the pool the rest of the way up. I went to our local pool store and they told me to floc it first to get everything to settle to the bottom before shocking it. They had me put an entire bottle of bioguard power floc in it and I have done that but it’s been over 52 hours and nothing has settled. Not sure what to do now. In the past we have always shocked first and then used floc. We just bought a new sand filter and pump and I’m hoping we don’t ruin it with all the floc. Looking for some help?

I was quoted $750 for a new pool timer with freeze protection; part and labor included. That seems a little excessive, no?

First off, I want to say this site has been a godsend. I've been using what I've learned here for the last 5 years, and my pool has been perfect with minimal effort and expenses. (I've only had to step foot in a pool store once to buy a fitting for my pump.)

Last summer, I developed a mustard algae problem. I followed the procedure listed on TFP. I completed the SLAM process, then raised FC to Mustard shock level for 24 hours. In my case, FC was raised to 35 ppm (CYA=60), and I scrubbed everything very thoroughly again (including behind the light niche). It took almost 2 weeks for the FC levels to drop back down to normal. During that time, I still brushed the pool 3 times a week and kept my pump & sand filter running non-stop.

I thought the mustard algae problem was behind me, but about 3 days later, it came back. So, I SLAM'd again and raised FC to Mustard levels again (35 ppm), but this time, I kept them there for 48 hours. Again, it took 2 weeks for FC to drop down to normal levels. The algae appeared to be gone by the time I winterized the pool last fall.

The big downside to the extra high FC levels is that my pool liner color has been bleached to a much lighter color below the waterline from the high FC levels.

In March, I opened my pool and the mustard algae has returned. I once again SLAM'd and raised FC to Mustard shock level (with lots of scrubbing), and again after a few weeks, the issue returned.

I had a pool guy come to replace my pump, and he mentioned a product that he said works great on killing mustard algae. I made the mistake of trusting him and using it. I knew better and should have looked at the ingredients and not trusted him. It was "ProTeam Mustard & Black Magic," and of course, it has Sodium Bromide as the main ingredient. I added 2 lbs to my 30,000-gallon pool.

The mustard algae appeared to be resolved for 48 hours, but now it's back again.

I'm VERY aware of my mistake in adding that to the pool, and I know that total water replacement is the only real solution. However, it is a very big undertaking to drain and refill my 30,000-gallon liner pool because of the liner.

I'm now wondering if I could drain it 18 inches or so, refill, and repeat multiple times to lower the Bromide levels. But even then, I'm not sure how to kill this darn mustard algae.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

I lost my Intellicenter control board at some point around May 1. Apparently, that let the chlorine drop below minimums for a bit, and I ended up in a SLAM due to a failed OCLT. It's been going since May 3. My tests are all over the place, and I guess I'm just looking for some assurance that I should stick with it and I'm not doing anything wrong. I brushed everything super well, even to taking the lights out of the niche and scrubbing the niches, and have been running the robot several times per day. I scrubbed the skimmer doors and interiors with a brush, and then commenced the SLAM. My logs are linked here - you can see that chlorine usage slows, and then spikes.... Just about the time I think I may be getting there, it spikes back. The CCs in particular are all over the place. Would you guys mind having a look at logs and either making suggestions or affirm that I'm on the right track? It's worth noting that we heat the pool to 88 frequently to swim at night, so I know that warner water can be more problematic. That said, water temp has been in the mid 70's since I started the SLAM.

Thanks in advance for your help! -Wes

I'm in the process of a DIY install of a 16x32 vinyl liner pool with a wedge bottom that slopes down to 6ft deep. I'm about ready to do the poolcrete bottom but my soil is pretty much a mix is sand and river rock type stones. When I try to shape the dirt part of the walls in the deep end they slide down like a dry sand castle.

I'm thinking I could wet the dirt to help it hold together and shape the form of the walls until I get the poolcrete installed unless there is a better way.

The poolcrete instructions say to remove rocks before laying it Down but my soil is mainly small to medium sized rocks and sand.

Does anyone else have advice on how they've successfully handled a similar situation with rocky sandy soil?

Newish first time pool owner. Pool complete last October and been practicing TFP Pool School since day 1. I'm in far north Phoenix and wind is very common pretty much all year but now its obviously hotter, drier, dustier. The last month or so, every time I brush I'm seeing visible dirt/dust clouds on steps, benches, baja shelf, and corners. Basically everywhere my robot friend does a poor job. The first 5 months or so, I was just running the Kreepy Krauler to clean the floor every day. In Feb I pulled the Kreepy Krauler in favor of 2 bots, mostly so I can run the pump at lower RPMs and lets the robots try to get most of the debris before it makes its way to the rest of the gear.

So my question to the experienced desert dwellers, is the dirt/dust I am see when I brush just life in the desert this time of year or could the higher RPMs and Kreepy Krauler actually be picking up more dust?

Thanks for any advise!

I have a Jandy AquaPure PLC1400 which is going on it's 3rd season (pool completed in Summer of 2022). It has been running pretty much continuously, 14 hours per day for the last two years (11 hours x 100%, 3 hours x 10% [spa]). In the winter I believe that my system automatically stops the SWG from producing chlorine when the temp fall to a certain level.

I would like to remove my Salt Cell, inspect it for scaling, and then acid wash it (if needed). I would also like to lightly clean the salt sensor with a soft sponge or cloth (as the Jandy manual recommends).

When I first started to twist off the connector of the salt cell, I found it to be extremely tight. I first tried to twist it off with my hand but it was too tight. I then tried to gently unscrew it with a 16-inch channel lock wrench and still found it very tight. When I started to unscrew it, the entire length of pipe started to rotate. That made me very nervous, so I stopped trying to loosen it, and put the project on hold. I am sure I can unscrew the salt cell connector, but I'm worried that I'm going to damage something. Am I being too cautious?

My SWG seems to be working well generating chlorine, and I am not getting any error messages. However, at the beginning of last Summer I was getting the 120 and 121 error codes which I couldn't fix, so I called a pool guy. He removed the SWG, inspected it, and we both saw that it was caked with white deposits. He descaled it with muriatic acid, put it back in the system, and the panel was no longer displaying the error code.

Also, do you think I will need to replace the 3 O-Ring seals after I service the SWG? If so, I should probably order them before starting the project.

Another issue I have is that the salinity reading on my AquaPure panel is consistently 400-500 PPM higher than what I test with my Taylor Test kit. That is why I'm thinking of lightly cleaning the salt sensor to see if that has any effect reading. Or do you think I should simply re-calibrate the salt sensor on the panel so that it agrees with the Taylor Test kit?

Lastly, someone here recommded against using muriatic acid to descale, as it could degrade the functionality and/or lifespan of my SWG. He suggested using a popsicle stick. Would you agree? Thanks in advance

July 2015 - March 2021
I couldn't believe I was spending $272.49 on a robot for my $300 pool, but he was worth every penny. Last season he was slowing down and sometimes only cleaning for an hour before stopping, but he was trying his best. Saturday I tossed him in for the first cleaning of the year and... Nothing. Not sure I will be able to swing a new robot this year, even this model looks to be $400 new now. I still have my Aquabug though, between her and a manual vacuum the water will keep sparkling clean.

As posted in a previous thread at the end of last season I was battling white water mold as a result of high cya/chlorine issues. My scheduled opening is early May. Took a look at things today. The entire pool is COVERED with white mold. I did test chlorine, ph and cya today .
Fc basically zero mayyyybe 0.5
Ph 7
Cya 50

Is there anything I can or should prior to opening to try to get a handle on this ?
Thanks in advance

Hey guys...

My Pentair MasterTemp 400 is leaking at the bottom gasket area of the manifold assembly area. The Pentair kit is $200, but I noticed there is an identical kit made by Switch Doctor for about 125$ cheaper. Does anyone have experience with this basic manifold kit?

Thanks!

Hey there!

I did my first SLAM because my pool would not hold CL overnight and my CC was at 1 although the pool was crystal clear. I’m on day 2 and have a question. Last night my FC was at 15.5 and this am it is at 20.5 am I supposed to get up to 35 (SLAM level) and maintain that without any loss overnight?

Thanks!

My 14 year old told me to post this:

Is it weird to lick the coping? For the purpose of tasting the salt.

What say ye?

Lolol

Just got my pool a year ago. Never owned a pool was told would never have to add salt. This year a nightmare nothing is working already had to repair Polaris cleaner and now the SWG is not working.
Help do I already need to replace cell 1 year in?

Hi, my pool is new and first timer. I bonded the pool all the way around. no shock of water or tripped breakers. If i walk across my trex deck and touch the water a slight very low voltage shock. But if you walk across the yard and touch water then nothing no shock. We put a voltage tester as we waked on normal ground around the pool and nothing. but when you walk up on the deck and touch the top resin rail the very low voltage light goes off. So i am thinking the pool is bonded, but how to get rid of the shock of the deck or is it something else going on. Thank you

What is the best way to fix this plaster issue? I took this picture before closing the pool. It is around 4-5 inches. What’s the best way to fix this? Can this be a DIY job or does this require a professional?

I am draining my pool when opening and I was thinking of using the ‘Pool Patch - Plaster repair kit’ when empty before refilling the pool. Is that a good and durable product? Is this a feasible approach?

Dirk said:

Here's one for $440 that includes everything you need (except the timer):

Pentair Acid Tank with Tank Mounted Pump 522472

The Acid Tank with Peristaltic Pump is the easy way to store and dispense acid into your pool using the IntelliChem Chemical Automation System.

sunplay.com

I have ordered a few things from SunPlay without issue. I would again.

Click to expand...

Can this be hooked up to an intellicenter without the intellichem system?

My O Ring is stuck on my standpipe within my Hayward DE Filter. Part of the O ring is caught under the stand pipe, causing me not to be able to detach the grid to give it a good cleaning.

Any help on how to get this out?

I want to get the concrete around my inground pool power washed but I’m afraid of the use of the detergent running off into the pool and what it will do to my perfectly balanced pool water? It’s been washed once already without the detergent but the concrete still has black stubborn stains that didn’t come out. Is this a reasonable concern, what options can you all offer. Or am I being silly to worry about a little deck soap getting in the pool. Plenty of debris blows off into it that I have to vac out after power washing so I’m assuming the detergent will get in also.

I usually use Mortons pool salt or water softener salt but this stuff was the first thing I saw in Lowes and I only needed one bag so I took this. I now have yellow stains, which I think are iron. I will rub them with vitamin C and report back.

Hello all! I have a question about chlorine loss during the slam procedure. Based on my tests and losing 12 parts per million of chlorine in a 4-Hour time period. Wanting to know if this is normal for a cloudy somewhat green pool that I'm trying to recover. I am using the fas/dpd test and am I correct that if I tested for 14 parts per million that it would take 28 drops of the reagent to turn the sample clear again? 10ml test. Just seems like a lot of chlorine loss in a short amount of time.

CYA 35
PH 7.3
Slamming at 14 parts per million

Thank you for any advice offered by the way I am a new pool owner and trying to figure all this out.

I'm having an issue where whenever my pool is in spillover mode the heater is running. Obviously this is a huge waste of money since the reason for the spillover is to cycle the spa water in/out of the spa, not to heat the water. I just noticed this happening a week ago. We opened this new pool a year ago and never noticed the heater running when in spillover mode.

Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

All equipment is Jandy and using iAqualink to control via the app.

Thank you!

I have a 20,000 gallon pool in Arizona.

It uses a cartridge filter (Sta Rite 300 sq ft) that is ancient and due to be replaced on Tuesday 14th.

A few weeks ago a green algae bloom began to appear, and I suspect this was due to unusually rainy weather in Feb/Mar and reduced chlorine because I didn't notice chlorine tabs had gone low.

I brushed the pool surface and wall using a long handled pool brush and added shock, the filter pressure the next day was about 30 psi so clearly the algae was clogging the filter.

I shutdown the system, removed cartridges (which are almost new, installed in Jan or so) and could see green all over them so I hosed them down and got them looking much cleaner.

Restarted the system, saw excellent water flows and pressure 10psi so left it, but a few hours later saw reduced flow and 25psi.
The recently tested water at Leslie's here's that report:



This was ten days ago. I did restore the chlorine tabs that day and they've been maintained since then but I'm yet to retest.

I have guests coming in four weeks and want use of the pool, I've been here ten years and the pool has been fine but I did have a pool guy until a year ago, so yes this is my fault I'm sure.

I see two options for resolving this:

1. Clean the filter, put it back, let it clog again and repeat until the concentration of algae is invisible
2. Pump the water out and refill, Leslie's have suggested this several times anyway (last replaced about 4 yrs ago).

Obviously I'd establish good water chemistry right after the refill.

I have no idea how many filter run/clean cycles I need to get rid of the algae if it's like four or five I could do it I guess, but if its lots more then the effort seems to suggest a refill.

A refill has a cost here for me about 1,000 dollars because we are on a well that simply cannot deliver 20,000 gallons in a day so we get it delivered.

I'm also wondering if doing a bunch of run/clean cycles with the new filter is sensible too since it's brand new (its CCP 420 from Pentair).

Thoughts?

Thanks.