I'm in need of yet another skimmer basket. My last two have gotten stuck and were destroyed when removing them. We have a few very large magnolia trees around us and on a windy day our basket can get full which causes a major suction issue and pulls the basket down and it gets stuck. When I'm talking stuck, I mean majorly stuck. It usually takes half an hour to get it out. Yesterday when destroying another basket I notice a lip around one portion of the skimmer housing itself, about 4-5 inches below the water line, which I'm hoping to find a basket with a wide enough on top that it'll sit on that lip and not be able to be pulled down when it gets full of leaves.

A quick measure this morning was about 9 inches in diameter but all the baskets I'm finding are 8in or less. Anyone know of larger baskets or where to find them?

The first basket we had was this one and it worked well but it still got stuck and as sturdy as it was, was a huge headache to get unstuck. I'm thinking I need at least 8.5-9in in diameter basket with a lip on it as well. Any recommendations?

I have a large shallow area with 3 channels that go to a huge landing. All are about 4" to 6" in depth. I want to clean it with a 25 micron bag. I can clean larger debris with a net. I've called, asked, but no one seems to have a good solution for under $500, or even $1000. Below are some things I have tried and researched:

1. Call Bottom Feeder. Great vacuum for 4" area. However, they don't make heads that is about 8" wide to clean my 12" and 24" wide channels. It's also about $1500 with the smallest micron bag of 57 or attach a 60 sf filter.
2. Someone suggest to brush and push it to the main pool area and let riptide do the job. Lot of labor to brush and pushing it out one channel sucks in the other channel. A lot of work for little result.
3. Riptide or hammerhead requires at least 12" depth.
4. I used a pondovac or similar. Hoses, electrical cables, tubes, weak suction, and stops every 30 seconds is time consuming and too may parts to setup and carry. The other end drains out into a 25 micron bag.
5. Pool side/skimmer suction hose. Hoses requiring water filled to work, and it would just suck it right into my filter. Don't want that either.
6. Pool Blaster: Portable, but requires 12" depth. No go.
7. I looked and tried the Kokido xtrovac 200. It's tiny and was similar to using a handheld vacuum on a whole primary bedroom floor. They have the kokido 410 which looks promising, but I don't know if it will do 4" shallow area. Also, the smallest micron bag is 250 microns.

If I may ask you to put on your engineering cap, please make suggestions on what is the most efficient, cost effective way get the best and quickest result in cleaning the shallow area. I want something portable with a re-sizeable head to do 18" or 8" wide. I want something powerful like the bottom feeder (I think around 18 gallons/minute) and do small debris that could be heavy like a small pebble) and run off a 12v lifepo4 battery like the riptide. I want something that can connect to standard pool pole. I'll provide the manual labor as long as it provide quick results.

For reference, the tile is 16x16. The length of the steps is almost 40 ft long.

I can't figure out what this code is. I have replaced both temperature sensors. Cut the power on, The water temperature displays, pump comes on for a minute and then cuts off and this code displays and you hear a clicking noise from the control box.

Followup to my first post as a new pool owner over the weekend. Pool company opened pool last Thursday and dumped in chlorine and algicide (water was fairly clear to begin with but a fair amount of dirt/sediment on the bottom. I've vacuumed/brushed everything so the walls and bottom are clean but the water is still a bit cloudy. I can see the bottom, just not crystal clear. I'll run an OCLT tonight/tomorrow morning; but here are the results as of this morning. Anything else I should try or am I just being impatient? Still waiting for my comfort level/experience to grow so I can get to the "trouble-free" feelings, appreciate you all!

FC- 8
CC- 0.5
CH- 125
PH- 7.2(ish)
TA- 40
CYA- negligible (filled tube with my back to the sun and could still see the dot)

I got a Riptide XP pool vacuum cleaners, and WOW, 65k-68K, no problem. This equipment, along with a skimlite 6317 pool pole, will clean this size pull up in no time. It sucks up dirt and debris like nobody's business; you just steer it and not try to fight it. This thing will blow every automatic pool robot out of the water in the category of cleaning . . . the robotics are Tonka toys compared to this commercial grade equipment. I have a Dolphin s400, and that thing is as dumb as a door knob; the debris basket is tiny. Most of the time, the Dolphin can't even suck up oak leaves. Riptide, on the other hand, will suck up anything, even thin slate layers that fall into the pool bottom. For about ~$1000, it's is really worth it.

Downsides and Tips:
The debris bags is tough to put on and take off. Removing the bag is very difficult especially in cooler or cold weather. They have a tool to help, but a blunt flathead screw driver could help. Get the lifepo4 battery under $100. It is less than 10 lbs. The cable and connector are very heavy duty. You'll need to put some muscles to get it connected. This is commercial quality material and handling. You need a professional pool pole. Steering the riptide is done with twisting the pool pole. Hence, I got the Skimlite 6317 with quick snap to extend and retract. Once you turn on the riptide, you better get ready to steer because the thing will move itself. I find that taking it out of the pool while it is running is difficult because of the suction.

Suggestions:
I think that if Riptide made a "junior "riptide XP", it will sell to DIYer like hotcakes. I have step treads that are 16", 24" and 48" deep, so a 18" wide riptide would be perfect. Also, my steps and shallow areas are only 6" depth. A small riptide could take care of vacuuming shallow areas as well. These Riptide equipment are built to clean junior and Olympic size pools. They need make one for the residential crowds.

Summary: If you have a large pool and tired of incompetent robotic vacuums (pool bottoms), the Riptide will do the job. The robots and pool side pressure cleaners are good for maybe <30K gallon pools. Getting a riptide or similar equipment is really a Eureka moment assuming you have some muscles and some times for cleaning. It is very satisfying when you use the right equipment for the job.

Does adding 90-degee turns reduce water pressure and flow like adding them to HVAC ducting does to air flow? I have to add some in for a SWG I'm thinking of putting in and was wondering. I know the SWGs have pressure requirements (max usually). I'm thinking of the RJ-60+ by Circupool.
TIA

I have a the pool cleaner, four wheel model on my inground pebble pool. The suction source is a dedicated port in the middle of the pool. Because of plumbing issues beyond my control, long runs, and many bends, my suction level at that port is not as high as I believe would be optimal. I do what I can to get the cleaner to move well but it’s slow. My question is, does the size of the throat inlet, small, medium, or large, make a difference in how efficiently it moves? Does the small or medium throat make for higher flow speed through the turbines making it move faster,, or do they restrict flow more than the large making it move slower, such that the large would allow more water to go through. Yes, I can try the different options, but I was just looking for some physics ideas to improve things. thanks in advance.

I cleaned my DE filter at the season start. It seemed like there was WAY too much DE. It holds 6-pounds. I was told to add 4.5 pounds after backwashing. I just completed a SLAM for mustard algae and am done. I have been only adding 3-pounds after backwash. Is that okay?

I was totally surprised at the amount of DE in the filter when I took it apart. I almost could not lift the filter put it was soooooo heavy.

Thanks

I have had the little giant pump since Dec 2018. It's been working fine until I checked this week. I keep the pump under my pool cover on the steps. I keep the water level at that step so water doesn't rise above the cover. I do use mesh cover so all the rain water ends up in t he pool.

Problem is the pump isn't working. Has anyone able to fix this types of pump? Currently it only makes buzzing sound but doesn't suck the water. I did find a YouTube video which shows different way to t-shoot. I am not that savy to switch the hardware inside. I did heck for any blockages there were none.

Hi all,

I have been reading the forum for several years now. I follow as much advice as is practical. My schedule often puts me away from very long stretches so sometimes things get out of hand as my wife is not too interested in learning about the pool. When I am gone she will back wash and take a picture of a multi strip for me so I can tell her what to add as best I can.

Hopefully you all can help me with my pool. My plaster is bad and I am curious about the best path forward here for the pool as a whole and curious what y'all would expect whatever recommendations to cost.

• • Pool Stats - Pictures attached
  • o Kidney Pool with 9' deep end
  • o ~18,000 Gallons
  • o Likely Build Date - 1980s???!!!
  • o Replastered at least once long before I bought the home.
  • Lots of old stains; from before my time.
  • o Sand Filter - Replaced the sand myself with Zeosand a few years back
  • o Pump system doesn't leak that I can tell
  • o Pool leaks once water gets above a certain level on the decorative tile
  • o South Central US
  • o No Shade - Direct Sun most of day
• • Maintenance Regimen Currently
  
  • o Pending my cya and calcium will use - tabs, cal hypo or liquid to chlorinate
    •  right now keeping 1 tab in the floater and adding cal hypo
  • o Add 1/2 cup of Dia. Earth to filter and a splash of superblue clarifier to improve filter performance after every backwash
  • o Borates ~50 ppm
  • o Do my best to keep chemistry balanced with Muriatic acid and baking soda
  • o Trying Borates to see if they reduce chlorine demand.
  • o Had a high phosphate problem at one point many thousands of ppm. So i treat annual with the PR-10000
    •  I noticed that with the high phosphate i basically had no room for error with the chlorine;I would get a super bad bloom the second it dropped below the required level
• • Current State
  
  • o Just got water clear after it being a literal swamp from fall through winter; been slamming it
    •  Just said screw it as far as taking care of the pool over the winter.
  • o Previously have had issues with black algae; never really fixed it
    •  Its back and better than ever!
  • o Plaster pitter and cracking definately needs to be resurfaced at a minimum
• • Current Chemistry - Leslies vs My Taylor Drops - X/X
  • o pH - - 7.9/7.8
  • o Free Chlorine - 12.39/15
    •  Total Chlorine Same
  • o Alkalinity - 88/ (90 to 100)
  • o Borates - NA /50ppm
  • o Cya - 39/30
  • o Iron/Copper/Phosphates - 0 ppm
• • My Questions
  • o Given the poor state of the plaster is there much to be done with the Black Algae
    •  Would bleaching the whites in my pool do the trick. (50 lb pail of Cal Hypo?)
  • o Other than looking like Crud and consuming sanitizer is there anything dangerous about it?
  • o If I don't replaster the pool this winter would mixing a up a pumper of Jomax and bleach and following that up with a pressure washer be my best option?
    •  I would also not let the pool go to heck after.
  • o Given the the bad delamination of the latest coat of plaster what would be the best most economical to handle the replastering.
    •  A friend who is a contractor recommended ripping the whole thing out; he is not a pool professional, but a thoughtful guy who is currently DIY re-doing his own kidney pool; jack hammering out all the old plaster. He said this would cost ~$80,000.
    •  His reason being the water intrusion behind the top coat of plaster from the delamination
    •  He also said it would probably be cost prohibitive for me to do what he is doing with the aid of guys he already has on the payroll.
  • o Considering whatever y'alls recommendations are about the pool/plaster. Would yall recommend upgrading the pump and filtration system from sand?
    •  I got way ahead of myself a couple years back now and now have a CircuPool RJ+ Series Saltwater Chlorine Generator on hand.
  • What is all this going to cost me!?!?!?!?!

Thanks

-Andy

New pool owner and recent joiner here. We purchased a home with a pool 6 weeks ago and I think I’ve managed to keep things well enough in order. Here are today’s levels and the pool details:

TA: 100
pH: 8.0
FC: 5.4
CC: 0.0
CYA: 30-40
CH: 300
Temp: 78

15k gal concrete pool with PebbleTec finish. VS pump running at 2200 rpm for 8 hours per day, plus 1 hour at 2500 rpm for the robot.


A few things I’ve noticed:

- My pH likes to climb. We’ve had a lot of rain lately which is affecting my levels, but I also think our water features (waterfall & fountain in the spa) are contributing to these quick pH climbs. Any suggestions for stabilizing things or is this pretty normal? I’m adding acid weekly to bring it from the 8.0 range to 7.4.

- Are there any issues with using both Trichlor pucks and liquid chlorine as sanitizers? I have a 25 lb bucket of Trichlor left over from the prior owner and I’d rather not waste it. I’ve also purchased some 10% LC per the TFP quorum’s recommendations. Since my CYA isn’t high, I’d think I can sanitize using a combined approach until I run out of Trichlor or my CYA climbs too much. Any concerns with this approach?

- I get some calcium scale on my tiles, but my CH is well within range. Is this a function of high pH? We do have hard water here in TX, but CH is in range despite the scale appearing.

All things considered though, it’s been an enjoyable experience so far. The prior owner left the pool in great condition. This, plus buying a Taylor K-2006 have made things pretty simple for far.

Cheers

Our pool pump (Hayward Variable Speed) started making a strange, pulsating noise (like a beating heart). It is only 2 years old (only 2 summers, starting on the 3rd). It might be clogged (I briefly saw a "check for clogging" message on the screen, but can't find the message anymore), but no debris was
found in the impeller from the basket side access.
Has anyone experienced that issue?
Just checking before we take it apart...

The pool I inherited reduces the 2" coming out of the main pool pump. It's still 2" coming out of the filter. It's there a reason for this? Is it good, bad, neither?

Hi pool nerds! This chunk (in my hand) came out of my grout, and that made me notice the larger chunk above it that is out. Without redoing our whole pool, what product(s) should I use to patch these spots? This is a fairly isolated issue, so I'm thinking patching would be fine? I am only a second year pool owner and inherited this pool and its issues. This IS the corner with the steps (which are weirdly tiny in an otherwise big, beautiful pool?).

Thanks!

Spa return jets work in spa and spillway modes, but not in pool/auto mode. Valves in pool/auto mode are set to return water to the pool and the spa. I have to run my pump at 2100 rpms to get even a slight return to the spa in pool/auto mode.

Hello everyone, I have been doing a lot of lurking and information gathering in plans to get a pool installed. I am located in South Carolina. I have four different bids varying in price, but each contractor uses different equipment from the big names. I am still gathering information on specific models, but below is what I have acquired so far. Does anything stand out to you as being the best or concerning? We are going to go larger on concrete no matter who we go with as we are blending this into a covered patio we are also doing. Contractor B also provided a bid for a porch and was extremely competitive for that piece, but more expensive for the pool. I would say Contractor A has been our favorite, but also is one of the cheapest. Contractor A came very well recommended and was the only ones to mark our yard of a potential layout. They took a lot of time chatting, and turned around a quote quickly.

Best communication: A and D

18x36 rectangle 8ft deep
Wedding Cake Steps
Deep end bench full width
vinyl over stair
All are metal pool walls
Salt

Contractor A - $56,300 and 5% off by April 30
Pump: Pentair IntelliFlo3 VSF 3hp Pump 011077
Filter: Pentair C&C SD80 sand filter 145333
Lights: Pentair Microbrite ($1000 each to add more)
Salt System: Pentair Intellichlor IC40 520555
Vinyl: Latham liners
Steps: Vinyl
Coping: Cantilever edge
Concrete Included: 8x8x4x4
2 drains
1 skimmer
2 or 3 returns
1 led light included, we are going to do 3
Umbrella mounts are $25 a piece
Not included in price -Dirt removal $150 an hour, the estimate is 8 hours so $1200~

Contractor D - $59,105
Pump: Pump: TriStar® VS 900 Variable Speed Pump 1.85HP 115/230V #HAY-10-3234
Filter: Hayward 244T
Lights: 3 Hayward Spa lights
Salt System: Hayward AquaRite S3 Omni
Vinyl: Latham liners
Steps: Vinyl
Coping: Concrete cantilever
Concrete Included: 950 sqft
2 drains
1 skimmer, but can do 2 if requested
2 or 3 returns
3 led light included
2 concrete umbrella mounts if wanted free
Not included in price - Extra dirt removal is $400 per truck. They estimate 10 truckloads so about $4,000
Polaris 8642IQ pool robot

Contractor F - Waiting on quote



Contractor B - $68,500
Pump: Jandy VS Flopro 1.85HP
Filter: Jandy Pro series sand filter top mount w 2” valve SFTM24-2.0
Lights: Jandy Pro Series LED underwater 12W 100; cord ($1000 each to add more)
Salt System: Jandy Truclear
Vinyl: Tara or Merlin liners
Steps: Vinyl
Coping: Cantilever edge
Concrete Included: 4x4x4x4
2 drains
1 skimmer
returns?
1 led light included
Not included in price - Dirt removal is $400 per truck, estimate is 15 trucks so $6000~

Contractor C - $73,500
Pump: Pentair Superflo VS 2hp
Filter: Pentair C&C SD 60 Sand
Lights: Pentair Microbrite
Salt System: IntelliCenter i5P w/SALT
Vinyl: Tara or Merlin liners
Steps: Vinyl
Coping: Gray aluminum, can change to cantilever
Concrete Included: 4x4x8x8
2 drains
2 skimmer
1 overflow
returns?
3 led light included

Contractor E - $89,592
Not sure on models
Pump: Pentair
Filter: Pentair Cartridge FIlter
Lights: Pentair Microbrite
Salt System: Pentair
Vinyl: Latham liners
Steps: Vinyl
Coping: Cantilever edge
Concrete Included: 8x8x4x4
2 drains
1 skimmer
3 returns
3 led 1.5" lights
Not included in price -Dirt removal $500 per load

I have a 4 year old Anchor Solid Vinyl pool cover that keeps tearing. I use gorilla tape to patch some holes and vinyl patches to repair tears on the bottom and top. Does anyone know of a product that I can put on the cover that will wear better. I have 2 border collies that run across it because that is what they like to do.

Hello All,
Just coming to get some opinions on my current dilemma. Long story short the partner of my late grandfather whom we've basically been taking care of since he passed the last 10 years or so and was a bit of a hermit was nearing 90 and showing some memory issues and her children finally decided it was time to come pick up mom and move her across country with her. This leaves me to deal with my late grandfathers house that she was living in and has a fairly nice pool that was never used. I have experience properly keeping up a pool with Taylor test kits, cartridge filters, and liquid chlorine and other chems to maintain as perfect levels as possible and as easily as possible ( surprise - all thanks to TFP!). However this setup is a little bit different than I am used to, but no worries there, I will brush up on the TFP guides and surely be ahead of the game.

Since I will only be visiting the house once a week I see no reason to continue paying the pool company to come open the pool and another ~$400 a month to maintain it throughout the spring/summer/fall season. All they were doing is coming by once a week to empty the skimmer, drop in 3-5 tabs (according to old invoices), and brush it - I assume anyways. My plan is to spend around $900 on a skimmer and brush robot like my old pool and call it a day and drop some tabs in once a week when I go get groceries over near that area and other chems as needed. Ultimately pretty simple stuff. Would love to do liquid but I wont be there that often.

Anyways to the meat of the question - as far as I can tell the pump has no timer to run it. That seemed like such a standard piece of equipment to me that I am a bit baffled to be honest. My late grandfathers partner certainly wasn't going out every single day and manually running the pump all these years, did the pool maintenance company just allow the pump to run 24/7 or am I blind and missing a timer right in front of my face? I'll attach pictures but I've traced the electric from the pump to all the electric on the wall and do not see anything resembling a timer - mind you there is a black "TORO" box but I think that runs the lights right above it, I haven't cracked it open to look yet though as its taped shut, very slim chance thats a timer running the pool in there but that would be the only place, I'll investigate further later this week when I have time. Pool is currently closed down still from winter.

With no timer is my only option to just leave the pump running 24/7 for the next 5 months? A bit of a rhetorical question I suppose because if there is truly no timer it would make sense to just pay the money to have one installed(I don't want to spend more than I have to since we have a time limit in which we now have to sell the house, but of course it would be nice for the next owner to have it set up properly - I'd love to redo the whole area if I could its a bit dated), I'm just baffled and wonder if that's how its been running this whole time.

Anyways any input would be appreciated!

[Update: My technique was wrong - tftestkit 50ppm CYA sample was a big help. See my follow-up post below if interested in this subject; otherwise ignore this post.]

I purchased a bottle of CYA 50ppm water sample from tftestkits and did the block dot tests several times as a sanity check. Fail. The dot was clearly visible at 50ppm (at the "half way" mark). My reading came closer to 20-30ppm.

I'm going to reach out to them to be sure I'm doing this right (following all instructions here and on their site) and/or to find out if the sample may have been bad.

I don't want to whine about the CYA test here; I get the variances in eyes, lighting, etc., this is just an FYI in case others have tried this route to check your block dot skills.


My results:
Black dot test with CYA 50ppm sample: I get around 20-30ppm
Black dot test with my pool water: 60ppm (all other tests (FC/CC, pH, CH, TA etc.) within proper ranges)
Leslie's pool store test with my pool water: 78ppm <-- this was just for fun, I was comparing all of my tests to theirs for fun (mostly for salt before my refills arrived) but ignoring theirs.

Folks, I have ants in my Aqualink RS box!! How do I clean them out?? Can’t spray because of electronics..

I bought a pressure gauge from TFTestKits and want to replace the existing pressure gauge in my Jandy DEV60. The new gauge is bigger than the original one and I can’t use the original plastic cover and am not sure I’m getting enough threads installing the new one. Can this new gauge be used on this filter without the plastic cover?

If I wanted a preventative algacide, what might you recommend? There are pools I care for that have some degree of volatility where one would help. What do you use to treat an algal bloom? Mustard? Green? BLACK!? As stated I need to veer away from metal based products.

Hi all, had a quick question for the group regarding our current water level. We're located in the KC metro area, and have our fair share of rain this spring season so far. The water level is getting high and the mesh safety cover is sitting in the water. We're scheduled to open our pool on May 19th, but I'm wanting to know if we should be draining off any water prior to this, or if it's a moot point. We have a submersible pump from the winter that we could use. Attached a photo for reference. Thank you for any and all feedback/advice!

I was brushing the pool and when I was really up close to the edge of the pool, I can see some hairline cracks in the fiberglass (gel coat?)

These are super small, but the pool is only 1 year old.

Manufacture closed this year (owner died), they have been in business for 40 years I trusted them, but now I got no warranty.

Is this something that happens on FG pools regularly (hairline cracks?)

Should I monitor it closely?

At least it is not a crack submerged in water.

thanks again

We are replacing our vinyl liner and sand filter (c1993). We are strongly considering installing a SWG. Are there problems with salt and a vinyl liner (corrosion, holes, etc). I have no idea how the SWG works, but I understand you initially put in a lot of salt for the start-up. Any recs for type or brands of SWG? We will hire a pool company to do all the installs. Thanks for any advice.

Meet Marshmallow (not sold on the name yet but it’s growing on me …) -



She is Meringues little sister (from the same parents) -



As you can see, they are spitting images of one another. Marshmallow still has her puppy fur which is a bit darker than Meringue’s so we’ll see how that changes as she grows. But, for now , Meringue has been introducing her new sister to all her favorite toys and they got to play fetch outside … Marshmallow likes to nip at Meringue but Meringue knows how to give her a good hip-check to put the little squirt in her place. Marshmallow seems like she’ll probably be bigger and a bit more stout than Meringue as Meringue is considered small for her breed. They are both Goldendoodles.

I guess I won’t be getting much sleep again … 🫩

Hi all! Need some guidance here. I’m a pool newbie. We got our pool a year ago. We live in SC and never close the pool. It’s an 11k gal fiberglass I ground pool.

In Feb I started noticing dark spots on the walls and would scrub it off and then it’d come back. Every weekend I’d clean out the pool and scrub the walls. And now I’m at the point where every other day it comes back worse than before. So I’m aware (now) I have an algae problem and I’m trying to get the pool healthy. Be gentle as I’m a newbie here and know that I’ve not done anything right. But I want to learn so I can keep it nice going forward.

4/22
pH: 7.7
FC: 0.62
(never occurred to me to check CYA) until I started admitting I had a problem and started researching and realized this is a key component of a healthy pool.

4/26 12pm
pH:7.17
FC:0.62
TA:108
CYA:14
Added 2 lbs stabilizer

4/26 8pm
CYA: 24

4/27 8am
FC: 3.9
CYA: 27
Added 1.25 gal liquid chlorine

4/27 12pm
FC: 3.8
CYA: 23
Added 1.25 gal liquid chlorine

4/27 145pm
FC: 2.91
CYA: 24

I’m not sure what to focus on. CYA or FC. And why do they keep dropping even though I’m adding chemicals.

I watched the TFP videos and read the forums and documents.

I just want to make sure I dont send myself into a counteractive spiral where I’m fighting myself and spending tons of money on chemicals because of my lack of knowledge.

The SLAM process makes sense to me but my pool is t reacting in a way that makes sense (to me).

What am I doing wrong?
Thank you in advance!
Dawn

Hi, my family is building a pool for the 1st time and could use some help from the knowledgeable folks on this forum to finalize plumbing and equipment plans.

Since we’ve started working with our pool builder, we’ve come to learn it’s important to double-check their plans as there often isn’t much thought behind those plans other than, “this is what we did on the last build where no one asked questions” . And so as we’ve started to look into details and recommendations in forums like this, we’ve become worried that the pool builder’s plumbing plan is not a deeply-thought-out one…

For example, the pool– 15.5 x 35’, IG fiberglass, 3.5 - 6’ in depth, approximately 16.5k gallons – is oriented with the deep end to the north and the shallow end to the south. Local summer winds come from the NW (pushing surface debris to the SE); in other seasons, the winds come from the S (pushing surface debris to the N). But the builder planned a single skimmer on the NE end of the pool ("since it will be easy to install there"), which seems like a suboptimal location (and not a good reason)…

The rest of the builder’s plumbing plans include:

• All 2” hard PVC pipe
• 2 main drains in the deep end wall + 3 returns
• IntelliCenter + IC40 SWG + Intelliflo3 VSF 1.5HP
• Clean and Clear Plus 420 SF cartridge filter & 400k BTU NG heater

The pool equipment pad will be approximately 95’ west of the pool (placed close to gas and electrical service), so most pipe runs will be >100’. The pool will have an automatic safety cover that we will keep closed when the pool is not in use.

Here's a drawing (by us) showing our understanding of the builder’s plumbing plans. Concerns include:

• Only 1 skimmer in a location that doesn’t match any season’s wind directions
• Long (>100’) plumbing runs + 1.5HP pump-- will 2" pipes + a 1.5 HP pump be sufficient?
• 3 returns -- will that be enough for good circulation with the length of the pool?

And here's an adjusted drawing showing what I’m thinking we should push for instead (after reading various forum posts and articles):

• 2 skimmers, 1 on each end of the pool to handle both seasonal wind directions and offer some redundancy
• Upsize to 2.5” pipes for at least the suction lines
• Add some more returns on at least 2 separate lines
• Maybe upsize to a 2.5-3 HP VS pump? (more notes on this below)

Are we on the right track? Anything major that looks off here or that we might regret not asking for?

When I follow pool plumbing guides, I think we should be fine in terms of flow rates (11-45 GPM for 24-6 hr turnover rates) and water velocities (1.77 inch pipe at 45 GPM + 6 fps). I’m less sure on TDH and pump sizing, though. It seems difficult to get an accurate TDH number without knowing all the fitting details, but maybe a TDH in the 40’ range (at 45 GPM) would be a reasonable assumption with our planned equipment and longer plumbing runs (?).

If so, then with up to 45 GPM flow rates and 40’ TDH, looking at Intelliflo3 pump curves, that looks like ~65% speed on the 3HP model, or ~80% speed on the 1.5HP model. Is there a way to go from pump chart speeds to energy usage and in turn decide which would be a more cost effective pump over a few years of operation?

If we went with Hayward instead, the Tristar XL looks like one of their top 3HP models, where it’d run at 2400 RPM. For 1.5HP models, the MaxFlo VS 500 (with a claimed >10 WEF) would run closer to 3000 RPM. It’s also unclear how to evaluate the relative cost effectiveness of these options…

Can others with some more pool ownership experience help guide us in a good direction here?

I’d sincerely appreciate any feedback you can share. Thank you so much!

Hello, so my pool was built or repair unconditionally. The walls are vinyl and the floor is concrete or fiberglass (no-one seems to be able to tell me). The connection between the floor and the walls has separated and the pool is leaking all around the bottom circumference of the floor. As you can imagine no-one wants to repairs it (high liability) and starting over is a $140K job. So I found one pool contractor that is willing to help me and his solutions (which he says he has never tried) is to seal the gabs in the floor using epoxy; then paint the whole pool with epoxy paint. Then we pray that this solution will hold for a couple years. Does anyone have any experience using epoxy in this way to seal pool leaks? If so, what was the severity of the leaks and how long has the solution lasted? Does anyone have another solutions that you may recommend? We've consider a putting a liner but no-one is willing to do the job. Thanks in advance...