I am tired of lugging gallons of chlorine from the store and am considering adding a swg to my pool.

I was quoted $2475 for a Pentair IC-40 installed (including salt). Does this price seem high? Also, will this pay for itself after a few years? Any other recommendations for 30k gallon pool?

Before I light these guys up on a review I would like to know what everyone thinks. This is my pool AFTER a $637 "de-winterization". This is how they left it. My pool was cleaned well before the winter and covered with a tarp. I think all these guys did was pull off the tarp ($137 charge) and let all the Crud go into the pool. There were 2 bricks holding a corner of the tarp and they let them fall in the pool and left them there. Then they said it was "a bad winter for debris" and would need multiple cleanings (for more money). On top of that they charged me crazy prices for all kinds of chemicals including chlorine tabs (I have a salt pool). I spent all weekend vacuuming this Crud to waste and the pool still looks so bad I can't see the bottom.

Alright, I was hoping not to have to make this post… as I have tried to follow all of the recommendations closely, but here’s the story.

I built a deck around my pool this spring and during the process the pump was unplugged to be moved and hard piped (for about 3.5 weeks). During that span I had a crazy algae bloom (there was already a small amount of algae from winter).

Fast foward to today… I have completed 2 weeks of slam method (as closely as I could) and my water doesn’t seem to want to clear. It is still slightly cloudy. I have ran the pump 24/7 for these two weeks.

Current test results using TFP PRO.

FC: 12
CC: 0.5
Ph: 7.5
TA: 70
CYA: 35

Over night drop test is 0.5

I have vacuumed and brushed regularly. And have been using skimmer socks. Backwash and rinse daily.

There doesn’t appear to be any more algae, so is it just a matter of continuing to run the pump until it clears? Or does anyone have any other suggestions?

Pics of deck progress for funsies.

HI y'all! My salt readings via Taylor drop kit have been very wacky past two months or so.

02/26/2025, Salt reading is at 2800 - a little low but no biggie, coming off the off-season
02/28/2025, I added one 40lb bag of salt to pool to bump it up and get ready for warmer weather (it's a small pool, 7000 gallons or so)
03/02/2025, Salt reading is at 3400 - about what I expect after adding a bag of salt, all good so far
04/01/2025, Salt reading is at 4600 - without having added any more salt!! wtf?
04/04/2025, Salt reading is at 4600 - same as last reading
04/09/2025, Salt reading is at 3800 - OK cool I guess
04/15/2025, went to pool store to test water just as a control although I don't log those numbers in my PoolMath. Salt reading from pool store is 4000 - ok whatever
04/18/2025, Salt reading is at 5600 - seriously, WTF??

How is my SALT reading increasing and so high without me having added salt?????

Additionally, my SWG doesn't seem to be keeping up with FC production. I will be taking it apart to clean and look for scale very soon, but a dirty SWG shouldn't affect salt readings, right?

Other new items: I've been using about 6oz of The Purple Stuff for iron staining weekly, along with the Culator Egg 4.0 in pump basket. This is after doing the ascorbic acid treatment months and months ago for iron staining, and having brought FC back up very slowly. That process was all said and done probably 2 months ago.

Here are my full readings as of 60 minutes ago and see my profile for full historical PoolMath readings and notes if you're so inclined.

FC: 0.5
CC: 0.0
pH: 7.5
TA: 60
CH: 210
CYA: 30
SALT: 5600 (!!!!!?????)
TEMP: 89

Thanks!! -Dave

i just switched from liquidator and chlorine to a swg please share some info such as salt bags to use when opening pool,, is stabilizer needed as in chlorine pool.,.etc..thanks to all

Hi all!
Hope you had a good winter.

I opened my pool recently, the algae wasn’t too bad actually. Water was still nice. Relatively clear. I thought I needed to Slam on every opening, So I started. It’s been 4 days and I seriously just can’t stop the spring time debris from falling into the pool. Annoying little organic matter everywhere. The water is crystal clear No algae. FC been north of 30 for my SLAM for a few days now. My overnight chlorine loss failing every time and I think it’s because of the debris fallling into the pool. Did I really even need to SLAM and do you think I should just stop my SLAM? Doubt It’s algae eating my chlorine, instead the organic matter falling into the pool.

Maybe I should stop It. Wait for the pollen to stop, and then assess once the debris stops falling and water can stay debris free?

Thanks again!!

Hello,

I have two 5-HP pumps on my pool that are wired for 30-amps at 220-volts. I bring the pumps in each winter and I'm tired of disconnecting them. I'd like to replace the wire with a 30-AMP waterproof plug. Has anyone done this and is it okay to do? I got the idea from my boat which has 30-amp plugs.

Thanks,

John

Hayward HeatPro In Ground Heat Pump HP21104T​

Started using my heater this season and noticed yellow insulation stuck to the fan grill. I looked around thinking a critter got in and didn't see anything...should have dug deeper. A few weeks later, I saw a rat and it ran into the water discharge pipe area. Ah, S%$t! Put out a bait block and next morning it was nearly all eaten. Today I removed the top and side and found something covering the compressor. A bit of reading later, it's called "compressor blanket". Its sole purpose is noise reduction...it's actual use, rodent nest. I pulled it out and the bottom of my heat pump is full of rat droppings and chewed up insulation. It's going to take some doing (and danger) to clean this. Don't see the dead rat, but there are a few spots of blood. I'm going to pull the entire unit out and take it to the driveway, lay it over (on the removed control panel area) and blast the stuff out (while being masked) with a garden hose. NO COMPRESSED AIR!!!! Rodent urine and droppings can be dangerous--sweeping and compressed air will aerosolize them for you to inhale. Think Hanta virus. Then I can get in and inspect every inch of every wire to find where they were chewed. If this didn't cost so much, I'd just replace it...it's that bad. Recommendation, take off the top grill and remove the compressor blanket before it becomes a nest. Use metal to seal around the water pipes and electrical whip to prevent entry.

I noticed yesterday that My Ichlor 30 SWG has a slow leak, measured at 4 oz per hour. It appears to be coming from underneath the small black housing that the temp sensor screws into. No signs of a leak at the sensor itself. My unit is almost 4 years old so out of warranty. Researching here and on Reddit, I've seen a few with the same issue, but no posted root cause or solutions (other than replacing the entire unit).

Has anyone had this problem and found an economical solution to the leak?

I’m planning to replace my single speed Hayward pump with a VS Intelliflo that I got for free.

The Intelliflo has 2” fittings vs the Hayward 1.5” - I already have pool unions to handle this. But, the Intelliflo inlet is a couple of inches higher and needs to be an inch closer to the closest suction line (the closest line is my main drain). I don’t think I will have enough room to fit it in and I don’t love the short straight run into the pump either way.

Any suggestions to handle this? I was thinking of cutting all three lines near the ground and bring the whole section back away from the pump and up as a single piece but that seems a little lazy. Another idea I have is to raise straight vertically and reroute the closest suction line with the others into a 4 way fitting but I think that will require all new valves and fittings. My last idea is to hire out the job but I would like to know how I want it done first!

Thanks!

Opened up my plunge pool it’s around 1500 gallons. Keep getting a soapy bubbly water. Checked water chemistry it’s fine. Pool also have a pool defender zinc anode that is leaking. Want to get rid of soapy water and wondering if pool defender anode is necessary for if I could just replace with pvc?

This is my first time opening my pool. The installer is coming to open it up in 4 days (replug salt water generator, remove plugs, etc) but they do not do the water chemistry, so I decided to do it myself.

I work from home so I can closely monitor it.

The pool is very dark green.

I am in Canada (Montreal) so we had to wait this late to open because spring came here late.

I have found good guides on here to open to a green pool but I have a few specific questions.

1) I do not have a vacuum to waste option. I have 2 filters (1 used from last year and 1 new).

I was thinking of using the used one for opening the pool and then using the new one for the rest of the season.

Will the filter be able to filter a green pool like this? If not, I have a shop vac, I also have a transfer pump (plug my regular hose on it to empty a bit the pool sometimes or to empty ponds).

Was also thinking of buying a cheap pump and creating a portable vacuum. Might be overkill haha.


2) my other question is:
Should I do a full test with my Taylor kit while the pool is green like this? Where do I start? When do I start testing?


Thanks!!

This is regarding the main, big o-ring. Not sure what its condition is, but if it looks ok, I will reuse it. I have this: https://www.amazon.com/3-ONE-Multi-Purpose-PTFE-Lubricant/dp/B00J25JDDY

Can I use that to lubricate it, or do I need silicone o-ring grease?

22k Gal in ground Gunnite pool.
TA - 90
PH - 7.5
FC - 5

2nd summer with pool and just dialing it in and starting to swim.


App is telling me I need to raise Ph as well as lower TA.

PH was 7.8 for a week and I kept slowly adding in muratic acid a couple times a week to try and get it down.

Just want to verify. I believe I need to add muratic acid and lower ph to 7.0-7.2 then aerate to increase Ph only. Assuming my water falls will help with this. Never had TA go out of balance last summer.

Ive had several calcium deposits that I scrape off but now something different. This is not a regular calcium streak (crack?)
Just a weird calcium lump?

Hey there. So we had a very green pool at start up as our filter needed to be replaced. Sand filter, in ground vinyl liner 25,000 gallons, SWG, Hayward VS pump. did use shock on the pool tow times.
Water chemistry using Taylor test kit:
TC/FC/CC. I can't tell. the test comes out more red than the 5-10 mark for TC/FC
Alkalinity- 80
PH - 7.5
CYA- 60
The filter has cleared quite a bit of the algea (been 10 days) but still cloudy. Can barley see the bottom of shallow end and deep end water has green tinge. can see some algea on the bottom. Tried to figure out what to do on here but confused! Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

Getting “Omni controller lost connection to router” on my Omni app. I’ve had this before. Resetting the router always works.

Reached out to Hayward and they instantly sent me to contact a local company for warranty. Which I guess is fine, but prefer to trouble shoot it myself.

This is our first pool. Is this just environmental debris floating at the top of our pool? We put skimmer socks over the skimmer baskets and they have been coming out with a nasty light brown gunk. What can we do to get rid of it??

We had a power surge and a couple of my breakers were tripped. All have been set back and tested and appear to be working
Power is going to all other equipment but my Intelliflo pump. I have looked online and it sounds like it went into Safe Mode. And and sounds like there is a way to remove it (pushing multiple buttons at one and holding etc). Does anybody know this trick?

Hello,
I am about to purchase my first pool. I have read so much stuff that I'm not sure where to start, now. I am looking at a Laguna 16x24 Oval resin hybrid.
I thought I wanted a DE filter/pump. But after reading various statements I don't know if I should stick with a sand filter or the cartridge filter. I'm here trying to learn what all I need to get my pool setup properly.

Okay with the OLD POOL MATH CACULATOR, under BORATES there are 3 choices to add to pool, Borax, Boric acid and Tetraborate Pentahydrate. Is Borax also called Tetraborate Pentahydrate? Moreover, want to purchase Duda Boric Acid Granular. And that would be correct, not the powder?

I have a 36,000 gallon rectangular shaped pool with two horsepower pump. I've always had air bubbles from one of the return Jets. And I suspect that the air is being sucked in through the filter canister lid right next to the pump and motor. It seems like the amount of bubbles can be affected by how tight the lid is, and how new the lid o-ring is. But even with a new o-ring, it's still blows bubbles out of the jet in the pool. I rarely get debris in that filter basket because I have a filter basket in the vacuum hose in the swimming pool that catches most of the debris. So I am thinking about just putting in a new o-ring, and adding silicone around the O-ring and the groove and the lid, and giving it a day or two to set up just to see if that makes a difference. I know that I could have a real problem getting the lid off if I add the silicone, but at least I would know where the air is coming from. Maybe just put silicone around the outside of the lid after the lid is on? Suggestions?

PoolStored said:

Welcome to TFP!!!

First thing to do is get a test kit. Here is a link to the recommended kits. Get one with the salt test. I'd recommend the TFTestkits.net TF Pro Salt. Link-->Test Kits Compared

Black Algae
With black algae, the best method is to use a power washer (lower pressure the better, and wider tip, starting far away from the spots and moving in until it starts to blow the algae away). Then get a pressure spray pump, fill with the strongest liquid chlorine you can find and spray the areas with the LC with the pool pump off.

You will then need to run your FC at 20% of your CYA for several weeks.

Either way, as a result of having BA, after the few weeks of FC at 20%, you probably need to run FC at 15% of CYA for life of this plaster.

Click to expand...

PoolStored,

I'm dealing with this now and did for most of last Summer. It's a pain and I'm very tempted to try Suncoast's Super Black Algaecide. I keep reading on here to not use algaecides, but my wife and I are so frustrated. I travel a lot and it's hard to stay on top of it.

Talk me off the cliff of using algaecides!

I'll run tests for all chemicals later today and report back here. I need a detailed plan to get rid of this and keep it gone!!!

I have set my heater on OmniLogic to 97 via the app. A few seconds later, it reverts to 80 on the app. I’ve done this several times. Any idea why?

Pentair backwash valve "push-pull", 2" pvc. 3 yrs old.

Plunger well and truly stuck closed. Cannot twist or pull it. Lubricated O-rings at end of last summer.
Tried everything, even tried to bump it out with pump (collar unscrewed), doesn't budge.
Can twist a few degrees with great effort but afraid I'll break it.

Help!

Intellichlor is leaking. Just started dripping. It’s from the original builder about three years old now. Need a good source to clean it too if I’m going to take it apart. Any tips? See link for video.

Hi all, short time lurker / first time poster. We recently bought a house with an IG SWG pool so I've been reading about how to maintain. We are coming up on our first season to be able to use and so I've had a chance to start testing different aspects of it. Recently its been warm enough to test the salt cell (Aquapure 1400plc) and I am getting error codes 172, 183,184. From my online search, this represents an issue with the tri/flow sensor, which tracks because the module to select program A or B does not light up at all despite being plugged into the control board. I suspected there was an issue because even on warm days or when running the spa the aquapure salinity meter was reading 25500 ppm but my Taylor testing kit demonstrated closer to 3000 ppm.

Unfortunately, I don't know how old the current salt cell or components are, so I am trying to determine if there is a way to fix the current sensor (unlikely) or if I should 1) replace the sensor only or 2) replace all the salt cell components at once. If you have any insights on this it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hello,
My name is Michele and my husband, Albert and I are taking on the task of managing our own pool maintenance. It's taking a lot of educating ourselves after the pool company we had wasn't being transparent. In the process, we've noticed some algae blooms (black). We've joined this site to gain more knowledge on how to keep our pool right throughout the year

We just opened the pool today and our AuqaRite S3 series circuit board just blew. Here is what we did…
1. Turned the power on to the pool-fine
2. Turned the power off to switch to backwash and turned back on-fine
3. Turned the power off to switch to rinse and turned back on- circuit board blew

It blows at the XFMR SECONDARY.
Not sure if I turned the power on too fast? This is the fifth summer with the pool and never had this issue.

Pretty experienced at this but getting around to dialing in post AZ winter here. PH is consistently testing high. I'm done adding anything as of right now, is it possible my reagents have expired? You can see my logs. I've added a bunch of MA and liquid chlorine. Both were just bought the other day. I also tested salt to 2800 and added probably about 1/8 of a 40 lb bag early this morning. Pump is running and just tested now at 2600? Going to test again later tonight to see if anything changed.