I have been getting my liquid chlorine at Wally World for just under $6/gal before tax, but the season is over, and it’s all gone meaning I have to pay slightly more for bleach that is 7.5% vs 10%.

I am considering switching to Zappit 73%, which allegedly doesn’t have CYA. Which at $240 for 50 gallons looks like it would be MUCH cheaper for me (in season I use about 2 gallons every 3 days, vs one bucket of this lasts the whole season or more from reviews).

Has anyone tried this with any success?

Just curious in reading several posts about how several folks wanted to partially drain their pools to reduce CYA or CH and used Pool math in calculating the number of gallons or %. Where or how is this done in Pool Math? I can't seem to find the equation. Tks

A bag of salt left lying by the steps of plaster pool had a hole in it and some salt leaked onto steps. Greenish yellow covered part of the steps and marks go down the steps.

The top of step looks better after brushing but still yellow markings going down the steps
Thanks
Any suggestions

Cant seem to get my pentair pump back to program after using manual. Turning it off then pushing start twice doesnt tell me anything, just turns on the pool.

I read that in order to kill algae you have to put in enough chlorine to bring the FC up to 30 - 50 ppm. I put in 9 gallons of Home Depot's 10% chlorine and that only brought it up to 15 ppm. So I went to Pinch a Penny and got 5 gallons of of their 12% chlorine and that pushed it over the edge. The next day the pool had turned from green to blue but it was so opaque I couldn't see the first step of the stairs. I ran the pool 24/7 for 4 days and it was still very cloudy so I turned off the pump let it chill until the ppm got down to 4 ppm so I could put in some clarifier. This took about a week to get there and I put in 3 oz for my 15000 pool. It said to run the pool 24 hours but if it wasn't clear after that to wait another 12 hours before adding another round. At this point the pool was still very cloudy so I cleaned the filter (single cartridge) and added more clarifier then ran the pool another 36 hours. The pool is still very cloudy and am wondering how long I need to do this or if there is a different product that is better than the Clorox clarifier. I have a polaris cleaner that keeps the particles moving around and I have been trying to brush the pool but I can't see the bottom to see if there are any leaves, etc. I'm curious to know a better, quicker, and more effective way to get clear water.

Probably a dumb question but how does one attach a 2 inch backwash hose to a 2 inch PVC pipe. Couldn't find anything in Home Depot. Can anyone suggest anything? Thanks

Randomly today my intellicenter dropped from my WiFi connection and will no longer connect. It isn’t able to find any networks and acts like the WiFi device isn’t working.

I’ve done a system reset
Turned the power off and on
Downgraded the firmware
Rebooted the WiFi router and wired connections

Still nothing , Any ideas?

Installed a new Pureline t-15 cell on a Aquarite 900 system about 2 months ago. Everything was great until about 2 weeks ago. I had been running the cell at ~30% and maintaining a steady 3.5-4.0 Cl level (its oversized for the pool).

Suddenly the Cl cratered. No error lights. Good salt and CYA, pH levels. Thought it might have been caused by recent storms. So I chemically shocked and also turned the cell up to 75%. Stabilized Cl for a few days and then the same thing occurs. I've pulled the cell and its definitely generating Cl (lots of bubbles). Aquarite diag looks good too (3300 salt, 85F, 26.2v, 7.37a). salt levels verified with test kit (3000).

The only thing I can think is that it is shutting down at some point during day. But I have yet to catch it -- or at least the volts/amps look like its generating. Was thinking of trying an amp meter around the cell cable, but I'd need to find one that logs unattended over several hours, and not sure whether this would actually work. Also noticed the Pureline cell has a plastic panel where the cord attaches that seems to be a sloppy fit. Thought about popping that open to see if there is a loose connection underneath, but not sure that I can without marring the plastic and potentially voiding a warranty that I may need to use.

At a loss on how to troubleshoot further. Any ideas?

When does mastic really need to be replaced? I had a pool guy out to look at another issue and asked about these gaps I have noticed in the mastic between the coping and pool deck. He said it should get replaced or water can get in there and cause damage. Our pool was just completed in May 2021 so it's not that old-we are in TX though where it's been crazy hot and dry. The quote to replace it is $1200 which seems like a lot for our small pool. Do we really need to replace this now or can we wait a while? And does that price sound right? (Attached is a picture of the gaps we are getting in places and of our pool for size reference)

I would like to know if I shut off my caretaker system can I use a robot sucking pool cleaner? I was told by a salesman at Pinch a Penny That robot cleaning system will suck up the care taker heads and destroy and leave the whole empty. Has anyone out there been able to turn off the Caretaker system and use a robotic pool cleaner , one that sucks up the debris ,Successfully?

the PB said I needed to do a separate pump for adequate pressure. Well he hooked it up today and it’s ALOT of flow. Too much really. To run the waterfall he said we have to have the main drain off. So it looks to me based on this plumbing that the only thing that will be running is the waterfall if the main drain is off. Is that right? And if that’s right, why couldn’t we just have used the main pump for the waterfall also? Could a 1.5 HP pump not run a waterfall and two skimmer jets?? Non variable speed at that. I didn’t know VSP were a thing til last week. Kinda mad he installed these and didn’t tell me about the options. Here’s a picture of the current set up he told us to do to run the waterfall.

Here’s a video of the waterfall. That isn’t suppose to spout that hard.

Hello.
This is our first fall/winter season with our inground gunite pool.

The back of our property is lined with pine trees and in October start dropping their needles through mid-November. I was hoping not to close our pool. We live in TN.
I was thinking I would cover our pool with a winter cover & the water tubes during those few weeks. Can I cover it that way and just keep the pool running as usual? I know I will need to keep an eye on water level and chemicals.
I am hoping not to close it just for those 6 weeks.

Can I put that cover on and keep it running as normal?

Thanks.

Been cloudy and sub 75 all week. Have swg at 10% and FC keeps climbing 1-2ppm every few days. Is it normal
Not to have any burn off as fall begins?

First time at trying to close my pool myself. I just purchased a Cyclone. I plan to airlock the main drain and plug the return lines after blowing them out. My question is what to plug them with. I see two types of plugs among my pool paraphernalia (see photo). One is rubber with a wing nut, the other threaded plastic with an O-ring. Are these plugs basically equivalent and interchangeable (assuming the port I'm closing has the same threading as the plastic plug)?

I gather one silicone lubes the plastic plug if it is used. Is that correct? Is any prep needed for the rubber plug?

I haven't figured out what I am doing with the skimmers yet. I will either get gizzmos for the two skimmers or plug them and put capped empty plastic bottles in them. I have a mesh cover and although I plan to lower below the skimmers, the skimmers are likely to get water in them prior to next year's opening, so I should protect them from freezing water. If I do plug them, what would the forum suggest I use?

Feedback much appreciated.

When we built the pool, I decided against full automation for a variety of reasons including cost, the proprietary nature of available devices, and the fear an expensive system would quickly become obsolete and unsupported. I've seen a few forums members using Raspberry PI and Arduino controllers, but that kind of technology is way above my (retired) pay grade. If your preference is high tech automation or you have programming skills no reason to read on.

I've been kicking around the idea of using a WIFI irrigation controller to control valve actuators and VS pump speeds. Valve actuators require 24 VAC power (same as most irrigation controllers) and draw .75 amps. I purchased four Intermatic valve actuators at a cost of just under $400 and hijacked the Rachio irrigation timer out of the garage. I used Alexa to set up "routines" activated by voice. Routines allow the user to set turn on/off a series of connected devices in succession, with or without pauses. The system worked good, but since an irrigation controller will power only one zone (valve) at a time, transitions between pool, spa, waterfall, and cleaner modes were taking several minutes.

I ended up purchasing two 4-channel WiFi switches at a cost of about $22 each. Through the Ewelink Smart Home app, each channel is recognized by Alexa as an individual device. The module is powered by hardwired 7-32 volts AC/DC or USB 5 volts. Since my system already used a 24 VAC transformer to power the Intellicomm II Interface Adapter, I used this to power both the modules and the valve actuators. When purchasing a power source, choose one that puts out 24 VAC power and can handle the amperage draw of all valves combined.

I've included a photo of the relay board below. Each valve actuator can be run in both directions off one relay. Each relay has three connections: Common (24 VAC power), NC (normally closed) and NO (normally open). The actuators have three connections. The black lead goes to the other side of the AC power. The other two actuator leads (red and white) power the valve in separate directions. One lead goes to NC and the other to NO. When power is shut off, the motor turns one way and when powered up, it turns the other way. A limit switch in the actuator cuts power to the motor when the valve reaches it's resting position.

The Intellicomm II Interface Adapter installed in my system allowed external control of four pump speeds via the Intelliflo VS data cable. I had two inputs wired to mechanical timers and two to rocker switches in the load center. I wired into two of the four inputs and connected each to an individual relay on the second 4-channel Wifi switch. Each is recognized by Alexa as a device (Pump Low Speed and Pump Med Speed). I left alone two of the mechanical timer and switch inputs on the Intellicomm, but may connect them to the open relays in the future.

I named my valves "Pool Return" "Pool Suction" "Cleaner" and "Waterfall". When "Pool Return" is set to ON, water goes to the pool. When OFF, water goes to the spa. When "Pool Suction" is set to ON, water comes from the pool. When OFF, water comes from the spa. Same idea holds true for the two remaining valves.

I programmed four individual routines in the Alexa app, Pool Mode, Spa Mode, Waterfall Mode, and Cleaner mode. I included a screenshot of the Pool Mode program below. The first three modes above are intended for use when the pool is in use. Modes can be changed through Alexa by voice or by buttons in the routines section of the app. I found the system operates flawlessly, so far. I'm gonna work on daily schedules, but for now, the pump will remain on the reliable mechanical timer or an internal pump program.

I used a Rachio outdoor enclosure ($30) to house the switches and mounted it above my load center. The relays have four manual switches which correspond with the relay assignments...something that may come in handy for manual control of individual valves or pump speeds. The WiFi switch I purchased also comes with a remote (a bit of a novelty). Each button can be programmed to control on/off functions of several relays. It won't get much use.

I know this won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it works out great for my needs. Total cost (excluding the actuators) was about under $100. Add to that a few bucks for a 24VAC transformer and you have full automation of the valves. Pump control is dependent upon your own set up.

app is crashing when trying to sync

Hey all- my first post, so please be gentle.

First time pool owner, got a Dolphin Nautilus CC Plus a couple months ago. Think it’s been doing a pretty good job (I have no experience with others)- I know it cleans debris off the bottom very well.
That said, when there’s an algae bloom (like now) it doesn’t appear to really scrub the floor/walls so much as I hoped. I can see it leaves wheel tracks, but the machine-length scrubbers don’t seem to really be making good contact. (See image). Are they not reaching the floor?

FWIW: vinyl lined, 46’ L pool.

I had code 000F showing all day yesterday, and spent quite a while trying to figure it out.

000F is a low voltage indicator for this pump. I seen a couple of other posts asking about this code but in my opinion did not see anything that was a real resolution.

First problem, I disassembled the plug itself, and found that ants made a nest inside the plug. I shook that out and cleaned it out and reassembled the plug.

Second problem, after turning off the breaker of course, I took apart the outlet box. Once I took the front cover off, a ton of brown water can pouring out of the box itself. I'm fairly certain that was the issue lol.

I left it open and allowed the outlet box to dry out.

After about an hour, I plugged my pump back in and it worked. This might not be the problem for all but hopefully this tip helps.

I have a Raypak 206a that I installed in Aug 2022. About a week before closing the pool, it started leaking. Is supposed to be a 2 year warranty but I couldn't get Raypak to respond to me, nor could I get anyone to come out since I installed it myself. So... I opened it up and could see water coming up from where one of the heat exchanger tubes goes into the end plate. I have a video but apparently can't post those here. I took the header off and I can see what looks like a slit of some sort that I assume is causing the leak. See the picture. I assume it was a manufacturing flaw that worked through the adhesive.
I am thinking a little bit of Liquid Steel Epoxy would solve the issue but wanted to run it by the forum. I really don't want to spend $800 for a new heat exchanger. Thanks!

So my pool is going in in about 3 weeks...I live in Ct so even tho I have a heater it will be too cold so I'm assuming they will install and then close the pool??
I'm getting a swg but I'm assuming I don't add any salt this year and just wait until spring? Hiw do you all handle fall installs with swg pools?

I help maintain an indoor pool for our HOA. We are getting a good amount of DE in the pool recently. The company that services the pool charges $175 for an annual inspection and cleaning of the DE filter. They were notified of the problem with DE getting into the pool and sent us an estimate for $420. $175 for filter cleaning seems reasonable. Would replacing grids increase the cost to $420.? And this is before they even know if any grids are damaged or how many need to be replaced. Just trying to get a sense if this seems to be fair pricing. Thanks for any input on this.

Over the past few years the suction at my skimmer has gradually dropped, along with the water flow (visible in my SWCG cell). Pump primes normally, but no longer completely removes all the air from the pump basket, although no additional bubbles show. Filter pressure was once about 20 psi with fresh DE, rising to 25 to 30 psi before the next cleaning. It is now about 15 psi max. I have no automatic pool cleaner, only manual vacuum - which isn't frequently required as I have a motorized vinyl cover which prevents most debris from entering pool. However, the effectiveness of vacuuming has dropped significantly, to where I have to vacuum the same areas multiple times to pick up the dirt on the bottom of the pool. To keep my SWCG cell full of water I now have to run the pump at full speed (3000 rpm) 100% of the time. If I reduce the speed to say, 2000 rpm, the SWCG cell doesn't fill enough to be effective. The performance appears to be identical whether the pool or the spa is selected, leading me to believe any postulated blockage is between the pool/spa selector Ortega valve and the pump.

I have read countless threads here about related issues and have (to the best of my ability) ruled out a suction side air leak. Running water over the pump basket lid, over the pipes and fittings leading to the pump (including the Ortega valve near the spa). Remaining potential causes seem to be: 1) might have a partial blockage in the suction line, or 2) the diffuser or impeller in my pump has accumulated debris, or has damage that has reduced its pumping ability. I don't believe the pump sounds any differently now than previously when everything was working fine. The pump is no longer able to empty skimmer if I hold the weir flapper up to restrict the flow into the skimmer from the pool. (Water flows around the sides of the flapper faster than the pump can remove it.) If I remove the pump basket drain plug while pump is running, the suction felt there by my finger is very weak. This leads me to think the pump is partially clogged or damaged.

1) I have used my shop vac to blow the suction line from the pump back to the skimmer, where the water in the line then sprays up out of the skimmer. If I blow from the skimmer, then the water flows into the pump basket freely. I tried to suck a waxed string (with a 1/2" wooden ball tied on) into the skimmer using the pool pump. I allowed about 70' of string (my best guess at total suction line length) into the skimmer but never saw the ball in the pump basket. Upon pulling the string back out (with the pump off) it appeared that the string got all tangled up and tied in a mess about 15-20' into the suction line. I think this is probably just beyond the Ortega valve that selects between the pool and the spa. Maybe something there catches the string, not letting it continue the remaining 50-60 feet. I have not yet tried flushing the line with water using a Drain King type bladder. I can easily fill the pump basket by running a garden hose into the skimmer.
I bought an inexpensive 50' drain camera, but was unable to get it past the first 90 degree elbow from either end. Note that the pool/spa Ortega selector valves are located in a vault below ground level. I could remove the guts from the Ortega valve to get "closer" to the pump, but since these valves are below the pool water level, the dirt bottom vault will fill with water once I do ( not a non-starter, but not ideal).

2) Problem with the pump. I ordered the o-rings, drain plugs and seal for my pump from INYO Pools preemptively before opening the pump. My first question here is, can I get to and examine the diffuser and impeller without disturbing the seal? In any case, I am planning to shut of the power and separate the pump so I can examine the diffuser and impeller for debris or damage.

Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions? I can take some additional photos (and maybe a sketch of the entire hookup) of my plumbing. Note that having the solar panels (mounted on my roof) turned on or off doesn't appear to affect the performance I've described.

Thanks in advance!
Dale

Hello everyone. I got it in my head to put an inground pool in my house, and I was lucky to find this group....I am hoping someone can guide me on what to use to backfill around the walls (I purchased a steel wall vinyl liner inground pool) . I am attempting to price out the installation cost , and I think I have a handle on the other areas, but I am struggling to figure the material to backfill behind the walls. I know that I CAN'T use the dirt that I excavated, but some people say gravel, others sand, others big rocks............ what is the best to use????? thank you in advance

I've had great success with the PoolMath and following TFP since my new pool was filled about two months ago. I have an IC60 and would like to convert to using it.

My pool is clear and balanced and a CSI today of 0.1.

What is the method/procedures and best practice to do the conversion?

Thx.

I have a Cornelius / Capri pool the specs say 15x31x52, and I need to replace my liner and have some backfilling fixed (see a previous thread where my liner is sinking due to washout from poor backfilling ). I looked at my pool quote (from 2018) and it says "Pacific Diamond 15x30 Unibead 52". Pretty sure it's not Pacific Diamond, its Boulder Swirl. But when the pool contractor came out to look at my pool, they said it was an overlap liner (see photo below of the liner install on my pool). Looks like overlap? I've like our liner (it's just the wife and I), and it's held up good I think.

Is it only Swimline who make these Boulder Swirl like we have right now? I would like to get a thicker liner (20, 25mil), but all I can find on the Swimline is 20 gauge, which is less than the 20,25mil. Or will the 20 gauge still be fine? If my current one is 20 gauge it seems to have done fine....?




Can any pool liner be replaced with a Unibead liner? Do I need to make sure my Capri pool can accept a Unibead / beaded liner? I did find this in my pool install manual




And photo of current pool liner installed ---- Overlap? --------------- thanks for any help!!!

Hey there knowledgable folks of TFP. I've done tons of great quality of life upgrades to my pool since buying my house 1.5 years ago. Invested in a Dolphin cleaner, got a Betta bot surface cleaner (tons of trees on my property), upgraded my Aqualink RS touchpanel to the iAqualink App, got a new Pentail Intelliflo VSF 3HP pump. Things are going great but with Chlorine prices rising and my time becoming more limited with work and new family (baby on the way) I'm really trying to reduce my maintenance overhead and am ready to take the plunge on installing a SWG.

I've watched a few videos, and I consider myself pretty handy....I've done some of my own renovations on the house, redid my garage, epoxied the floor, drywalled and painted, general repairs around the house. I've never really done much with the pool or plumbing though. Based on the videos i've watched, the installation of a SWG seems fairly straightforward but i'd love to hear from you all, especially if you installed yourself, what you would recommend? In my experience, it the jobs that seem straightforward that tend to get complicated really fast, and I really want to avoid doing anything to mess up my pool equipment.

I've even watched some videos on pool plumbing basics, making sure there's 12 inches of clearance on the intake side, how to adhere properly, etc etc. Am I asking for a world of hurt trying to DIY install just to save 2/300 bucks in labor getting a pro to do it? Thanks!!

So I'm back to this problem , more and more frequently now. Cleaning baskets and filters always fixed the issue before , but now we just did the filters 2 weeks ago and the pressure is normal , flow appears normal, no bubbling . Heater wont start sw open. We also get hi limit fault as well , since we've gotten the heater. I know folks say it's a flow problem , but there is no bypass and this is a 2 hp pump, puts out a lot of water. I'm at a loss what to check next ? Any ideas , getting cool and need the heater to not be ou tof commision.

Thanks !!

My pool for the most part has been very clean and clear thanks to following the TFP way, however I have noticed that whenever I open the cover, there is a film on the surface of the water that looks like it could be algae (or something else?). I tried to capture it in some pictures. It goes away after the cover has been open for 5-10 minutes, and there are no other signs of algae in the pool.

Any ideas what this could be and how i can get rid of it? I am guessing that there is a film of algae or something on the bottom of the cover, but it seems that even high FC doesn’t do anything to it.

Hi. I’m so excited I found out about TFP! I ordered the pro salt kit and speedstir.
Please bear with me. I just installed a new Hayward W3T-CELL-15. The pool equipment was programmed by the previous owner of my house. I have a 25,000 gallon pool and spa. It’s a dark colored cement/plaster.
This is probably the best place to start ; The chlorinator is set to 80%. My filter and cleaner are on 8 hours a day. I live in Texas so it’s hot!
what should the salt cell be programmed to? How many hours a day? It says super chlorinator is off?
If I have the equipment programmed correctly I can go from there

Most of the way through a new VINYL pool install. For the coping/decking we are doing poured concrete. Our PB wants to do a 12" coping and a separate pour for the wider decking. Coping is cantilevered (styrofoam) forms.

The questions are:
1) Should the perpendicular rebar be stubbed out of the 12" coping and made continuous into the decking? (I believe it should).

2) At the construction joint created between the two, should that joint get a foam expansion material with caulk? Or just pour the decking right up against the coping? Of maybe poured up against the coping but with a thin plastic bond breaker? Something else??

NOTE that the pool walls are steel with a 5" top steel "collar". There is angle bracing about every 5-6' all the way around the pool which will bridge BOTH the coping and the decking. i.e. there will be equal support for the coping and about the first 2' of decking.
There is no concrete bond beam at the top of the pool.

No questions on the bonding, I can sort that out regardless of the solutions above.

Thanks in advance!