New house with a unique pool design that makes maintenance a nightmare.

1. The middle of the pool has some sort of trench running through the bottom about 1-2 feet deep and 2-3 feet wide at the largest point. It starts near the middle of the pool behind the island and runs to the deep end on the right side. I need a robot that will be good at climbing in and out of this. I have heard that the older dolphins with an "arm" on top climb well so I was considering the z5i since it can be had for under $1000 and seems to have beefy specs for that price including dual drives and wifi control.

2. Another consideration is that the pool has an "island" in the middle, so I need direct wifi control in case the cord gets wrapped around it. I know wifi control is bad on these but I think even bad control would suffice just to reverse it back around the island.


3. The pool is also swarming with oak trees so large filter capacity is helpful.


4. Lastly, you might say that a pool like this isn't the best for a robot, but unfortunately it's at least 8 feet deep (not counting the trench) so brushing the bottom is extremely difficult, and one side is inaccessible because of a rock waterfall. Even if the pool doesn't get spotless, a robot can still help a lot by stirring stuff up in the trench and deep end.


I was thinking of grabbing the z5i since it seems like a good deal for the specs, but I don't know how it compares climbingwise to the s2000 type bots or if there is something else i should look at.

Hi all,

I have a recently installed fiberglass pool and I have the results from the TF- 100 salt kit. I'm going to follow the instructions from the pool math app based on my test results, but it feels like sequencing could be important here. The test results are in the attached screenshot.

Day 1 (today)

1. Add about 8 pounds of CYA.
2. Turn up SWG to 100%
3. Add about 8 lb of sodium bicarbonate

Day 2:

I will retest for chlorine and pH levels. If pH remains low I will add one and a half pounds of borax. If chlorine remains low and the salt water generator is not keeping up, I will add bleach according to the pool math app.

How does this all sound?

I did go to the pool store to confirm my test results (attached) and it seems pretty close. They sold me half the amount of CYA I need for double the price of what it costs at Walmart, two bags of shock, and a bottle of alkalinity adjuster. I'm going to keep the shock as the cost of doing business for their test and return the other items because I can buy them cheaper elsewhere.

Thank you to all for making a great online community and facilitating owner maintenance of pools.

I know from reading the forums that everyone's experience with the IntelliChlor durability and life span varies considerably. But 10,000 hours (from Pentair) and 5-7 years for use ~12 hours a day appears to be the referenced average.

Today I came to realize that my IC-40 was installed on my ~28,000 gl. pool in July 2009. I've seen at least one postings from someone who said theirs is also still going at ~10 years but the comment appeared to be met with a sense of disbelief.

This unit has been my primary, and with the exception of very occasional superchlorination, the only source of chlorine in my pool during this time period. For years I have repeatedly inspected the cell and found no need to clean it, despite my area (Northern NJ) having particularly harder water. (It builds up on every fixture in my house.) Running over the years on average a 10 to 12 hour filter cycle per day from late May to early Sept. These days I regularly keep my chlorine ~6ppm as related to the "TFP way" (using higher CYA levels).

It doesn't function perfectly, as for as long as I can remember, it hasn't done a good job of reading the current salt level. If my standards calibrated electronic salt meter says 2.8 (2800), the IntelliChlor is saying above 3500. (Being fickle to factors like water temp is expected but it's always outright incorrect.) And generally I don't raise the salt to the recommended 3400 (by electronic meter) because that causes the IC-40 to suggest the salt is then too high (although my understanding is the cell will continue to run anyway?).

Upon realizing this today I did a bit of research and discovered you can hold the "More" button on the unit to get a % of the 10,000 hour life expectancy. It came back 60%! (!!!) I can't help but think that clearly doesn't "add up" but in a sense, why do I care?

I'm not here to brag (or jinx myself!) but I feel like I've won some kind of pool equipment lottery with this unit? Or have more folks experienced this kind of longevity with the IntelliChlor than I realize? Obviously most people post when they have problems so that's not an accurate point of reference. And to the most experienced pool/SWG/water chemistry experts here, is this the crazy anomaly I think it is? Do any of the parameters I've shared potentially explain how this unit has lasted so much longer than the average (expected)?

Part of what led me to looking up the age of the unit is that I saw one come up for sale and I thought, "Maybe I should replace it soon? Or at least buy a backup? I know it has been working for "awhile" (LOL) and replacing it would finally address the salt reading problem." But now, I feel like I wouldn't dare replace this unit before it fails. It could be on track to outlast the 30 year old pool it's serving!

Brian

I was trying to help someone understand their pool today and cover the basics, but I'm stumped on how to tell him how to backwash. I believe it is a sand filter, but no MPV or the push/pull type valve could be found.
Not the greatest picture and the label provided no info to me. Any ideas how he would backwash?

I understand the sentiment for most here is that donating is for the sake of supporting the site. However, since TFP offers perks by level, I'm looking for a few clarifications for clarification's sake.

Having recently purchased a TF-100 Pro test kit from TfTestKits (love it!), if I donate at the Bronze or Silver level now can I use the discount credit for a refill kit? And does that offer carry over year to year if I keep donating annually? Or is this just considered an initial perk? (I'm not even making the argument it should be or not, I just feel the supporter info page is a bit vague.)

Do the other discount offers such as INYO expire within some period from the time of donating? (This could impact when someone donates.)

As referenced in the Gold level, I understand the TFP Store is pretty much for giving away swag to gold supporters. But I'm a bit surprised a link to it isn't at least there in the description just to let potential supporters know what they could choose. I had to search forums to run down the cafeexpress link...

Thanks

I inherited our pool last year from the previous homeowners, and our pool light has never worked. I'm upgrading our Hayward E-Command 4 with the OmniPL Retrofit kit this year due to a bad Ecommand board (slow clock). I'd also like to get the light in the pool working.

In reading, it seems the Hayward Omnilogic pool lights have a high failure rate, and they're expensive. I'm not about that life, so I'm trying to find something else.

Someone else on this forum directed others to the Brilliant Wonders options that are Hayward compatible. They seem to be a good option and have some features that look nice for replacement and winterization if required. Before I make the purchase, I just want to be sure this will work with my automation system.

I'm looking at purchasing this: Brilliant Wonders Color LED Light | H-Style 11 Watts 100' Cord | 25503-560-100H

Questions:
1) How do I know if my pool light is 12v or 120v, and how to I ensure I don't order something that's not going to work?
2) Is it hard to pull 100' of cord through a conduit? Little nervous about that
3) Any experience with this light from others and hooking up to hayward automation?

Hi all, first year with our pool and had no idea the Texas heat might have an impact on our pool equipment, I was wondering what folks do to protect the pumps. In past years, we also had severe hail and even ice storms. We have three stone walls surrounding our pool pumps that is away from our house. No damage yet but taking preventative actions. Many neighbors claim after a number of years the equipment starts to age from the weather. Thoughts and if you done something, pictures? Thanks

I came across this while looking to resolve a light problem. I have a 35000 gal pool that I do a reasonable job of caring for, but do not spend enough time swimming. Looking forward to learning.

I’ve been draining and refilling my pool for several days due to a mistake in adding too much salt. My CH is reading at 240. If I raise the level to 350 will this also raise my salt level as I’m assuming chloride = salt? The salt level is still reading at 3800.

I have two hayward 12v lights in my pool. SP058150. Both are operated from one switch. When I switch them on it trips the gfci. I found that one of the lights had water and I replaced it. It still trips the gfci. I replaced the switch and gfci and still trips it. I unscrewed the other light to see if there is water in it and none visible, I didn’t take it apart.

The power goes through the Intermatic PX300 box.

What next?

Hello everyone,

I just installed my Pentair VSF Intelliflo pump 2 weeks ago, then a few days ago it started squeaking intermittently. What could this be?

Please see a link of the video I took: Login to view embedded media
It used to be just on start up or shut off like the video below from another user: Login to view embedded media
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Dwight

Hello everyone! First time pool owner and first post. Read through a lot of the articles and posts on the forum.
When I bought the house I had a slew of problems. I started shocking and shocking and shocking. It seemed like every week something would go wrong. The pump went out, high pressure flow valve cracked, pipes were cracked and leaking, and replaced the sand.
By then I discovered TFP! I am in the SLAM stage now of maintaining the FC levels required. What clarifies as a clear pool? I can see every foot of my pool and the dolphin in the deepend.
I started the slam with high CYA but at that point, I was already frustrated with everything before. I am maintaining a 31 FC level. When do I start the OCLT?
I do see the algae dust and I am constantly brushing it and I feel like it always comes back in almost the exact some spot.

Sorry for the long post, but I have owned this house for a little over a month and just want to swim in my pool with the kids.

Hello, I am a new intex 32x16x52 above ground pool owner. I live in south central Texas and have been having issues with getting the ground level. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey everyone! Thank you for allowing me to participate in this group! I’m looking forward to learning the tricks of the trade and offer to the table what I have learned over the years! Looking forward to interacting with everyone!

Hi, recently had my pools remodeled and haven’t had to open or clean my DE filter yet but noticed our Hayward DE4820 48 SQFT DE filter was installed by our PB with the pressure gauge facing the wall. I am making sure after we remove the Upper Filter Body that we can reorient Upper Filter Body 180 degrees so that the pressure gauge faces front opposite the wall when we put it back on? Thanks for the quick help.

For years now, we’ve been utilizing the Pentair ScreenLogic PL4/PSL4 with zero issues.

Over the past month, it appears the PL4 has decided it doesn’t want to call for pool high or the chlorinator as scheduled.

Setup:
Pool pump is set as a schedule and connected to the pump circuit/button, pool high is set as a function. The chlorinator is also set as a function.

These devices have ran successfully for years until recent. I’ve made no changes to the wiring, and the only alteration to the schedule was to extend the shutoff time for the chlorinator due to our excessive TX heat this summer.

I’ve reset the panel multiple times, multiple days and even ran diagnostics. Diagnostics comes back with all circuits functioning. In the mornings when I get up I find the pool pump is not running (and it should be on high) so I click the reset button and the pump will turn on high after about 30 seconds.

Has anyone encountered this strange issue and if so, how did you resolve it?

Current schedule:


Thanks in advance,

Brandon

kellyfair said:

Why add calcium at all?

Click to expand...

I have a fiberglass pool. My Ca++2 is about 100. I also have this question on why to add Ca++2?

Appreciate the responses.

I help a neighbor with apprx 13k gallon vinyl above ground pool following the trouble free pool method with liquid chlorine. Filter is DE, base psi is 12, psi right now is 15. Chlorine level is good according to CYA levels. CYA ~60, FCL 7-9 target, min 5, todays reading was 12 (i like to keep it on the high end). No pool usage this week but have algae on the bottom of the walls to the floor. No bottom drain, only skimmer. Is the algae at the bottom because there is no usage to mix the chlorine at all levels? That is the only thing I can think of. Otherwise it is crystal clear with no abnormal chlorine usage overnight.

I understand liquid chlorine is basically pH of 13, so it's use will tend to raise pH in the pool. I see this as I've generally been adding 40oz of muriatic acid weekly to my 28k SWCG pool. (This is my first season with SWCG, so I don't have a ton of historical experience). Alkalinity is easy to maintain at 70 and the SWCG easily maintains 5ppm.

My question - does pH rise simply by the existence of the liquid chlorine, or does pH rise due to the "expenditure" of free chlorine?

I ask because I just experienced our 2nd instance of a rainy/cloudy/cooler week. For both of these instances I found via my TF Test Kit that pH did not rise as much as usual. Needed 28oz of muriatic instead of 40. No weather adjustment was made to the SWCG.

Just trying to gain more detailed understanding. THANKS!

So I bought a home with a pool and realized real quick there were some problems with leaks, I dove in and did the dye test around the pool light and fixed it pretty easily. Then i realized the only jet in the pool didnt have a cover and quickly found another leak around it, so i patched her up with flex seal and a puddy knife and now its not leaking. I did the dye test around the drain and found nothing. I did the dye test in the skimmer and found nothing as well. I replaced the pressure gauge and put new glass sand in the filter and put better couplings on the piping going to the filter. I have a 10,000 gal inground pool. I have read that an average pool evaporation rate is normally 1/4 inch a day. I feel as if my rate is more like 1/2 inch a day. Granted I live in west texas with 100 plus degree weather every day. The big question I have is the other day i was messing with the valves and i turned the skimmer valve on and my drain valve off and the pressure dropped from 15 to 5psi, what does this mean?
my normal pressure with everything on is 15psi.

I bought a Salt Solutions T-15 replacement in June, 2021. It lasted about 4 months of actual use. (Removed for winter.) They replaced it under warranty. Second one lasted about 6 months and appears to be failing again. I haven't called them yet to find out if it is still under warranty. Since the company has had a good reputation here I wanted to find out if anyone has experienced or heard about trouble with cells purchased in 2021-2022. I know they've had trouble getting materials post-pandemic, so it seems plausible they could have had trouble with material quality.

Are these the same lights? If not, what are the differences? I've looked around and can't seem to find a straight answer... I know Halco and J&J are basically the same company, but do they maintain different lines? I've been doing some new light research (my Jandy WaterColors LED lights have partially failed). I'm leaning toward the J&J XG-W's. My Jandy lights are 120v niche RGB. Two in the pool and one in the spa. Weirdly, both pool lights have lost all red functions as I put out in another post. So beacsue they use all three colors to do white, I can only get blues and greens in my pool... The spa light is still working, but if I'm going to change the pool, I'm going to make them uniform... I digress... Any thoughts on these two?

Is it possible to patch a leak on my above-ground sand filter housing? Leak is at the seam of the outside wall of the sand filter where it tapers up and meets the valve. Thanks!

hello hello
i have been messing around with my intex above ground pool for about 10 years. up until now the only issue has been how to heat the thing since it isnt big enough to attach a heater to. now my problem has been 'low salt'. i have the intex all in one filter pump/swg #28673 that i bought in 2017. prior to this i had a pump and swg separate.
i am getting a low salt light at the strangest times, and without consistency. i can run the unit for hours and not a peep. then, late into the session and after running more than 4 hours, the light comes on. i have disassembled and cleaned all components including the titanium inserts (?) and its all good. then, after many hours of running, the light is back on. we have had a lot of rain in july so we did let water out and added salt in small amounts. strip tests say its a ok. fire up the unit and all is great then on comes the light.
so, i pulled out the older swg free standing unit i had in the basement and hooked that up to the all in one. i can run the pump without its swg on, so i did this and fired up the freestanding swg. all was ducky for over 12 hours, then the HIGH SALT light appeared on the freestanding unit.
how can i get a low salt on one swg and high on the other? i was not using swg with the filter pump. all of the parts are as clean as i can possibly get them. unfortunately they are not interchangeable, so i cant part out the free standing and try to get the all in one going to my satisfaction.
i am not electrically inclined so circuit board and contacts are not something i can mess with, but it seems to be the only info so far that i can find that addresses either hi or low salt issues. is this it? should i start chlorinating manually and look for a new unit or is there hope that i havent found yet??? the filter pump on the all in one unit is a beast and works like a champ. when fully operational that all in one was the last word for the last 7 years or so. i never had it so good. now its one thing after another and frankly i am getting tired of it. i didnt want a pool like this in the first place so spending money i dont have on this thing is getting old. if anyone has an idea or similar experience i wish you would share. i am losing whats left of my mind....

Hi,

I have some growth on the tiles under and around where the water feature is. It appears to be some type of calcium buildup. I’ve tried scrubbing with a little acid but didn’t seem to remove much. Any idea what this is and how I can get rid of it?

Thanks!

Hello,

I had my pool resurfaced with super blue diamond brite last fall. As I get closer to it being a year, I have a few items that I'm going to have the plaster company fix under warranty (couple small spots of spalling). I have a few questions about the nature of diamond brite as I don't know if they're problems that the plaster company should look at or not:

- The plaster has some mottling of dark and lighter blue areas, I don't really mind and think it looks good. Along with the mottling, the darker spots are rougher than the lighter spots. The darker spots feel like sandpaper while the lighter spots are smooth. The rough spots don't hurt, it's just noticeable texture difference when walking on it. Is this normal?

- In the deep end there is a long brown streak/stain that was there from the beginning of the re-plaster, I'm guessing somebody got mud on the wet plaster or something. The plaster company said this stain would fade from chlorine. Close to a year later its not really faded much. I'm guessing the stain is mixed in with the plaster. Should I have them acid wash this one area?

Thanks

Hello,

After nursing my old compool controller along for decades, it is now down to one working circuit which I have connected to the main pump. So it looks like I will need do the Compool to Easytouch Upgrade to get my Polaris working again. The question is, do I need to get the one with a transformer? I have been unable to identify my system other than LX10 and I sure don't want to damage the new board is my old transformer is not compatible.

Also, is there any chance my indoor controls will still work? I was used to this ancient system that did everything I wanted, I sure wish I could have just repaired what I have. Thank you for your help.

Swimming Pools Contain Dangerous Chlorine Disinfection Byproducts – Here’s How to Make Them Safer (scitechdaily.com)

Not much meat. And I doubt it works in real life. So much junk on the market...

Hi there- we are new pool owners, and we are resurfacing the pool. We are going to use Pebble Sheen for the surface, and thinking either Blue Surf or Aqua Blue. Here are a couple of challenges, and where we would love some advice or suggestions - this pool is at our new-to-us vacation home in AZ, and we are now back in MN after closing, so we aren't directly in front of examples and design options. We need to choose the Pebble Sheen, and then we need to choose a matching, 2x2 PORCELAIN tile. Does anyone have some finished products they could share with us? Not sure if it matters, but the pool is on the north side of the house, and depth is 5ft. Thank you so much!