My name is Christian..I'm in Denver Colorado, I own my own business repairing hot tubs, love everything about hot tubs, and most importantly loved keeping my customers happy

Moved from here


Not sure why but my CYA level is at 170 right now. I have not added chlorine to my pool for 3 weeks and the water is still crystal clear. Pool uncovered 24/7 and chlorine level drop only by 1.0ppm . So far I'm not complaining.

Third year with 24x12 intex ultra.
Last year's upgrade was an Intex SWG. Still got algae and I think I know why.
Last year's CYA was about 30. SWG was on for 3 hours a day. I don't think I ever understood the keep it above the minimum Chlorine at all times.
This year, upped the CYA to 60, running SWG for 6 hours overnight while running pump. 12 hours to keep it all moving. Keeps Chlorine nicely in the 6-7 ppm range and not a hint of algae yet. Fingers crossed, touch wood, etc etc.
Other lesson - run the Aiper Seagull every day.

And this year's upgrade...a hint in the picture.

I just for an above ground bestway circular pool. 14ft across ans 48in deep. I tested the water and everything is where is it supposed to be except CYA and chlorine. Was doing mild research and was listening to someone who didn't know what they were doing. I shock it, chlorine cgoes up to 10 then goes to 0 by next day. I look up and see that it's probably the cya. I buy chlorine stabilizer the chlorox brand and put about 16 oz give or take bc the bag says to put 16 oz per 4k gallons and mind is about 4500 gallons. I throw it in the pool and brush the heck out of it until it's pretty much dissolved. Test it the next day, cya is still 0 . Now it's about 4 days later, I put more stabilizer bc I'm thinking even if it wasn't enough to go to 30ppm it should've showed something more than 0. So I put about 22 oz, brush out and it's been about 3 hours and still at 0. Do I need to wait longer? I really need this chlorine up to even think about going in it. It's a new pool, never swam in and it's been sitting there for 2 weeks already. Just frustrated

my TA is 110 do I need to lower if my PH has been consistently at 7.4?

CYA 50
calcium 310
combine cl 0
FC i try to keep at 4-5

Does anyone know of a 90 degree fitting with some kind of 360 degree, spiral, or star pattern to keep the flow below the surface in an attempt to help reduce aeration?

My 7’ x 7’ tanning ledge / sun deck has a single bubbler return in the center. I’m trying to reduce aeration as much as possible. I also have a cascading water feature from an elevated spa that aerates the water while the pump is running approximately 12 hours daily but nothing I can do about that.

pH rise rate isn’t terrible. I’m just trying to lower the frequency of adding muriatic acid as much as I can.

Still working on getting to that sweet spot for TA as I’ve learned from this site it’s a factor for pH rise, but that’s for another thread.

Thanks!

The family pool, installed in 1984, last had a bulb replacement done by a professional a couple years ago, which saw little usage before failing. Presumed it might simply be a bad bulb, but after personally removing it (shutting off the breaker; it's a low-voltage line), bringing it to the deck, and taking the bulb to test for continuity at the hardware store, the bulb proved not to be the problem. The in-deck junction box is incredibly corroded. Breaker is ok (the pump on the same line runs) and when flipping the light switch by the pool, a clicking sound is heard back where the pool equipment and transformers are.

I'm not familiar with what may need to be done other than a bit of research online, but presume a test for power at the the in-deck j-box is one step. There's a spa light that's out as well, which I thought I could test and if it was also not working with a good bulb, then we'd know the problem is upstream for both lights. Photos of the j-box attached - I'm not certain what I'm looking at, but it seems like 3 wires are running to the pool light (one is a ground?) and others out to the spa, but which are which, and which are the original power lines? The wingnuts are frozen, and some of the connections are done without wingnuts - just a glob of corroded metal with several wires fused to it. A mess.

All advice appreciated - I may have to back out of this challenge, and now, thinking of it, should have confirmed here first that if the transformers are bad, could this lead to full 120 coming through instead of 12V? I'm aware that I'd need to seal/putty up (underwater epoxy) the points where the conduit enters the pool and in-deck j-box, and add a new o-ring to the light and probably a new j-box gasket. Even if this job is too big and we completely give up now (we're just not interested in pool illumination enough to spend $600-1000 to have it done) does it still make sense to put on a new o-ring, new gasket, and putty all the openings back up to maybe prevent further damage? I can see there's moisture in the in-deck j-box though this might have come up from pulling on the light cables to remove the fixtures.

Happy Friday folks..

I found my pump not working, the capacitor was blown. I got two capacitors from supplyhouse. put one on and started motor. Motor started and it immediately blew the capacitor. I tried the second capacitor, same result. Motor runs fine even after blowing the capacitor (well it is a start capacitor). Now I blew both the capacitors. What might be happening? is it possible that original capacitor failed naturally, and the new capacitors are just bad? or motor got any issues?

So I bought a branded, slightly expensive capacitor from Amazon, let me see what happens with it.

Any input appreciated.

Following on from my previous thread where i had CC (1-1.5ppm) and no obvious cause. It was suggested that I may have some algae hiding somewhere. Sure enough i found some in the creases of the liner. The water is otherwise crystal clear, just showing CC in my tests. I brushed thoroughly in the creases of the liner and dislodged the algae, it wasnt a lot but it was there. Ive maintained the regular brushing and havnt seen algae since.

I havnt had time to perform a SLAM and I believe thats why my CC is still above 1ppm? I did an overnight chlorine test last night and the results were:

21:22 last night

FC - 4.36ppm

05:30 this morning

FC - 4.02ppm

Is this indicative of anything? Should i still do a SLAM to bring the CC down? The no overnight FC loss, does that suggest that i have potentially remedied the initial cause of the CC?

Above ground pool, sand filter and all other parameters within ideal ranges on pool math.

Thanks.

Quick summary. Mastertemp400 was quick cycling. Pool repair guy concluded new thermistor was needed. It was going to take months for repairman to return, so I replaced thermistor, high limit switch and gas shutoff switch myself. Heater worked for a few days, then heater gave E05 error, so I replaced the stack flue sensor. Heater went back to E01 error. I tried a new thermistor. E05 error.

If I disconnect the stack flu sensor, it will run for about 15 minutes, then cutoff. When the heater runs, the temperature is about 30 degrees off, too cold.

So, is a new control board my only option? Wiring looks ok. I can't see any breaks or damage. Heater is only 3+ years old.

My spa has developed some spots, there is a texture to the spots, they are a greyish/green. Water chemistry is right, no algae growing anywhere. Nothing to my knowledge has been dropped into the pool, the pox does not seem to be spreading, it is however in a few different areas in the Spa.
I am thinking of sanding the surface to see if I can remove from the plaster.

My Dolphin S200 is failing. Again. It is 5 years old. I replaced the bearings in the impeller motor a year (or two?) ago myself with great success, but now the drive motor seems to have reached the end of its life and is seizing. Unfortunately, based on Internet searching and the forums here, it is about impossible to find a replacement drive motor (except for a sketchy $200 used part from Israel on e-bay). I am unwilling to pay the $490 Maytronics wants for a full electronics/motor replacement unit when all I need is a motor assembly that should cost no more than $25 to make (and probably much less at their volumes).
What now? The options I am considering:

1. Purchase a $25 motor with as similar specs as I can find (24V, 100RPM, .6Nm torque) and try to hack the existing drive gear and bulkhead onto it in a watertight manner to repair my Dolphin
2. Buy a new booster pump and resurrect my old Polaris 360 pressure side cleaner (It is always needing new parts as well, but at least they are available. I got the Dolphin when my booster pump died)
3. Try out a Kreepy Krauly suction side cleaner
4. Suck it up and spend big bucks on a new robot
5. Get a Pool Blaster or similar hand held pole vac

I am not necessarily opposed to #4, provided I don't get ripped off and am actually getting a product that will either last or has repair parts available at a reasonable price. From what I can tell, however, that doesn't exist. Which makes me think getting a new booster pump and going back to the Polaris 360 might be the better choice. Parts for the Polaris are still overpriced, but don't seem to be as outrageous as the robot parts. I like the price-point of the suction side cleaners, but since I don't have a dedicated suction line for one, it will require more work to use. Has anyone attempted #1? Things to know: my pool is surrounded by trees and my robot needs to run daily. Sometimes twice a day. The cleaner lives in the pool full-time for the 4 months the pool is open in the summer. Thoughts and opinions? Am I missing other options?

Edit: I added item 5- a Pool Blaster or similar. I spent a little time looking at them today and think they might be the right compromise for me between cost and effort. At a little over $100 on Amazon for a non-name brand model, I may get one to use for the rest of this season to see how it goes. At that price point, it's less than the electricity cost to run the Polaris 360 for a season. The only thing I have to lose is the time to use it. Maybe I can convince my kids to take it on as a chore...

I have had a Kreepy Krawler system for 20 years now. It’s been suggested to use the Polaris XT. Any thoughts?

I'm installing a Latham Rockwood oval pool - according to the manual it must be installed at least 14 inches below grade. I've dug two test holes in my yard. I get water at 14 inches in the lower portion of my yard and at 27 inches in the higher portion. (The pool will go from the higher to lower portion.) I assume this is a problem. What are my options? I was thinking of digging deeper than 14 inches and putting gravel and drainage pipe to move the water away from the pool.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi!

I'm (hopefully) nearing the end of my SLAM and have been vacuuming everyday to waste and it's a bit cumbersome doing that and then having to refill the pool. I have a sand filter without any DE added - can I vacuum regularly through the filter to remove the dead algae or do I need to keep vacuuming to waste to make sure it gets out for good?

Newbie alert! Sorry, if this is already been asked that I did look and couldn’t find answers. I’m trying to connect the low-voltage wires from the pump to the OmniLogic. The manual provided pictures and diagrams of other pumps but not the one I have I have the Hayward XE super pump VS and the Omni logic. The trouble I’m having is finding the connection inside the back of my pop there’s no bus bar for me to connect the wires into. Can anyone assist with this?

Thank you in advance

It’s leaking here. Not too crazy but any ideas?

Anyone own this waterline aerator, or something similar?

I am aware of the pool aerators found here: Cooling A Pool - Further Reading. However, I would like something more discrete, even at the expense of performance. Also, it seems these are fairly easy to remove & store when running the robot (I am assuming leaving any aerator/mister in-place when running a bot is not good).

These come in a pack of two. I have 6 total returns, I also hope not to have to block any returns to get something like this to work. I am not interested in a DIY solution, but I'm open to other products or suggestions.

My pool reaches 92 degrees, and I only want to reduce temperature by 4-5 degrees.

Hello, We’ve had a pool for about 5 years now. Lots of problems, LOL. It’s an in-ground, indoor, salt water pool. We sprung a leak at the deep end ladder. The leak has been patched but we are unsure if we should reinstall the ladder. How well do the patches hold up? HELP! LOL. I’m stuck with 2 out of school children and no pool (no steps to get in or out)

Hello all, I hope you're staying cool in your pool!!!

I've been in this house about 1.5 years and take care of my chemicals thanks to you all!

I'm trying to figure out the right thing to do with my return jets. I've uploaded 4 pictures, one of the pool and jet numbers in each other picture. I have a 20k gallon pool probably about 40 years old. It has one drain, one skimmer basket, two return jets #1 & #3, and another return jet that is used by my vacuum booster pump.

#1 is in my shallow end over the steps, you can see the buildup and where the water was directed before.

#2 is the Booster and halfway point of the pool.

#3 is in the deep end.

Both #1 and #3 have 4 screws and seems to be an return that swivels, but is a little loose.

#2 has an adapter that I've pulled out when not using the vacuum. It has threaded pipe inside that I can put some type of return on.

My challenge is since I only have 1 skimmer, and the returns are on the same side of the pool. I can't figure out how to position the jets. I'm also looking to get a return for #2.

I believe I have 1.5 " pipe throughout, it's a Hayward DE filter, and VSP. My typical pressure seems to be at 8psi.

I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but hope this was thorough.

how long do people keep skimmer socks in?
do you reuse them, and if so, what is your cleaning process between uses?

despite never failing oclt, no visible algae, my pool fills with dead algae every week. im wondering if the skimmer sock is seeding it, because if it gets an algae cell on it, then covered by dead algae, it can never be chlorinated by passing water, right?

should I just ditch them and let the water go into the filter without a sock?

thanks in advance

Does anybody have any information about this pump? From the specs it looks like it’s way over engineered for simply automating the adding of liquid chlorine… But I have a chance to get it at an amazing price and a buddy of mine is looking to automate the adding of liquid chlorine to his pool.

S3001AA101NG1​

So after a year long pool build project, we FINALLY got it finished and pool filled 2 days ago. We have a custom blend Stonescapes Tropics Blue. I'll update my build thread soon.
Anyway, start-up was today and since I wasn't able to be there (he'll be back on Monday to do the walk thru), I have no idea what he added but the water chemistry went haywire. I'm using the TF-100 test kit.

2 days ago our numbers were:
FC - 1
PH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 275
CYA - 0

I added some acid to bring the TA down and some Jacks Magic Blue Stuff as a sequestrant.

Yesterday our numbers were:
FC - 1
PH - 6.8
TA - 80
CH - 300
CYA - 0

I added a small amount of Borax to see if it would raise PH

Today after start-up our numbers are:
FC - 8 <--- how concerning is this?
PH - <6.8
TA - 30 <--- how concerning is this?
CH - 350
CYA - 0

So from what I've read, I really can't do anything to get the chlorine level down? I know I can add borax to raise PH, but I've also read that new plaster will raise PH on it's own. TA fell off a cliff and Pool Math app is telling me to add 9 lbs of baking soda?!

Looking for any guidance here. Obviously the start-up guy added a ton of chlorine or shock (which I didn't want), but now I'm unsure of how to proceed to get things leveled out. This seems almost like an unintentional acid start, which I would have liked to avoid based on what @onBalance said about it shortening the lifespan of the plaster.

This is my first pool, so I'm in uncharted waters here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

My light developed a leak after a liner replacement and trashed my LED bulb. I need to test it, but if the leak is at the cable, I have to replace the whole thing, correct? Here's a couple of pics. The rust in the back makes me think it's leaking at the cable. Thanks for any advice.

Two questions. The O ring for the stand pipe in my filter is cracked. Needs replacement? And the air vent hose is cracked but still stands pretty straight. Does that also need replacement?
Thanks

For times when you want to remove cell for cleaning or whatnot? What about the flow switch - can that remain in place?

my husband and I decided this year to put in a AGP “oval” 21x43x54 the whole process has been a nightmare. Everything that could go wrong has including the weather. I’m about on the verge of tears! We finally started on the liner a couple days ago but I have had problems there too. I can’t seem to get it clocked and it’s obviously twisting. My question is can a liner appear to fit smaller then it is if not hung correctly? Meaning will it not touch up against the walls or sit properly above the cove, but then in some other areas fit very well…? Any information I can get would be so helpful and appreciated this project has gone on for almost 5 weeks and I’m completely drained in every way possible thank you in advance!

Hear me out...
We were in the middle of a long vacation, and we get word the "pool looks a little green". Unfortunate news, but not completely unexpected in the hot and rainy Florida summer, and with a pool that gets a lot of sun all day. The SWCG setting itself to 0% on it's own didn't help either. Fast-forward a few days, and on the morning we return, I find myself in the hospital for a day or so (nothing major, fortunately). During this time, a decision is made (without my approval) to hire a pool service to clean the pool, as it's "too much" for me to manage.

<sigh>

Now looking back over the video footage, trying to see what has been done to the water. It looks like their approach is to dump in 7.5gal of LC, 1gal of MA, and add "Regal Yellow Blast" (99% sodium bromide) on day 1. Day 2 appears to be more sodium bromide, and that's it. Today's water test yielded a 3.5FC, 0.5CC, 7.2pH.

Armed with this info, I hit TFP and see that the sodium bromide may have created a whole new headache to solve. Am I right?

At least I think it is a 4.45.

I had a fouled SWG. Cleaned it. Plugged it in.

• "SALT LEVEL LOW" or something like that message.
  
  
• My salt level is higher than 3200 ppm.

Tried to reset salt level, but the instructions in the PDF noted below don't seem to work:

• "ProLogic_4.45_Troubleshooting_Guide.pdf"

After a while it reset itself and is now working correctly.

• I would like to know how to reset the salt level from the get-go?

tanks

mac

I have been testing PH and chlorine daily. PH is at 7.8-8.0 every day we test and we add acid per the pool math trying to achieve 7.6. CH was staying at 200 the first two weeks and now has dropped to 120. Will add CH per pool math. Is TA ok? Can I expect PH to ever get down and stay down at least a day or two. We are having temps over 100+. We do have a spa spillover we can't turn off unless we put in spa mode. Pool setting is at low rpm which make the spillover trickle over and not full sheer.

PH 7.85
FC 6.0 CC 0
TA 80
CH 120
CYA 60