Future update suggestion: I’d love to be able to log an amount of time that I’ve filled my pool with the hose. Full sun & windy TX so I have the hose in pretty regularly - this is my 2nd summer with the pool so trying to get a feel for average time filling with the hose/week. Right now I just use excel to log my dates & amount of time, but would love to do it in the app!

I'll be going on vacation for 5 days in a few weeks and don't want to run the pump while away. The pump is hard wired and doesn't have a timer, so I just worry about something bad happening with the pump if it's left running constantly.

The pool is balanced and crystal clear. It's a 35,000 gallon concrete pool.

I was thinking about dosing with Polyquat 60 a couple of days before leaving, bringing chlorine up to shock level the night before, putting (3) 3" trichlor tabs into 2 different chlorine floaters (6 tabs total) and placing a sump pump in the pool on a timer set to run for 1 hour twice per day just to provide some minimal circulation.

I anticipate temperatures to be in the high 80's to low 90's for the duration of the trip, and the pool is in full sun from about 9AM until 6PM.

Does anyone have any comments, suggestions or alternative ideas?

So our pool is 25 years old. Bought the home a 2 years ago and had the pool redone. We had a leak when we moved in but it was repaired when the pool was renovated. Right now we are having several issues. The original leak was in the gunite near where the pool and spa meet. There’s a leak. Have done the test with the color being injected where the previous leak was but it doesn’t seem to be there. Losing anywhere from 1-3 inches of water a day. Have to add water every 24-36 hours. cannot get an appointment to find the leak until Aug 15. That’s problem number 1. Problem number 2 is continuous bubbles coming from the jets(eyeballs) in the pool. Sometimes a lot of bubbles sometimes only a few. Also bubbles in the spa. Problem number 3 the pump is now tripping its breaker every couple of hours. Are all of these things related? Is it worth getting a new pump before the leak is found and repaired? Thanks for any and all advice you can give me.

I’m very new at pool care.

Hello. I'm confused about the % Output on the Aquarite S3. After reading through threads here on TFP, I learned that the SWG is on a 180 minute cycle and produces chlorine according to the % setting. I was initially told by my PB that the % represented the amount of chlorine that is being produced. So, of course, I was trying to time myself checking the panel to see if the SWG was on or off according to my timed calculations.
So, I decided to email Hayward directly and find out what the time cycle was for my particular unit (Aquarite S325). The specialist responded that the machine produces chlorine consistently at whatever % setting, at a reduced voltage and amperage.
I asked him for clarification as to what exactly the % represents on the SWG:
1. Does it represent the "TIME" the unit produces chlorine based on the 180-minute cycle? OR
2. Does it represent the amount of "CHLORINE" being consistently produced at a lower output?

He responded that the 2nd question is correct. So, now I'm here, looking for another opinion or rebuttal. Am I missing something here? I'm now more confused.
Thank you.

Hello, we are SLAMing our pool to treat some significant black algae. It’s our third day and we have been running the pump nonstop. Do we need to run it the whole time during the SLAM? Our electricity is quite expensive so I’m a little concerned about that. How long does a SLAM take?
Also should brushing with a regular pool brush during the SLAM be enough? I am brushing twice a day, but so far not seeing a lot of change. I just ordered a new pool brush, maybe that will help?

Just filled up my above ground pool. Not new to pool maintence but this is the first time I’ve filled up fresh water and it has a green tint to it. I’m guessing it’s some sort of metal in the tap water? I live in New York and we just had that nasty Canadian fire smoke in the air, could that had gotten into the towns water supply? It’s not algae as I just filled it today. It’s. 15x48” intex pool and it will be swg. Thanks

It's been blazing hot here in Fl last few weeks. Heat index pushing 110 and this is causing water temps to hover around 91 deg.
Does high water temps cause calcium to build up faster on your salt cell? If so, do I need to drop the PH below 7.4?
If not, then what else would cause a salt cell to accumulate buildup on it if your chemicals are balanced?
The attached picture is what is starting to form on the top of the cells about 2 weeks from when I last cleaned it.
Ph 7.4
Salt 3200
Alk 80
CYA 60
Calcium 450
Water temp 89-91°

Hi everyone,
So the steel wall of my 27 foot round above ground definitely needs replacing. Pics attached.

Am I wrong to assume that all 27 ft 52" steel walls are similar enough to be interchangeable/compatible with my own AGP?

I know buying JUST the wall is not that much cheaper than a complete set. But if I were to replace the whole pool, I would rather get one with resin composite wall (saltwater aurora), which would then be a more expensive set.

I also need to replace the liner. I couldn't find much info about using the old liner as a floor pad, instead of spending money on one of those Gorilla "geotextile" mats. Any feedback is appreciated.

THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE!

I’m so new to this!!! People say low chlorine causes algae. I have a salt water pool and I can smell the chlorine. Why is there an algae problem and why are the phosphates so out of control. Leslie’s pool water test sheet indicates 0-100 normal but mine are at 3760. Any suggestions?

We have a 13,000 gallon plaster in-ground pool/spa combo that was built in 2010. We've been in the house for a year and - thanks to everything I've learned from the forum - I've been meticulously maintaining the pool and water chemistry.

The pH tends to run high because of the spa spillway and also a large waterfall. To balance the pH and keep it below 7.8, I need to add muriatic acid quite frequently - almost every other day in summer when the waterfall is on. In the summer, I also need to add about 20 oz of liquid chlorine per day to maintain the chlorine level close to 4-5 ppm. If the alkalinity runs below 85 ppm, I add baking soda. CYA is 40 ppm and CH is around 320 ppm.

Despite meticulously maintaining the water chemistry, I just noticed what appears to be some new spot etching on the plaster in the deeper end of the pool where I add the chemicals. I'm trying to figure out what could have caused that and how to prevent it. When adding muriatic acid, I fill up a 5 gallon bucket about half full and then dilute the acid in the bucket before adding it to the pool (never more than 25 oz at a time). I don't dilute the liquid chlorine or baking soda before adding it. Pump is always on high when I add chemicals.

Do you think the spot etching could be from when I pour the muriatic acid into the pool? Not sure what I could be doing wrong. The overall pH never tests below 7.5.

The pool has never been replastered and we're trying to put that off as long as we can due to costs. Not sure if there's anything that could help prevent the etching and also remove the stains? I've seen the Jack's Magic Stain Solution #1 but am not sure if TFP recommends that product. Would a chlorine wash or acid wash help?

Picture of some of the etching is attached. There are some additional green stains, which are probably copper and have been there for a while. Not as concerned about those for now.

Thanks for any advice you have!

Plaster
13,000 gallons
Pool/spa combo
FC and TC 3.5
pH 7.6
TA 100
CH 320
CYA 40
Pentair quad cartridge filter
Pentair Intelliflo Variable Speed Pump installed last year
Pentair MasterTemp 400 BTU heater

So I bought a 24x12 rectangular intex pool. I’ve leveled with a skid steer and added sand. My question is the pressure treated lumber that goes under the pool braces. Should I make them level with the sand then put down the ground cloth and liner or put the ground cloth down first then dig under the cloth to make the pressure treated lumber level with the sand? Help!

Thanks

The last two years a neighbor of ours lights off very elaborate and damaging fireworks and we end up having a lot of debris in our pool. We have what looks like gun powder in our pool, orange sand like material, that can only be taken out with the robot vacuum. Are there any dangerous side effects to what we are finding in our pool. Should we get metal remover chemicals? Are there any dangers to us and our young children?

for the past week we have maintained the FC at 12ppm - slam level fro CYA of 30, but eavey second day there are a few spots of algae growth. Our pump is 24 years old and is only working at 8psi. The skimmer has suction, but it's not gathering much debris. Electric cleaner runds for 2 or 3 hours each day.
Not sure why algae is growing other than wek circulation.
Any ideas?
Thanks!

Hey everyone,
I’m thinking about purchasing an outdoor storage box to keep my cover in when it’s not on the pool. I have a 24’ round and was wondering if anyone has ever used one of these. I’m not sure what size box would be best.

I know that others have come up against this but how did you get a permit for aqua sport 52 when installing as inground

I'm attempting to wire both aquacomfort heat pump and mastertemp 400 to i5p intellicenter, as of now mastertemp is wired via rs 485 and heat pump via gas port (j2) as what I'm told by aquacomfort, this is the way also by pentair the issue I'm having is I need heat pump only working in pool mode and mastertemp only in spa, mastertemp fires in both modes, in programming under heaters its assigned to bodies of water I want to control mastertemp (spa)
Heat pump (pool)
Has anyone ran into this and what's the fix I had been on phone for half the day trying to figure this out and haven't gotten anywhere to have to return to job tomorrow and continue trouble shooting

I entered my readings from my water. I do not see where I enter numbers for Phosohates. This is a huge problem for pool owners where I live.
Leslie’s pool sells No Phos but my pool maintenance man said you have to add twice as much. He used a stronger product that I can’t buy. I’m trying to do this due to high price of so many things.
Is there a way to calculate and what product to use to lower phosphate levels?
Thanks

Hi All,
Are there any concerns with the weight of the solar cover on the side of the pool when stored in the PVC pipe apparatuses that you see throughout this thread? I have a 24' round AGP and want to make one of these holders. I just don't want my pool walls to get damaged if the weight of the solar cover is too much.

Thanks!

Hi, having trouble with my system this year. When we opened our pool in May, we noticed that the plumbing pipes to our heater were deformed. No one seems to know why. The heater was shut down for the winter by a good pool company. It worked just fine when we started it up. The pipes are the first question; should we worry about this?

Then later, we realized that the multiport valve area seems to be leaking. It’s very slow drip, and though I told our pool company about it we weren’t in a rush to have it checked because the pool worked just fine.

But yesterday, our heater refused to ignite. It says “ignition failure” and “no pilot sensed”. The heater was bought and installed in late 2018. I need my heater to work; hate cold water. Any ideas? These my all be separate issues, but I’m perplexed because other than having to replace my super pump, we’ve had no trouble with our system.

We currently have this pump for this pool. I'm having some issues with the SWG saying "low flow" after every swim causing me to need to backwash, and the output from the jets is also very low. I want to get this pump as I think it will be much better for the pool.

Why does it say "minimum pool size"? Can I actually not use this since my pool size is 4500 gallons?

Is it ok for the PB to acid wash hours after the pebble aggregate is applied?

I'm having a strange issue. For the past few days, the SWG cannot produce enough chlorine. In the winter I ran it at 10-30% and it did just fine. I assumed that I would have to bump it up to 80% in the summer and it would be great. However, for the past few days I've had it at 100% and it cannot keep up. Last night I left the pump running at 100% and this morning I had gain of 1 ppm FC vs the previous evening.

I took some water to the pool store to make sure I wasn't going crazy and the results were similar.


Last night FC was at 4.0.

I ended up buying a small bucket of chlorine tablets and a basket to help the SWG. Is this what I'm supposed to be doing and will it cause any chemistry changes in the water other than FC increase?

Looking at my records, you'll see that FC likes to be around 6-7 ppm. I don't really know how could it be that this SWG can't keep up with chlorine production. There has to be something wrong here, right?

The cell is nice and clean, no buildup of any kind. Pump runs for about 8 hours a day at 2000 rpm. The water looks good as well.

EDIT: I just measured FC again and came in at 3.5 ppm. SWG ran all day at 80%, there is a tablet in the water (has been there since 11 am or so), and I still lost 1.5 ppm during the day. What is happening?

Over the winter the pool was admittedly neglected. By early springtime it turned into a pond complete with frogs and a few snakes and an unholy amount of debris in the bottom. We have a large elm tree that hangs right over the deep end, and every fall it dumps a ton of leaves and seed pods into the pool. It feels almost impossible to stay on top of it. We do not have a cover and we don’t winterize it.

I began the process of cleaning it up at the beginning of May. I have made progress as it is now blue but the water is still cloudy. I have been running the pump 24/7 since the beginning of the process. I have been regularly backwashing the filter. I have kept the chemicals in balance. I have flocced it and vacuumed to waste three separate times (and refilled and rebalanced chemicals each time). I have tried three separate clarifiers including the natural chemistry pool first aid (spaced out of course and used at the recommended dosages). This weekend I tried the jack’s magic filter fiber stuff. I keep my robot running multiple times a day. It is admittedly slowly getting better but it is still cloudy enough that I can’t see the bottom of the deep end. I am desperate! It’s been two months and my family and I have yet to be able to swim. We have a pool party that’s been on our schedule for a while now coming up in a couple of weeks and I don’t know what else to do!

One other detail is that after we had cleaned and balanced it, we converted it to a salt water pool. That was about two weeks ago, and everything is working well with the SWCG so far. But still cloudy. What am I missing?

The first two pics are from the beginning and middle of the process. The last three are from today after cleaning out all the floc and also running the jack’s magic in the filter for 24 hours and backwashing.

25,650 gallons vinyl In ground pool
Test using the Taylor K-2006-SALT
FC 8
CC 0.5
pH 7.4
TA 80
CH 220
CYA was 55 before I vacuumed to waste and refilled this weekend. I don’t have any more of the reagent but I’m going to order more soon.
Salt 3600 we have the CircuPool Core 55

Hello. I'm a new user here at tfp and had been a follower since we had some algae. ( No more algae now! )

So here are my my levels currently:
PH- 7.7
FC- 6.5
CYA- 70
TA- 80
CH- 240

So I have a 10 month old and we've been using the pool, but notice that our eyes sting from the chlorine. I was thinking of dropping down the CYA so we can drop the FC in hopes of making the chemicals milder for our little one. Would that help?

For reference, tap water tends to have higher TA, and we live in Houston so it's pretty sunny with some sprinkles here and there. Also, last we tested from leslies, our phosphates were around 2000s. Should I take care of that as well for my little one?

Thanks y'all.

I have a composite wide steps ladder for my pool that you had to fill with sand and it has holes that fill with water. It’s always battling algae so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions to help battle this. Or, if anyone has suggestions of a step ladder that doesn’t need sand and doesnt fill with water that would be great too. My wife really likes this type of ladder so she can sit.

Hello,
If you have read my last thread, the PB, tile company, and mason came through for me and redid some of the tile on my water feature so that it is acceptable now (not nearly as good as I had expected, but acceptable none the less...) Anyway, we moved on to shooting interior and the pebble guys were out here yesterday, and acid wash this AM.. now filling the pool. Only to realize this evening that the pebble guys completely covered my bubbler. I quickly shot a text message to PB once I realized and now waiting to hear back. Can this even be fixed? The bubbler is completely covered as in I can't even see where it used to be. I have a "before photo" that we can use to triangulate the bubbler but would still be hunting in the dark. I'm assuming they would have to chip out the plaster and replaster it.... but now it's being covered with water so I have to wait the 28 days? Then would the new pebble even match the rest of the finish? Seems as though I can't get any breaks with this job.

the SLAM video and the text below it on the tft page don’t seem to agree w one another.

My CYA is 0. FC is 0.

Questions:

1/ Do I need to get CYA to 30 before adding bleach, as the cartoon video states?

2/ What does “SLAM Level 10” mean? That’s what I get when I click “here” in the sentence below. But here’s nowhere that explains what SLAM level means.

“Test the FC level and add enough chlorine to bring FC up to shock level (see here for correct shock level).”

Thanks.

Great Value Bleach, 81 fl oz
Great Value Bleach, 81 fl oz - Walmart.com

We have a few bottles of this in our garage that are a couple years old. It’s 7.5%, so lower than usually recommended. Is it worth using in the pool or just pouring down the sink? We’re trying to clear some space.

Thanks in advance!

Hi all - I was away for a couple days this week and while I was gone it rained pretty hard. Pump ran for the normal amount of time while I was gone, and I have a in line chlorinator (don't judge me!).
I tested the water this morning and as I expected, the levels were not bad enough to account for the green; free chlorine was at 3.5, pH at 7.4, alkalinity a little low at 76. Since I don't yet completely trust myself, I took a sample to the local pool store (I know...) and their results were almost identical to mine.
I added about 3 lbs of baking soda as the first step. Then after four hours added two pounds of 70% cal hypo shock. It's been about six hours since I did that. No improvement yet - I didn't expect miracles!
Any thoughts on why the pool went green with fairly well balanced water?