How far down can you drain a fiberglass pool in Western Arizona? I am drawing due to the water being about 5 years old and am struggling with balancing the water chemistry. Is it better to drain halfway and then refill?

I have a ~15,000 gallon pool (pebbletec) that I began maintaining myself last fall. We recently had a pretty heavy calcium scale line (12-year old pool) blasted off and I was hoping the draining required to do the work would help with CYA, but it wasn't really enough to make a dent.

Chlorine tabs have been used exclusively, but I am planning to make the switch to liquid. CYA has basically stayed at 90 since I started doing my own testing. Just did fresh testing and also realized my CH was higher than I realized, likely because I was not initially getting to the final blue color before stopping the drops/counting.

Based on these numbers, should I consider doing a partial drain and refill to gear up for the summer? While on the high end, it seems like these are manageable and that the CYA may come down over time if I stop using the pucks.

FC 9
PH 7.3
TA 90
CYA 90
CH 550

My pool had a leak that required draining to repair. I'm in the process of rebalancing my water and am targeting 70 Alkalinity - where my pool sat before the repairs. However, I can't get it to drop below 80. I'm using MA to take the Ph down to 7.0 - 7.2, but Alk just won't go below 80. 80 isn't that far from 70 and is within the margin of error of my Taylor kit. Should I just ignore this?

My spa is draining into my pool, but I can’t figure out how or why.

The spa main drain is closed, the spa return valves are closed. It should be isolated.

For giggles, I’ve also closed the skimmer suction and cleaner valves as well.

What am I missing?

I had some plaster work done in my spa today, and the light doesn’t seem to be working correctly anymore. This light has been having issues - it stopped making blue - but it was plenty bright yesterday.

Thoughts? Could the bulb just be dying? Did they possibly crack the housing and water is inside? Could plaster be blocking light?

I’m calling the building back - plaster was warranty work - but trying to get a sense for possible problems.

We are in TX and when the wind kicks up in the summer, dust! And it is a clay like dust so it settles fast. Looks like mud.

We have a Pentair Racer LS w/ booster pump and it does a good job at what it does. It stirs the dust off the floor of the pool, but then the dust ends up on the stairs and ledges. Which eventually look like they are covered in mud.

Whatever vacuum/cleaner we choose, I don’t need to be able to schedule it. I need something I can pull out every 2-4 weeks and hit the stairs/ledges/spa. It needs to have a filter to handle the dust.

Any ideas? I see some cleaners that look like stick vacs. That would work. Just need the filter……..

Looking for advice on which method I should use to drain my pool. (Current CYA level is 70. Goal is to reach roughly 40ppm. Unfortunately my pool service was using trichlor tablets.. I have since cancelled their service and switched to liquid chlorine thanks to TFP).

I have a DE filter with a two port valve so I won’t be able to direct outflow to waste. Would it be okay to attach my vacuum to skimmer port and backwash until water line level is acceptable? Siphoning with a hose seems a bit mundane but if that’s the preferred route I suppose I’ll go with that.

I’m sure it’s me, but need someone to tell me why! I have used the app for several years with my old pool, moved houses so new pool (new build). I must have a setting wrong.

My pool gallons are set to plaster, 38000. My Test Kit is TF-100, and the reagents are about 6 mths old.

I needed FC to go from 0 to 12 (SLAM). 4 gal of 10% got me to FC5.5, 6 gal of 10% got me to FC7, 9 gal 10% to FC11.
The app, when I was initially at FC0 with target FC12 it recommended I add 4 gal, 2 qts (the sanitizer type is set to liquid chlorine, 10%, 128oz jugs). That is far from the 9 I added. (my chlorine expires 1/6/26)

Also, Calcium Hardness. Current is 275, target is 450. It recommends adding 62 lbs (setting is Calcium Chloride). 62 lbs? It took @25 lbs to get it to 275 (super soft fill water).

So, the FC target recommended addition was too low, but then the Calcium seems really high? I tracked my SLAM numbers because I wanted to use them to verify the # of gal in my pool, but this isn’t making sense.

I don’t understand the chemistry of how all this works, I’m just appreciative of the smart people who gave me the tools and the instructions on how to use them! Smart people, help me out

Our pool is now 2 years old and we’re getting quite a bit of build up in one corner. Best I can tell we have a very small amount of ground water that’s running into the pool from this corner and causing a lot of scale to build up above the water line. The issue is that’s it’s not waterproofed/tiled here because it’s where the track for the cover is built in.

I’m looking for suggestions on how to handle this long term, is there something to prevent the water from leaking in? Or do I just need to manage the scale and deal with it?

We auto-renewed in March but the app is asking me to subscribe. How do I fix this?

I hope someone can give me guidance. New pool installed in 2013.
Interface: AquaLink Touch
Model: RS-8 only
Aqualink REV R
CPU p/n E0260804.
IAqualink Web connect device iQ900.
PentairIntellibrite 5g Underwater Pool Color-Changing LED Light.
The color changing feature never worked from day 1. The lights usually lit up white.

The first photo attached shows the options for light control I have on my iAquaLink app. Note that it does not have a Pentair Intellibrite option.
The second photo is something I found as I was researching the issue on the web showing the option to click for Pentair Intellibrite.
I am assuming this is the reason for my issue.

Do I need to upgrade the CPU from REV R to a later version, or the iQ900 to a later version, or both?

I am nearing time to replace my second Blue Diamond pool robot. This has the foam rollers vs the paddle type. Prior to finding my second one, I tried a Dolphin S300, and had a terrible time getting my sides clean. I have a mountain pond-shaped pool with a vinyl liner, with curved soft-pack sides. With the S300, it seemed to skip around, leaving marks like dots and dashes. Now that the Blue Diamond (WaterTech) is long gone, I need something for my pool. Any tips? Seems the entire dolphin line has same tank tracks and paddle rollers. Thanks!

I typically maintain my fiberglass pool around 180 to 220. When took my first measurement after opening (and water well circulated), it was at 80... water temp at 61.

How much does water temperature impact the accuracy of calcium test? Would it be in solution greater at colder temp and precipitate out as gets warmer? Don't want to add excessive amounts of calcium to bring to my target level if the water temp will impact the reading.

I have been battling this for a while. From the pictures the pool get this brown dusting on the flat surfaces (steps, seats and in the bottom along the edges. I brush it and vacuum and it will stay gone for a day or so. Brushes very easy like a cloud of dust. At first I thought it was dirt for the rain. But we haven't had any rain in over a week. My numbers look good. Cleaned the cartridge filter the other day and wow!!! was it brown.
FC 6
TA 80
PH 7.4-7.5
CH 190-200
Salt 2900
I plan starting a OCLT tonite.
Am I on the right track.?

The Service Heater LED turned on for a few seconds the last time I fired up the heater (HTR 250 MASTERTEMP NA - 460732 - 2019), so I figure it's time to do some diagnostics and maintenance on the unit. I've search around a bit here, and come across some good info, and just wanted to actually join the community and make sure I have this all straight in my head...

I haven't tried to fire it up again since, but the troubleshooting section in the manual does say to pull the pull the control panel and look for diagnostic LEDs. Are those LEDs going to remain lit even though the Service Heater LED turned off (ie- does the board maintain error code state)? Or am I going to have to try to get the Service Heater LED to come back on? Does the heater need to be on or actively heating for the diagnostic LEDs to be on?

I am planning on taking the heater completely out of the loop so I can work on it and keep the pump and filter running. I got some unions, and I'll make a "U" shaped PVC piece, as I don't have heater bypass.
With the other side of those unions, I'll make some pieces to connect a submersible pump to and run some CLR (or MA if it's real bad) to descale the heat exchanger. The previous owners of the house did not keep the pool chems in balance, so I am aware this could lead to a full replacement of some of the heater parts if they are too far gone. I have seen some mention of removing a bypass valve when doing that, but I can't find anything concrete on that. Looking at the parts diagram, I see what's called out as a Manifold Bypass Valve, as well as a Thermal Regulator. Looks like I'd have to remove the whole Manifold to get to the bypass valve.

Are there any parts I should just order ahead of time?

I also recently rebuilt the pump- new seals, impeller, diffuser, mechanical bearing, pulled the motor apart and replaced the bearings, repainted the motor, etc.. I'm willing to do things right, and I have all the tools on hand to most anything necessary.

The pool is really green and I have been able to get it down to lighter shade but I just ordered the vacuum and was wondering if the reason there’s so much algae left is because I haven’t vacuumed it yet or if there’s another reason. The pump and filter all work pretty well but just making sure it’s just not having a vacuum and not something else

Pool is clear water temp is just below 50 degrees.

FC 9
Cc 1.5
TA 110
Salt 3400
PH 8.0 ( hard to test in the rain with zero sun)
Calcium 400
CYA 90 (also hard to test when it’s overcast but it’s about the same as last Sunday)

Other than drop the PH anything else to do ?

Folks,

I've been really busy with fine tuning the pool recently. We're going on vacation for 18 days (record for us). We have pool automation set up to use esp32 DIY controls... not anywhere as pretty and configurable as the Raspberry Pi solution others on here are using but I just don't have the time to work on that solution for at least a few months. I hope to then restart the Node JS project that many have been so helpful with especially @Katodude, @MyAZPool, and the guy that wrote most of the code who is also a member here (can't remember his id). In the meantime, my esp32 solution was quick, functional, and dirt cheap. Now I need to figure out how to get pH reasonably controlled while we're gone. I know I could do this with acid injection and even just get a pool service to add about a gallon every 3 days but I'd like to avoid both of those options. At a gallon every 3 days, I will require 3.7 pounds of CO2 every three says or say 1.3 # per day. This calculation makes some simplifying assumptions like no loss from off gasing and one mole of CO2 is ultimately equivalent to on mole of HCL. I can get a 50 # cylinder and that should last an entire month at least. I'm assuming in this calculation I get 100% conversion to carbonic acid. So here's a couple questions for the experts:

• Is 100% conversion reasonable to assume? @JoyfulNoise @JamesW any comments/suggestions
• from you on this?
• Seems like I'd be better off injecting down stream of my swg so I don't have too low pH that might remove catalyst on my swg generator, pump seals etc.. That's the last thing in the flow at the equipment pad. Does this make sense to you?
• Control should be pretty simple is there anything I'm missing on the web page below?

It only took a couple hours to get the code written using ChatGPT. The web page is printed below. I've set up a vpn that came with my old Orbi mesh wifi and it works great for me to access over the internet so I can intervene if needed.

Chris

Had the deck sanded and stained equal pool cleaning nightmare.

Not sure why some picks won’t upload, says they are too big. All off my phone on same settings. Any ideas ?

Thanks

Brand new to the forum. Have a pool with 2 intellibrite 120v 5g color lights #601002 in sync (single 120v supply) Came in search of some help. I've read a decent amount about the board going bad and figured I'd dig into it before I just replaced the whole assembly. I spoke with a pool repair guy who told me to check the 120v to 12v converter built-in to the epoxy molding in the back case of the fixture. When testing the red leads together coming from the transformer that clip onto the light board I have zero voltage AC. When I test each lead individually and ground to the can I show 11.4ish volts. I verified I do have 120v coming into the can, there is just enough supply wiring at the surface of the epoxy to probe the supplies. Not really sure where to go next. I'm to the point that I'm kinda sure the transformer has failed, I should be getting 12v AC through the two leads that feed the board correct? Also is this repairable if the transformer has failed? I can't find a part number for that. I have no way to send 12v AC to the light board to test it. Any advice appreciated.

I have two pools configured (main pool and hot tub). Have noticed when I change target value on one pool, that becomes the target value on the other. This is troublesome since I want to maintain certain levels in pool (CYA, TA, calcium) and have different values for hot tub.

Is this a bug that is due for an update?

My filter on my Polaris robot is too clogged to clean. It’s now my backup bot so I really don’t want to buy another filter. Is there a good way to clean?

Hey Everyone,

Im looking for some help on how to remove some staining around the entire pool on the first 8-10" below the tile line. I am semi new to pool ownership here as this will be our second season but I have done everything myself from the beginning. I recently reached out to the previous owner who told me the stain below the tile line appeared after the first winter. The pool is 14 years old and has never been refinished. The marcite is certainly starting to show some wear. A friend has mentioned doing an ascorbic acid treatment on it as he was thinking the stains were metal. Im starting to think the stains are organic so I wanted to get some opinions on what im looking at and how to tackle this and or if its even worth doing as acid bath treatment with such an old finish. I have attached two picture below. One you can see the stain line below the tile. The second you can see where it almost looks like a heavy cleaner of sort had dripped into the pool over winter and removed some of the finish. Both are discolored obviously. Perhaps its best to try a small portion somehow and see how it responds before moving onto the entire pool? Any suggestions for that? Thanks

I just got all my pool equipment installed. To my surprise, two of the jets weren’t working properly. The builder said I needed a booster for the suction line. I drained the spa down a bit, and realized the two jets do not have jets installed inside of the pipes. What are my options to make them work?

My pool has 2, four year old, dead Globrites. I am reluctant to replace with the same light with such bad reliability. Just saw the new Intellivibe lights. Will they fit the old Globrite niche? Or is there a better alternative. I know will need to add the controller to my Intellicenter panel. Also saw some Life-Bulb that claims compatibility and offer an undescripted “lifetime replacement program”. Does Anybody has experience with them.?

Please give me some advice!,

Just trying to get some better quality replacements.

Thanks!

we used the spa a couple days ago - no problems.

today, the OmniLogic App will not stay in "SPA" mode. Keeps reverting to Pool - IN THE APP.

But, the Spa valves have turned and the gas heater is working - even though the app is reporting the system in POOL mode.

I cycled power to the OmniLogic (reboot) and closed/re-opened the app several times.... no change. same behavior.

if i change to SPA mode in the app, about 30sec later it shifts back to pool mode.

App is latest, 5.1.40.


SMH.

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