First off, this forum is great! My pool has been beautiful since joining this forum a number of years ago. A wealth of knowledge here.
Question: My daughter’s pool cleaner quit working last week and she has been borrowing ours until they can get their’s repaired or replaced.

I went to clean the filters (she forgot) before putting it in my pool and saw the algae on the filters. I sprayed them clean and have them drying in the sun.
If I keep my chlorine on the high end (FC-5+), will that be enough to keep algae out of my pool.
I’m sure it’s not a good idea to share pool cleaners, but she’s my daughter.
Any advice would be appreciated!

I’ve tested CH several times and is one of the most difficult tests. I used the fading test where I added 5 drops r-0012 to begin. Here is some pictures, it’s hard to see, there was color particles floating around when stopped. After the test , it changed back to purple. Not sure if this is accurate.

The first one is the start of the test after the 5 drops of 0012 and the last picture is how it changed back to color. The prior picture where it’s blue is 13 drops at 10ml

I changed my liner and pump earlier this year. Now my sand filter is worn out.

I was looking at getting this one. What do the experts recommend?


This is the old one's tag.

I have jandy Aquapure saltwater chlorine generator with PDA control. Suddenly under eqiupment status on remote PDA secreen the salwater chlorine generator readings are not showing up altough other pool eqiupment reading is still showing up. On aqualink control panel box outside the green light under cell and flow is on and the panel says chlorine production 55% but no chlorine percentage or salt ppm reading showing up on PDA remote secreen.

I recently installed an IC-20 (an adventure story all its own). It looked to be working fine, but then I saw that it was giving me a "low salt" reading one morning. I reset it a few times without success.

Having read other posts on the matter, I thought maybe I have a bad flow switch, but the diagnostic mode shows 60% and 80% LEDs (very briefly, FWIW). That puts it in the range of what my water temperature actually is, this morning (73%).

My Taylor test, and test strips, all put the salt at 3,400 PPM which should be just about perfect.

On a whim I turned on the heater and tried again at around 80 degrees, and it worked fine.

Any thoughts? My next step is obviously to call Pentair support.

We just had our pool re-plastered and tiled. We're on the process of filling using garden hoses with filters attached to the ends. We even wrapped in cloths around the filters to increase the filtration, and, well, our pool looks like this. Please help!

We had a power surge last week and it fried some other appliances light bulbs, AC thermostats, etc in my house and I was hoping that the fuses would save my SWG system it but alas they did not. I have been reading an older thread with some great info by JamesW and others with a similar experiencing where both my 20 amp and 3 amp fuses blow when I power up. The display unit is dark, etc.. I disconnected the red and black wires from the board and the fuses still blow when powered up. Given that information where should I focus my efforts on fining the short? The back of the board looks fine. Back of the display unit looks good. Power seems to be fine. Thoughts on where to look next?

I have a Pool Pilot DIG 220 with a new power supply and a new cell PCC4. Also a recently replaced Display module. The fans are not running. What controls the fans?

In third year of owning an above ground 8x4 pool with a sand filter in our second home. Thought I knew what I was doing until suddenly I can’t clear a bright green soupy pool!

I am looking to see where piping might be going, what I can expect from a 1982 installed system, how they would likely lay out the pipe. I believe there is a blockage or sand and dirt (we cleared up A LOT of muck from this pool). The main pool drain does not take water out of the pool. The skimmer does take water out of the pool.

We have been doing a lot of work, realizing there is a blockage somewhere. I am digging in the yard to try to find piping, bust in, clean, correct and hope.

We have tracked pipe from bottom drain up to skimmer, this is one of the pictures (closer up).

The overview picture shows arrows pointing out:
- Bottom drain
- skimmer, and where we tracked bottom drain line, so we can see that the pipe runs up, wall, to skimmer location
- Control, there is a control for the spa to the right of the pool, I might be digging here soon
- Pool house, the pipe coming into the pool house is to the back left, coming through the floor

I can get a sensor through the bottom drain and up to the skimmer location, maybe it is just a piping issue? Looking for suggestions! TIA
Peter

Hi All,
I have a diving board - 22 years old and is done. Tripod in concrete is in good shape and if I can find a new base and board, I'd easily replace it myself (I take it into my shed each fall - base and board - easy to do). Problem is, I can't find a base that will fit my current tripod and going to a new tripod has lots of costs and hassles. There must be a way to get a base that fits my current tripod, right? Any help on this?

Here are some specs - can anyone help on this? --

Diving Board – Triac Industries – Ser. # 105180901

71.5 L
16.5 W
2.5 D

• Tripod distance between bolts –
• 9 1/8 (front bolt closest to pool to each rear)
• 10 9/16 (between 2 rear bolts furthest from pool)

Thanks for any help you have to offer!

Jeff

I used the wrong calculation constant for calculating my FC the last 2 tests, I test about every other day (multiplied my drops by .2 instead of .5 so my FC was actually > X2 higher). I increased my SWG % accordingly and now have FC= 7 (I usually keep it b/w 3-4)/. My SWG (AquaRite) only decreases to 5%. Should I leave it there and recheck tomorrow or turn OFF? My other numbers are still WNL (TA down from 75 to 50 but am thinking it will correct itself when my CL is lower). Thank you for any recommendations.

New pool owner here. Currently undergoing a complete renovation of our inground pool. New tile, stone coping, and stonescapes mini pebble aggregate. I figured while the job was getting done I would replace the very old single speed pump with a variable speed pump. The problem I am having is the inlet port of the HiFlow valve (Pentair 261142) is lower than the outlet of the pump… It was previously hooked up to a slide valve that had an inlet for the pump much higher. In hindsight, I probably should have bought the multiport valve kit (Pentair 261152) that doesn’t have a very low inlet design.

My question is… would it be ok to just put the filter up on some pavers to give me the roughly 2” clearance I need? I’m trying to do a straight connection with 2x 45 degree angles for better flow… If not, is it ok to come out of the pump and drop the plumbing down and then back up to the valve (like a sideways ‘Z’)?

I’m learning so much but that is because I know so little… bought a home with a pool and have never used it or the equipment!

Picture shows a work in progress as I try to get this all setup before the pool renovation is complete. Blue line is pointing to the inlet of the valve which looks higher in the picture than it actually is.

Which unit Aquacal SQ145 or Pentair 120Q? Any advice would be greatly appreciated !

Hello everyone I’m a first time pool owner and have discovered your very informative forum. I have a somewhat unique pool situation and would appreciate some help.

My pool is 30’ diameter and 5’ deep cement above ground pool. Really it is a pila or open top cistern used for stock water but I want to utilize it as a pool as well. I calculate approximately 26,500 gallons. The existing plumbing is a 2” outlet approximately 10” above ground level through the pool wall (it is plumbed to gravity flow water to several stock troughs) a 2” outlet that is at the bottom of the pool wall which I’ll call the drain and a 2” pipe that comes over the wall on the opposite side of the pool with a float valve(this fills the pool as water is drawn to stock troughs). I would like to be able to plumb a pump and filter from the drain and recirculate that water around to the opposite side of the pool and run pvc pipe over the wall and under water as the return in the same location as the float valve. This is on a rural property and aesthetics are not a major concern.

I will readily admit that I don’t know what I don’t know. That being said the questions I would like help with are as follows;

1. Can turnover be achieved with all 2” plumbing on a 26,500 gallon pool with one outlet and one return without an exorbitant operating cost?

2. Could my gravity flow outlet be a second drain and still gravity flow to the stock troughs?

3. Would adding one or more return runs make this work better?


Any help or advice is appreciated.

Hello All

I have had a Solar Breeze NX-2 for 4-5 years and the gears have finally died (have had it replaced x2). There are no replacement parts for it since it's discontinued. What is a good replacement for it in 2023? I have read the forums here on the Ariel, Betta 2. I have also seen that Solar Breeze have come out with a 3rd solar skimmer called the Skimbot. Anyone have any experience with this? I like that the Skimbot will "spray" some water against the wall when it bumps up against it to dislodge the debris that may be on the side of the pool and suck it up. Also, it has an app that acts as a remote control for spot cleaning. The NX-2 did not have any of these features. Also looking for:
1. durability/reliability
2. getting the job done (NX-2 was great except for the debris sticking to the side walls)
3. good battery size
4. good customer support
5. not too expensive

I have been reading forums all day. I have had trouble holding chlorine all summer. I used to have cya in 40-50 range. Now it is in 70 range. I cannot find chlorine pucks without cya in it at any pool stores. I have been backwashing everyday to decrease my cya but it keeps going up because of my chlorine pucks. I use granular shock (hypocal) but have used liquid chlorine in the past. I feel like I see better results with the granular shock.

My pool started getting mustard algae after all the rain the Midwest has been having. It got to the point where it is super cloudy. We added 10 cups of shock and it was so milky and could not see bottom. After four days, it is clearer but still cloudy. Cannot see the bottom of the deep end.

We have a chlorine pool, sand filter, vinyl pool. It is 40,000 gallons. I feel like I spend thousands on putting shock into this pool. Should I continue to drain the pool via backwashing and rinsing and replace the water? Find chlorine pucks without cya? Use liquid chlorine to SLAM the pool? I have been reading forums but I am still very confused. I want to cry.

Ph 7.6
alkalinity 109
cya 70
phosphates 40
calcium hardness 176
free chlorine .7
total chlorine .7

My pump motor failed and I'm in the market for a new one but am confused and a bit overwhelmed by the relationship between head/flow rate/HP. So I suppose I'm here looking for advice.
We have an indoor pool that around 25,000 gallons with a Raypak Avia 399,000btu heater, a Hayward S244T filter (I replaced the sand with the cotton ball style media), Hayward SP0714 multiport valve, and a Hayward 1HP Super pump. I attempted to calculate the head and did so to the best of my ability since I'm not sure how the underground portion of the piping is built. We have 2 pressure returns and a single skimmer that the main drain attached to for run-dry protection. The skimmer to the pump room is 1.5" PVC. I stepped everything in the pump room up to 2" with the exception of the multiport valve and the strainer housing (those step down when entering and up when exiting and will be replaced in the future. I also updated all above ground 90s to sweep 90s. The existing outgoing pipe to the pressure side is 2" but I wouldn't be overly surprised if it steps down to 1.5" when it exits, though I can't even examine where it exits because it's literally under the furnace for the room heat. I did my head calculations based on the idea that the pressure side is 2" all the way since I don't know and that's how it has been set up to exit since we moved in. I calculated the estimated head based on 3 different flow rates; they're as follows:
97.43ft @ 60gpm
68.58ft @ 50gpm
46.17ft @ 40gpm
The heater requires a minimum of 40gpm, and I'm aware of the 44gpm soft-limit of 1.5" pipe so there's a very slim margin before I start wasting energy by going about the 44gpm.
I looked at a Hayward chart plotting different sized pumps against head/GPM and failed to come to a conclusion. The 3/4HP motor looked to fall more closer to the bare minimum I need, the 1HP and 1.5HP lines didn't really make sense to me on how to interpret them as they don't match my GPM/head values anywhere.
So I contacted inyo pools to seek advice because I tend to like the quality of their site and articles. They suggested to me that I get a 1.5HP pump motor.
Does this sound reasonable or will I be overpowered and overworking the pump?
Any advice would be helpful! Thanks in advance!

Our pool builder installed this as our “leathered” coping: we were expecting a suede finish, not a heavily pebbled one. Is this right? We got what on left but expected what’s on right

My PDA just started acting up.

I turn it on, the screen shows it connecting, It connects but then the screen goes blank - the screen is still lit but there are no menu items that show up. Is there a reset for the unit or will I be spending money on repairs.

I've recently replaced the PCB for the salt cell, and the PDA worked after that install for appx a week.

Hi,
A new Intelliflo 3 pump was acquired for a Intellipool automation system.
The pump seems to communicate with the Intellipool system but not entirely.
While the pump indicates with a magenta led that it is being controlled by an automation system, it seems to alternate between yellow "idle" status and flashing green "priming" status. The Intellipool system indicates that an Intelliflo pump has been connected but displays 0rpm although the pump is running at max rpm during priming. This goes on for more than an hour or until interrupted. The intellipool system firmware has been upgraded to the latest available (5.06) firmware. When running the Intelliflo pump in standalone mode and controlled via bluetooth or the pumps built in timer program, the pump is working perfectly and doesnt cycle between idle and priming.
Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
//Andy

I found this place after being a new pool owner and have a Mustard Algae problem. This chart helped me out after trying all kinds of goop that this not work. It made me confident I can handle any issue relating to algae or cloudiness.

I find it easier to see the relationship in graph format. I know this site moved to plug in your numbers and get your directions but this allows you to understand better IMHO. I made this for my garage wall for my families reference even though I am the pool boy.

Totally open to edits or criticism. I did not come up with or create the data. Just got the info from this site and plugged it into excel.

My next rabbit hole is a SWG.

Hello Folks - Hope everyone is enjoying their pools during this record heat. I know I’m using mine a lot and can’t imaging life in Phoenix without it at the moment. Anyway…. I’m looking for some advice and product recommendations from the experts so that I can prevent a small problem from getting larger.

Here’s the story… my pool decking is travertine pavers. My skimmer is one row back from the pool edge. The cement surround for the skimmer is less than 1/2” in depth, and is falling apart (pic below). The adjacent pieces of travertine only have sand under them and recently starting heaving up because of a nasty black moss growing under them. Clearly the moss is enjoying water from somewhere. I paid for a leak detection and surprisingly they could not find any leaks in or around the skimmer. They offered the explanation that water may simply be splashing up from the skimmer and it just compromised the concrete over time, the pool is 8yrs old. Their suggestion was to just dig out the existing surround and re-pour it. I agree that a re-pour needs to be done, but I feel that may simply mask the problem rather than correct it. So my questions are…

1. How far out from the skimmer should the concrete pour go?
2. What product to use? Hydraulic cement? Regular cement w/ waterproofer? Mortar with waterproofer? Or does it not matter?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Hi, I recently installed a heat pump for my above ground pool. The main pump is on a simple plug in timer. The heat pump is hard wired and does not have a timer. Is it ok to leave the heat pump on and let it automatically stop when the water pressure reduces anytime the main pump turns off?

any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Blank Display on AquaRite SWG. Every multi-meter check is good except for display pins.

What I have read is 5V at Pins 2 & 4. Zero volts on the others. Here is what I have:
1 - 0V
2 - 0V
3 - 0V
4 - 5V
5 - 5V
6 - 0V
7 - Bouncing between 4.33 to 4.92 V

House got struck by lightning two days ago. Blew a hole in the roof, fried both circuit boards for the garage door openers, fried thermostat for upstairs AC unit, fried 2 GFCI's in the garage, and then I noticed my SWG display was blank today. Help is much appreciated!

We live in Southern Spain.
A few months ago we had our tiled pool re-grouted.
After a few weeks, algae started to grow on the new grout.
We dosed the pool with algaecide and then brushed all the algae off.
Within a few days, the algae had started to grow again so we shock-dosed the pool with chlorine.
Again we brushed any algae off with a wire brush.
Within a few days, it was back.
The chlorine is 10+, the ph is 7.2, and we have used a lot of anti-algae.
Not sure what to do next, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hello, any idea why this pool has cracked? The crack runs along both sides, im guessing the pool cover rails and skimmer boxes are the reason but would like to repair thjs if possible and prevent the problem from coming back
. Pool is 20k inground not salt. Thank you.

So my water is so clear in my Intex above ground pool with a vinyl, no porous liner, it looks drinkable. This was after battling mustard algae by super shocking it, then brushing and vacuuming to waste. I added a clarifier with phosphate remover and a Pool Rx copper ionizer. Water was absolutely perfect for 3 days (accept for mosquitos that my skimmer battled with constantly). Then black algae started to gather on the floor. Vacuumed again and added more shock. Added baking soda. The next day added more clarifier. Tested with HTH test strips, which read super high chlorine and high Ph. Took sample to Leslies whose tests were complete different results and they prescribed another $300 worth of chemicals including alkalinity up, more shock, an algae remover, an algae preventative and more salt. My pool runs 24/7. Always has. I am spending more in chemicals than the 17,000 gallon pool itself.
Please help!

What does everyone do when they go on vacation for a week?

I use liquid chlorine to sanitize my pool. At the beginning of the season I start with pucks until my CYA gets into range and then I switch over to liquid chlorine. Here are my test results and I plan to be away for 9 days.

FC- 4
CC- 0
PH- 7.6
TA- 80
CH- 290
CYA- 30
Temperature- 78 Degrees

I was planning to drop my PH down to about 7.0 and then add enough liquid chlorine to bring it to SLAM levels at 12ppm. Also, I was going to drop 2 or 3 pucks into the in-line chlorinator as a safety back up.

What’s everyones thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

I'm undertaking a task of replacing some cracked and loose terracotta tiles around our pool. The issue has been caused by the surrounding paving sinking over many years. The pool is around 30 years old so I am not overly concerned this is a serious issue, just age related, and I just want to repair this area to make it safe, no sharp edges, and to protect from water ingress under the pavers.

Yes I know this is a band-aid fix, yes it won't look great, but we don't have the budget to replace the paving to the whole area so this will hopefully get a few years or more until we can afford it and I have some spare matching tiles.

My question is around bedding in the new tiles, now that I have lifted the old tiles and prepared the area you can see a gap in the concrete between the coping and the surrounding tiles. I believe this would be two different pours, and there may need to be some movement here? There is silicone installed between the coping tiles and the rest. Should I bed the tiles over the crack all the way to the coping tiles or should I only bed them up to the crack, and not glue them further? This could create its own problem having a hollow area under part of the tile. Am I overthinking this?