We had an above ground pool installed two summers ago. So this is my third season maintaining a pool. I’m getting fed up with spending $100s on pool chemicals. I struggle to keep my pool clear and algae free. Every year the first heat wave we have or if our family goes on vacation. I come home to a green pool. The pool was installed with a Pool Frog system which I don’t feel makes my life any easier. Just looking to find better, more efficient ways to maintain my pool.

Our pool has been developing a shady grey blotchy staining on our pebblecrete. Pebblecrete is a blend of cement, white in our case, and a mix of small pebbles. It’s mostly on the floor but there is a little on the walls but nowhere near as much. I’ve tried vitamin C, and rubbing with trichlor pucks with no luck.

The surface was acid washed a day after application and before filling which I think is normal here for pebblecrete.

I was reading through the Zero alkalinity treatment post from @onBalance which suggests that this staining may be due to poor application and while a zero alkalinity treatment provide some improvement the stains will return. Is there a feasible solution?

The white cement used was a Chinese import so I have no idea of possible impurities. Being mostly on the bottom is it UV dependant.

Do any of the stain removers work on this type of stain? Are there any I should avoid and what is the fait of these acids?
Citric acid.
Sulfumic acid.
Oxalic acid.
polybasic organic acids.
Ethlanediolic acid.

Had new hot tub installed one month ago and had a local, established electrical outfit install breaker and run wire to tub. It works fine without issues, but I had no idea that GFCI is now required. Electrician did not add GFCI or disconnect. Contacted company and no one has gotten back to us. How serious and common is this and what is the actual risk as it seems the code was changed recently? Not sure how important it is to pursue this. I imagine there are thousands of tubs installed from years ago that have not been updated. Thanks!

Got my new liner recently installed in a 15x30 above ground and currently filling up the pool and it's about halfway full so I was curious when is the right time to add the skimmer and return and cut the openings out of the liner? I know as the pool fills it stretches the liner more and more into place so I didn't want to cut too early and cause anymore liner fitment issues. Should I do it when water is just below the return and skimmer openings or sooner?
Thanks.

Thread updated: 8/2/2023
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Okay, I've been cruising this site for the last 6 months trying to learn as much as possible. I've come across several build threads and individuals that have been SUPER helpful! So in the spirit of this forum I will do my best to keep this thread updated as I progress through my build process. I was hoping to have this started in Jan, but we ran into a rather large hiccup right out of the gate. The location of our overhead powerlines prohibited us from doing a pool anywhere near where we had anticipated. So we did some research, hired a few subs and now we no longer have overhead powerlines. We re-routed new buried lines (away from the pool area) and upgraded our service panel to accommodate the extra pool equipment. It took a few months, but here we are... ready to get started!

I want a modern looking play pool that enhances the yard and creates a relaxing environment for the wife and I... but will ultimately be used for entertaining our 2 littles ones. (Currently 1 and 6 years old). Here's what I've got so far:

Pool Size: 19' x 30'
Depth: 3.6' - 5' - 4'
Area: 538 sqft
Perimeter: 98'
Volume: 14,680 gal
Baja: 7' x 14' , 14" depth
Feature: 4' sheer descent
Spa Size: 7' x 7'
Spa Depth: 3.6'
Spa Volume: 663 gal
Raised: 18"
Spillway: 4'
Jets: 8

Pool Equipment:
Pump: Hayward Tristar 950 VSP 2.7hp (x2, one for the sheer descent)
Filter: Hayward Cartridge 525
Heater: Hayward H Series 400k BTU
Salt System: Tcell940 (Included with automation)
Spa Blower: 2 HP Silencer Blower
Automation: Hayward Omni PL
Lights: Hayward ColorLogic 320 LEDs (5)

Skimmer: A&A Venturi (2 plumed on separate lines w/ separate valves)
Water Leveler: 10" AquaStar
Drain: A&A Dual AVSC pebble top
Spa Drain: A&A Single AVSC pebble top
Leaf Trap: A&A LeafVac
In-Floor Cleaning Valve: A&A Wave
In-Floor Heads: A&A Venturi

Pre Filter: WaterCo Multi-Cyclone Pre-Filter (x2, one for the sheer descent)

----------------
EQ Pad:
- 10' x 3'
- Automation panel
- A/C receptacle
- hose bib
- Running both soft and hard water to the autofill so I have the option.
----------------
Decking: Artistic Pavers DesertLock Cool White. Also Turf Hub Natural Blend Pro artificial turf for southern half.
Coping: Artistic Pavers DesertLock Cool White bullnose
Tile: Azure Black "Nightfall" Series
Finish: Stonescapes Mini Tropics Blue with Touch of Glass or PebbleTec Slate Blue with Shimmering Sea

Additional:
- 2 Alumawood Graphite Lattice Pergolas
- BBQ grill island (DIY frame)
- Raised planter (w/ 4 ft sheer descent)
- Concrete booth w/ fire table

I think that's it for now. I'll keep editing and updating as I go. The first draft of plans and concepts are attached. Feel free to hit me with ideas, suggestions, ridicule or mockery... I'm open and willing to hear it!

Hi guys,
I know the travertine in cold climates has been discussed at length and there are various opinions and travertine continues to be a popular product throughout my area (LI).
That being said, is there an expectation that sandblasted travertine should be even worse? The idea being the sandblasted product exposes the holes and porous nature even further?
Thanks

This afternoon I added a bag of salt after backwashing to bring the salt back up. It was a single bag of salt, from Sure Soft at Lowes. I inspected it before I put it in and it was normal white salt with no oily residue like several have reported. I dumped it in the pool and ran the robot immediately like I usually do. I left to run some errands and came back to a skid mark on my plaster. Thoughts on what I can do (besides untangle the robot cord)?

I just wanted to confirm I don't have any options for cleaning or inspecting the sand on my filter without cutting all of the pipes and adding unions right? Kind of annoying. It works fine, but it'd be nice to have a better idea of what's going on in there.

Hi all. The first 4 seasons of having a pool I experienced high CYA loss of about 10ppm per Month. I read a bunch of posts on it but never a solution.

Well this year I decided to increase my chlorine target. I had always targeted 5 ppm for my SWG because I wanted as little chlorine as necessary for the toddlers, which then resulted in having to slam maybe once or twice mid season because chlorine dropped too much at one point before I caught it.

This season I wanted to be on the safe side and set my FC target at 8 ppm.

To my surprise this summer I am positively surprised :

- my SWG is now running at 50 % vs 65 % last summer

- my CYA is now in August still at 70-80 (I bumped it up to 80 in May)

- I didn't shock or Slam once

So could increasing the FC target really solve the issue of CYA loss? Or is this just a happy coincidence?

(secretly hoping chemgeek will chime in )

Hi,

New pool owner and trying to understand how the salt generator makes chlorine. It's been really hot and I am using the TF100 kit along with pool math to make the right adjustments.

Yesterday my FC was around 1 and my CYA was around 20, this was last night testing around 2am. This morning I added 4lbs of CYA even thought recommendation was around 6lbs just to make sure I don't overdue it (tshirt method). I haven't measure again because it hasn't been 24 hours.

I used the recommendation last night to run my SWG at 20 percent to bring my FC up tp 3. I checked using the daily method and my test didn't register any chlorine. Right now Pool math is telling me to run at 40 percent at 12 hour run tome but I bumped it up to 80 to see how things look in the morning.

The sensor is registering salt, earlier it was 3950 later in the day it was 3900. The SWCG does sit out in the sun and it is less than a month old.

Pool vacuum newb here and I wanted to know if this is normal... since I'm not really sure on how all the connections interplay in a pool loop yet, but these 2 effects seems odd...

1) After I Vacuum-to-waste there is a big blast of filth/scum that shoots out of the jet... so should I do something before I turn the pool back to filter?

2) In an attempt to conserve water but continue cleaning I attempted to Vacuum-to-filter. However, as I am vacuuming I can see the jet shooting out plumes of filth but I was under the impression the filter would be getting all of this out. I checked the pressure on the filter and it was not high, nor was I vacuuming to filter for more than a few minutes before noticing this. The pool is very dirty however.

With my pool in "auto" mode, the % chlorine production on my PDA is set to 90%; however, on the Power Center display board, it shows 0%. I've cleaned the salt cell and the tri-sensor. I powered down the system at the breaker and left it off for 5 minutes, then restarted. No change. I replaced the batteries in my PDA. No change. Right now I have my pool in service mode with chlorine set to 90%. What am I missing? Any suggestions?

New member, first post. Glad to be here.
I will try to provide as much background as possible for everyone.

Pool is 14k gallon, Pebbletec, Hayward components/Aquarite salt system, VS pump running high for 5 hours then low for 8 hours, in floor cleaning, cyclone pre-filter (I will add all my pool info to my signature)

I consider myself fairly competent in electrical and maintaining my own pool. Some backstory, chemistry is generally always in check with the exception of calcium given our ridiculously hard water where I am at. This includes salt level which is currently 3800 tested by Taylor drop kit.

We have gone through I believe 4-5 salt cells within the 8 years of owning the pool. I just contributed it to the cost of salt pools. Apparently, these should last 5-7 years. 2 SWGs were Hayward and the rest were generic brands which typically get great reviews. Current SWG, Blue Works T15 is on its way out again, only reading 1900 salt and not generating. This cell is only 14 months old.

I have previously checked everything including the thermistor on the Hayward board. I even bought a new board and replaced mine to no avail so put the old board back in and kept the new board for the future. There are no typical tell tail signs of anything on the board itself causing issues from what I've read here and online through troubleshooting the board.

The ONLY thing I can think of which is killing my SWGs I just read yesterday the pump and salt system should be on dedicated power feeds. Well, mine is not, power comes into the Aquarite box which pigtails to the board then continues onto the pump. Do you think any spikes from the pump turning on could be killing the cells? Is there enough safety built into the board to prevent that? I'm tempted to just pull a dedicated feed for the pump and see what happens.

When the salt cells are new there are no issues whatsoever, they just do not last. Current cell is a Blue Works T15 which is only 14 months old and failing as mentioned above. As I read here, I changed the Aquarite system to a T5 and now it is reading a salt level of 3100 and generating without issue.

Cell is always routinely cleaned with MA. I was originally using a 4:1 ratio of water/MA but read that can impact plate life so I started doing even less MA yet the cells still don't last. I read on here that a cleaning vinegar can be used as well so I'm going to move to that as well.

Also read that the SWG should be mounted vertically with VS pumps, is that something I should do? It's horizontal and I keep the belly of it towards the ground so the plates are hopefully covered while the pump is in low mode.

Here's system info while pump is running:

4200
91
26.6
5.76
45P
-4300
AL-0
r1.59
T-5 (cell is actually a T15)

Sorry for the ridiculous long post and info. I'm literally at a loss at this point. My wife wants me to just convert the pool to normal chlorine tablets, but I really don't want to at this point. Any help or suggestions is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Has anyone tiled their whole Baja step? Any input?

Hi. When my Pentair Mastertemp 250 goes to light, the gas valve opens then if it doesn't light right away BANG!! a backfire out the exhaust. Then it will cycle again and light normally about 5 seconds later. Does NOT set any error codes.
This is usually only the first light of the day, maybe a second time if it's been off for a while. I have a new ignitor coming today, but any other ideas?

Got new motor installed in pump&None of the valves have been labelled so I’m struggling to get pump primed. If I can’t attach a pic of the system,I’ll include descriptions.

Hi. Pool owner for 10 years, plus as a kid my parents had a pool for 12 years and I often helped with maintenance. Current pool is 18x36 with walk in stairs, 42" shallow and 8' deep end (sloped), diving board. Sand filter, Pentair Mastertemp NG heater.

Hello all, we are new here. We are looking to get started on our pool building journey. So happy to have found this forum!

We just moved to Austin and I was wondering if there are any Austin area people here who could recommend your pool builder? We have been having problems just getting quotes.

I called up a couple of big pool builders and so far they just blew us off. One guy came out to our house and said he would give me a design in 2 days but then, *crickets*.
Another sent me a long list of questions to answer via text and then never heard from him again. Is this typical behavior?

I am hoping to find someone to build a simple 18x40 saltwater lap pool with infinity edge. Is there something I should be telling the pool builders to get them to agree to come out for a quote even? We have never built a pool before. Thank you for any advice!!

I have Pentair 120V color pool and spa lights on separate relays inside an EasyTouch 8. The pool LED light has finally stopped working after years of slow decline. I was thinking about replacing it with a Pentair 12V color LED light (Pentair 601011). After reading on this forum and the web, I believe the procedure would be as follows:

• Install a 120VAC to 12VAC transformer on the exterior of my Pentair EasyTouch 8 box or hang it from the wall (e.g., an Intermatic PX100).
• Wire the 120VAC input on the transformer to the existing pool light relay being careful not to route it through the low voltage compartment of the EasyTouch.
• Run the 12VAC wire through the existing conduit to the underwater pool light location. As I understand it, if the spa 120VAC wires pass through the same conduit, I cannot do this because you are not supposed to run low voltage and high voltage wires inside the same conduit.

Do I have this right?
Am I right in thinking the transformer itself will switch on and off when I change the pool light color?

What is the general consensus on a solar system? Would like to ground mount since I have south facing area close to the pool equipment.

Hey all,

I'm a new pool owner. Pool has been running for a month-month and a half. Water has been crystal clear and still is, but I noticed this morning there is green stuff which I'm assuming is algae where the floor meets the wall. It's on the return jet/skimmer wall. Do I need to SLAM? All my levels checked out ok this morning for my weekly test. Everything is logged in pool math so I believe members can look at that, correct? This last week I didn't test chlorine everyday. I added a certain amount and wanted to see how it would be for my weekly test. FC tested at 4 this morning, so within range with cya at 40. Don't understand how algae could have formed as it doesn't seem like the FC would have tested at 4 if I wasn't adding enough chlorine throughout the week.

Should I be vacuuming on a regular basis, or brushing? I haven't brushed at all, and have only vacuumed once. Up to now, everything has been perfect. The water remains super clear. Not really sure how the brushing/vacuuming regiment is supposed to work. Pool gets full sun all day and rarely has any debris in it, besides a bug or three.

Do I brush the algae from the liner? Vacuum? SLAM?

Hello from NE Iowa We have the ground prepped and ready to put up our 26' round tonight. However, we just priced the pink foam board to go under the ground cloth, but it's going to be over $800. What are some alternatives?

Century's Vlink looks to be a dead project, which is sad, because their mobile app looks pretty cool, although I'm not sure why they chose to go client-server based through their own servers (which is likely why the whole thing is now defunct, or appears to soon be).

Thus, I am looking for a way to custom program my EVQ165 motor's speed and, hopefully, schedules. I've read posts regarding programming the older Vgreen motors, but it doesn't look like they apply to the Evo line because they refer to a certain set of onboard dip switches that the Evo does not have, although it does sport an RS-485 interface.

FWIW, while not a full-fledged programmer, I have some coding experience, and am willing to get my fingertips a little dirty, but I'm not sure if I can handle a "full time job". Please share if you know of anything that might point me in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for any info.

My son was closing pool and not paying attention. The cover came out of the track on one side. The cover is under water. I need to get the remaining portion still in the track out but not sure how to do it without causing problems. Any advice on how to tackle this? Thanks

Hi everyone - new to the board and the pool .. and really starting from zero learning about pools, pool maintenance etc. Thanks for any input you can provide to help me getting started!!

As I just purchased the home the previous owner is still paying a pool guy to take care of the pool until the end of this month (He has been coming once a week but I haven't been there yet to ask some of the questions below, + I'd like a second opinion from the experts here). Going forward I'd like to DYI the pool maintenance.

There are a few things I noticed about the pool (Images of relevant things I found around the pool attached):

• The water looks a bit cloudy. I'm wondering if there is algea in the pool.
• I have a few plants in the backyard (especially one slightly pool-overhanging palm tree and bushes in close proximity that shed of plant-debris at least at this time of the season). Planning to cut those back a bit.
• I found some old containers with "Xtra blue - Chlorinating tablets" and "Phos free"
• There are a few things connected to the pool that I'm still trying to understand what they really are and if they are actually used. There are
  • 2 "timer-boxes" (not sure what the correct name for these is). I'd guess one was replaced but never removed (?)
  • One control panel "Nature Soft Water Purification System" from Pebble Technology Inc. - it appears to be dead.
  • Pump
  • Filter
  • At least visually I don't see anything else above ground attached to the pool other than a few pipes connecting things..

Questions:

1. Being a complete novice, my take on it thus far has been that this pool maybe used to be an SWG pool but now is operated as a non-SWG pool (Reason: Dead water purification control panel and presence of chlorinating tablets). Am I on the right path from the images attached or is this still an SWG pool? Would it be worth restoring it to be an SWG pool?
2. I've been glancing over the Pool School articles here and am still doing it to learn more. As a first step I'd like to buy a test kit (Taylor 2006-C or TF-100, or those for SWG pools depending on what I have). From there I'd do the relevant testing to determine next steps; Potentially SLAM the pool if that's a recommended step. My wife has been pushing to acid wash the pool but I'm a bit hesitant if it's not really necessary. Are there any test results that would support a decision to acid wash?

Hey folks, I just bought an Intex Ultra pool " 16' X 32' X 52" and I have had to set it up, do the ground work, leveling, etc EVERYTHING by myself,
which makes things tough because if i had some help, maybe i could have do better with someone that has set one up before, anyways, mostly everything is level, it might be off an inch or 2 at the most on one corner, I have tried my best to stay by the book on this, 16"x16"x2" pavers, 10 yards of sand, it was a nightmare doing it by myself, especially digging out all the gravel and everything to make sure it was smooth, also I am 50 years old and smoke 2 packs a day, but here is a pic of what i have now, give me your opinion on this and maybe give me some piece of mind, I am ready to start filling but worried something might be off or wrong, I can't afford for a mistake to happen, especially a catastrophe, so please, check out the set up and let me know, 2 of the larger 16x16 pavers broke right off so i replace it with a smaller and a thicker one where it was off level a little bit in the corner. but this is what i have now (the middle pic is where i am with it)

We always have used a Bioguard winter floater which contains TRI CHLOR tabs . They don't make them anymore and did not replace it with anything. I want to use a regular chlorine floater to replace it (MUCH CHEAPER TOO) but don't know how many tabs were in the Bioguard one. Does anyone use a regular floater and can tell me how many tabs to put in it and how 'open' to set the floater . We have a Loop Loc cover so always put another Bioguard floater in there in Feb so I will have a spare floater to use since its impossible to retrieve the first one under the Loop Loc. Thanks in advance.

Best robotic vacuum for above ground pool that will vacuum dead algae

I just noticed my pool filter housing is leaking around the metal latch. How can I fix this? I believe I need to open the valve at the top to relieve pressure and certainly stop the pump first. However, I don't have any experience with this and was just looking for some guidance.

My pool guy recently replaced the filters, so I'm not sure if something happened then.

Thank you

Kevin started doing that forward-backwards-stop routine and I figured it was most likely the water intrusion
dance of death. Put him in today and slightly better but not moving too well. I was on the deck looking
at it and yep, there it was….the tread on one side was misaligned! It had managed to slip and re-seat
itself incorrectly only on the rear wheel. A little persuasive maneuvering and Kev is operating normally again.
Hoping to get a few more years before having to replace it.

It's always the little things, right? And since my pool is TFP clear….I could spot the problem in 5 feet of water!
But not right in front of me.